It has been reported that Israel, in what I think can accurately be described as an act of piracy, has, 23 miles off the coast of Gaza, attacked and boarded the Free Gaza Movement boat, the SPIRIT OF HUMANITY, and abducted it's 21 human rights workers from 11 countries. Those kidnapped include Noble laureate Mairead Maguire and former U.S. Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, who, passengers and crew, are being forcibly dragged toward Israel.
""This is an outrageous violation of international law against us. Our boat was not in Israeli waters, and we were on a human rights mission to the Gaza Strip," said Cynthia McKinney, a former U.S. Congresswoman and presidential candidate. "President Obama just told Israel to let in humanitarian and reconstruction supplies, and that's exactly what we tried to do. We're asking the international community to demand our release so we can resume our journey."
"The aid we were carrying is a symbol of hope for the people of Gaza, hope that the sea route would open for them, and they would be able to transport their own materials to begin to reconstruct the schools, hospitals and thousands of homes destroyed during the onslaught of "Cast Lead". Our mission is a gesture to the people of Gaza that we stand by them and that they are not alone" said fellow passenger Mairead Maguire, winner of a Noble Peace Prize for her work in Northern Ireland.
Just before being kidnapped by Israel, Huwaida Arraf, Free Gaza Movement chairperson and delegation co-coordinator on this voyage, stated that: "No one could possibly believe that our small boat constitutes any sort of threat to Israel. We carry medical and reconstruction supplies, and children's toys. Our passengers include a Nobel peace prize laureate and a former U.S. congressperson. Our boat was searched and received a security clearance by Cypriot Port Authorities before we departed, and at no time did we ever approach Israeli waters."
Arraf continued, "Israel's deliberate and premeditated attack on our unarmed boat is a clear violation of international law and we demand our immediate and unconditional release."
Seizing humanitarian supplies and abducting human rights workers is an act of piracy, a crime under international law. When the boat was attacked, it was not in Israeli waters and was on a human rights mission to Gaza. Israel's deliberate and premeditated attack on an unarmed boat in international waters is a clear violation of international law.
So, are acts of piracy acceptable when it is Israel carrying out those acts? How far is impunity from abiding by intl law to be extended?
Here is a link to a video of the Israeli attack on the Free Gaza Movement boat.
Seeing that the blatantly pro-Palestinian version has been posted by a certain you-know-who, might as well post the pro-Israeli side of this story as well.
The Israel Navy intercepted a boat carrying international activists attempting to break a blockade of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip yesterday and forced it to sail to Ashdod instead, the Israel Defense Forces said.
The navy had earlier surrounded the vessel, which was carrying humanitarian aid, and told the activists to turn back because of security risks in the area and the blockade, according to the IDF. But the boat later entered Gaza's coastal waters, the IDF Spokesperson said in a statement, after which it was boarded...
ANd that certain you-know-who wouldn't know piracy if it bit her in butt. She might want to look up blockade running tho...
The unprovoked Israeli attack on the Free Gaza boat is an act of piracy under international law. This has nothing to do with Hamas, the persons on the boat are international human rights activists, and the project is a human rights mission primarily organized and operated by Americans from "the West."
Gaza is not Israeli Territory. The persons labelling the Israeli attack on this boat delivering supplies to Gaza as an act of piracy are a prior American Congresswoman and Presidential candidate, Cynthia McKinney, the American and European human rights activists on the mission and supporting it, as well as attorneys who practice intl law in Israel and the US, such as Jewish Israeli American Attorney Shamai Leibowitz.
Intl Human Rights Attorney Shamai Leibowitz addresses and addresses the expected act of piracy of Israel on his blog, Pursuing Justice, in a post just a few days ago.
Intll human rights attorney Shamai Leibowitz discusesses the human rights mission, a ship sailing from Cypress to Gaza, transporting 3 tons of medical supplies, boxes of toys and crayons for children, and 15 tons of cement. These are all items Israel bans from entering Gaza.
Who is Israel to ban items such as this from Gaza? Israel's acts in denying basic needs to 1.5 million human beings living in Gaza is collective punishment, a war crime under the Fourth Geneva Convention.
This last mission was supposed to consist of two boats, FREE GAZA and SPIRIT OF HUMANITY, carrying human rights workers and journalists from 16 countries, including Nobel laureate Mairead Maguire and former U.S. Congresswoman and presidential candidate Cynthis McKinney. I don't think one of the boats was allowed to leave Cypress. This mission is the Free Gaza Movement's first attempt to challenge Israel's naval blockade on Gaza by sea since the Israeli Navy brutally rammed the boat Dignity on December 8, as reported in a CNN video report, and nearly sank the Spirit of Humanity on January 9, with all passengers on board.
The Free Gaza Movement sent this letter to Israeli Authorities before preparing to set out on this life saving human rights mission to Gaza:
"Official Notification of Intent to Enter
June 24, 2009
To: The Israeli Ministry of Defense, Fax: 972-3-697-6717 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 Thursday, June 25, 2009 we are navigating the motor vessel Spirit of Humanity, and the motor vessel Free Gaza from the Port of Larnaca to the port of Gaza City. Our vessels will be flying the Greek flags, and, as such, fall 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 will be carrying medical supplies in sealed boxes, as well as crayons, coloring books and toys for children, cleared by customs at the Larnaca International Airport and the Port of Larnaca. We will also be carrying 300 bags of cement delivered directly from the supplier to the Port of Larnaca. There will be passengers and crew on board from 14 different countries. Our boats and cargo will 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 boats' contents, nor the boats themselves 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 vessels, Spirit of Humanity and/or Free Gaza will be premeditated and any harm inflicted on the people on board will be considered the result of a deliberate attack on unarmed civilians.
A copy of this notification has been sent to the embassies of the civilians who will be on board. "
The attack and seizing of this boat by Israel is nothing but an act of piracy. I will call it exactly what it so clearly is. It is an act of piracy that blatantly violates intl law, and an attack thwarting people's attempts, many of whom are fellow Americans, to save lives of 1.5 million human beings in Gaza, who are mostly innocent civilains being starved of items needed to sustain human life. Over half of those being starved to death by Israel in Gaza are children, over 750,000 children Israel is slowly killing, robbing of hope and life, every single day that passes by.
Are you making the serious accusation that Cynthia Mckinney 1) colludes in Hamas propaganda or 2) is a liar?
I think it's sad, when Israel overtly goes against international law and protocol and Zionist apologists try to personally attack any critics with such ignorant accusations.
Are you making the serious accusation that Cynthia Mckinney 1) colludes in Hamas propaganda or 2) is a liar?
I think it's sad, when Israel overtly goes against international law and protocol and Zionist apologists try to personally attack any critics with such ignorant accusations.
Accept the fact that Israel is in the wrong here.
Where do you get your crap from? Ms. McKinney can be as biased and untruthful as the next person. Just because YOU think the Israeli action is wrong, certainly doesn't make it true. The fact is very simple. They attempted to break a naval blockade and were caught. Why don't you put that in your pipe and smoke it?
This whole thread is a nice illustration of how "international law" has been changed into a meaningless phrase just so that it can be used to bash the State of Israel. The aid ship was not attacked. The ship announced that it was going to violate the Israeli controls over what enters and exits the Gaza Strip. Those controls were established in agreement with the EU, Russia, the UN and the USA whichalso supplied observers who were chased away by the Hamas.
Sherri, in a blockade there is no requirement to wait for a ship to get to domestic waters especially if its intention is clear. The USA didn't wait for Soviet ships to get to Cuban waters when it placed a naval quarantine on Cuba. Your group announced to everyone, according to the information you presented on this forum, that it was going to violate the established rules about shipments to Gaza. Your group is in violation of international law and just because they have famous people in the crowd doesn't mean that they are not obligated to act in accordance with the law.
So the Israelis diverted their boat to Ashdod where it will be searched for contraband and if none is found, they and their cargo will most likely continue on to Gaza. Somehow none of this sounds like piracy to me. In fact it sounds much more like a publicity stunt on the part of some perhaps well meaning people. Certainly it is microscopically marginal in terms of providing actual improvement of the conditions of the average Gazan.
Here is the list of the human rights activists abducted by Israel, in their act of piracy carried out against the Free Gaza boat:
Khalad Abdelkader, Bahrain Khalad is an engineer representing the Islamic Charitable Association of Bahrain.
Othman Abufalah, Jordan Othman is a world-renowned journalist with al-Jazeera TV.
Khaled Al-Shenoo, Bahrain Khaled is a lecturer with the University of Bahrain.
Mansour Al-Abi, Yemen Mansour is a cameraman with Al-Jazeera TV.
Fatima Al-Attawi, Bahrain Fatima is a relief worker and community activist from Bahrain.
Juhaina Alqaed, Bahrain Juhaina is a journalist & human rights activist.
Huwaida Arraf, US Huwaida is the Chair of the Free Gaza Movement and delegation co-coordinator for this voyage.
Ishmahil Blagrove, UK Ishmahil is a Jamaican-born journalist, documentary film maker and founder of the Rice & Peas film production company. His documentaries focus on international struggles for social justice.
Kaltham Ghloom, Bahrain Kaltham is a community activist.
Derek Graham, Ireland Derek Graham is an electrician, Free Gaza organizer, and first mate aboard the Spirit of Humanity.
Alex Harrison, UK Alex is a solidarity worker from Britain. She is traveling to Gaza to do long-term human rights monitoring.
Denis Healey, UK Denis is Captain of the Spirit of Humanity. This will be his fifth voyage to Gaza.
Fathi Jaouadi, UK Fathi is a British journalist, Free Gaza organizer, and delegation co-coordinator for this voyage.
Mairead Maguire, Ireland Mairead is a Nobel laureate and renowned peace activist.
Lubna Masarwa, Palestine/Israel Lubna is a Palestinian human rights activist and Free Gaza organizer.
Theresa McDermott, Scotland Theresa is a solidarity worker from Scotland. She is traveling to Gaza to do long-term human rights monitoring.
Cynthia McKinney, US Cynthia McKinney is an outspoken advocate for human rights and social justice issues, as well as a=2 0former U.S. congressperson and presidential candidate.
Adnan Mormesh, UK Adnan is a solidarity worker from Britain. He is traveling to Gaza to do long-term human rights monitoring.
Adam Qvist, Denmark Adam is a solidarity worker from Denmark. He is traveling to Gaza to do human rights monitoring.
Adam Shapiro, US Adam is an American documentary film maker and human rights activist.
Kathy Sheetz, US Kathy is a nurse and film maker, traveling to Gaza to do human rights monitoring.
