They demand Prohens to intervene to guarantee the safety of the six Balearic activists of the Gaza Flotilla

PalmThe interception of the Sumud Global Flotilla in Greek waters continues to generate reactions in the Balearic Islands. The General Assembly of Marches of Mallorca per Palestina has called on the President of the Government, Marga Prohens, this Saturday to take steps to clarify what they consider an “act of illegal piracy” and to ensure the well-being of the six Balearic activists who were traveling on board the vessel bound for Gaza.

The pro-Palestinian organization, gathered this weekend in Sineu, has expressed its concern about the situation of the crew members after Israel intercepted the flotilla and transferred its members to Crete. Among them were about thirty Spanish citizens, six of whom were residents of the Islands.

According to their complaints, the priority now is to guarantee the physical integrity of the activists and to know in what conditions they are after the intervention of the Israeli navy. Therefore, they have also urged the Spanish Government delegate in the Balearic Islands, Alfonso Rodríguez, to make all necessary arrangements so that the members of the flotilla can continue their journey safely and that this action is publicly condemned.

To the institutional concern is also added the anguish of the families. Xisco Benítez, father of Ángel Benítez —one of the six Balearic activists intercepted— explains that on Wednesday they were supposed to have a family video call, but the conversation was abruptly cut off. “We were talking and he told us that they were dazzling them, that it was the military, and he had to hang up,” he recounts.

From that moment on, they went three days without any news. “You think the worst. You don’t know where they are or what is happening,” he assures. During this time, the family learned that their companion Thiago had also been arrested and that they had been transferred to a container ship, which he describes as “a floating prison”. According to his son’s later account, they were held together, stripped naked, and received blows and kicks. “They even dislocated his arm,” the father explains.

The first reassuring news came unexpectedly through a video posted on Instagram. “I saw my son raising his arm and I breathed a sigh of relief,” he says. Later, thanks to the Spanish consulate and the family lawyer, they were able to confirm that it was indeed him and that he was out of danger. This Friday, they were finally able to speak again.

Right now, according to Xisco Benítez, the activists are in a town in Crete, Greece, staying in shelters provided by local residents. “The local people are very much against what happened and have given us their support,” he states. He also assures that, according to his information, it was Greece that alerted Israel to the movement of the flotilla. Ángel Benítez, despite having lived in Mexico, was born in Mallorca.

Marches per Palestina considers that the episode is not an isolated incident, but rather another example of the tension surrounding any initiative of humanitarian support towards Gaza. Therefore, during the assembly held in Sineu, it was also agreed to convene as soon as possible a meeting with entities, platforms, and collectives from Mallorca linked to the defense of human rights, peace, and the denunciation of the Palestinian conflict.

The objective is to reinforce a joint response and maintain institutional pressure in the face of a situation that, they assure, cannot be left without a political or diplomatic response.

The organization insists that civil society cannot normalize these types of actions and argues that the protection of activists and the defense of human rights must be placed above any geopolitical positioning.