Israel holding Metro Detroit attorney after boat heading to aid Gaza was seized

Israel holding Michigan attorney after seizing boat headed to Gaza

A Metro Detroit attorney is being held by Israeli forces after a Gaza-bound aid ship was seized. The attorney was on board a vessel called the Conscience, part of an international flotilla carrying supplies to Gaza.

MELVINDALE, Mich. (FOX 2) - An attorney from Michigan was detained by Israel after trying to help people in Gaza.

Big picture view:

A Metro Detroit attorney is being held by Israeli forces after a Gaza-bound aid ship was seized. The attorney was on board a vessel called the Conscience, part of an international flotilla carrying supplies to Gaza.

The attorney’s name is Huwaida Arraf—she’s a mother, a Palestinian, and she was part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition aimed at ending the blockade on Gaza when her ship was seized.

It’s believed about 90 people were on board her ship.

A video popped up on social media of the crew saying if you see the post, we have been captured. According to Huwaida’s husband, Israeli forces took the people on board to a port and interrogated some of the crew.

He says this is actually the second time she’s been on a flotilla that’s been seized. 

"It’s something that’s part of who she is and her work, and she honestly couldn’t live with herself if she wasn’t trying to do something about this genocide happening to her people. We as her family support that and support her. It’s a challenge, of course, especially with two kids at home. But they support what she’s doing for the children of Gaza," said Adam Shapiro.

What's next:

The flotilla group is demanding everyone’s release and the return of the ship.

Activists call it an illegal abduction; Israel calls it security. It really depends on where exactly in the waters it was captured.