{"id":100898,"date":"2025-09-27T14:46:45","date_gmt":"2025-09-27T12:46:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/?p=100898"},"modified":"2025-09-28T13:51:55","modified_gmt":"2025-09-28T11:51:55","slug":"gaza-blockade-unlawful-genocidal-and-must-end-says-legal-expert-on-global-sumud-flotilla","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/gaza-blockade-unlawful-genocidal-and-must-end-says-legal-expert-on-global-sumud-flotilla\/","title":{"rendered":"Gaza Blockade \u2018Unlawful, Genocidal and Must End,\u2019 says Legal Expert on Global Sumud Flotilla"},"content":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za<\/a>
\n3-minute read
\n27 September 2025 | 11:30 CAT<\/p>\n

\"\"

\ud83d\udcf8 \u201cAll eyes on the flotilla, all eyes on Gaza.\u201d The Global Sumud Flotilla challenges Israel\u2019s unlawful blockade, demanding safe passage for humanitarian aid and an end to what legal experts call a genocidal siege.<\/p><\/div>\n

Calls for urgent international intervention are intensifying as legal experts warn that Israel\u2019s blockade of Gaza is both unlawful and genocidal. Speaking on\u00a0Radio Islam International<\/em><\/a>, South African Jewish Activist and Attorney, Jo Bluen, part of the Global Sumud Flotilla\u2019s legal support unit named after journalist Shireen Abu Akhle, said the siege \u201chas no legal basis under any framework of international law.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe blockade itself is unlawful and illegal under jus cogens<\/em> norms, under treaty law, under customary international law. That includes the law of the sea,\u201d Bluen stressed. \u201cEven if it were lawful, which it is not, the San Remo Manual makes it clear that once a blockade deprives people of food and medicine, humanitarian aid must be allowed through. Breaching the siege is not only legitimate, it is a legal duty.\u201d<\/p>\n

The flotilla, described as the largest civilian maritime mission yet to challenge the blockade, was subjected to drone strikes in Tunisian waters earlier this month, targeting aid ships flagged by Portugal and the UK. Bluen called these incidents \u201cterrorist violence\u201d aimed at incapacitating volunteers: \u201cIsrael is committing terrorist activity and then calling those who are simply delivering aid \u2018terrorists\u2019 is a key moment in the playbook.\u201d<\/p>\n

She welcomed the recent decision by Spain, Italy and Greece to deploy naval vessels for protection but criticised the delay. \u201cIt is absolutely a negligent abandonment of Palestine that this hasn\u2019t happened sooner. We laud the states, but it was ordinary people through general strikes and mass mobilisation who forced governments to act.\u201d<\/p>\n

Addressing the risks, Bluen praised activists\u2019 courage: \u201cTheir tenacity, their focus is remarkable. When we say \u2018all eyes on the flotilla,\u2019 they remind us: all eyes on Gaza, where drones wipe out entire residential buildings.\u201d<\/p>\n

The principle of Sumud (steadfastness), she explained, underpins the mission: \u201cIt\u2019s a daily act of defiance in the face of occupation like harvesting olives under threat or rebuilding homes knowing they may be bulldozed again. Like the waves, it keeps coming, always present.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bluen dismissed the two-state solution as a mechanism for further dispossession. \u201cWe need an end to genocide and the entire colonial structure. The Nakba is not over it is ongoing. Recognition alone is pathetic at best, dangerous at worst. We need sanctions, a halt to arms and coal trade, and an end to complicity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her message closed on a note of certainty: \u201cWe must know that we will see a free Palestine in our lifetime, from the river to the sea. In\u2019Sha\u2019Allah.\u201d<\/p>\n

Listen<\/strong> to the full interview on The Daily Round-Up<\/em><\/a> with Annisa Essack and Jo Bluen.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za 3-minute read 27 September 2025 | 11:30 CAT Calls for urgent international intervention are intensifying as legal experts warn that Israel\u2019s blockade of Gaza is both unlawful and genocidal. Speaking on\u00a0Radio Islam International, South African Jewish Activist and Attorney, Jo Bluen, part of the Global Sumud Flotilla\u2019s legal support unit named […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":100899,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[28,4995,4998,4997],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-100898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","category-south-africa","category-ummah","category-world"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Jo-Bluen.jpg?fit=201%2C251&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0QIf-qfo","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-24 11:52:19","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100898","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100898"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100898\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/100899"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}