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The Free Gaza movement is a human rights group that, since August
2008, has traveled nine times to Gaza by sea to break Israel's illegal
stranglehold on1.5 million Palestinian civilians. We entered Gaza
successfully five times in 2008; however, we have been violently
intercepted on the past four voyages, including Israel's MAY 31, 2010
lethal attack on our Freedom Flotilla,when nine of our colleagues were
killed and many more injured by Israeli commandos.
The Free Gaza movement and its coalition partners, the European
Campaign to End the Siege on Gaza; IHH -- the Turkish Foundation for
Human Rights, Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief; the International
Committee to End the Siege on Gaza; Ship to Gaza Sweden and Ship to
Gaza Greece are the only organizations that have sent boats directly
to Gaza in defiance of Israel's criminal closure of the Gaza Strip. We
sail as an expression of citizen nonviolent, direct action,
confronting Israel's ongoing abuses of Palestinian human and political
rights.
Calls to protect upcoming Gaza aid Flotilla as Israel hints to
attack Written by Free Gaza Team | 26 March 2011
Posted in Press releases
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Saturday, 26 March 2011
London - Despite the Israeli government’s escalating threats of
violence and attempts at diplomatic strong-arming, the organizers of a
new international “Freedom Flotilla” – more than 15 ships that will
set sail in late May to force an end to the blockade of the Gaza Strip
– says it is proceeding as planned. To assure that its passengers are
unharmed, the European Campaign to End the Siege on Gaza (ECESG), one
of the flotilla organizers, is calling on all governments representing
participating citizens to take concrete steps to protect their safety
"There is nothing Israel – or our own governments -- can do to
frighten us into abandoning the 1.6 million ‘prisoners’ of Gaza,” said
Rami Abdo, spokesperson for the ECESG. “Throughout the past – in the
United States during its fight for equal rights for blacks, and in
South Africa during the campaign against apartheid – it is only civil
actions like this that eventually forced an end to government-imposed
oppression. We stand on the right side of history. If they continue
their campaign of tyranny, however, we will only become more
determined.”
Abdo added that the flotilla is particularly urgently needed at this
time due to Israel’s escalating military attacks on Gaza, leading some
to fear that another invasion – similar to the deadly war on the Strip
that left more than 1,400 Palestinians dead in early 2009 – is
planned.
Israel has controlled the Palestinian people for 63 years, since more
than 750,000 Palestinians were expelled from their homes or fled out
of fear following the creation of Israel in 1948. That control
intensified in 1967, when Israel occupied the West Bank, East
Jerusalem and Gaza Strip. Although Israel withdrew its settlers from
Gaza in 2005, it has continued to control the inhabitants’ lives;
since 2007, it has prevented most human traffic in and out of the
densely populated Strip, while restricting imports and banning
virtually all exports. The impact: More than 75 percent of
Palestinians in Gaza live under the poverty line.
The Freedom flotilla, of which Free Gaza and ECESG are founding
members, is a human rights coalition that was organized after the 8th
voyage by the Free Gaza movment. Free Gaza has sailed since August
2008 to break Israel's illegal stranglehold, successfuly arriving in
Gaza five times: however, the past four voyages were violently
intercepted, and on May 31, 2010, the Israeli military killed nine of
the passengers during the first Freedom Flotilla.
A 10th flotilla – promising to be the largest, with 15 ships carrying
passengers from 12 European states as well as Latin America, Africa,
Asia, Canada and the United States – is now being organized for a
late May departure for Gaza. The passengers will include hundreds of
peace advocates from around the world, including parliamentarians and
human rights activists, and representatives of more than 40 media
institutions.
Israel has responded by threatening to once again use deadly force to
stop the new flotilla, including snipers and attack dogs. According to
the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz, Israeli Defense Forces chief of staff
Gabi Ashkenazi is on record as threatening that “if the IDF is faced
with a similar situation in the future, there may be no alternative to
deploying snipers to minimize troop casualties.” Likewise, the
Jerusalem Post has reported that the IDF will deploy attack dogs from
its Oketz canine units.
Meanwhile, Israel’s deputy foreign minister, Danny Ayalon, is
summoning foreign diplomats to Jerusalem to urge them to work with
Israel to stop the flotilla from taking place. According to the Irish
Times, he justified his call for cooperation by claiming the flotilla
would violate international law, and that “if anyone of goodwill would
like to send anything to Gaza, he has ample ways to do it through our
ports or Egyptian ports.”
Abdo, however, described the Israeli government’s claims as “total
fabrication.”
“There is nothing in international law that supports Israel’s four-
year-long blockade of Gaza, or its attacks on humanitarian shipments
in international waters,” he said. “In fact, as stated last year by
the normally neutral International Committee of the Red Cross,
Israel’s collective punishment of the residents of Gaza is itself a
clear violation of international humanitarian law, including the
Fourth Geneva Convention.”
For more details:
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