<h6><strong>Eduardo González</strong></h6> <h4><strong>Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has asked the members of the Global Sumud Flotilla not to continue their journey toward the Gaza Strip, as "Spain has also asked them."</strong></h4> "Greece now also joins Italy in its call to the flotilla: 'accept the offer of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem to safely deliver aid intended in solidarity with the children, women, and men of Gaza,'" Saar wrote on the social media platform X, after the flotilla had already entered the risk zone imposed by Israel, just over a hundred miles from the Gaza coast. "Spain has also asked them not to continue their course," he added. “Calls are being heard from all sides to stop this Hamas-Sumud provocation. We join these calls and reiterate: it is not too late. Please peacefully transfer any aid you may receive through the Port of Cyprus, the Ashkelon Marina, or any other port in the region to Gaza,” he added. The flotilla members, who have denounced harassment by the Israel Defense Forces, have asserted that they have no intention of interrupting their mission delivering humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. Saar's message comes after the Spanish government “strongly” recommended that the Global Flotilla “Sumud” not enter the exclusion zone designated by the Israeli Army, because it “would severely risk its own safety,” and warned that the Spanish Navy ship “Furor,” sent by Spain to assist the humanitarian mission, will not be allowed to enter the zone because it “would put the physical integrity of its crew and the flotilla itself at risk.” These words have been harshly criticized by Sumar, a minority partner in Pedro Sánchez's coalition government, which has warned on social media that "the Freedom Flotilla complies with international law and must complete its humanitarian mission in Gaza" and, therefore, "any attempt to prevent it would be illegal, which is why Spain and the EU have an obligation to protect it." For its part, the Flotilla's press office has harshly criticized these government recommendations. "While the Israeli Navy announces that it will impose a 120-nautical-mile exclusion zone, a de facto occupation of the eastern Mediterranean, the Government simply asks the crew of the Global Sumud Flotilla to abandon their mission and refuses to offer them the necessary protection to reach Gaza via a frigate whose actual distance from the Flotilla is unknown." In this regard, Defense Minister Margarita Robles asked the members of the Flotilla on Wednesday to assess the risk they take by entering the exclusion zone marked by Israel. "It's their responsibility, the risk they take personally, the risk they may put other people in," he told the press during an event in Barcelona. He also insisted that the Spanish ship "Furor" "will reach the exclusion zone and will stay a little before reaching it," and will not enter it except "in cases of absolute necessity, if there are rescue operations." For his part, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez declared this Wednesday from Copenhagen that "the Flotilla does not represent a threat to Israel" and, therefore, "Israel should not represent a threat to the Flotilla either."
