<h6><strong>Eduardo González</strong></h6> <h4><strong>The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has summoned the Chargé d'Affaires of the Israeli Embassy in Spain, Dan Poraz, to express its protest against the capture of a Spanish activist traveling aboard the Freedom Flotilla ship, which was boarded by the Israeli Army as it attempted to reach the Gaza Strip.</strong></h4> Spanish activist Sergio Toribio has released a video in which he denounces that the Flotilla was intercepted at sea and that he himself has been "kidnapped by the Israeli occupation forces or those of a country complicit in Israel's genocide of Palestinians." "I ask all my comrades, friends, and family to pressure the Spanish government to demand my release as soon as possible," he continued in the video, recorded just before the interception and released by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition. Foreign Ministry sources have informed The Diplomat that the Ministry "is in contact with the affected Spaniard, his family, and the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, exercising consular protection over our citizen." "The Foreign Ministry has summoned the Chargé d'Affaires of the Israeli embassy in Spain to protest what happened," the same sources added. Dan Poraz was summoned by the Foreign Ministry because the ambassador, Rodica Radian-Gordon, was summoned for consultations about a year ago by Benjamin Netanyahu's Israeli government in protest of Pedro Sánchez's government's decision to recognize the Palestinian state. In addition to Toribio, other activists traveling aboard the ship "Madleen" have released similar videos. According to the Europa Press agency, these activists include French MEP Rima Hassan, Reva Viard, Pascal Raymond Maurieras, Yanis Mhamdi, and Baptiste Andre, also French. Brazilian Thiago Avila, German Yasemin Acar, Turkish Huseyin Suayb Ordu, and Dutch Mark van Rennes. The recordings were published after the Freedom Flotilla Coalition reported a drone attack on the ship and the subsequent boarding of the "Madleen" by Israeli troops, who prevented the ship from continuing its journey to Gaza with the intention of breaking the Israeli blockade and delivering humanitarian aid. For its part, the Israeli Foreign Ministry assured on the social media platform X that "all" the passengers of the "celebrity yacht" are "safe and sound." "The 'show' is over," continued the Israeli government, which called the flotilla operation a "media stunt." <h5><strong>Sumar</strong></h5> Separately, Yolanda Díaz, the second vice president and leader of Sumar (the minority party in the coalition government), condemned the "hijacking of the ship 'Madleen,' which was transporting humanitarian aid to Gaza," and warned, via the social network Bluesky, that "this violation of international law demands a clear and forceful response from the EU." Likewise, Ernest Urtasun, the Minister of Culture and spokesperson for Sumar, described this incident as "state piracy" and demanded the immediate release of the activists and the implementation of "a real aid corridor to Gaza." Sumar coordinator Lara Hernández denounced the attack on the flotilla as "one more example of how unpunished the State of Israel feels when perpetrating another crime and violating international law." She urged an end to "impunity" and the severance of diplomatic relations with Israel, "by applying sanctions to the Netanyahu government and companies." who collaborate with them." For her part, Eva García Sempere, the Organization Secretary of IU (a party integrated into Sumar), denounced this act of "piracy, kidnapping, and bullying" and called on the government to take "maximum force" in demanding the activists' immediate release. For its part, IU issued a statement urging the government to lodge a formal protest with the United Nations and promote a resolution defining the attack on the Flotilla as "a serious violation of international law."
