Tag: Free Gaza Movement

‘Free Gaza’ boats stopped in Cyprus

The Jerusalem Post

25 June 2009

Cyprus’ Merchant Shipping Department on Thursday prevented international activists from sailing to the Gaza Strip to deliver humanitarian aid in defiance of Israel’s blockade of the Palestinian territory.

Department chief Sergios Sergiou said that a fishing boat and a small ferry that the Free Gaza Group were to use for the trip from Cyprus to Gaza had not undergone safety inspections which would take “at least a few days” to complete.

“It’s a dangerous trip,” Sergiou told the Associated Press. “The vessels must undergo a general inspection before they are allowed to go.”

But Free Gaza Group spokesman Ramzi Kysia said that both vessels were allowed to sail from Cyprus during the group’s previous attempts to reach Gaza.

The Free Gaza Group has already made five successful boat trips from Cyprus to Gaza since August 2008. Kysia said the fishing boat sailed to the Palestinian territory in August last year. The ferry set sail in January this year during Israel’s three-week war in Gaza, but had to turn back a few hours into the trip after encountering mechanical problems.

Sergiou could not explain why the vessels were previously allowed to leave Cyprus.

Free Gaza spokeswoman Greta Berlin said she was “absolutely outraged”, but that activists would not be deterred.

Around 32 people including a former US congresswoman and an Irish Nobel laureate were to sail to Gaza to deliver 3 tons of medical supplies and 15 tons of cement.

“We promised the people of Gaza we would come back and that we would not forget them,” said Mairead Corrigan Maguire, who won the 1976 Nobel Peace Prize for her work with Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland.

Free Gaza Movement boats plan to sail for to Gaza

25 June 2009

The Free Gaza Movement will depart from Larnaca Port for the Gaza Strip at 10am today, Thursday 25 June. We are sending two ships, the Free Gaza and the Spirit of Humanity, with 3 tons of medical supplies, 15 tons of cement, suitcases full of toys, crayons and coloring books for children, as well as human rights workers and journalists from 14 countries, including Nobel laureate Mairead Maguire and former U.S. Congresswoman and presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney. This will be our first attempt to challenge Israel’s naval blockade on Gaza by sea since the Israeli Navy brutally rammed our boat, DIGNITY, in December, and nearly sank the SPIRIT OF HUMANITY with all on board in January.

We shall hold a press conference at Larnaca Port between 9-10 am, prior to departure.

The Free Gaza Movement will sail 240 miles from Cyprus to Gaza, its eighth mission to break Israel’s draconian siege on 1.5 million Palestinians. Two of the organizers, Huwaida Arraf and Greta Berlin, as well as the Honorable Cynthia McKinney, former U.S. Congresswoman from Georgia, held a press conference this week in Doha, Qatar, calling on the world to recognize the Palestinians’ human and civil rights, rights that have been denied for 61 years. (See link below for YouTube/Al Jazeera press conference coverage.)

“People in Gaza are being made to live in subhuman conditions. Children are dying, and governments are silent. It is important to continue sending boats to Gaza to challenge the criminal blockade enforced by the Israeli military,” said Ms. Arraf. The group emphasized that what they are taking is only a token of what the people of Gaza need. They are hoping to buy a cargo boat, to bring in larger amounts of building supplies via the sea route they aim to open. They ask for the financial support of people around the world to purchase this ship.

Speaking to Al Jazeera and eight other news organizations, Ms Arraf emphasized, “International donors pledged over $4bn to rebuild Gaza, yet none of them are doing a thing about the fact that Israel allows no building supplies into the territory. So 36 of us from 16 countries are leaving on Thursday to tell the world to do something.”

When asked what guarantees the group has received from the Israeli government, both Berlin and Arraf frowned. “We do not seek permission from or coordinate with the Israeli authorities. Israel has grossly abused its authority as an occupying power, daily violating the human rights of Palestinians, and imposing collective punishment on them. It is past time for the international community to stop abetting Israel’s illegal closure policy.” stated Ms. Arraf. The group intends to go at least three times over the summer, June 25th, July 14th and August 16th, near the anniversary of the first successful voyage.

##########

The Free Gaza Movement, a human rights group, sent two boats to Gaza in August 2008. These were the first international boats to land in the port in 41 years. Since August, four more voyages have been successful, taking Parliamentarians, human rights workers, and other dignitaries to witness the effects of Israel’s draconian policies on the civilians of Gaza. On December 30, their boat, the DIGNITY, was rammed three times while 90 nautical miles out, in international waters, on its way to deliver emergency medical supplies to the people of Gaza, while under the infamous attack by Israel.

Contact the Free Gaza Movement at www.freegaza.org

PASSENGER LIST (individual details available at the website)

Kathy Sheetz (US)
Alex Hamilton (UK)
John Klusmire (US)
Ishmahil Blagrove (Jamaica, UK)
Peter Eyre (UK)
Ahmed Masood (Palestine)
Iason Athanasiadis (Greece)
Davide Pecorelli (Italy)
Adam Shapiro (US)
Cynthia McKinney (US)
Derek and Jenny Graham (Ireland)
Lubna Marsawa (Palestine, Israel)
Mairead Maguire (Ireland)
Denis Healey (UK, Cyprus)
Fathi Jaouadi (Tunisia, UK)
Theresa McDermott (Scotland)
Huwaida Arraf (Palestine, Israel, US)
Adam Qvist (Denmark)
Mary Hughes Thompson (Canada)
David Schermerhorn (US)
Waltraud Schauer (Austria)

Doha Press Conference on June 22nd: www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWI-5KOBo3o

Pressure Israel to not attack FGM boats en route to Gaza

Please contact your representatives to demand that they pressure the Israeli government to not shoot at or stop the Free Gaza Movement boats on Friday, 25 June 2009.

Additionally, call Israeli officials in the government to demand that the Free Gaza boats are not stopped or shot at when they are entering from international waters to Gazan territorial waters.

Mark Regev in the Prime Minister’s office:
+972 2670 5354 or +972 5 0620 3264
mark.regev@it. mark.rege

Shlomo Dror in the Ministry of Defence:
+972 3697 5339 or +972 50629 8148
mediasar@mod. media

Major Liebovitz from the Israeli Navy:
+ 972 5 781 86248

__________________________________

To find the telephone number of your Representative and Senators in the United States:

http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/mcapdir.html

Call the Israeli Embassy in Washington at Tel: 202-364-5500

FGM: We are coming to Gaza

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.

For More Information, Please Contact: Greta Berlin, or Ramzi Kysia, www.FreeGaza.org

Brick by brick

Free Gaza Movement

18 June 2009

On June 25th, the Free Gaza movement will set sail on its eighth mission to break Israel’s horrific siege and collective punishment of 1.5 million Palestinians in the Gaza strip.

“The Israelis violated international law by ramming the boat I was on which was carrying medical supplies to Gaza. Therefore, I never got to Gaza. Especially after Operation Cast Lead, I want to go to Gaza, and if I’m lucky, one day, I’ll also get to visit a free Palestine,” said former Representative Cynthia McKinney, one of the passengers coming back.

Along with McKinney, 36 others will board the FREE GAZA , a fishing boat, and the SPIRIT OF HUMANITY, a small ferry loaded with building supplies such as cement, only a token of what is needed in Gaza, but a prelude to larger shipments the Free Gaza movement expects to take throughout the summer.

Mairead Maguire, the Nobel Peace Prize winner from Ireland is also going back, “I am going to Gaza to show my love and support for the people of Gaza who continue to suffer under Israeli siege and occupation, yet whose spirit of nonviolent resistance inspires all who believe in equality, freedom and justice,” she stated.

“It is crucial that we continue sending boats to Gaza to challenge Israel’s criminal closure on the Strip,” said Huwaida Arraf, delegation leader of the June 25th voyage. “Gaza does not need our charity but needs us to stand up against the forces that continue to deliberately deny an entire people their human rights. International donors pledged over $4 billion to rebuild Gaza, and yet none of them are doing anything about the fact that Israel is not allowing any building supplies into Gaza, not to mention thousands of other items such as anesthetic, oxygen and cancer treatments, chlorine to treat the water supply as well as paper, books and toys for children, even tea and coffee have been banned.”

This voyage will be the first attempt to challenge Israel’s naval blockade on the Gaza Strip since an Israeli gunship brutally rammed the DIGNITY in December, and nearly sank the SPIRIT OF HUMANITY with all on board in January. This 8th trip will also be the first of a series of boats we intend to send to Gaza as part of our Summer of Hope campaign.

The Free Gaza Movement, a human rights group, sent two boats to Gaza in August 2008. These were the first international boats to land in the port in 41 years. Since August, four more voyages were successful, taking Parliamentarians, human rights workers, and other dignitaries to witness the effects of Israel’s draconian policies on the civilians of Gaza. On December 30, their boat, the DIGNITY was rammed three times while 90 nautical miles out, in international waters, on its way to deliver emergency medical supplies to the people of Gaza, while they were under the infamous attack by Israel.