Flotilla: Spain summons Israeli chargé d’affaires in Madrid

Milan, 2 October (LaPresse) – Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares summoned Israel’s chargé d’affaires in Madrid, Dana Erlich, this morning following the arrests of activists from the Global Sumud Flotilla, according to local media reports. Albares himself, interviewed by Tve, said that the purpose of the summons was to inform the Israeli diplomat that the Spanish citizens on board the flotilla are ‘peaceful and supportive Spanish citizens, whose objective was solely and exclusively humanitarian, who did not and do not represent any threat to Israel or anyone else, and who were exercising a fundamental right under international law’ and who have ‘all the diplomatic and consular protection’ of the ministry. “These citizens must be free to move and return immediately to Spain. And of course I will not accept any completely unfair and unfounded accusations against them,‘ said the minister, stressing that the Global Sumud Flotilla was exercising a ’right of innocent passage in international waters‘ and that it did not constitute ’any threat to anyone‘ nor ’had any intention of carrying out any kind of illegal action, so it should not be accused of anything”.