Boats from the Global Sumud flotilla bound for Gaza, carrying Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and around twenty Swiss nationals, including the former mayor of Geneva Rémy Pagani, were intercepted by Israeli forces. The Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs appealed to Tel Aviv.
The Swiss Foreign Ministry asked Tel Aviv to act in accordance with the principles of proportionality and necessity, guaranteeing the safety of participants. He also said consular staff had been deployed to protect those involved.
Israeli Foreign Ministry says detainees are ‘safe and sound’ and would be deported to Europe. The Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs has, however, been informed of the arrest of certain participants, whose names have not yet been officially revealed. “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is doing everything possible to obtain information about those detained and their whereabouts. As soon as possible, representatives of the embassy will visit the detainees,” a statement said.
The news of the interception quickly sparked reactions, triggering protests in several European cities. The largest in Switzerland took place on Wednesday evening in Lausanne, where 500 to 1,000 people gathered at 9:30 p.m. at the call of a pro-Palestinian collective. Other protests are planned today in other cities.
Translated from Italian using DeepL/amva/ts
