Turkish authorities have for over a month been blocking the departure of two ships from Turkish and international humanitarian groups aiming to deliver aid to the Palestinian enclave of Gaza, which is currently under an Israeli blockade, citing bureaucratic obstacles, the T24 news website reported on Thursday.
Israel launched a military campaign on the Gaza Strip in retaliation for an unprecedented Hamas incursion on October 7, 2023 that resulted in the death of some 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and the taking of approximately 250 hostages.
According to the health ministry in Gaza, more than 42,300 people have been killed in Gaza since then, mostly civilians.
The Gaza Strip has been under Israeli blockade for 17 years.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), a group of international and Turkish humanitarian organizations, is carrying urgent, lifesaving aid, including medical supplies and food, to Gaza in response to the ongoing humanitarian crisis and in an effort to break Israel’s blockade.
According to T24, two ships — the Akdeniz, belonging to the Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief (İHH), and the Vicdan, operated by the Mavi Marmara Association for Freedom and Solidarity — have been unable to set sail since early August due to “Israeli pressure” and bureaucratic obstacles erected by the Ministry of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications.
The Vicdan is unable to set sail due to the lack of a port exit permit, while the Akdeniz is experiencing difficulties in the flag registration process, which is essential for ensuring the protection of vessels traveling in international waters and obtaining legal guarantees from the state whose flag the ship carries. Beheşti İsmail Songür, the Turkish representative at the FFC, expressed frustration, saying, “We would have expected the flag to have been issued by Turkey.”
While Israel’s blockade of Gaza is a well-known obstacle for humanitarian efforts, this time the flotilla’s organizers were taken aback to find that the Turkish government itself is preventing their departure.
“We thought we would encounter difficulties with Israel, but it is Turkey that is obstructing us,” Hüseyin Dişli of the Worldwide Lawyers Association (WOLAS) told T24.
The lawyer also stated that organizers had reached out to United Nations rapporteurs about the issue and that five rapporteurs — Michael Fakhri, Francesca Albanese, Balakrishnan Rajagopal, Ms. Tlaleng Mofokeng and Paula Gaviria Betancur — issued a statement on April 26 demanding safe passage for the FFC.
“As the Freedom Flotilla approaches Palestinian territorial waters off Gaza, Israel must adhere to international law, including recent orders from the International Court of Justice to ensure unimpeded access for humanitarian aid,” they said.
According to T24, the Mavi Marmara Association for Freedom and Solidarity has filed a criminal complaint against Turkey’s transportation ministry, accusing officials of “abuse of office,” citing their refusal to allow the ships’ departure under the pretext of “international balances.” The coalition is also pursuing legal action to overturn the decision preventing the ships from leaving the port.
Meanwhile, the FFC has continued its protest outside İstanbul’s Haydarpaşa Port, with volunteers maintaining a 24-hour vigil for 42 days. They demand that the Turkish government allow their ships to sail, accusing the authorities of becoming complicit in the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Haklı mücadelemizden geri durmak yok! 🇵🇸
Haydarpaşa Limanı'ndaki Özgürlük Nöbetimiz ilk günkü direnciyle devam ediyor! ⛴️🍉 pic.twitter.com/jj4bUhYaTR
— Mavi Marmara (@mavimarmaratr) October 16, 2024
Although President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan highlighted in a statement following a cabinet meeting earlier this week the significant decline in aid delivered to Gaza, attributing it to Israel’s use of “terror” against humanitarian organizations, many question the sincerity of his government’s commitment to alleviating the humanitarian crisis given the ongoing developments.
FFC Turkish representative Songür criticized the government for trivializing the issue as mere humanitarian aid and for not making sufficient efforts to exert political pressure.
He said other members of the coalition in various countries are waiting for the ships in Turkey to set sail, adding that the government is not only blocking the ships departure from Turkey but also the aid going to Gaza from 52 other countries.
The mission carries risks, as a similar attempt in 2010 resulted in a confrontation with Israeli forces that led to the death of 10 people. The Mavi Marmara aid flotilla was attacked in international waters on May 31, 2010.
Nine Turkish citizens and an American citizen of Turkish descent were killed in the raid. The Mavi Marmara incident sparked a diplomatic crisis with Israel as then-prime minister and current president Erdoğan used the issue extensively as a political tool in domestic rallies.
Erdoğan, who accused Israel of “state terrorism” the day after the raid, criticized the organizers of the flotilla during a public gathering six years later in 2016, saying, “Did you ask the prime minister of the time before you embarked on a humanitarian mission from Turkey to Gaza? We have already provided the necessary assistance to Gaza, and we continue to do so.”