Fifteen years ago, Palestinian American human rights lawyer Huwaida Arraf was sailing with a flotilla carrying 10,000 tonnes of aid to Gaza when Israeli forces intercepted the ships, killing 10 activists.
It was not her first attempt to help civilians suffering under Israel's blockade of the Palestinian territory, which it tightened after Hamas seized control in 2007, nor would it be her last.
Since then, Ms Arraf has attempted to make that trip several times, each time with different difficulties. The most recent was aboard the Handala, which was intercepted by Israel on Sunday and all 21 people on board detained.
Israel said it was stopping the ship from “illegally entering the maritime zone of the coast of Gaza”, which is under a blockade by Israeli forces that is illegal under international law.
“To stop a small boat carrying baby formula and teddy bears for kids in Gaza, they sent their elite commando forces,” Ms Arraf said. “We couldn’t see in the dark but could see on the radar eight military warships.”
That is when Ms Arraf sent her now famous radio message statement to the Israeli army, demanding that they stand down as they had no authority to enforce a blockade over Gaza.
Men in Israeli military fatigues carrying weapons and cameras boarded the ship as the volunteers sat on the deck with life jackets on and their hands raised.
“They were filming themselves saying that we're safe, that they had doctors and giving us water. We rejected all of it and told them we're not taking anything from an entity that's deliberately starving children, and that our lives are not more valuable than theirs.”
Ms Arraf, who also has an Israeli passport, was not deported and remains in Israel. Six other US nationals who were aboard the Handala are being held in an Israeli prison along with two Spanish citizens, a Tunisian and a Norwegian. The rest of those aboard the Handala were either released or deported.
Lawyers for those detained issued a statement saying that their clients were being held in poor conditions in Israel's Givon prison in Ramlah – in unventilated cells infested with bed bugs, and with no time outdoors.
The National contacted the Israeli Prison Services for comment.
Ms Arraf's latest attempt to break the blockade on Gaza comes as the territory's population experiences famine after months of Israeli restrictions on the entry of food as part of its war against Hamas since October 2023.
Israeli tactics
Ms Arraf was part of the very first flotilla to attempt to break the Israeli blockade in 2008, under a coalition of rights and pro-Palestinian groups called the Free Gaza Movement.
A total of 44 people from 17 countries set sail for Gaza from Cyprus in two small fishing boats.
“We were not a threat. We had parliamentarians, journalists and all kinds of people. They would have to attack us to stop us – so people can see that Israel's policy has nothing to do with security but punishing the Palestinian people as a form of collective punishment, which is a war crime,” she said.
Although Israel threatened to stop the ships, and jammed their communications at sea, they did not intercept them.
But everything changed after the first Israel-Gaza war broke out in December that year, as Israel launch an aerial and ground assault it called Operation Cast Lead.
By the summer of 2009, activists had made three attempts to reach Gaza by sea and came under Israeli attack every time.
“At that point, we had a choice – either say that this isn't working any more and we stop or, we had to escalate. But we didn't want to give in to the notion that Israel is stronger than the rights we were seeking,” Ms Arraf said.
But things only became worse. In May 2010, a flotilla carrying 10,000 tonnes of aid and 700 people from 36 countries were subjected to lethal force by Israeli forces. Nine activists on the Turkish ship MV Mavi Marmara were killed when boarders opened fire, with a tenth dying after four years in a coma.
Ms Arraf laments how little has changed in terms of global silence and complicity with Israel's actions in Gaza.
“In what legal moral order do you allow a state under trial for genocide to control what aid is getting to the people it's exterminating?”
But she says she is determined to keep going.
“They want us to accept a world in which there are no human rights protections or respect of international law and where might is right. But this is a world no one should accept.”
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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TCL INFO
Teams:
Punjabi Legends Owners: Inzamam-ul-Haq and Intizar-ul-Haq; Key player: Misbah-ul-Haq
Pakhtoons Owners: Habib Khan and Tajuddin Khan; Key player: Shahid Afridi
Maratha Arabians Owners: Sohail Khan, Ali Tumbi, Parvez Khan; Key player: Virender Sehwag
Bangla Tigers Owners: Shirajuddin Alam, Yasin Choudhary, Neelesh Bhatnager, Anis and Rizwan Sajan; Key player: TBC
Colombo Lions Owners: Sri Lanka Cricket; Key player: TBC
Kerala Kings Owners: Hussain Adam Ali and Shafi Ul Mulk; Key player: Eoin Morgan
Venue Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Format 10 overs per side, matches last for 90 minutes
Timeline October 25: Around 120 players to be entered into a draft, to be held in Dubai; December 21: Matches start; December 24: Finals
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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What vitamins do we know are beneficial for living in the UAE
Vitamin D: Highly relevant in the UAE due to limited sun exposure; supports bone health, immunity and mood.
Vitamin B12: Important for nerve health and energy production, especially for vegetarians, vegans and individuals with absorption issues.
Iron: Useful only when deficiency or anaemia is confirmed; helps reduce fatigue and support immunity.
Omega-3 (EPA/DHA): Supports heart health and reduces inflammation, especially for those who consume little fish.
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The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
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%3Cp%3ECreated%20by%3A%20Darren%20Star%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Lily%20Collins%2C%20Philippine%20Leroy-Beaulieu%2C%20Ashley%20Park%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%202.75%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
The specs: 2018 Audi Q5/SQ5
Price, base: Dh183,900 / Dh249,000
Engine: 2.0L, turbocharged in-line four-cylinder / 3.0L, turbocharged V6
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic / Eight-speed automatic
Power: 252hp @ 5,000rpm / 354hp @ 5,400rpm
Torque: 370Nm @ 1,600rpm / 500Nm @ 1,370rpm
Fuel economy: combined 7.2L / 100km / 8.3L / 100km
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Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
Omar Yabroudi's factfile
Born: October 20, 1989, Sharjah
Education: Bachelor of Science and Football, Liverpool John Moores University
2010: Accrington Stanley FC, internship
2010-2012: Crystal Palace, performance analyst with U-18 academy
2012-2015: Barnet FC, first-team performance analyst/head of recruitment
2015-2017: Nottingham Forest, head of recruitment
2018-present: Crystal Palace, player recruitment manager
Silent Hill f
Publisher: Konami
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Rating: 4.5/5
Teaching in coronavirus times
A Cat, A Man, and Two Women
Junichiro Tamizaki
Translated by Paul McCarthy
Daunt Books
Race card
6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-3 Group 1 (PA) US$100,000 (Dirt) 2,000m
7.05pm: Meydan Classic Listed (TB) $175,000 (Turf) 1,600m
7.40pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 2,000m
8.15pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (D) 1,600m
8.50pm: Nad Al Sheba Trophy Group 2 (TB) $300,000 (T) 2,810m
9.25pm: Curlin Stakes Listed (TB) $175,000 (D) 2,000m
10pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 2,000m
10.35pm: Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 1,400m
The National selections
6.30pm: Shahm, 7.05pm: Well Of Wisdom, 7.40pm: Lucius Tiberius, 8.15pm: Captain Von Trapp, 8.50pm: Secret Advisor, 9.25pm: George Villiers, 10pm: American Graffiti, 10.35pm: On The Warpath
About Krews
Founder: Ahmed Al Qubaisi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Founded: January 2019
Number of employees: 10
Sector: Technology/Social media
Funding to date: Estimated $300,000 from Hub71 in-kind support
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Stage 2
1. Mathieu van der Poel (NED) Alpecin-Fenix 4:18:30
2. Tadej Pogacar (SLV) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:06
3. Primoz Roglic (SLV) Jumbo-Visma 0:00:06
4. Wilco Kelderman (NED) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:06
5. Julian Alaphilippe (FRA) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:00:08
Brief scores:
Toss: Nepal, chose to field
UAE 153-6: Shaiman (59), Usman (30); Regmi 2-23
Nepal 132-7: Jora 53 not out; Zahoor 2-17
Result: UAE won by 21 runs
Series: UAE lead 1-0
MATCH INFO
Wales 1 (Bale 45 3')
Croatia 1 (Vlasic 09')
The biog
Place of birth: Kalba
Family: Mother of eight children and has 10 grandchildren
Favourite traditional dish: Al Harees, a slow cooked porridge-like dish made from boiled cracked or coarsely ground wheat mixed with meat or chicken
Favourite book: My early life by Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, the Ruler of Sharjah
Favourite quote: By Sheikh Zayed, the UAE's Founding Father, “Those who have no past will have no present or future.”
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Final scores
18 under: Tyrrell Hatton (ENG)
- 14: Jason Scrivener (AUS)
-13: Rory McIlroy (NIR)
-12: Rafa Cabrera Bello (ESP)
-11: David Lipsky (USA), Marc Warren (SCO)
-10: Tommy Fleetwood (ENG), Chris Paisley (ENG), Matt Wallace (ENG), Fabrizio Zanotti (PAR)
Plan to boost public schools
A major shake-up of government-run schools was rolled out across the country in 2017. Known as the Emirati School Model, it placed more emphasis on maths and science while also adding practical skills to the curriculum.
It was accompanied by the promise of a Dh5 billion investment, over six years, to pay for state-of-the-art infrastructure improvements.
Aspects of the school model will be extended to international private schools, the education minister has previously suggested.
Recent developments have also included the introduction of moral education - which public and private schools both must teach - along with reform of the exams system and tougher teacher licensing requirements.
