Israel just kidnapped Canadians deep in international waters

Will Canada impose any real consequences? Probably not!

On April 30^th at 02h01 Eastern European Summer Time (UTC+03), after hijacking a vessel in international waters in an act of piracy, Israeli soldiers hold members of the Global Sumud Flotilla at gunpoint, arms raised above their heads. They would soon be kidnapped and forcibly taken to Israel, whose waters they were not in and did not plan to enter. | Copyright © Global Sumud Flotilla, licensed under fair dealing.

The genocide of Gaza continues, despite the diverted attention of the world. Yes, Israel has become more preoccupied with expanding their genocidal settlement campaigns in Southern Lebanon and waging imperialist wars of aggression against the people of Iran. And of course, Israel has resumed the intensity of their settlement project in the West Bank, with recent Israeli terror campaigns dedicated to scaring Palestinian children away from attending school.

But none of this means the Palestinians in Gaza have been given any sort of reprieve from the total extermination campaign that Israel has waged against them. “Distracted” would not be the right word, as Israel’s other actions require just as much consideration, but the attention of those seeking justice has certainly been split. Thankfully, the Global Sumud Flotilla has not forgotten the people of Gaza, and has sailed out in order to aid them. Unfortunately, the Israeli military acted swiftly today to hinder their efforts.

While previous interceptions of aid flotillas to Gaza have occurred much closer to Palestinian waters, the assault by the Israeli navy earlier today occurred over a thousand kilometres away, in international waters off the western coast of the Greek island of Crete. The flotilla’s communications were jammed with electronic warfare, and hordes of drones swarmed the boats. Supplies intended for Palestinians in Gaza, including food and medicine, were stolen in an act of piracy, and Israeli soldiers held flotilla members at gunpoint and kidnapped them, taking them back to Israel against their will.

According to the Global Sumud Flotilla’s website, 21 boats were hijacked, and 179 people kidnapped by Israel, while 63 boats full of aid and flotilla members remain sailing onward to Gaza. And to be clear, if these remaining boats do reach Palestinian waters, that would be completely fine, and Israel would still be committing severe acts of piracy by hijacking them there. You see, the operative word here is Palestinian waters; Gaza does not belong to Israel, and it never will.

Condemnations from world leaders have been swift in the aftermath: Italy and Spain have both demanded the immediate release of their citizens, and Reporters without Borders has decried Israel’s kidnapping of three journalists who were onboard the flotilla to report for international media outlets. But in Canada, despite our own citizens being among those kidnapped today, our government falls silent.

Via the Canadian Press wire service, the two Canadians kidnapped by Israel today are Marie Tota and Umir Tiar, who live in Ontario and Québec respectively. The Global Sumud Flotilla has been in contact with their families, but aside from a general comment from the Israeli Foreign Minister that the kidnapped persons will be sent back to Greece, we have no knowledge of the safety of these two Canadians or any of the flotilla members at large.

And again, while several other countries have decried Israel’s kidnapping of their citizens and attempted to extend consular support, these families have heard nothing from the Canadian government. They remain in the dark, deeply concerned for their well-being, not knowing what Israel will do to them, seemingly abandoned by the Carney Liberals to Israel’s predations.

I reached out to Global Affairs Canada’s media relations office to ask whether they’re aware of the kidnapping, have taken any action to secure the release of these two Canadians, and whether they will impose any consequences, but they did not respond to my request for comment in time for publication, and Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand has not made any public statement on the matter.

And considering the precedent of past situations in which Canadians have been kidnapped by Israel, or worse, murdered by Israel, I trust that Minister Anand will do nothing. She will allow Israel to continue violating Canadians, and the Carney Liberals will continue selling Israel the weapons they use to do it.

If Canadians want to change the Carney Liberals behaviour, they’ll need to impose more severe consequences. But as it stands, with their current majority, I wouldn’t expect them to stop any time soon.