“He said a submarine had surfaced and was circling the flotilla, and there was a blockade of various military vessels in the distance between them and the Gaza beach.”
Leason was comforted by the fact Israeli Defence Forces said they wouldn’t shoot at or sink vessels in the flotilla.
“It looks like they are boarding ships, taking people and then processing them on their battleships,” he said.
“The pattern seems to be that they put them in these detention centres. Some activists are choosing to get a fast-track deportation, while other activists have chosen to sit it out as a witness to the war crimes taking place.”
Leason said his son had chosen to stay on longer.
“He’s a young man with his own mind. He’s had a strong and rich Catholic formation within an anarchist community called the Catholic Worker,” he said.
“He’s been exposed to lots of different ideas... he has made up his own mind.”
Leason criticised the New Zealand Government’s stance on the conflict in Gaza.
“We have an administration that seems to be content to sit on its hands and is asleep at the wheel, while arguably the most obscene atrocities of our generation [happen],” he said.
Leason said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) was helping and doing a fine job “but they’re working within the parameters of the minister, which are very restrictive”.
In a statement, MFAT confirmed it was aware the Israeli Navy had begun to intercept the flotilla and officials based in the Turkish capital of Ankara had contacted Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs “on the provision of consular services to New Zealanders on board the flotilla, and our expectations in that regard, should that be requested by any of the participants”.
“The safety of New Zealanders is paramount,” the ministry said.
“We expect any New Zealanders in the flotilla to be treated in a manner consistent with international law and have communicated this directly to Israel several times.”
While MFAT wouldn’t comment on individual cases for privacy reasons, it said “practical consular advice” had been given to groups in touch with New Zealanders involved in the flotilla.
The Global Sumud Flotilla – about 45 vessels carrying activists and politicians, including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg – left Spain last month aiming to break Israel’s blockade of the Palestinian territory, where the United Nations says famine has set in.
“Around 8.30pm Gaza time [6.30am NZT], several vessels of the Global Sumud Flotilla, including the Alma, Sirius and Adara, were illegally intercepted and boarded by Israeli occupation forces in international waters,” the flotilla said.
– Additional reporting: AFP
David Williams is an Auckland-based Multimedia Journalist who joined the Herald in 2023. He covers breaking news and general topics.
