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Yoseph Haddad said international efforts should focus on “freeing Gaza from the terrorist organization Hamas.”
By Shula Rosen
A group of Jewish and Arab Israeli activists launched what they described as a Hasbara flotilla off the coast of Herzliya in response to another Gaza-bound flotilla departing from Turkey, saying their aim was to demonstrate support for Israel and opposition to “terror flotilla activists,” The Jerusalem Post reported.
Arab Israeli activist Yoseph Haddad said the Israeli flotilla was intended as a public statement against the activists participating in the Global Sumud Flotilla.
“We did our own flotilla,” Haddad said as three ships sailed outside Herzliya.
“We send a clear message to all the ‘terror flotilla’ activists,” he added while addressing participants in the GSF. “You are not welcome here. You will not be able to enter Gaza.”
Haddad noted the proven claim that the Global Sumud Flotilla included Hamas supporters affiliated with the Turkey-based IHH organization, which Israel has designated a terrorist organization over alleged links to armed terrorist groups.
“They are part of a terror flotilla, and they need to know that, and the world needs to know that,” he said.
In the video, Haddad said international efforts should focus on “freeing Gaza from the terrorist organization Hamas” rather than on treating Israel as the enemy.
Participants in the Israeli flotilla included Golda Daphna, Hallel Abramowitz-Silverman, Cindy Seni, Marwan Jaber, Ashley Waxman Bakshi, and 12-year-old activist Ben Carasso.
Haddad said the flotilla would remain within Israeli territorial waters to avoid claims that it was violating the sovereignty of other countries. He said the initiative was intended to deliver a message rather than physically disrupt other flotillas heading toward Gaza.
Activists aboard the vessels displayed signs mocking previous Global Sumud Flotilla efforts, which organizers said had failed to reach Gaza and transported limited aid supplies.
One sign read, “Is Gaza free yet?” Another stated, “I was promised a sandwich,” referencing climate activist Greta Thunberg, who previously complained about being detained by Israel during an earlier flotilla voyage before later being photographed eating a sandwich provided by Israeli security personnel.
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