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20 october 2012, The Israeli Communist Party http://www. maki.org.il המפלגה הקומוניסטית הישראלית الحزب الشيوعي الاسرائيلي (Israel) |
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The Israeli navy on Saturday boarded a Finnish ship attempting to
break the sea blockade of Gaza and deliver aid to its people.
The Israeli radio quoted an Israeli army spokesperson as saying that
the operation to intercept Estelle, the Finnish-flagged Swedish ship, was in
accordance with a government decision to prevent the boat from reaching Gaza.
The aim of the ship is to challenge Israel's naval blockade and it
carries symbolic humanitarian aid and activists from Europe and Canada,
including Left European parliamentarians. According to the Israeli radio, the
takeover process was peaceful. The Israeli naval forces boarded the ship
after its crew refused to turn away from Gaza waters.
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(The Estelle crew, on Friday/Photo: Ship to Gaza)
Amjad al-Shaa, head of the Palestinian Non-Government Organizations
Network (PNGO) who was on constant contact with the activists, said
communication with the ship was cut. Mikael Löfgren, Sweden-based spokesman for
the Ship to Gaza group, told Ma'an News Agency that the organization was last
in contact with the Estelle shortly after 10 a.m. In his last communication
with the group, on-board Israeli and Sweden peace activist Dror Feiler
described being surrounded by five to six military vessels as Israeli masked
soldiers attempted to board the ship. "Then the connection cut and we
haven't heard from them since," Löfgren said. "We have already
achieved important goals," he said. The purpose of the voyage was to get
the "world's attention to focus on Gaza and the devastating consequences
of the blockade." "Although we didn't reach Gaza's shores this time,
I'm confident the world and the Israeli government will realize the blockade is
illegal, inhumane and destructive."
The Estelle set sail in June around Europe, and left Naples on Oct. 6 heading for Gaza. European MPs and international activists, including Israeli nationals, are on board. The boat's cargo, listed on the flotilla's website, includes cement, wheel chairs, crutches, toys, musical instruments and 300 footballs.
Löfgren said they had undergone non-violence training in Naples "to avoid tragedies like what happened two years ago," when Israeli forces killed nine activists on board a Turkish ship. "We know from experience that Israeli soldiers are very young, very nervous, and very aggressive," he said. It seems not only Estelle has been the target for attack this day. "Ship to Gaza website is suffering from what looks like an attack - similar to what we have experienced in 2011. We are working on the problem - in the meantime, keep up to date through Facebook and Twitter" he added.
The Estelle set sail in June around Europe, and left Naples on Oct. 6 heading for Gaza. European MPs and international activists, including Israeli nationals, are on board. The boat's cargo, listed on the flotilla's website, includes cement, wheel chairs, crutches, toys, musical instruments and 300 footballs.
Löfgren said they had undergone non-violence training in Naples "to avoid tragedies like what happened two years ago," when Israeli forces killed nine activists on board a Turkish ship. "We know from experience that Israeli soldiers are very young, very nervous, and very aggressive," he said. It seems not only Estelle has been the target for attack this day. "Ship to Gaza website is suffering from what looks like an attack - similar to what we have experienced in 2011. We are working on the problem - in the meantime, keep up to date through Facebook and Twitter" he added.
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