• 'For hours now we've been preparing for interception,’ Tadhg Hickey tells Anadolu
• Why world should 'allow Israel, the country currently committing genocide in Palestine, to kidnap us in international waters and do what they want with us,' questions Hickey

ISTANBUL

Irish comedian Tadhg Hickey, aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla, said on Wednesday that they were “well drilled” for Israeli interception and expecting it imminently.

“For hours now, we've been preparing for interception. The vibe and the intelligence were that interception was imminent, so much so that the Alma boat last night appeared to be accompanied by a military vessel,” Hickey told Anadolu.

He said that the people on board the Global Sumud Flotilla, attempting to deliver humanitarian aid and break the blockade of Gaza, speculated that the military vessel could have been a submarine doing reconnaissance and trying to intimidate them.

“It means a lot just on a human level when you're in a perilous situation like this because let's be honest, we're confident, we're well-trained, we're well-drilled, but we are likely about to confront the most unpredictable psychopathic army of the modern age. So no matter how prepared we are, there's obviously a level of unpredictability there," Hickey said.

Stating that they were in international waters and in the jurisdiction of international maritime law, Hickey expressed his frustration as to why the world should “allow Israel, the country currently committing genocide in Palestine, to kidnap us in international waters or Palestinian waters and do what they want with us,” pointing out that there have been threats in Israeli media of “mass casualties.”

“Why do they enjoy this level of impunity? I don't know; it leaves me personally bewildered that at this stage in the game, when every human rights organization across the board, the UN, and everyone who has a brain and a soul acknowledge that what's going on in Gaza right now is an extermination, a genocide, and a man-made starvation,” he said.  

Mission of Global Sumud Flotilla

Hickey said the flotilla represented a collective of humanity standing up to do the right thing, also stressing that they will be “absolutely non-violent” in their actions.

“I feel so sure that we are on the right and that our cause is just, is moral, and is the bare minimum of showing solidarity with the most besieged population on earth right now,” he said.

The Irish comedian expressed that all of the people aboard the flotilla want to deliver vital humanitarian aid, and if that constitutes a crime, then it’s “up to the international community whether they're going to allow us to be murdered.”

Whatever happens as the flotilla approaches Gaza, said Hickey, they will be back, and “this is just the beginning.”

“I think Israel has a massive problem on its hands, irrespective of what actions it chooses to take tonight—blockade, interception, mass violence, mass murder, whatever decision it makes. I think it has lost the argument, and I think the global movement is so strong now,” he said.