On Monday, 26 June 2015, Israeli forces boarded the Marianne vessel, which was on its way to Gaza. Marianne, sailing under the Swedish flag, was the first boat of the freedom flotilla, which is composed of Marianne and three smaller boats. Marianne carried tens of Middle Eastern and international solidarity activists who were trying to send a message to the world that the Israeli siege imposed on the Gaza Strip must end.

According to the solidarity campaign, at approximately 1:06 am on Monday, 29 June 2015 the boat received a call from the Israeli forces ordering them to stop. Three Israeli gunboats proceeded to surround them. Activists from the international campaign posted on their Facebook accounts that they lost communication with the boat Marianne after three hours.

Today, 29 June 2015, in the early morning hours, Israeli media announced that the Israeli gunboats intercepted the first ship of the Freedom Flotilla. Activists onboard refused to obey the Israeli military instructions and therefore the Israeli forces took over Marianne and rerouted the ship to Ashdod port. 18 activists were on Marianne; among them was a member of the Israeli Knesset Basel Ghattas and the former Tunisian president Moncef Marzouki.

The Al Mezan Center for Human Rights appreciates the efforts to highlight the pursuit of freedom of Palestinians in Gaza, the motivation of the peace activists and the high risk they face through their attempts to reach the Gaza beach, particularly after the Israeli attacks on Mavi Marmara and other fleets. Al Mezan commends the international rejection of the Israeli siege imposed on the Gaza Strip and calls for its end by exerting pressure on governments to take serious and practical positions that contribute to extracting political will.

Al Mezan Center for Human Rights strongly condemns the Israeli interception and seizure of the first vessel of Freedom Flotilla III. Al Mezan expresses its concern for the peace activists to be subject to ill-treatment.

Al Mezan holds the Israeli authorities responsible for the life and safety of the peace activists. Al Mezan calls on the international community to promptly intervene to end the Israeli siege imposed on the Gaza Strip, which has prompted a protracted humanitarian crisis.

Al Mezan asserts that the Gaza siege is a form of collective punishment that amounts to a war crime. The practices within the Israeli closure policy amount to crimes against humanity. Al Mezan calls on the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to fulfill its legal obligations in promptly intervening to address the violation.