13) ISRAEL AND GREECE BLOCK FREEDOM FLOTILLA
By Kimball Cariou
"Freedom Flotilla 2", the latest international attempt to break the Israeli siege of Gaza, was halted in July through the combined efforts of Israel, Greece and the major imperialist powers which now dictate policies to the Greek government. But the Flotilla organizers pledge to continue their efforts, which have won the support of millions around the world.
Most of the vessels in the Flotilla were blocked from sailing towards Gaza, as authorities used a series of bureaucratic obstacles to deny the right to sail from Greek ports. In some cases, vessels were physically sabotaged in operations which most observers attribute to the Israeli Mossad and military forces.
The final chapter in this stage of the struggle came on July 19, after the French ship Dignity-Al Karama managed to depart from Greek waters only to be forcibly taken over while in international waters, some 65 kilometres from the Gaza coast.
Elite troops from Israel's Shayetet 13 naval commando unit intercepted the Dignity‑Al Karama, asking the occupants to state its final destination and disclose if there were any weapons on board. The sixteen activists on board ‑ from France, Canada, Greece, Sweden and Tunisia ‑ replied that there were no weapons, and that they were heading to the port of Gaza. When they refused to change course, Israeli commandos boarded the boat. All communications with the ship were jammed, and it was forced to sail to Ashdod Port in Israel.
Dignity‑Al Karama had left the Greek island of Kastellorizo on July 16, heading south. Those aboard had told Greek authorities that they were heading for Alexandria, Egypt, so that they would not be prevented from leaving.
Canada's Tahrir ("Liberation" in Arabic) was raided July 4 by the Greek coast guard four nautical miles out of the port of Agios Nikolaos, Crete, while it was making a surprise run for open sea. Tahrir was carrying $300,000 worth of medical supplies, and dozens of social justice activists from Canada and other countries. Days later, in view of their immobilization by Greek authorities, the Tahrir participants suspended their current attempt to reach Gaza by sea from Greek ports.
Before its capture, Dignity had sent this message to the world: "This small boat is a symbol of determination of the International Solidarity Movement to end the siege imposed on Gaza and to express solidarity with 1.6 million Palestinians imprisoned there since 2007. The reality that the ship Dignity has been still in high seas is considered a setback for the Israeli government, which forcibly tries to exert pressure in order to legitimize the siege and silence the civil society movements around the world."
Responding to this Israeli action, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) said, "PCHR highly appreciates the courageous attempt done by the Freedom Flotilla 2 and was represented in the French Ship, which insisted on breaking the conspiracy of silence and illegal and inhumane siege imposed on the Gaza Strip's civilians. The Palestinian people are proud of the international activists' determination to break this conspiracy, reminding that the siege has still been imposed. Those activists are considered the symbol and core of the international civil society, which demands the application of the law against what is practised against the Palestinian people of jungle law and illegal siege."
Just one day later, on July 20, the Israeli Navy attacked Palestinian fishing boats and the Oliva, a boat which monitors the situation at Gaza seashore.
A PCHR observer reported that the boat sailed at 7:45 am, with international activists Joe Catron and Alexandra Robinson on board. Around 9:30 am, two nautical miles off the Gaza coast, two Israeli gunboats approached and attacked the Oliva using water hoses. One of the gunboats hit the Oliva, causing damages. The vessel was pulled by Palestinian fishing boats to the Gaza port.
As PCHR notes, Israeli attacks against Palestinian fishing boats constitute a violation of international law and may be considered war crimes. The Oliva was attacked twice earlier in July in Israeli attempts to prevent international observers from monitoring the human rights situation at the Gaza seashore.
(The above article is from the August 1-31, 2011, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)