http://www.pr-inside.com/activists-israeli-navy-blocks-gaza-protest-r1009271.htm
Activists: Israeli navy blocks Gaza protest boat ? AP 2009-01-15 18:09:01 - NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) - Israeli warships forced a boat trying to deliver food and medical supplies to Gaza to return to Cyprus early Thursday. Free Gaza group spokeswoman Mary Hughes-Thompson said Israeli naval vessels surrounded the 66-foot (20-meter) Greek-flagged boat off southern Lebanon and threatened to open fire if it did not turn back. The Israeli military said navy ships warned the boat to turn back because it was entering a war zone subject to a naval blockade. The ship turned back without incident, the military said. Hughes-Thompson said the boat, carrying 5 tons of supplies and 21 passengers, including three surgeons, was expected to arrive at Larnaca port in Cyprus by Thursday evening. It was the second failed bid by the U.S.-based group to try to reach Gaza since Israel launched its assault on the Palestinian territory late last month in response to rocket fire on Israel. One of the trip's organizers, Vangelis Pisias, said the Israeli navy had threatened to open fire on the Greek-flagged boat Spirit of Humanity, which was carrying the activists. ?They told us that it was forbidden to go to our destination. We replied that we were carrying humanitarian supplies and continued on our course,? Pisias told Greece's private Antenna television. ?About half an hour later, they returned with a threat, telling us they were obliged to stop the boat with all means possible ... They said if we did not stop they would shoot. In a statement, Free Gaza said the incident occurred in international waters and described the incident as ?shocking. ?At roughly 1:00 a.m. GMT, in international waters 100 miles off the coast of Gaza, at least five Israeli gunboats surrounded the Spirit of Humanity and began recklessly cutting in front of the slow-moving civilian craft,? the statement said. ?The Israeli warships radioed the Spirit, demanding that the ship turn around or they would open fire and shoot In Athens, the Greek Foreign Ministry said it had sent a strong protest to the Israeli Foreign Ministry that ?emphasized and asked for the Israeli authorities to pay particular attention to the protection of the lives and security of those on board the boat. It said protests had also been sent the previous day to the Israeli foreign and defense ministries. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reference to original posting below: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- Original Message ----- From: DDN Sent: Monday, January 12, 2009 8:22 PM Subject: Free GAZA to ISRAEL: "We Are Coming In On Tuseday" http://www.freegaza.org/en/home/666-free-gaza-to-israel-qwe-are-coming-in-on-tuesdayq FREE GAZA TO ISRAEL: "WE ARE COMING IN ON TUESDAY" Sunday, 11 January 2009 14:15 Written by Free Gaza Movement FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For More Information, Please Contact: (Cyprus) Huwaida Arraf, or [email protected] This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (Gaza) Ewa Jasiewicz, [email protected] This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (Egypt) Caoimhe Butterly, [email protected] This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (U.S.) Ramzi Kysia, [email protected] This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (Cyprus, 11 January 2009) - The Free Gaza Movement ship, "SPIRIT OF HUMANITY," will leave Larnaca Port at 12:00 noon, Monday, 12 January, on an emergency mission to besieged Gaza. The ship will carry desperately needed doctors, journalists, human rights workers, and members of several European parliaments as well as medical supplies. This voyage marks Free Gaza's second attempt to break through the blockade since Israel began attacking the Gaza Strip on 27 December. Between August and December 2008, the Free Gaza Movement successfully challenged the Israeli blockade five times, landing the first international ships in the port of Gaza since 1967. The Israeli military violently attacked an earlier attempt by the Free Gaza Movement to send an emergency boat filled with doctors and medical supplies to Gaza. In the early hours of Tuesday, 30 December, the Israeli navy deliberately, repeatedly, and without warning rammed the unarmed ship, the DIGNITY, causing significant structural damage and endangering the lives of its passengers and crew. The ship found safe harbor in Lebanon, and is currently awaiting repairs. Fouad Ahidar, a member of the Belgian Parliament sailing to Gaza aboard the SPIRIT OF HUMANITY, responded to concerns that Israel may attack the unarmed mercy ship by saying, "I have five children that are very worried about me, but I told them, you can sit on your couch and watch these atrocities on the television, or you can choose to take action to make them stop." Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip have injured thousands of civilians and killed over 800 people, including scores of women and children. This ongoing Israeli massacre severely and massively violates international humanitarian law defined by the Geneva Conventions, especially the obligations of an Occupying Power and the requirements of the laws of war. The United Nations has failed to protect the Palestinian civilian population from Israel's massive violations of international humanitarian law. Israel has closed off Gaza from the international community and demanded that all foreigners leave. But Huwaida Arraf, an organizer with the Free Gaza Movements, stated that, "We cannot just sit by and wait for Israel to decide to stop the killing and open the borders for relief workers to pick up the pieces. We are coming in. There is an urgent need for this mission as Palestinian civilians in Gaza are being terrorized and slaughtered by Israel, and access to humanitarian relief denied to them. When states and the international bodies responsible for taking action to stop such atrocities chose to be impotent, then we--the citizens of the world--must act. Our common humanity demands nothing less." Israel has been notified that we are coming. A copy of the notification to the Israeli Authorities is attached. The media is invited to the Larnaca Port at 10:00 am to for final preparations and a press conference before departure. ### WHAT YOU CAN DO Take Action! CALL the Israeli Government and let them know that the SPIRIT OF HUMANITY is coming to Gaza. DEMAND that Israel immediately STOP slaughtering civilians in Gaza and STOP using violence to prevent human rights and humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people. CALL Mark Regev in the Prime Minister's office: [email protected] This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Shlomo Dror in the Ministry of Defence: [email protected] This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Major Liebovitz from the Israeli Navy: ________________________________ Official Notification of Intent to Enter January 11, 2009 To: The Israeli Ministry of Defense, Fax: 972-3-697-6717 To: The Israeli Navy To: The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Fax 972-2-5303367 From: The Free Gaza Movement This letter serves as a formal notification to you as the Occupying Power and belligerent force in the Gaza Strip that on Monday, January 12 we are navigating the motor vessel, Spirit of Humanity, from the Port of Larnaca to the port of Gaza City. Our vessel will be flying the Greek flag, and, as such, falls under the jurisdiction Greece. We will be sailing from Cypriot waters into international waters, then directly into the territorial waters of the Gaza Strip without entering or nearing Israeli territorial waters. We expect to arrive at the Gaza Port on Tuesday, January 13, 2009. We will be carrying urgently needed medical supplies in sealed boxes, cleared by customs at the Larnaca International Airport and the Port of Larnaca. There will be a total of 30 passengers and crew on board, among them members of various European Parliaments and several physicians. Our boat and cargo will also have received security clearance from the Port Authorities in Cyprus before we depart. As it will be confirmed that neither we, the cargo, any of the boat's contents, nor the boat itself constitute any threat to the security of Israel or its armed forces, we do not expect any interference with our voyage by Israel's authorities. On Tuesday, December 30, an Israeli Navy vessel violently, and without warning, attacked our motor vessel Dignity, disabling the vessel and endangering the lives of the 16 civilians on board. This notice serves as clear notification to you of our approach. Any attack on the motor vessel, Spirit of Humanity, will be premeditated and any harm inflicted on the 30 civilians on board will be considered the result of a deliberate attack on unarmed civilians. The Steering Committee of the Free Gaza Movement Contact: Huwaida Arraf, Free Gaza Movement, 357 96 723 999 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
