It’s been a few days since two drones attacked a civilian ship just outside Maltese territorial waters but within Malta’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), Flight Information Region (FIR) and Search and Rescue (SAR) area – zones where Malta has clear responsibilities. Absolutely no response from the Maltese authorities on the diplomatic front.

In normal circumstances, in normal democratic countries, in such event the local government would condemn the drone attack on an aid ship without having to know who the perpetrators are.

If this vessel really had any suspicious cargo on board, the way for any democratic country to act, including Israel, would not be to bomb it but to ask a nearby coastal state to board and inspect it; or to send a vessel from Israel with a vessel inspection team. It should then agree with the flag state, Palau, to give clearance to board it; and not to deflag it prior to bombing it.

Maritime law allows for such inspections on the high seas if there is credible suspicion of illicit cargo on board, if there is agreement with the flag state.

The Maltese government, by not opening its mouth to condemn such illegal bombing, is indeed making itself complicit with these actions.

As one of the top maritime states in the world, we should have been very fast to condemn how this situation was handled. The bombing violated international law, as well as various aviation and maritime security laws; it has endangered our own national security and has put lives of civilians on board in danger. All this without due process and a sound legal basis.

Israel should know very well how to handle such situations. If the vessel had suspect cargo on board there is a precise procedure to follow: to board, to inspect and to verify. And if illicit cargo is found, to take action accordingly, always, however, within the law.

Simply bombing is not the solution and it is illegal even if illicit cargo were too be found on board. Yet, the Maltese government, at least until the time of writing, has not uttered a word of protest about all this.

The note verbale by the Israeli government to the Maltese government the day before the Thursday/Friday night explosions certainly had the desired chilling effect.

As for the attack, there are strong pointers as to how this was planned and by whom. Prior to this attack, the mother flag Palau were clearly made aware of the planned attack (by Israel?) since they deflagged the vessel just one day before the drones exploded. The same has happened in previous similar attacks against allegedly Houthi-operated vessels near Yemen: Palau was pre-advised of these attacks and had also deflagged those vessels just before the attacks. So there is a pattern.

This drone attack has clearly highlighted serious flaws in Malta’s defence system. First of all, we know that an Israeli Hercules airplane was in our airspace for a number of hours before the drone attack. According to X account entitled Suppressed News: “According to Israel’s Channel 12, Israel carried out the attack.”

The Maltese government stated that the vessel and its crew were rescued in the early hours of the morning after a nearby tug assisted with firefighting operations.

Our defence and security systems are very vulnerable- Arnold Cassola

An Israeli Air Force C-130 Hercules was picked up leaving Israel early on Thursday afternoon and flying to Malta, according to flight-tracking website ADS-B Exchange.

“The Hercules did not land at Malta International Airport, the data shows, but the cargo aircraft did fly at a relatively low altitude – below 5,000 feet – over eastern Malta for an extended period of time. The Hercules flew over several hours before the Freedom Flotilla Coalition says their vessel came under attack. The plane returned to Israel about seven hours later, flight-tracking data shows.”

The presence of this Israeli Hercules hovering over our country for hours on Thursday afternoon of last week should have raised an immediate alarm by Malta Air Traffic Services. Instead, it was business as usual.

Second question: Where did the drones come from? These drones operate at low altitude and would not be detected unless Malta had an appropriate radar. It seems that Malta does not have one. Moreover, the drones used were small and, therefore, due to their size, their range is limited. So, they must have been deployed not far from Hurd’s Bank. From where?

Is it possible that the drones were brought to Malta the day before the attack? Did the Hercules actually oversee the delivery of the drones and personnel close to Malta, or in Malta, eight hours before the attack?

Do we have here another repeat of an illegal Israeli operation on our territory/airspace, as had happened in 1999 with the Fathi Shaqaqi assassination?

Whatever the answer, what is sure is that, following this drone attack and the drug heist in Safi, we Maltese can be sure that our defence and security systems are very vulnerable… and subject to the easiest of penetration.

Something fast must be done to remedy the situation.

Arnold Cassola is chairperson of Momentum.