STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Chris Smalls, the founding organizer and former president of Staten Island’s Amazon Labor Union, was reportedly aboard a ship associated with the Flotilla Freedom Coalition that was attempting to reach the Gaza Strip when the vessel was intercepted by the Israeli Defense Force.
Smalls had previously posted to Instagram that the ship, the Handala, was setting sail from Sicily last week in an attempt to bring donations of “music, food, artwork and energy” to Palestinian refugees.
The Flotilla Freedom Coalition claimed that Israeli troops intercepted and boarded the boat in international waters, while video footage purportedly showed the activists with their hands up as several armed soldiers took control of the ship, according to a report published by the BBC.
The Israeli foreign ministry told the outlet that the country’s navy stopped the boat “from illegally entering the maritime zone off the coast of Gaza” and breaking the blockade there. “The ship is safely making its way to the shores of Israel” and that “all passengers are safe,” according to the foreign ministry.
This would be the second ship operated by the organization that Israel has intercepted in recent months as it attempted to deliver aid to Gaza. Swedish activist Greta Thunberg was among 12 activists aboard a ship seized last month.
Israel has maintained a land, sea and air blockade of the Gaza Strip, restricting the movement of goods and people in and out of the area since 2007, when Hamas took control of the territory.
In a statement, Flotilla Freedom Coalition went on to allege that the 21 civilian activists aboard the Handala had been “kidnapped” by Israeli soldiers, and that Smalls — the only Black member of the flotilla — was not only detained, but physically beaten by the IDF.
“When he reached the Israeli prison, U.S. human rights defender Chris Smalls was physically assaulted by seven uniformed individuals,” the group claimed in a post to X on Tuesday.
“They choked him and kicked him in the legs, leaving visible signs of violence on his neck and back,” the group alleged. “When his lawyer met with him, Chris was surrounded by six members of Israel’s special police unit. This level of force was not used against other abducted activists.”
Meanwhile, Jacob Berger, of pro-Palestinian aid group Rammun Foundation, posted on Tuesday that those from the flotilla had been released from Israeli custody, including Smalls, who he claimed, “is in good spirits.”
Amazon Labor Union-IBT Local 1 took to Instagram Tuesday night in a post that states in part:
“We demand the immediate and unconditional release of all detained activists aboard the flotilla, an end to targeted racist treatment, and we call on the broader labor movement to take a stance for Palestinian liberation.”
The Advance/SILive.com has been unable to directly contact either Smalls or his attorney for comment.
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