[E-rundbrief] Info 1449 - Freedomflotilla III to Gaza - Israeli state piracy

[Matthias Reichl]

E-Rundbrief - Info 1449 - freedomflotilla.org: Israel once again 
commits an act of state piracy in the Mediterranean.

Bad Ischl, 29.6.2015

Begegnungszentrum für aktive Gewaltlosigkeit

www.begegnungszentrum.at

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Israel once again commits an act of state piracy in the Mediterranean

     Category: News

     Published: 29 June 2015

https://freedomflotilla.org/news/25-israel-once-again-commits-an-act-of-state-piracy-in-the-mediterranean

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.

It is disappointing that the Israeli government chose to continue the 
absolutely fruitless policy of “no tolerance”, meaning it will 
continue to enforce an inhumane and illegal collective punishment 
against 1.8 million Palestinians in Gaza. Israel's repeated acts of 
state piracy in international waters are worrying signs that the 
occupation and blockade policy extends to the entire eastern 
Mediterranean. We demand that the Israeli government cease and desist 
the illegal detainment of peaceful civilians travelling in 
international waters in support of humanitarian aid.
We call on our governments to ensure that all passengers and crew from 
the “Marianne” are safe, and to strongly protest against the violation 
of international maritime law by the Israeli state. We call on all 
civil society organizations to condemn the actions of Israel. People 
all over the world will continue to respond and react to this 
injustice, as will we, until the port of Gaza is open and the siege 
and occupation is ended.

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Unidentified vessel and military reconnaissance plane near Marianne
Freedom Flotilla

Marianne of Gothenburg can now be located 279 nautical miles from Gaza.

2015-06-27_kl._17.53.04_0

- Military vessels and reconnaissance planes appeared near Marianne 
during Saturday afternoon, says Joel Opperdoes kaptain onboard Marianne.

Opperdoes informs that an undentified vessel and what in his opinion 
appears as a military reconnaissance aircraft, which during Saturday 
afternoon could be located near Marianne. The crew could not identify 
nationality for neither the vessels or the planes.

– The vessel and plane disappeared around 5pm today and we haven’t 
seen any signs of them since, the kaptain says.

https://ff3.freedomflotilla.org/

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Freedom Flotilla III sets sail: #NextPortGaza

https://ff3.freedomflotilla.org/

Today, June 27th 2015 (4 am in Gaza), four boats of the 2015 the 
Freedom Flotilla III set sail from their final European points of 
departure. Through nonviolent resistance they will challenge the 
illegal blockade of the Palestinian Gaza strip, which is running on 
its 9th year, sailing as always from international waters directly 
into Palestinian waters.

The Flotilla is due to reach Gaza in just a few days. Participants on 
board include 48 people, among them human rights activists, 
journalists, artists, and political figures representing 17 countries. 
This is the third Freedom Flotilla to sail, in addition to nine single 
boats that have undertaken to sail to Gaza, beginning in 2008 when 
several voyages reached Gaza City harbour and returned to Europe from 
their mission of bringing supplies and solidarity to the people of Gaza.

A converted fishing trawler, the 'Marianne of Gothenburg'  left Sweden 
in May to join the flotilla and has made numerous stops along its 
journey around Europe. Marianne is carrying solar panels that would 
help alleviate the serious problem of electricity in Gaza, as well .as 
medical equipment. Three other sailing vessels (Rachel, Vittorio and 
Juliano II) are accompanying Marianne in its mission to break the 
blockade of Gaza, in solidarity to the 1.8 million Palestinians in 
Gaza. With different strategies and different itineraries, we will 
continue to sail until the blockade is lifted and Gaza’s port is open.

Dr. Basel Ghattas, a member of the Israeli Knesset, is on board the 
ships, as well as Dr. Moncef Marzouki, former President of Tunisia, 
the first president after the 2011 popular uprising. Members of 
parliament from Spain, Jordan, Greece and Algeria are also on board 
together with members of European Parliament.

Four participants from Canada are on board : Robert Lovelace, member 
of the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation, Christian Martel, a 
trade-unionist and retired letter-carrier from Quebec City, Kevin 
Neish, an activist and marine engineer from Victoria in British 
Columbia, and Ehab Lotayef, an engineer and poet from Montreal. Ten 
participants and crew have been on previous missions. Media outlets on 
board the flotilla are Al Jazeera, Euronews, Maori TV (New Zealand), 
Al-Quds TV, Channel 2 TV (Israel) and Russia Today TV, as well as 
several independent print journalists.

Over 100 European Parliamentarians have signed a letter to the EU’s 
High Representative, Federica Mogherini, in support of the Freedom 
Flotilla and calling for an end to the blockade of Gaza. It’s time to 
say "enough is enough", and that the international community stands in 
solidarity with the Palestinians of Gaza.

A full list of participants will be available soon at 
https://ff3.freedomflotilla.org/

In Solidarity

Canadian Boat to Gaza
http://www.tahrir.ca/content/donate
Follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/CanadaBoatGaza and on 
Twitter: @CanadaBoatGaza

Weitere Infos, Teilnehmer...:

Mission Statement:
https://ff3.freedomflotilla.org/mission-statement/

Call from Palestine:
https://ff3.freedomflotilla.org/call-from-palestine-2/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_Flotilla_III

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Avnery: Let the Gaza Flotilla through, open the Port of Gaza under 
international supervision

Press Release June 28, 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.

Contact: Adam Keller +972-(0)54-2340749


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Matthias Reichl, Pressesprecher/ press speaker,
Begegnungszentrum fuer aktive Gewaltlosigkeit
Center for Encounter and active Non-Violence
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