Aussie activists head home after Gaza flotilla ordeal
Some of the Australians aboard an activist flotilla to Gaza are due to return home after Israeli forces intercepted their ships and detained them for days.
Source: Global Sumud Flotilla
Australians detained by Israel after trying to sail a symbolic aid shipment to Gaza are about to arrive back at home.
Juliet Lamont, Hamish Paterson and Abubakir Rafiq will land in Sydney on Friday, while Bianca Webb-Pullman will touch down in Melbourne, after more than a month at sea with the Global Sumud Flotilla.
The group were among dozens detained in Israel – where some allege they were assaulted and threatened – and then deported to Jordan, after their ships were intercepted off the Gazan coast.
Julie Webb-Pullman has vowed to give her daughter Bianca a big hug, having only limited contact after the activist threw her phone overboard before Israeli naval forces boarded her vessel.
“On the one hand, she’s happy for herself to be free, but on the other hand, it’s a very limited happiness,” Webb-Pullman said on Thursday.
You might like
“She’s still got the same concerns she had when she left.
“She will certainly keep fighting until Palestine is free.”
After her daughter’s experience, Webb-Pullman has urged the Australian government to impose sanctions and cut ties with Israel until it complies with international law.
“It is absolutely shameful that these civilians have had to do what our government should have done,” she said
Stay informed, daily
The Maritime Union of Australia, of which fellow flotilla participant Paterson is a member, echoed these calls as it welcomed his return.
“Our attention must refocus on the ongoing atrocities occurring in Gaza and on a lasting peace and justice for the Palestinian people,” deputy national secretary Warren Smith said.
The historically progressive union has faced pressure from some members to follow their Italian counterparts, who implemented a nationwide strike on ports to stop the shipment of arms and supplies to Israel.
The federal government insists it has not exported weapons or military parts to Israel since October 2023, even though Australia is part of the global supply chain for F-35 fighter jets accessed by Israel.
Smith urged the government to end any trade in arms bound for Israel.
“If wharfies knew they were handling arms bound for Israel … they wouldn’t touch them,” he said.
Israel and designated terror group Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire and hostage deal as part of US President Donald Trump’s plan to end violence in Gaza.
-with AAP
