17 July 2025
Free Palestine Melbourne is deeply concerned by the Australian government’s silence regarding the Freedom Flotilla vessel Handala, carrying desperately needed humanitarian supplies to the besieged, brutalised people of the Gaza Strip.
Among the peace activists aboard is Melbourne man Robert Martin, a father and grandfather from Clyde North who has been active in the Palestine solidarity movement for more than a decade. Mr. Martin joined the mission to stand with Palestinians and call for an end to the siege that has suffocated life in Gaza for nearly twenty years.
The voyage of the Handala marks the third attempt by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition this year to break the blockade. On 2 May, the Conscience was attacked and set ablaze by an Israeli drone off the coast of Malta. On 9 June, the Madleen, carrying climate activist Greta Thunberg, was struck by Israeli drones in international waters and later boarded by Israeli forces.
Israel’s record of violence against humanitarian missions is appalling. In 2010, ten activists aboard the Freedom Flotilla’s Mavi Marmara were killed by Israeli soldiers. Last year, Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom and six of her World Central Kitchen colleagues were killed by Israeli airstrikes while delivering food to starving civilians in Gaza.
We are deeply concerned for the safety of Robert Martin and the other activists aboard the Handala. These individuals pose no threat. They are on a peaceful mission to deliver aid and hope to a population enduring unspeakable suffering.
Yet while the Israeli military openly threatens to intercept the Handala, the Australian government says nothing. This silence—along with its refusal to support an independent inquiry into the killing of Zomi Frankcom—emboldens Israeli forces and places Robert Martin at even greater risk.
Free Palestine Melbourne calls on the government to speak now, before it is too late. If Handala is attacked, if Robert Martin is detained or harmed, the response must be swift, public, and unequivocal.
This is not a case of a citizen caught in conflict. This is a civilian mission grounded in international law, confronting a blockade that violates it. Robert Martin’s decision to stand with the people of Gaza represents the very best of Australia, at a time when too many of its institutions are ignoring—if not enabling—the horror of genocide.That is why we give him our full support. And that is why we are calling on the Australian government to do the same.
We are not asking for favours. We are demanding the bare minimum: that our government protect its citizens and uphold the principles it claims to believe in.
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