Kingston, NY – “I am heartened to hear that all Americans onboard the Global Sumud Flotilla, including two Kingston residents and a NYC-based former crewmember of The Clearwater, have now been released. However, these repeated assaults on civilians attempting to deliver humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip are among the many violations of international laws that are being conducted by Israel, including those against the people of Palestine. As it relates to the flotillas, the international laws are clear, as has been previously pointed out by Progressive International, the organizing group behind the effort:

• The Fourth Geneva Convention, Article 23, obliges parties to allow the free passage of consignments of medical and hospital stores, as well as essential foodstuffs, intended for civilians.
• Additional Protocol I, Article 70, requires parties to allow and facilitate the rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief.
• The San Remo Manual, Rule 102, prohibits blockades that have the effect of starving civilians or denying them essential relief.
• The Genocide Convention, Article II(c), recognizes the deliberate infliction of conditions of life calculated to destroy a group, including through starvation, as an act of genocide.
• The Rome Statute, Article 8(2)(b)(xxv), defines the starvation of civilians as a method of warfare as a war crime.
• The International Court of Justice has issued three binding provisional measures (January, March, and May 2024), requiring Israel to allow and facilitate humanitarian aid into Gaza without obstruction.”