A Tunisian activist selected by Israel after the interception of the Handala ship arouses the indignation of civil society. Refusing repatriation, Hatem Laâouini becomes the symbol of a solidarity resistance towards Gaza.
The Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights (FTDES) called on Sunday July 27, 2025 Tunisian authorities to “immediate and serious intervention” to guarantee the security of the Tunisian citizen Hatem Laâouini, arrested by Israeli forces after the Arradation of the Handala ship.
21 civil activists removed
This boat carried 21 civilian, political and union activists from various countries, as part of a humanitarian mission aimed at breaking the blockade of Gaza. He was intercepted by the Israeli army, which proceeded to the removal of all the passengers.
According to Wael Naouar, representative of the coordination of the common action for Palestine, Laâouini categorically refused to sign an order of “voluntary repatriation” or the minutes accusing him of illegal crossing of the Israeli borders. He could, with other activists, be presented to a court before expulsion.
National mobilization
The FTDES condemned a “new crime of the Zionist entity” and held the Israeli occupier for entirely responsible for the physical integrity of detained activists. The forum also praised Laâouini’s commitment, qualifying its action as an example of civil resistance in the face of war crimes perpetrated in Gaza.
At the same time, Wael Naouar called for a national mobilization, encouraging Tunisian citizens to join the sit-in started on Saturday evening in front of the United States Embassy in Tunis. The claims include the release of detainees, the rupture of diplomatic and security relations with the United States, as well as the immediate end of the war in Gaza.
Break the blockade of Gaza
The Handala ship is part of a long series of international initiatives aimed at breaking the blockade imposed by Israel on the Gaza Strip. These missions, often peaceful and humanitarian, regularly collide with military interventions, considered by their initiators as acts of piracy.
The participation of Hatem Laâouini, Tunisian activist engaged in the Palestinian cause, has rekindled national attention to the situation in Gaza and on possible forms of solidarity.
