AUSTIN (KXAN) — Nearly 100 organizations and public figures in Central Texas signed onto a letter asking Israel to ensure the safe passage of a 50-ship aid convoy that’s headed to Palestine, according to a Tuesday press release from the Austin for Palestine Coalition.
Austinite Greg Stoker, a former U.S. Army Ranger, is aboard the “Global Sumud Flotilla,” which launched Aug. 31. He’s joined in the flotilla by six other veterans.
According to the letter, the Israeli Navy was expected to intercept the fleet sometime this week. Stoker’s verified account on X had new posts as of Tuesday morning.
“Greg is an Austinite and a veteran. He should have the full protection of international law as he works to bring lifesaving aid to families in desperate need,” said Zainab Haider, an organizer with the Austin for Palestine Coalition.”
Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, is one of Texas’ leaders who signed the letter. In a social media post, Doggett said that threats made by “extremist [Itamar] Ben-Gvir,” Israel’s minister of national security, “must be rejected.”
“… the Global Sumud Flotilla should be granted safe passage to deliver critical aid to those starving in Gaza,” Doggett wrote. “Let’s continue to speak out to stop the killing, help those suffering, and demand compliance with international law.”
Austin for Palestine’s letter was also signed by Austin City Councilmembers Vanessa Fuentes, Mike Siegel and Zohaib “Zo” Qadri. Local organizations who signed on include Hands Off-Central Texas, Austin Justice Coalition, Texas Roller Derby, and National Nurses United Texas.
According to reporting from The Jerusalem Post, Ben-Gvir called for the aid ships’ crews to be designated as terrorists and held in the country’s Ketziot and Damon prisons. Human rights group Amnesty International criticized the conditions at those prisons as “degrading,” and said that Israeli officials have “failed to investigate incidents of torture and death.”
“We must create a clear deterrent. Anyone who chooses to collaborate with Hamas and support terrorism will meet a firm and unyielding response from Israel,” Ben-Gvir said, according to The Jerusalem Post.
Stoker shot back at Ben-Gvir in an Aug. 31 post.
“This would mean kidnapping US veterans on a humanitarian mission, enshrined in international law, and placing them in a terror dungeon,” he wrote. “I would remind the minister that he’s the only person in this conversation who was convicted of terrorism.”
Israeli courts have previously convicted Ben-Gvir on charges of racist incitement and for supporting groups that Israel and the US have designated as terrorist organizations, according to Reuters.
However, while Ben-Gvir argues the flotilla is a breach of Israeli sovereignty, the coalition claims that international law mandates the flotilla’s safe passage.
“Any obstruction as such would breach the international laws that guarantee the right to deliver humanitarian aid, obligating State and individual liability under the Rome Statute, the Geneva Conventions, and the Genocide Convention,” the letter states. “Specifically, the Fourth Geneva Convention (Articles 23,55, and 56) impose an obligation to permit the free passage of humanitarian aid and prohibit interference with relief operations.”
Tens of thousands of Palestinians have died during the Gaza war, which began with an offensive by Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups on Oct. 7, 2023. Just over 2,000 Israelis have died during the conflict.
According to a United Nations inquiry, Israel has met four of five criteria used to determine if a genocide has occurred. Meeting just one is sufficient for a genocide declaration, the UN said.
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