Tag: Global Actions

The Guardian: Intimidation will not stop our boats sailing for Gaza

Our perilous, non-violent mission should now be nearing its destination, bearing a message that some want to silence

By Osama Qashoo

To view original article, published by The Guardian on the 23rd August, click here

This morning I am sorry to find myself back on dry land in Cyprus, separated from my fellow sailors who are now completing the final leg of their trip to Gaza. They are carrying humanitarian and medical aid to a people now suffering both an international boycott and the illegal Israeli occupation. On board the refurbished fishing boats, SS Free Gaza and SS Liberty, are more than 50 activists from 17 nations – Jews, Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, farmers, fishermen, officials, language teachers, piano technicians and one 85-year-old Holocaust survivor – all united in their determination to break the Israeli siege.

After months of preparation, the Free Gaza Movement’s perilous relief mission is under way. But I am not with them, despite the fact that I am the only Palestinian-born organiser involved. Last week, my immediate family, who still live in the West Bank, were attacked and terrorised, and I also received numerous anonymous death threats. My family were warned that I must leave the project, and that I must not contact the media. This psychological terrorism now forces me to make a public protest. Though I am no longer on board, I will not leave this mission, even as potential confrontation with the Israeli military looms closer.

The UN has called the situation in Gaza a humanitarian disaster, but the inhumanity goes on. More than 200 civilians have died due to the refusal to let people leave Gaza to seek medical care. The United States, the country that assumes stewardship of the world and whose influence could change the situation, stands by. Worse still, it endorses absurd Israeli claims, such as the recent labelling of innocent Fulbright scholars as “potential security threats” to bar them from taking up their scholarships abroad.

Internationally, the thin veneer of diplomacy has shattered again. On June 19 Israel agreed to halt military invasion and the indiscriminate shelling of Gaza, in return for an end to the launching of homemade rockets towards Israel. Israel has not met its obligations. Gaza’s borders, gates that imprison 1.5 million civilians, remain locked, and scant supplies get through. Even medical supplies are being blocked.

I grew up in Palestine and have lived in fear since childhood. The horror of witnessing elders of my family being bullied and humiliated, the daily terror of losing my parents. Watching my family elders being humiliated, the child’s voice inside me would cry out silently: “How can I stop this?”

While I was on board the Liberty, I listened to the threatening messages hijacking the ship’s emergency channel, illegal for use unless in distress. These voices reawakened a deep, familiar feeling in me: that no matter how civil, kind, non-violent I am, I will always be watched, or far worse, hunted.

Now I realise that the biggest friend of psychological terror is silence. The Free Gaza Movement aims to challenge the physical stranglehold on Gaza, but more importantly, this mission seeks to break the silence for millions of voiceless civilians whose daily stories of persecution go so cruelly ignored by the international community.

When our boats arrived in Cyprus on August 20 to collect the rest of our 40-plus group, news reached us that Israel’s deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs, Tzipi Livni, had finally responded to our invitation. The Free Gaza Movement had invited her to join the Cypriot authorities, who were coming aboard to search our boats in order to address their security concerns. Citing the Oslo accords, a document from the legal department of the foreign ministry asserted Israel’s right to use force against our boats. It claimed that security forces were permitted to detain the vessels upon entry to Gaza’s territorial waters, and that the peaceful, unarmed activists on board could be forcibly arrested, detained and “interrogated” in Israel. Why does a peaceful relief mission bring fury, fear and threat from the Israeli government?

Is this the way Israel observes its responsibilities under the Oslo accords? Under the accords and the Gaza-Jericho agreement, the only authority Israel reserved for itself was for “security” purposes. Our boats are no threat. Our David and Goliath mission is a focused, direct action to challenge the inertia of the international community which allows the “humanitarian disaster” suffered by the people of Gaza to continue. The activists carry no arms or threat of violence. If the Israeli government orders the destruction of this mission, it will surely be an act unequalled since the blowing up of the USS Liberty more than 30 years ago, a secret mission of sabotage to draw the Americans into the war against Egypt.

The prospect casts a shadow on our mission. But Liberty and Free Gaza will bring their peaceful cargo to the people of Gaza. Many families will now be gathered on the Gaza beaches, waiting and praying for the boats’ safe arrival. For those families, simply to be afloat in these crystal blue seas, enjoying the freedom of international waters, would be a truly wonderful thing indeed.

Osama Qashoo is a documentary film-maker and broadcaster

freegaza.org

A statement to the press from the Free Gaza Movement

Forty-six international human rights workers are now sailing to Gaza through international waters with one overriding goal: to break the Israeli siege that Israel has imposed on the civilian population of Gaza.

Any action designed to harm civilians constitutes collective punishment (in the Palestinians’ case, for voting the “wrong” way) and is both illegal under international law and profoundly immoral. Our mission is to expose the illegality of Israel’s actions, and to break through the siege in order to express our solidarity with the suffering people of Gaza (and of the occupied Palestinian territory as a whole) and to create a free and regular channel between Gaza and the outside world.

Israel claims that since the “disengagement” in 2005 it no longer occupies Gaza. However, the International Committee of the Red Cross and other international human rights organizations reject this claim since Israel still exerts effective control over Gaza. As an Occupying Power, Israel has a responsibility for the well-being of the people of Gaza under the provisions of the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention. Israel has abused its control and responsibilities by wrongfully obstructing vital supplies and humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza.

As Israel’s 41-year occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip defies international consensus, and because Israel has grossly violated its obligations, we do not recognize Israel’s right to stop us outside its own territorial waters, which we will not be approaching. To remove any “security” pretense that Israel may raise, we have had our boats inspected and certified by Cypriot authorities that they carry no arms or contraband of any kind. We have invited Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni to join us on our voyage and, in fact, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs has itself told us the Israeli government “assume[s] that your intentions are good.”

We are human rights activists, invited to visit Gaza by our Palestinian partners, and each of us has vowed to do no violence, in either word or deed. If Israel chooses to forcibly stop and search our ships, we will not forcibly resist. Such a search will be under duress and with our formal protest. After such a search, we fully expect the Israeli navy to stand aside, as we continue peacefully to Gaza. If we are arrested and brought to Israel, we will protest and prosecute our kidnapping in the appropriate forums. It is our purpose to show the power that ordinary citizens of the world have when they organize together to stand against injustice. Let there be no doubt: the policies of repression against the civilian population of Gaza represent gross violations of human rights, international humanitarian law, and constitute war crimes. The goal of our voyage is to break the illegal siege on the people of Gaza as a step toward ending the Israeli occupation of Palestine.

Satellite phone numbers available on the boats will be: a) 00 870 773 160 151; b) 00 870 773 160 156 c) 00 881 651 442 553; d) 00 881 651 427 948.

For More Information, please contact:

JERUSALEM: Angela Godfrey-Goldstein: Tel. +972 547 366 393 – angela@icahd.org

CYPRUS: Osama Qashoo: Tel. +44 78 333 81660 / +44 79 779 3595 – osamaqashoo@gmail.com

Free Gaza Movement: Israeli government recognizes “humanitarian” mission to break the siege of Gaza

To view the Free Gaza Movement website click here

NICOSIA, CYPRUS (18 Aug. 2008) – In a letter today to the Free Gaza Movement, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs acknowledged that the group of international human rights activists attempting to break the siege of Gaza were “humanitarian,” and stated that the Israeli government “assume[s] that your intentions are good.”

Greta Berlin, one of the organizers of the Free Gaza Movement stated that, “Since the Foreign Minister’s office responded to our invitation to join us, and said that we have good intentions, we now fully expect to reach Gaza.”

According to recent reports in the Israeli media however, the Israeli military is preparing to use force to stop the nonviolent campaigners from reaching Gaza. It’s not clear if the letter from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs signals a change of policy, or is simply an attempt to open up an official dialogue between the state of Israel and the Free Gaza Movement regarding the current blockade.

The Free Gaza Movement is preparing to sail two ships into Gaza carrying 40 human rights workers from 17 different countries. They will also deliver hearing aids for children who have lost some or all of their hearing due to Israeli sound bombs and sonic booms.

The ships have been named the SS Free Gaza, and the SS Liberty – in recognition of the USS Liberty, a U.S. Navy ship, carrying 340 that was attacked by Israeli fighter planes and torpedo boats on 8 June 1967, assassinating 34 American sailors and wounding 170.

The Free Gaza Movement hopes to draw attention to the devastating consequences of the Israeli blockade by actively demonstrating the power of non-violent direct action to change inhumane governmental policies.

For more information, please contact:

Greta Berlin, Cyprus
+357 99 081 767
Iristulip (at) gmail.com

Angela Godfry-Goldstein, Israel
+972 547 366 393
Angela (at) icahd.org

Free Gaza Movement: The Latest from Free Gaza and Liberty, Crete Bulletin

By Lauren Booth

Tuesday 12th August 2008

To view Free Gaza Movement Website click here

Well here on baking, blissfully breezy Crete it has been a day of high expectation and yes, again, disappointment.

I spent my first night on board last night, in water so calm it reminded me of Lake Geneva. Our group had enjoyed a late dinner with sympathetic locals in a communal dwelling in what was once Chania’s law court and prison. A touchingly run down setting of past grandeur, with a vegan feast thoughtfully prepared. Music was provided by an elderly man singing in Spanish, accompanied on the guitar by a young man with dreadlocks = known only as ”citizen of the world’. I finally arrived back on the boat at 2am certain I could sleep even standing up (much less lying down on a foam mattress). Chania is a rather lively dock even on Monday nights. The nearest taverna was hosting a family celebration complete with Greek musicians, the clink of moonlit glasses and much enthusiastic chatter. Suffice it to say I decided to find a vacant cabin. These are basic, unless you lived your life trawling for sardines.

An hour later the alarm on my mobile phone went – time to take guard of the ships with Jeff Halper, anthropologist and founder of The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions. The ships are never left vacant, the risk of sabotage being considered too high. Our turn as guardians of the Free Gaza and Liberty consisted of patrolling with a torch and talking noisily about subjects I was too tired to remember afterwards. However, knowing Jeff I’m certain they were both funny and profound.

The early morning meeting saw most sailors bright eyed and eager to sail, making plans for the longest leg of the journey to Gaza; the 3 day odyssey from the legendary isle of Crete to Cyprus. Both ships now have professional captains. Matthew who arrived this morning fresh from a private tour of the Greek islands looks very young (I have insisted he grow a beard to look older than seventeen) he assures us all that over three days his face will age. In fact Matthew is in this thirties with a wife and children and knows the waters between the Greek Islands intimately, the groups are very pleased to welcome him aboard. Having spent the morning studying the charts and the local shipping forecast (weather report) at 11 am Captain Mat (as he shall now be known) announced ‘Friday night is the perfect time to sail. Before that the journey in these vessels from Crete to Cyprus is not so much dangerous as suicidal.’

What did we do here in Crete at that announcement? For half an hour nails were chewed, each person went into a private purdah considering personal situations, the financial implications of staying longer, the commitment to those hoping for boats of hope to arrive on their shores. I know that the equally keen volunteers in Nicosia have important business commitments they have already delayed time and again for this mission. The news must have hit them hard.

Soon, everyone put the delay aside deciding how best to use this extra time to prepare. Huwaida and Courtney (please see biogs to find out more about them) are keen to brighten up both ships. Both locals and tourists who stop in front of both boats pointing and saying the word “Palestine’ are unsure they have found the ships they have either heard or read about. To remedy this, plans are afoot to paint the wheel houses in the red and green of the Palestinian flag, interspersed at Huwaida’s suggestion with words by the recently deceased Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish.

Practical preparations continue, this delay means more funding, for the project to break the siege of Gaza needs an urgent boost. Fifty travellers in two locations need to be fed and those in Nicosia need the rent for their housing to be covered in order to remain at the university longer than expected. Meanwhile here in Crete, despite the various pressures put upon them not one single person is leaving the project. How they cope financially with the pressure put upon them I have no idea. The single principle, the only thought on the minds of those here this afternoon is that thousands in Gaza are willing on this small, independent project. It’s the people watching the horizon in Gaza that keeps everyone going here in Crete.

Meanwhile the world waits too to see what happens. Today Correiere Della Sera, a major Italian newspaper read by more than 2 million, devoted an entire page of their world news section to the Free Gaza Movement and the injustice suffered by Palestinians. The US media is the only group noticeable by their absence.

Free Gaza have the boats, the crew, and the willpower to challenge Israel’s illegal barricade. Now all they need is the weather.

Here is a message to the Gazans watching their sea for signs of ships: the Free Gaza Movement are on their way. When the winds are with them, nothing else should be able halt this mission of peace and goodwill.

Medical supplies from Scotland still prevented from reaching Gaza

By Eva Bartlett

For previous article on the attempt to deliver medical supplies to Gaza click here

To view original update click here

After nearly one month of waiting at the Rafah crossing for Egyptian (Israeli) authorities to give permission to take the van full of medicine to Gaza, and after countless meetings and forms, today, Friday, at 12 noon, Khalil Al Niss arrived at the Rafah crossing to take the van away.

Over the course of the 25 day wait, the Egyptian authorities repeatedly refused suggestions regarding delivering the medical supplies, whether through the Rafah crossing, the Kerem Abu Salem crossing (Kerem Shalom), or via the Egyptian Red Crescent. That, along with the declaration by Israeli authorities, via the PA embassy representative, that there was ‘no way the van would ever cross through Kerem Abu Salem’ led Al Niss to decide, with no other option, to take the van from the crossing and begin the journey home.

Egyptian authorities presented many and varied the beauracratic excuses to justify their refusal to allow entrance to the medicine. The latest was that the medicine was not accounted for in an item by item list. As the medicine was donated by various supporters in the UK, Al Niss and Willis did not have one list with receipts to present to Egyptian authorities. Yet Egyptian authorities refused the suggestion to have a third party, like the Egyptian Red Crescent, unload and supervise the itemizing of the medical supplies.

Al Niss described his huge disappointment and frustration at not even being allowed to pass the medical supplies over to Red Crescent authorities to send to Gaza. On Thursday, he had met with the Rafah customs authorities, based in Al Arish, to discuss this possible hand-over of the medical cargo. He left the office with an document approved and signed by Ismail Abbas, the former General Manager of Customs in Rafah, now a Manager in the Arish branch, as well as by Khalil Attala Khalil, the Assistant to the Customs Minister. The document authorized the hand-over of the medical supplies, from Khalil al Niss to the Red Crescent, with a further stipulation that the RC would do their utmost to ensure the medicine was sent to Palestinian land, meaning Gaza.

Egytian customs authorities at the Rafah crossing itself vetoed the order flat-out, stating that Al Niss was not authorized to unload the van and give its contents to anyone else. Yet Abbas countered that “if anyone has a customs paper in his/her name, he/she has the right to give the cargo to whoever is specified on that paper. Then the contents belong to the recipient.” Abbas, extremely forthcoming and helpful, was no match for Egyptian bureaucracy, and Egypt’s determination to show deference to Israel rather than allow humanitarian aid in through any legal means.

Following Thurday’s promise and disappointment, Al Niss informed Gaza-based Dr. Khamis, the doctor the Scottish couple had coordinated with to deliver the medicine to, of the latest developments. Al Niss was again told that whenever the medicine got into Gaza, it would be very welcome, still urgently needed.

On Friday, the long, fruitless effort to bring aid to Palestinians in Gaza came to its end.

After over an hour’s wait at an increasingly-guarded border –with 6 army personnel trucks and a water cannon ready in the event Palestinians inside Gaza should protest their imprisonment– Egyptian authorities finally produced the paper releasing the van from its parked position at the border. The release paper stipulates Al Niss must drive the van back to the Nuweiba border crossing, with a police guard to ensure his departure, and that he cannot unload it at any point in Egypt.

Even without that stipulation, it would be impossible to open and unload the van, as it had been locked by Egyptian border officials upon arrival at Nuweiba nearly one month ago.

About 20 km away from Rafah the van stalled, technical problems. Three hours later, problems fixed, Al Niss continued the drive back to Al Arish.

But, during this delay, one branch of Egyptian intelligence, the Mokhabarat, called Al Niss to ask what his rush was. After 26 days at the closed Rafah crossing, and unccounted appeals to allow the medicine in, the intelligence agent related, on behalf of the authorities, that Al Niss had not exhausted all options, that the Kerem Abu Salem crossing would be opening in the future. Whereas Al Niss had been told by Egyptian officials he would not cross via Kerem Abu Salem, this latest suggestion lent little credibility.

Al Niss feels that this is a very poor attempt by the Egyptian authorities to insinuate that he and Willis aborted their humanitarian effort due to lack of interest. Nothing, he said, could be further from the truth.

The pair have realized that while the efforts they invested in gathering, driving, and trying to send across the closed border ugently-needed medical supplies did not succeed, the Egyptian authorities have made clear to the world their allegiance to political pressures, turning away from humanitarian need.