Category: Press Releases

To view the Free Gaza Movement website click here

LARNACA – The Free Gaza Movement is delighted to announce that their third boat, the Dignity, carrying 27 crew and passengers, arrived in Gaza at 8:10 Gaza time, in spite of Israeli threats to stop them. In the pouring rain, the boat pulled into port amid cheers from the people of Gaza and tears from the passengers. David Schermerhorn, a crew member called an hour before the boat entered Gazan waters to say, “There is a rainbow stretching across the Mediterranean from where we are right now.”

Yesterday, the Israeli Navy said they would stop our vessel once it reached Israel’s territorial waters. Apparently to save face, they said they would harm our boat, arrest us and tow us IF we entered Israeli waters. The problem for Israel is that the Dignity had no intention of getting anywhere near those waters.

One of the organizers, Huwaida Arraf, cheered, “Once again we’ve been able to defy an unjust and illegal policy while the rest of the world is too intimidated to do anything. Our small boat is a huge cry to the international community to follow in our footsteps and open a lifeline to the people of Gaza.”

For the second time, the Free Gaza Movement has demonstrated that the might of the Israeli Navy is no match for a small boat of human rights activists determined to call to the attention of the world the occupation of the people of Gaza.

Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi, member of the Palestinian Legislative Council added, “Despite the injustice against the Palestinian people, we believe in justice and will keep on trying to break Israel’s siege. The occupation has divided the Palestinians, but our non-violent resistance has united us.”

Osama Qashoo, one of the organizers of the Free Gaza Movement, is overjoyed for the second time in three months, “We are all capable of leading a non-violent and effective movement to end Israeli Apartheid and expose the injustice that has been meted out to the Palestinians. We in the Free Gaza Movement have provided the new dictionary, it’s up to the Palestinians and Israelis and Internationals to add the words.”

To view the Free Gaza Movement website click here

This morning (28th October), the Free Gaza Movement was informed through the media that the Israeli Navy is threatening to forcibly stop the Dignity from entering Gaza tomorrow morning. Israel has not bothered to inform us of a legitimate reason for preventing us from delivering medical supplies, doctors, lawyers, and prominent human rights advocates to the Gaza Strip. Indeed, Israel has not bothered to communicate with us at all.

We are returning to Gaza for exactly the same reasons we came in August: to deliver medical supplies, meet with civil society organizations, volunteer in hospitals, and visit Palestinians who have requested our presence.

According to Huwaida Arraf, Free Gaza spokesperson and law lecturer at al-Quds University in Jerusalem: “The Dignity is carrying 27 unarmed civilians, as well as a ton of urgently needed medical supplies. We will be sailing from Cypriot territorial waters to international waters, directly into Gaza territorial waters. We do not pose a ‘security threat’ to Israel, we
will not be going anywhere near Israeli waters, and therefore, Israel does not have any legal right to violently disrupt our mission.”

The Free Gaza Movement would like to make it clear that we do not wish nor do we seek any confrontation with Israel. We have already invited Israeli Director General of the Foreign Ministry, Aharon Abramovitz, and Defence Minister Ehud Barak to join us on our voyage as long as they remain non-violent. In August, we invited Tzipi Livni to accompany us.

We would like to extend this invitation to any member of the Israel Knesset:
“If you are legitimately concerned about our mission, or if you wish to educate yourself on the devastating effects of Israel’s policies of collective punishment against the families of the Gaza Strip, join us in breaking this brutal siege, sail with us to Gaza, and learn first hand
what Israeli violence has done to the civilian population of Gaza.”

Mairead Maguire, the winner of the 1976 Nobel Peace Prize and one of the passengers aboard the Dignity, stated: “The people of Gaza are part of our human family. The Israeli government cannot cut off Gaza forever. We will come again and again until we reach our family. We go to visit our family, and the Israeli government has no right to stop us.”

The 27 unarmed civilians sailing aboard the Dignity represent 13 different countries. We are doctors, lawyers, teachers, and human rights advocates. We are Christians, Muslims, Jews, and agnostics. It would be ignorant and outrageous for Israel to use violence against us, and we are reminded at this moment of a message from the Qur’an:

“And the servants of God most Gracious are those who walk on the earth in humility, and when the ignorant address them, they say, ‘Peace!'”
Qur’an 25:63

If any of you reading these updates can put pressure on your governments, here are the names of the crew and passengers and their countries.

Denis Healey, Captain, UK
George Klontzas, First Mate, Greece
Derek Graham, Crew, Ireland
Nikoals Bolos, Crew, Ireland

Ali Al Jabar, Al Jazeera, Qatar
Ghazi Abourashad, Holland
Dr. Mohammed Alshubashi, Germany
Huwaida Arraf, attorney, US
Dr. Mustafa Barghouti, Palestine
Audrey Bomse attorney, US
Renee Bowyer, Australia
Caoimhe Butterly, Ireland
Rod Cox, UK
Guisippe Fallisi, Italy
Marco Giusti, Italy
Dr. Ibrahim Hamami, UK
Ramzi Kysia, US
Alan Lonergan, Ireland
Mairead Maguire, Ireland
Lubna Masarwa, Israel
Vilma Mazza, Italy
Theresa McDermott, UK
Amir Siddiq, Al Jazeera, Sudan
Gideon Spiro, Israel
Dr. Jock McDougall, UK

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Haaretz article

Israel has decided to prevent an additional group of left-wing activists from reaching Gaza by sea. About 20 passengers, most of them members of the Free Gaza organization, are expected to set sail for the Strip on Wednesday from Cyprus. MK Jamal Zahalka (Balad) will most likely be aboard along with 1976 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mairead Corrigan.

Two months ago, members of the organization sailed from Cyprus to Gaza under the slogan “breaking the blockade.” The Prime Minister’s Office and Foreign Ministry viewed the move as a provocative propaganda stunt, intended to provoke a confrontation with the IDF. A day before the boat was to arrive at the shores of Gaza, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Defense Minister Ehud Barak held a consultation and decided to allow the boat to reach land – and thereby block the activists’ plans to create an international incident.

Nevertheless, in discussions held over the past few weeks between the PMO, Foreign Ministry and the IDF, it was decided that this time the boat would not be allowed to reach Gaza. “The first time we wanted to prevent a provocation, but if it is to become a routine, then we will have to make it clear we will not allow it,” said a senior official in Jerusalem.
Egypt also prevented the sailing of a similar ship a few weeks ago from Alexandria to Gaza.

The Israel Navy will stop the activists’ vessel once it reaches Israel’s territorial waters, it was decided. If the ship turns around, then the IDF will not use any force. However, if the activists decide to sail on toward Gaza, the IDF will take control of the ship, by force if necessary, and tow it to Ashdod port. The activists will be arrested for illegal entry and will be deported to Cyprus or to their home countries.

The left-wing activists were scheduled to set sail yesterday, but they were delayed by bad weather. If the weather improves, they will leave today.

The ship’s passengers are to including a number of journalists, including from international networks such as Al Jazeera.

To view the Free Gaza Movement website click here

On October 28, 2008, the Free Gaza Movement will set sail again for Gaza. On board will be a Nobel Peace Prize winner, five physicians, a member of the Israeli Knesset, and a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council. The boat will again carry 26 passengers and crew to the port of Gaza.

“We’ve spent the past month making sure that our boat is better and stronger, because the weather is getting more severe. Since we promised the people of Gaza we would return, we wanted to make sure we would return safely”, said Derek Graham, first mate on board the boat.

Mairead Maguire, the 1976 Nobel Peace Prize winner for her work for peace in Northern Ireland and one of the passengers on board stated, “We sail to Gaza to show the people we love and care for them. What less can we do whilst our governments remain silent and inactive in face of such preventable suffering of the women and children of Gaza and Palestine.”

Also on board is Mustafa Barghouti, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council and Jamal Zahalka, , a member of the Israeli Knesset (parliament). Both Palestinians are determined to forge alliances with their countrymen in Gaza, something they have not been able to do, because Israel has closed all land borders to this besieged people.

On this occasion the siege-breakers will deliver 6 cubic meters of medicine, as a gift from the European Campaign to End the on Siege on Gaza. Dr Arafat Shoukri, head of the Campaign stated, “This is just the first consignment of medical supplies we hope to deliver. Our choice of medicines has been in response to a specific request from the health authorities in Gaza. Many basic items such as cough syrup for children are non-existent in the territory and we are happy to make them available. Our Campaign will also dispatch a number of medical specialists to the Gaza to assist in the worsening humanitarian crisis brought on by the siege.”

Greta Berlin, one of the organizers reiterated the goals of the Free Gaza Movement, “We intend to break Israel’s blockade as often as we can. This second trip is just one of many we intend to organize over the next year. We have lawyers, members of Parliament and other professionals already on our passenger lists for upcoming voyages.”