It is still of great importance that Israel's systematic violations of international law are recorded. In the face of the possibility of a change in the international conjuncture or balance of power, it would well be possible to hold Israel accountable for its actions retrospectively. Moreover, Israel's actions would constitute new and strengthening evidence in the ongoing legal and criminal judicial processes against Israel.
The purpose of a small ship named Madleen, which set off from Italy on June 1 and was trying to reach Gaza with 12 people and a load of humanitarian aid, was not only to deliver aid to the Gazans in an almost unprecedented humanitarian tragedy, but also to show the whole world more strikingly that Israel blocks almost all humanitarian aid to be delivered to Gaza.
The ship’s trip to Gaza was organized by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, which has been working to neutralize and end the Israeli blockade of Gaza since 2007. The presence of Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and European Parliament member Rima Hassan among the passengers on the Madleen ship ensured that the mission received widespread media coverage. According to the ship-tracking website MarineTraffic, the Madleen is a British-registered ship whose official name is Barcarole.
On June 9, the ship was intercepted by Israeli forces while in international waters. Israeli security forces boarded the ship, first spraying irritating chemicals on the ship’s crew and then detaining the people. The ship was then taken to the Israeli port of Ashdod with those on board. The human rights activists on the Madleen ship, who were taken into custody due to the cancellation of flights following Israel's large-scale attacks on Iran, were soon deported.
The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that “The Israeli forces’ intervention in international waters against the ‘Madleen’ ship, which set out to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza and carried our citizens, is a clear violation of international law.” The ministry also stated, “This heinous attack by the Netanyahu government, which also threatens freedom of navigation and maritime security, has proven once again that Israel is a terror-state.”
When we look at the aspects of Israel’s actions that violate international law in the Madleen case, we see that many violations have been carried out simultaneously. The U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea has listed the reasons for intervening in a ship on the high seas for strictly limited reasons. As a rule, every ship on the high seas (civilian or military, individual or state) is under the legislative, executive and judicial authority of the flag state where it is registered, that is, whose flag it flies. The convention stipulates that intervention can only be carried out by the security forces of other states in cases where there is “reasonable ground for suspecting” that a ship is being used in piracy, being used in the slave trade, making unauthorized radio broadcasts, traveling without a nationality (not registered with any state, that is, without a flag), flying a foreign flag or refraining from displaying its flag, but that the ship is actually of the same nationality as the warship that intervenes.
In peacetime, Israel's intervention on the humanitarian aid ship Madleen is contrary to all these principles. Before the intervention on June 9, no suspicion was recorded that any of the above-mentioned items were on the ship other than the humanitarian aid cargo. Israel's own statements later proved that there was only humanitarian aid cargo on the ship.
Israel’s essential claim is that it was applying international law rules regarding blockades during a wartime situation. Even if this claim of Israel is accepted as true, that is, if the rules of the law of war and the law of blockade are accepted as valid, Israel's intervention still violates many other important and fundamental principles.
Firstly, according to the 1949 Geneva Conventions, to which Israel is a party since the moment they came into force, all warring sides should allow humanitarian aid. Preventing the delivery of humanitarian aid is a violation that is considered a war crime. In fact, preventing the delivery of humanitarian aid is considered a “crime against humanity” when attacks on civilians are part of a systematic and general plan.
Furthermore, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has so far made decisions on Jan. 26, 2024, March 28, 2024, and May 24, 2024 in the ongoing genocide case against Israel concerning the preventive measures that Israel should obey. In its decisions, the court has ordered that attacks on civilians be stopped, that actions that would lead to genocide be avoided, and that humanitarian aid not be prevented from reaching civilians. Israel has not complied with any of these decisions to date. With its intervention in Madleen, Israel has once again shown that it does not hesitate to violate these binding decisions.
Israel’s intervention in Madleen may first be considered as evidence in the ongoing genocide case against Israel, based on the relationship between the obstruction of humanitarian aid and the crime of genocide. These acts may also serve as evidence for investigations and possible prosecution before the International Criminal Court (ICC). As obstruction of humanitarian aid constitutes a war crime, it may lead to investigations and possible criminal cases against those who gave the order and carried out the intervention in the ongoing investigation processes against Israeli citizens. Because the ship is registered in the United Kingdom, it must be treated as U.K. territory on the high seas, and the ICC has jurisdiction over those who are related to events on Madleen.
