Leigh Anne Naidoo was on board the Women's Boat to Gaza which was intercepted by the Israeli government on Wednesday.
The department of international relations and co-operation (Dirco) has said that the South African embassy in Israel is communicating with the Israeli authorities after the Women’s Boat to Gaza was intercepted by the Israeli government on Wednesday. South African activist Leigh Ann Naidoo is among the women on the boat who have been detained.
“Our embassy in Tel Aviv is liaising with Israeli authorities and requesting consular access to the detained South African national,” Nelson Kgwete, spokesperson for Dirco, told the Mail & Guardian.
Kgwete did not confirm where the women are being held, but said that more details will be released later today. He also said that the Israeli authorities are co-operating with the South African embassy.
On Tuesday, a video was released on YouTube, where Naidoo appeared safe and unharmed. In the video, she alerted South Africans that the Israeli government had intercepted the Zaytouna-Oliva boat to Gaza. Thirteen women from various countries were travelling on board the boat as part of a project called the Women’s Boat to Gaza. The international Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) spearheaded the campaign in an effort to peacefully break the Israeli siege of Gaza.
“My name is Leigh Ann Naidoo from South Africa. If you’re seeing this video, we’ve been intercepted and kidnapped by the Israeli occupation forces and I want to put an appeal to all my comrades, brothers, sisters, family in South Africa to put pressure on the South African government to insist that they release me as soon as possible,” Naidoo said in the video.
Embassy response
Meanwhile, the South African embassy in Israel says it is awaiting confirmation that Naidoo has been detained. The embassy says that once it has received confirmation, they will extend consular service to Naidoo.
“So far the embassy has not been able to meet with Naidoo. We have gleaned from media reports that the Women’s Boat to Gaza was intercepted by the Israeli authorities and was towed to the Israeli port of Ashdod. It is worth noting that according to media reports the boat was intercepted without incident,” Musa Marawu, counsellor political at the South African embassy in Tel Aviv told the M&G.
“Concerning Ms Naidoo, the embassy is awaiting confirmation and notification from Israeli authorities of her possible detention. When we receive such confirmation, the embassy will extend the normal consular services to her and any other SA citizens who maybe affected,” he said.
The Israeli Navy intercepted the boat around 35 nautical miles (65km) from its final destination on the coast of Gaza. The navy docked the boat at the Port of Ashdod, where the Israeli military said on Wednesday that the activists had been transferred to Israeli authorities for “further processing”. On Wednesday, the FFC released a message saying it had lost contact with the boat.
“At 15:58 (CEST) on 5 October, we lost contact again with the Zaytouna-Oliva and presume that the Israeli Occupation Navy has surrounded it in International Waters (latest recorded position: Lat+31.906033 Lon+33.757630) and has forced it off its course to Gaza,” the FFC said on its website.
The navy said in a statement on Wednesday that it had intercepted the boat to prevent the “breach of the lawful maritime blockade” and that they had taken such action “in accordance with government directives and after exhausting all diplomatic channels”.
Naidoo, a Wits PhD scholar and activist, delivered the keynote address at the 2016 Ruth First Memorial lecture, where she spoke about intergenerational dialogue and activism. She is also an Olympian who participated in the 2004 Summer Olympics, playing volleyball for the South African team.
A petition calling for Naidoo’s release has currently gained close to 2000 signatures on the amandla.mobi site.
Conflict
Freedom flotillas, boats which travel to Gaza to bring aid and activists who stand in solidarity with Palestinians, have a long history of conflict from Israeli military forces.
One of the most devastating incidents occurred in May 2010 when Israeli forces raided nine civilian ships. The navy officials boarded the boats from speedboats and helicopters, and commandeered them to the port of Ashdod – the same port where the Women’s Boat to Gaza was docked. When the Israeli navy boarded the Turkish boat, passengers resisted, and in the struggle, nine of the activists were killed.
Naidoo’s wife, Kelly Gillespie, appeared on eNCA earlier today, where she said that Naidoo had been taken off the boat unharmed, but there was still fear around her safety.
“We know that they haven’t been able to speak with their lawyers yet, so I’m feeling really scared right now, because as we know the Israeli army is capable of a great number of human rights abuses and I’m not sure what’s happening with her,” Gillespie said.
The Women’s Boat to Gaza departed from Barcelona in September 2016. Although not many details have been released regarding the arrests of the women in Israel, Kgwete said that more information will be available later today.