A Tasmanian humanitarian activist has returned home following her detention by Israeli forces after attempting to bring aid to Gaza through a naval blockade.
Madeleine Habib arrived at Hobart Airport today to a warm welcome from supporters after being detained aboard the passenger ship Conscience last week.
“Our course was not even towards Gaza, we were heading towards Port Said in Egypt and they illegally boarded us,” Habib said upon her arrival.
The vessel was part of the Freedom Flotilla, consisting of nine boats attempting to transport doctors, journalists and humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Habib described the interception as an act of piracy and claimed Israeli forces boarded the ship while it was in international waters.
“They came by helicopter, three helicopters. People descending onboard the ship, heavily armed, pointing huge weapons at us with the laser sights. They came into the bridge, they aggressively took over the ship,” she told Seven.
“Thoughts were in my mind, but we’re trained non violent direct action activists and everybody behaved in a really calm, rational, coordinated manner.”
“We suffered various degradations and humiliations, which I don’t really want to talk about because the story is not about us.”
“I love my Tasmanian community, there are a lot of people who support direct activism.”
It marked the second time Habib has been detained in Israel, following a similar incident in 2016 when she captained the women’s boat to Gaza.
Tasmanian Greens Leader Rosalie Woodruff was among those greeting Habib at the airport.
Woodruff criticised the Australian Government’s response to the situation, claiming it “took no actions to push for her release” and remains “complicit in the genocide Israel is still enacting.”
