Students protesting Gaza-bound aid boat seizure detained on way to Israel Embassy, claims AISA

Delhi Police detained students protesting Israel's seizure of Gaza-bound aid boat on the way to the Israel Embassy, claimed the All India Students’ Association (AISA) on social media. Condemning the “brutal” detention of students, AISA demanded boycott and divestment from Israel, pointing towards ongoing Israel-Palestine war.

“AISA activists including JNUSU President, Nitish Kumar, AISA Jamia Secretary Saurabh along with several students and activists of Delhi have been violently detained by the Delhi Police on the way of the Embassy of Israel against the inhuman seige of Gaza and the illegal arrest of activists on board the Freedom Flotilla,” the student group said in a post on Instagram.

“AISA condemns the brutal detention of students and demands boycott and divestment from Israel and end the joint ventures, weapons deals and business exchange from the genocidal state of Israel by the Indian government!,” it added.

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Criticising the Indian government for supporting Israel prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in ‘Palestine genocide’, the president of Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) president said in a video, “As you knew that today a ship was going to Gaza for humanitarian aid, all the people present in it were kidnapped by the Israeli government and it is still not known where they are. And in protest against this, there was a protest call by AISA outside the Israeli Embassy today. Today the Delhi Police detained us even before we could reach the Israeli Embassy and now they are taking us in a bus to who knows where. All of you citizens are appealed to stand in this protest and raise your voice against the war and genocide that is going on against Palestine.”

Gaza-bound aid boat detained by Israel

A Gaza-bound aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg and other activists was detained and later brought to an Israeli port after Israeli forces stopped them. The activists had set out to protest Israel's military campaign in Gaza and its restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, which organised the voyage, said the activists were "kidnapped by Israeli forces" while trying to deliver aid. "The ship was unlawfully boarded, its unarmed civilian crew abducted and its life-saving cargo — including baby formula, food and medical supplies — confiscated," it said in a statement.

Adalah, the rights group, said in a statement, "the arrest of the unarmed activists, who operated in a civilian manner to provide humanitarian aid, amounts to a serious breach of international law."

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Israel's foreign ministry, on the other hand, called the voyage as a publicity stunt and informed that the activists would return to their home countries and the aid would be sent to Gaza through established channels.

Israel's military campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, women and children making the most of it, according to the Gaza health ministry. The Israel-Palestine conflict has destroyed vast areas of Gaza and displaced around 90 per cent of the population, leaving people almost completely dependent on international aid, with famine being feared.

With inputs from PTI