Vredesduif met olijftak in snavel.

Schepen naar Gaza onderschept

29-6-2015 De 4 schepen die met hulpgoederen onderweg waren om de Israëlische blokkade van Gaza te breken zijn vandaag door de Israëlische marine onderschept. Dit ondanks een klemmend pleidooi van de Israëlische vredebeweging Gush Shalom voor het doorlaten van de schepen en het openstellen van de haven van Gaza.

 

Persbericht Gush Shalom (28 juni 2015):

 

Former Knesset Member Uri Avnery, of Gush Shalom (The Israeli Peace Bloc), calls upon Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ya'alon to take a sober thought at the last moment and allow what had been called "The Swedish Flotilla" to reach the Port of Gaza. "Four small boats, loaded with medical equipment and solar panels to generate electricity, do not constitute the slightest threat to Israel's security. The arrival of the boats with their humanitarian cargo at Gaza would be a modest good will gesture by the State of Israel. Conversely, sending armed commandos to take over the boats at sea would be one more act of naked force which would further entrench Israel's image as an aggressive and violent Goliath - an image which is the main reason for the increasing acts of boycott against Israel all over the world ".

 

Avnery recalled that on at least four past occasions, the State of Israel allowed the arrival of humanitarian aid ships to Gaza. That was before the decision to adopt the policy of naked force, a policy which caused bloodshed in the disastrous Marmara Affair. For example, In November 2008, the government of Israel allowed two boats, which carried 44 activists from 17 countries, to dock at the port of Gaza. At that time, Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs published a statement reading "We will allow these publicity-seekers to get into Gaza, and thus deny success to their public relations provocation". The Israeli Navy was then instructed to track the boats but not interfere with their sailing and docking at Gaza - and that was all. "The text of the 2008 communique can still be found in the Foreign Ministry computers, and it can still be re-published today, word by word" suggested Avnery.

 

"Beyond the specific issue of this flotilla, it's high time to open the Port of Gaza and free the economy of the Gaza Strip from the strangulation which drives its residents to unemployment and terrible poverty, the breeding ground for extremism and hatred. It is well known that international parties are willing to mediate an agreement on international supervision of the Port of Gaza, and the Hamas leadership is willing to reach such an agreement" says Avnery.

 

 

Bericht van de Freedom Flotilla Coalition (29 juni 2015):

 

At 02:06AM today (Gaza time) the "Marianne" contacted Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) and informed us that three boats of the Israeli navy had surrounded her in international waters, while sailing approximately 100NM from Gaza coast. After that we lost contact with the "Marianne" and at 05:11AM (Gaza time) the IDF announced that they had "visited and searched" Marianne. They had captured the boat and detained all on board "in international waters" as they admitted themselves. The only positive content in the IDF announcement was that they still recognize that there is a naval blockade of Gaza, despite Netanyahu's government recent denial that one exists.

 

We have no reason to believe that Marianne's capture was "uneventful", because the last time the IDF said something like that, in 2012, the people on board the "Estelle" were badly tasered and beaten with clubs. Back in 2010, ten passengers of Mavi Marmara were murdered by the IDF during a similar operation in international waters.

29-6-2015