The family and friends of Ammar from Eindhoven and Osman from Steenbergen, who were arrested by the Israeli army on Wednesday night, are very worried. Osmans daughter Selin and Ammars best friend Mohab are waiting for a message. “I hope with all my heart that everyone will be released as quickly as possible.”
Selin and her family have no direct contact with Osman. “So we have to wait until we hear something from the Dutch embassy in Israel or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” says Selin. “That waiting and being in ignorance is debilitating.”
She and her family had expected Osman to be arrested somewhere, because Israel has previously intercepted activists with relief supplies in international waters. “Yet we kept hope that the blockade would finally be broken once and the goods would actually arrive.”
Her father has been walking with demonstrations since the start of the Gaza War. At the end of July he started a noise protest on his own at the station of Bergen op Zoom. He thought that too little changed and therefore decided to go on the Gazavloot. “He was not afraid of the risks at all,” says Selin. “He always said,” Whatever happens to me, it won’t be as bad if what has happened to the Palestinians for decades. “
The Eindhoven Ammar also felt the duty to do more, says his best friend Mohab. “Of course he knew what risks were attached to it, but his sense of responsibility and humanity were stronger than his fears. I am very proud of what he does but at the same time very concerned.”
“We continue to push for release of the hostages.”
Shortly before the mission, the friends saw each other. “I see Ammar as my brother. I wanted to spend time with him because I didn’t know when he would return. We also had contact with him on the boat. He came across strong and confident about it, but was also worried because he did not know what was waiting for him.”
Mohab hopes that he will soon hear something from his best friend. “I hope with all my heart that everyone will be released as quickly as possible. The Dutch government and embassy must take action quickly to get that done. So far I have seen little action from their side and that is a bad sign.”
Selin and her family try to keep herself strong. “We try to keep pushing the government to speed up the release of the hostages,” she says. It reassures them that Osman is not alone. “There is a big community behind this mission and we have daily contact with them.”
‘In good health’ in prison
Marieke Stam, spokesperson for the activist fleet, says on Friday that the activists were all taken to the Kziot prison after an hour. Kzi’ot is Israel’s largest detention center in terms of surface area and is located in the Negev desert, near the border with Egypt.
Employees of the embassy in Israel visited the ten Dutch people who are stuck on Friday. They have “spoken, controlled their well -being and provided information about the process,” said the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
At Israel, the ministry says it is to insist that all Dutch people are treated properly. “We are also in contact with the Israeli authorities to ensure that this group of Dutch people can return to the Netherlands as quickly as possible.”
On Friday afternoon, Israel reported that four Italian activists who carry with the Flotilla have already been deported. According to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, work is also being done on deporting the other activists. The country emphasizes that all activists are safe and in good health.
