The Dark Flotilla

Lies, terror support, and the annihilationst politics of sinister clowns

Nothing symbolises the dark pretence of the Gaza Flotilla as a respectable enterprise with a sinister agenda than this image of a Dutch activist being interviewed while a supporter makes the Hamas triangle sign behind him. He was quickly hurried away by a steward because they do not want the world to see their true face when the mask slips.

A week ago a fleet of 54 flotilla boats containing over 400 activists from 40 countries was intercepted in international waters 250 nautical miles from Cyprus. They claimed to be delivering humanitarian aid but there was little or none on board the fleet of small vessels. The primary purpose of the campaign was to generate and provoke bad publicity for Israel and further the agenda of terrorist organisations in Gaza.

The main organisers Thiago Ávila and Saif Abu Keshek had been apprehended weeks before on April 29th. Ávila had previously attended the funeral of Hezbollah leader Nasrallah and Abu Keshek was just sanctioned by the US government for his organisation’s links to Hamas. Their deportation on May 10th from Israel left the remaining fleet leaderless yet radicalised enough to continue. The Flotilla this year had come under internal and external criticism after sexual misconduct allegations were made against the leadership. Fierce debate within the pro-Palestinian movements were aimed at them for being pointless and self-obsessed. In fact they had very little support and their popularity was diminished significantly.

They had been wracked by bad publicity and controversy as members danced provocatively in videos and threw chocolate bars and plastic bottles overboard. The Israeli Navy played Britney Spears over the radio when they were being intercepted and the world mocked them.

That was until Israeli government minister Itamar Ben Gvir made a self-aggrandising video humiliating detainees and showed one woman being physically restrained after shouting “Free Palestine”. In one short clip Ben Gvir reinvigorated the Flotilla’s status and sent their stocks soaring. Israeli Ambassadors were summoned by 11 countries and widespread condemnation by allies and foes were issued. Even the Prime Minister of Israel criticised the actions of his own minister. It was a spectacular own goal and laid the foundation for stories of alleged abuse at the hands of Israel to find fertile ground and exaggerations and falsehoods given a listening ear by the world’s media. And that’s exactly what happened.

As soon as detainees arrived from deportation to Istanbul in Turkey, the wild stories poured forth. Remarkably the statements activists made to the media were repeated almost word for word. Soundbites like calling the warship they were first detained in a “concentration camp” were delivered by several activists from countries including Canada, Australia, Ireland and the US. It’s very unlikely this was a coincidence. The deliberate Holocaust inversion serves to both minimise that horror and put Jews on the same par as Nazis - a deeply felt insult delivered with malice and premeditation.

Then there was the theatrical use of stretchers for people who could clearly walk unaided and medical props that were seemingly unneeded and discarded before arrival in their home countries. One British man claimed the IDF may have broken his spine yet he was filmed disembarking the plane in Turkey with no apparent discomfort.

When a group of Spanish activists arrived in the airport in Bilbao, they blocked the arrival gate to pose for photos. Police asked them to move and they did not. When an officer used his body to push backwards and clear space, an activist used his elbow to shove back. Then a Flotilla supporter tried to break through the barrier and an officer used a baton to stop them and the Flotilla activist ran to intervene and all hell broke loose. Police used force and accused the activists of trying to steal batons and resisting arrest.

It wasn’t the only place where trouble happened. In Athens the police could barely control the seething crowds chanting and trying to get to their arriving champions. Flotilla activists can be seen shoving police there too. In Austria, police arrested one returning Flotilla member after complaints were made about loud noises and blocking of areas in the airport. In Brussels the Flotilla fans surged into the arrivals gate and caused mayhem though police seemed totally overwhelmed. Every country had varying degrees of chaos and aggression. Yet not one Ambassador was called nor one leader spoke out to condemn police treatment.

That wasn’t the only horrible thing these people did. In Ireland, an activist held the Islamic Republic of Iran flag and called the “Axis of Resistance” heroes. That includes Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah and the Houthis. Those protesting the treatment of the Bilbao activists also waved that horrible flag in their protest, which is grotesquely ironic given the regime’s murder of thousands of protesters. In Toronto the crowd chanted “Death, death to the IOF” and in New York an activist admitted the Flotilla wasn’t about aid but “confronting” Israel. A Dutch activist gave a speech saying “the Zionist State” had no right to exist and supporters chanted “Israel no more”. One made a Hamas inverted triangle sign behind a Flotilla member before being hurried away by a steward.

That is the key here. These people are crafting an image of themselves as ‘humanitarians’ simply on a mission to bring aid. In reality their organisers have links to Hamas and are working for an annihilationist agenda. This was a war armada not a peace convoy. The response to the maltreatment video posted by Ben Gvir compared to the filmed beatings they got from their police forces exposes both the hypocrisy of the West who berates Israel, but also the true nature of who these people are and how they are behaving even within their own nations. They are extremists with the intention towards destruction and death. We must not give them ammunition to aim their weapons but we must expose them and push for sanctions and restrictions from their own governments who should take responsibility for their citizen’s child-like despotism.