Antonella Pala, sister of Emanuela, the Sardinian journalist and collaborator of La7, has a clear and firm voice that breaks the silence. She was detained in Israel after the interception in international waters of the Global Sumud Flotilla, the civilian vessel headed for Gaza carrying humanitarian aid and international activists.
Since the evening of the Israeli Navy's boarding, Emanuela has been unable to communicate with her family. Contact has been interrupted by interference, blacked-out lines, and fragmentary news. Only updates received through her lawyers and the Italian Foreign Ministry have allowed her family to know that she is in Ketziot prison, in the desert, along with other activists.
When did you last hear from your sister Emanuela?
The last time I spoke to her was shortly before the attack. We could barely communicate: the line was bad, the messages were short. She texted me, telling me they were being arrested, that we needed to contact their lawyers and the Foreign Ministry. She'd left me some contact information, some directions. I tried to ask her how she was, and she immediately replied: "I'm fine, don't worry. We all know what we're getting into. They'll definitely arrest us. I'm here, I can't be on the phone."
And then?
He also told me via text that they'd done training, so they knew in theory what to expect. But exactly: in theory. Because knowing you could be arrested isn't the same as being on your knees, hands up, and having water cannons pointed at you. You can't really predict that.
When are these messages from?
The last one was at 8:30 PM on Wednesday evening, the day of the arrest. Then nothing. For hours, I thought they'd been arrested immediately, but I later learned they were jamming the lines: no internet, radio interference to isolate the boats from each other. It was then that I realized the blackout wasn't just a communications blackout, it was deliberate.
Since then, no direct news?
No, only information reported by lawyers, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They told me that initially they were all in good physical condition and that they hadn't signed the expulsion order, which is why they were arrested. Then they were transferred to a prison in the desert.
What's the latest information you have?
The latest news is much more serious: some of them were interrogated without their lawyers present. The lawyers waited outside for up to nine hours. This is unacceptable, a clear violation of the law. Of approximately 300 people, only a fraction were able to access legal assistance. I don't know if Emanuela was among them, but I know she was among the first to be captured. Her vessel, the "Big Blue," was the first to be boarded.
When did you last see your sister?
Shortly before departure. Emanuela was with us, in Sardinia. That's where she decided to leave and she told us clearly. The whole family was with her. Yes, there was fear; it would be inhuman to say otherwise. But we were and are proud. We embraced her choice from the very beginning. We gave her all the support we could, even helping her with her preparations.
How are you spending these hours?
I haven't actually slept since she left. But that's my thing. Emanuela, on the other hand, has always had clear ideas: she wanted to be there, she wanted to help, she wanted to tell the story.
What will he say to her when he can finally hug her again?
Just one thing. The simplest but truest: "I love you."
Do you have any complaints about the Italian government?
Indifference. Abandonment. Failure to protect its own citizens. They keep saying that humanitarian aid could have been delivered "in two hours," but for two and a half years they didn't. Reducing this mission to propaganda is simply shameful. The flotilla was made up of civilians. On her ship, Emanuela was with Brazilian, Malaysian, Swiss, and Swedish mothers. And what does our government do? It leaves her there, along with the other Italian activists, and allows Israel to kidnap—yes, for me, it's kidnapping—its citizens in international waters. It has done nothing to protect them.
Your sister wasn't just a passenger: she was there as a journalist. What really drives her?
Emanuela has always been driven by a profound calling: to bear witness. She went there to help her Palestinian colleagues, to raise her voice and say: we are with you. She wanted the world to know what was happening. And she did so as a professional, as a woman, as a human being. Calling her a terrorist, as an Israeli minister did, is petty. Seeing them on their knees at the port, humiliated, accused of links to Hamas, is barbaric. No one can believe it, much less justify it.
In the last few hours, statements have been circulating questioning the very existence of humanitarian aid on board. What's your response?
They're lying. 100%. The goods were there. They were collected by ordinary people, by Italian, Spanish, and Turkish citizens. They went to supermarkets and pharmacies and brought what they could. They weren't billion-dollar organizations. It was grassroots solidarity, the real kind. Emanuela showed us the videos: the supplies were there, even the medicine. The passengers didn't even touch anything that was intended for the Palestinian population. It was the Turks who helped them with food, precisely for this reason. Now they talk about sinking the boats with all their cargo, and then they pretend there was nothing there. It's an insult to intelligence. A disgrace.
