Israel maintains it will do whatever it can to prevent the flotilla reaching Gaza

[Horn]

Activists joining a flotilla of ships headed to Gaza on an aid mission say one of their ships has been sabotaged (http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/06/2011628101331334709.html) while docked in Greece. The propeller on the vessel Juliano was severely tampered with, which could take the ship out of commission ahead of the flotilla's departure sometime later this week. The 10-ship fleet, carrying about 350 activists, intends to sail through an Israeli blockade of the Palestinian territory to deliver aid packages, but the Israeli government has warned it will intercept any ships attempting to do so. Last year, nine Turkish activists were killed by Israeli soldiers after their Gaza-bound ship refused to turn back.

http://www.themarknews.com/articles/5823-activists-say-gaza-flotilla-ship-sabotaged

Not to mention, anyone doing coverage of this event will never be allowed in Israel again.

[Horn]

Gaza flotilla ship 'sabotaged by divers'

A Swedish ship due to join an upcoming Gaza-bound aid flotilla has been sabotaged in the Greek port of Piraeus, organisers say.
In a statement, they said "hostile divers had destroyed the propeller house and cut the propeller shaft" of the vessel Juliano on Monday.
The ship is part of the 10-vessel Freedom Flotilla II that is expected to set sail from Greece and elsewhere for the Gaza Strip in the coming days in a bid to break Israel's blockade of the Palestinian territory.
About 350 pro-Palestinian activists from 22 countries are likely to participate.
Israel insists the latest flotilla is a "dangerous provocation" and has vowed to intercept it.

Determined organisers
Organisers of the flotilla, however, remain defiant and said the Juliano would be ready to sail within one or two days after being repaired. They said they had documented the sabotage with their own camera-equipped divers.
"We are sad that people are doing such things but we are determined to continue to Gaza," Dror Feiler, one of the organisers, told Al Jazeera from aboard the Juliano.
"We will not be frightened by Israel, and we are going to continue. Our friends from all around the world are with us, and we are all going to Gaza."
Mattias Gardell, a spokesperson for Ship to Gaza Sweden, also condemned the act of sabotage.
"It's one thing for a foreign power to press the Greek government to delay our voyage with red tape. It is quite another thing for enemy agents to operate on Greek territory.
"It is high time for the international community to put their foot down and say: Enough!"

Israeli allegation
Israeli newspaper Haaretz quoted seniorIsraeli officials (http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-s-defense-ministry-proposes-confiscating-boats-that-breach-gaza-blockade-1.370007) as saying that "radical elements" among the flotilla activists had stated an intention to "spill the blood of Israeli soldiers".
According to Tel Aviv daily Yedioth Aharonoth, military sources said participants of the flotilla were planning to pour chemicals, such as sulfur, on Israeli soldiers.
But according to activist Feiler, the goal of the flotilla is to "come in peace" to Gaza.

"We are shocked by the Israeli actions, and their propaganda that we have weapons and acid and are going to attack Israeli soldiers, when we are all dedicated to peace," Feiler said. "We will not throw objects or attack them in any way."

The flotilla comes a year after another aid shipment was intercepted by Israeli commandos. At least nine activists were killed when commandos stormed Mavi Marmara, the Turkish-owned lead aid ship.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/06/2011628101331334709.html

[gunDriller]

http://www.themarknews.com/articles/5823-activists-say-gaza-flotilla-ship-sabotaged

Not to mention, anyone doing coverage of this event will never be allowed in Israel again.

that's supposed to be a penalty ?

[EE_]

I hope the boats are equipped with water cannons filled with pure sulfuric acid and to stop any threat by the Israeli commandos to show they are dedicated to peace

[Horn]

U.S. Lawmakers Say Americans in Gaza Flotilla May Be Prosecuted


Two members of Congress said U.S. citizens who join a flotilla planning to break Israel’s embargo of the Gaza Strip (http://topics.bloomberg.com/gaza-strip/) should face prosecution.
“Israel’s blockade of terrorist territory is absolutely legal,” Congressman Gary Ackerman said during a visit to Jerusalem (http://topics.bloomberg.com/jerusalem/) today with a fellow Democratic representative from New York (http://topics.bloomberg.com/new-york/), Nita Lowey. “And the people who would run an international legal blockade are subject to the legal ramifications of all countries, including the United States (http://topics.bloomberg.com/united-states/).”

Ten ships sailing from European ports this week are expected to reach the waters off Gaza in the coming days. Israel said it will not allow the vessels to reach the Hamas-controlled Palestinian enclave. The State Department has warned that Americans who join the fleet may be breaking U.S. law.

A previous attempt to reach Gaza by sea ended in violence on May 31 last year when Israeli naval commandos dropped from helicopters onto the deck of the Mavi Marmara, part of a six- boat convoy, and opened fire after the ship refused to stop. Israel (http://topics.bloomberg.com/israel/) says people on board shot first and attacked with iron bars, an allegation they denied. Nine Turks were killed.


Americans taking part in the flotilla may “violate U.S. civil and criminal statues” against “conspiring to deliver material support” to terrorist organizations, the State Department said last week. Hamas is classified as a terrorist organization by Israel, the U.S. and the European Union.

Israeli Blockade

“It’s very clear to us is that what is illegal under international law, and immoral as well, is the Israeli blockade of Gaza,” said Akram Bader, Jerusalem-based spokesman for US2Gaza, a group trying to bring about 30 Americans with the flotilla. They include novelist Alice Walker, author of “The Color Purple,” Bader said in a phone interview.
While Israel will aim for minimal friction with flotilla participants, it is concerned that organizers are bringing on board chemicals they intend to use to attack soldiers, said an Israeli official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Among the passengers may be Hamas members and others who mean Israelis harm, he said.

“The flotilla participants have been very clear that they are non-violent activists, and all the boats will be searched at their points of departure to make sure that their cargo consists only of humanitarian aid,” spokesman Bader said.

Israel says it needs the blockade to prevent arms smuggling to Hamas, which seized control of Gaza in 2007 after winning parliamentary elections the previous year, ending a unity government with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (http://topics.bloomberg.com/mahmoud-abbas/).



http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-28/u-s-lawmakers-say-americans-in-gaza-flotilla-may-be-prosecuted.html

[Horn]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbG426nxHbo

[Horn]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKp33UU-TRM&feature=related

[osoab]

Irish ship will not sail to Gaza after 'sabotage' (http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/0630/1224299796875.html#.Tgu-qOA8QV8.twitter)



AN IRISH ship, the MV Saoirse , will not take part in the planned freedom flotilla which is preparing to sail to Gaza because it has been sabotaged, according to one of the ship’s intended passengers.

Speaking last night from the Turkish port of Göcek, Fintan Lane, the national co-ordinator of Irish Ship to Gaza organisation, said that the ship would not be able to sail as it had been “dangerously sabotaged”, according to the organising campaign.

He said that the damage to the ship was discovered on Monday night when the captain noticed that there was something wrong. Divers found that a piece was missing from one of the propeller shafts.

“This was the type of sabotage that endangered human life,” Mr Lane said last night. “They put divers under the boat who cut a piece out of the propeller shaft. That means that the damage would have happened gradually and what would have happened eventually is that the propeller would have come up through the bottom of the boat, caused a flood in the engine room and would have caused the boat to sink.”

He said the attack was “unnerving” for the crew, classifying it as a “violent attack” on the lives of those aboard. He said pictures detailing the damage to the ship would be published by the campaign today during a press conference in Dublin.

Mr Lane said that, due to the extent of the damage, the MV Saoirse would not be in a position to sail, adding that just six of the 20-plus crew who had been due to set sail would be able to take part in the flotilla by joining an Italian-based vessel today.

Those passengers who intend to board the Italian vessel include Mr Lane, former Munster and Ireland rugby player Trevor Hogan, Socialist Party MEP Paul Murphy, Libyan-born Irish citizen Hussein Hamed, Derry-based Sinn Féin councillor Gerry MacLochlainn, and Zoe Lawlor, who teaches at the University of Limerick and is a member of the national committee of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign.
Mr Lane said the damage to the ship was similar to that caused to the Swedish ship the Juliano , which organisers claim was sabotaged in the Greek port of Piraeus by “hostile divers”.

Israel has labelled the flotilla as a “dangerous provocation”, and has warned that it will intercept any ships which attempt to break the naval blockade of the Palestinian occupied Gaza Strip.

In May 2010, Israel exhibited similar resolve when troops abseiled onto a Turkish ship, the Mavi Marmara, and in the ensuing confrontations nine Turkish pro-Palestinian activists were killed.

[vacuum]

This is really disgusting. These ships should be rigged with video cameras at all angles which record live to the web via satellite as well as to hidden black boxes within the ships. Maybe some good footage will slip out.

[Horn]

Despite pressure and threats of violence, flotilla will sail

[Athens] On Saturday, 25 June, the French boat, Dignity / Karama, left the port of l’ile Rousse in Corsica, France, to meet up with at least nine other vessels sailing to Gaza to challenge Israel’s illegal blockade. Israel’s best efforts to stop our boats at port, including pressure on governments, threats against insurance and communications companies, intimidation of human rights defenders, frivolous lawsuits and other underhanded tactics, have thus far failed. The Freedom Flotilla has set sail.

In the coming days the rest of the vessels in the flotilla, two cargo ships and seven other passenger boats, will leave from various ports to a meeting point in international waters from which the boats will sail all together towards Gaza. We will carry nearly three thousand tons of aid and hundreds of civilians from dozens of countries, including members of parliament, politicians, writers, artists, journalists and sports figures, as well as representatives of indigenous peoples and various faith groups.

Unfortunately some of our vessels are facing delays admittedly initiated by bogus complaints from the Israel Law Center, attempted sabotage of some boats, as well as administrative obstacles created by the Greek government in response to Israeli pressure. We call upon the Greek government not to become complicit in Israel’s illegal actions by succumbing to this pressure, and to join France in standing unopposed to the flotilla.

There is no question that Israel’s near hermetic closure of the Gaza Strip is illegal; this has been affirmed again and again by numerous international human rights bodies including the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross. And, when prompted by the flotilla effort, international consensus has been unequivocal in the demand for the Israeli siege to end. There is no question that Israel’s closure policy has had a devastating effect on the occupied people of Gaza. This has also been well documented. The only question is why does the international community of states allow Israel to keep violating the law and rights of the Palestinian people with impunity?

Recent steps taken by Israel to address the concerns raised in the public eye by the Freedom Flotilla II – Stay Human initiative, including last week’s announcement of authorization for construction materials for 1,200 homes and 18 schools in Gaza, prove that flotillas work. However, this is not enough, as our effort is not simply about increasing humanitarian aid to Gaza. It is about freedom for Palestinians in Gaza and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territories. Calls by some world leaders for flotilla organizers to use “established channels” to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza show a fundamental disregard for Palestinian human rights. The Palestinian people do not want handouts from the international community; rather they demand liberation – a call we must all support.

Therefore, despite intimidation, pressure, and threats of violence from the Israeli government, which is not ashamed to boast that it will use snipers and attack dogs against unarmed civilians, we will sail. We are part of a growing movement, led by Palestinian civil society campaigning for their freedom, that Israel’s strong-arm tactics cannot stop. We call on our governments to do their utmost to protect their citizens as we take to the sea, without weapons, protection or threat of force, in defense of freedom, human rights, and the rule of law. Gaza, we are coming.


http://www.freedomflotilla.eu/en/information/3-freedomflotilla-announcements/133-june-27-press-statement

[Horn]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auSyo_VzVZ0&feature=player_embedded#at=25

[Horn]

The Gaza Freedom Flotilla has Set Sail




"Now Israel is saying they will let us go (as if we ever asked them for permission) and they have made an arrangement with the Egyptians to offload our cargo in Al Arish. They don't get it. We are going to Gaza. We are opening the sea route to Gaza. We go to stop the illegal blockade. We're NOT going to Al Arish." - Greta Berlin

(ATHENS) - In spite of Israel's threats of violence (snipers, attack dogs, sound bombs) against unarmed people on unarmed ships, threats from the US government of legal action against American participants, and the Obama administration's clear permission granted to Israel to attack the boats, including the American-flagged "Audacity of Hope", the FLOTILLA HAS SET SAIL! The first boat left France today. The French boat sails to meet the other 9 boats, two cargo ships and 7 passenger boats, including the Audacity of Hope, in the Mediterranean, and on to Gaza with 3000 tons of aid for that destroyed region.
At this time, the Audacity is still being held in a Greek port but organizers believe they may be close to success in their attempts to persuade the Greek government to allow their boat to leave the Greek port to join the others in the Flotilla. The Greek government has been under tremendous pressure from the US and Israel, including financial in the midst of their failing economy, to prevent the flotilla boats from leaving. And we just learned that the Greek passenger boat has been sabotaged, it's propeller axle having been cut.
I believe that the US boat is the most dangerous to Israel because of the possibility of American passengers being injured or killed in an attack on the boat in international waters, and they are concerned about how that might play. A number of high profile people are on the boats, including cabinet members, writers, and well-known journalists . Among the passengers on the Audacity are writer Alice Walker, retired Colonel Ann Wright, non-violent activist Kathy Kelly, Code Pink's Medea Benjamin, former CIA analyist Ray McGovern and an Israeli former Air Force pilot. About 25% of the passengers are Jewish, and almost 20% of the American boat are over 60, the oldest being 81 and 86.


http://www.salem-news.com/articles/june292011/gaza-flotilla-closer.php