Ireland to Israel: Let new aid ship break Gaza blockade
More than 100 of the activists who were aboard six-ship flotilla brought Jordan border for deportation; MV Rachel Corrie set sail Monday despite Israel Navy raid.
By Barak Ravid, Liel Kyzer and News Agencies Tags: Israel news Gaza flotillaInternational activists vowed on Tuesday to try to break the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip with another ship carrying humanitarian aid, a day after an Israel Navy blockade on the first six-ship convoy left nine people dead and several more wounded.
The Irish-owned MV Rachel Corrie, a converted merchant ship bought by pro-Palestinian activists and named after an American woman killed in the Gaza Strip in 2003, set off on Monday from Malta, organizers said.
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MV Rachel Corrie set sail Monday from Malta with goal of breaking Israel's blockade of Gaza. |
| Photo by: freegaza.org |
Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen urged Israel to let the vessel to finish its mission. The ship was carrying 15 activists including a northern Irish Nobel Peace laureate.
"The government has formally requested the Israeli government to allow the Irish-owned ship ... to be allowed to complete its journey unimpeded and discharge its humanitarian cargo in Gaza," Cowen told parliament in Dublin.
An Israel Defense Forces officer pledged that the newest ship would also be halted, setting the stage for a fresh confrontation after Monday's deadly clash.
"We as a unit are studying, and we will carry out professional investigations to reach conclusions," the lieutenant said, referring to Monday's confrontation in which his unit shot nine activists aboard a Turkish ferry.
"And we will also be ready for the Rachel Corrie," he added
But activists said they were determined to follow through with their plan. "We are an initiative to break Israel's blockade of 1.5 million people in Gaza. Our mission has not changed and this is not going to be the last flotilla," Free Gaza Movement activist Greta Berlin, based in Cyprus, told Reuters.
Israel decided late Tuesday to deport all of the the activists who were aboard the six-ship flotilla. One hundred and twenty of the nearly 700 passengers were transferred Tuesday evening to the border crossing with Jordan, from where they will be returned to their home countries.
Passengers on the MV Rachel Corrie include Northern Irish Nobel peace laureate Mairead Corrigan-Maguire and Denis Halliday, an Irish former senior UN diplomat, and several other Irish citizens.
Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin told parliament he had spoken with Halliday on Tuesday afternoon.
"We will be watching this situation very closely -- as indeed will the world -- and it is imperative that Israel avoid any action which leads to further bloodshed," Martin said.
Israel's Army Radio reported that the ship would reach Gazan waters by Wednesday, but activist Berlin said it might not attempt to reach Gaza until early next week.
"We will probably not send her till (next) Monday or Tuesday," she said of the 1,200 ton cargo ship. The Israeli navy stormed aboard a Turkish ferry leading a six-ship convoy on Monday, killing nine people in what authorities said was self-defense but sparking a world outcry, a crisis in diplomatic relations with Turkey and condemnation from the United Nations Security Council.
The Rachel Corrie was carrying medical equipment, wheelchairs, school supplies and cement, a material Israel has banned in Hamas-ruled Gaza, organizers said.
Mark Daly, a member of Ireland's upper house of parliament who had been due to join the convoy but was refused permission to leave Cyprus, told Reuters in Dublin that the ship had fallen behind the rest of the convoy because it was slower.
Passengers aboard it had heard about the attacks but decided not to turn back, he said.
"After having a discussion among themselves about what to do, they decided to keep going," Daly said.
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The IDF gets a do-over. Personally, I hope they drop a bulldozer on it.
Sorry. WHAT. How on earth did you draw a connection between those on the ship and the captors of Gilad Shalit??? Bizarre logic.
Ask Israel to deliver foods and medicines and non-military goods and there will be no problem. As to Israel cooperating with breaching the blockade, I sure hope she stands fast. I love the fact that jurisdictions committed to the rule of law, domestically, are prepared to condemn and cast blame and burden Israel before there is any investigation. Let the citizens of those nations engaged in that conduct be subjected to the same.
DO NOT INTERCEPT. The whole world is watching you.
next we will be hearing that the nobel peace laureat is an islamofascists armed with a slingshot and marbles and is liked to al qaeda in the mediterranean.
and at the outbreak of WWII there were more than 12,000,+ all driven out of the country. Makes you wonder why any Jew would take advice from the Irish government. Seize the aid cargo, donate it to poor Behouins in Bersheva and park the ships in expensive slips at ransom rents and auction them off to pay for the defensive action to compensate the state and to aid the injured soldiers and their families. Give breaking the blockade a price tag and opposite effect.
but I have doubt they need anything, except PR for more of the same.
She was the stupid activist that agitated to get DDT banned all over the world. Now the Anopheles mosquito kills millions of children every year due to malaria. Where as it had been erradicated now it is out of control. The only politically correct solution the leftist greenies come up with is mosquito netting... almost useless..
Where is the world condemnation when Israel is pelted with rockets year after year. Where is the world when Gilad Shalit is denied access to the Red Cross let alone his parents. The world should be very concerned about the growth of Islamist terrorist not just Israel.
Good for Ireland. Hopefully, Israel will not repeat its' illegal interference.
Maybe then the world should start sending flotillas to give "humanitarian aid" to the protestant "activists" in Northern Ireland. After all, fair is fair, right?
Is that so? And who will defend Israel against rockets fired by jihadist terrorists from Gaza? Ireland?
Is this a joke or for real...the rachel corrie boat...well why not? A foolish girl who supported terrorists lending her name to boat of fools helping terrorists...what a joke.
These people are really courageous. I hope they get through to Gaza. Will the Israeli regime dare to stop a ship named for "Rachel Corrie"? (Probably they will. They seem to have no shame whatsoever.)
You can expect one flotilla after the other over the next couple of weeks, after yesterdays bloodbath thousands of new volunteers will be recruited in Europe and elsewhere...... Do you wanna keep the world's attention for months focused on Gaza instead of Iran....??? Can you really be so stupid....??? For God's sake, give it up, little Jewish state, there is no way, you can defy the whole world.....
Dino, The little Jewish State will never give in, that is written in stone. For the little Jewish State cannot ever afford to lose a battle, least of all one that thrives on PR victories.
they will be routed to Ashdod, cargo inspected, and they will go home. Better volunteer to follow these directions. Iron bars landed on heads of commando will backfire.
We are being blamed as if we had massacred them all. Next time we should actually do it: as we get the blame, we might at least te benefit
has it way better than Gilad Shalit. The Palestinians have condemned him and his family to a living hell. So why don't these so-called humanitarians show an iota of compassion and try to at least let him have some contact with the outside world.
So it also goes for the 11,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. If you want to resolve the issue of prisoners complete the prisoner swap. The blockade of Gaza is a crime no matter which way you look at it.
They'll dock it in Ashdod.
"Is this a private fight or can anybody join?" Now that the Irish government has inserted itself, the Israeli government ought to be very swift and firm in holding them to account; The Irish government should be informed that Israel will hold them responsible for any bloodshed.
Hold them accountable, then watch as the EU, whose Ireland is a member, slaps you, kicks you in the balls and makes you beg for mercy All the EU has to do is boycott you and you'll quickly fall to pieces as they are by far your biggest market
Despite giving every single advantage to the Arabs, who outnumbered the Jews more than 100 to 1.
Ireland is not part of britain. Better ask your teacher to show his/her credetials.
The Irish are not British, not too good at geography or geopolitics are you? Not to worry, as long as you continue to recite the same old rubbish that it's everyone else who's wrong it'll be ok
this is the mantra that Israel politicians and spokesman need to repeat over and over and over-eventually it will sink into enough peoples brains.
Why doesn't Israel ban the import of weapons into Gaza? Let the cement and chocolate in.
Reasonable Compromise. For example, Ireland, why not even say, let the cement in and entire shipment, provided it contains no weaspons in to gaza we will willingly port at Ashdod unload be inspected and cause no complications. Surely the Irish can realize through the haze of pints that trying to use force, sailing through a military blockade regardless of whether it is just, moral legal etc... it is still force, well the thing is force will ussually be met by more force and if you have less of it well chances are you will lose a confrontation where force is force at play.
I think it is a matter of principle not to let the supplies go through the Israelis who have done their best to sabotage any peace initiative with their arrogance.
If Israel lifts its blockade on the material on these boats then they would no longer be needed. No sign of that yet though but its going to happen because of the efforts of the freedom flotilla.
Forcing the blockade is the actual right things to do. The goal has never been to bring those supplies, it has been to break an illegal blockade. Now, Israel can meet the ship with force again, but a few more of these will quickly result in sanctions from the EU, which will force Israel to stand down if it doesn't want to have its economy crippled
to the borders of the Irish towns and cities.
Only insofar Israel is concerned though. I hurry to add no Swedish PM had expressed sorrow on death of Hitler or sent condolences to The German People. Irish PM did in 1945.
That's an entirely false statement. Sweden is and was a neutral nation for sure, but being neutral is not "sitting on the fence", in fact it is a statement just as big as joining a war mongering alliance or another war mongering alliance. But if there is any credibility to your chosen name, you would know that Sweden was during the cold war rather close to NATO. The Swedish army was completely focused on protecting the borders from an attack from the EAST. The USSR was the big threat and after the fall of the USSR and communist eastern Europe, the Swedish army has been dismantled into almost nothing. We should likely be thankful that Sweden actually remained neutral during the cold war as the nation joining NATO officially would likely had resulted in a communist occupied Finland with another closely watched border between these two countries.
even arming them and vice-versa. this is no neutral, any more than the during WW2 when the blitz was on and the Irish govt sat on their hands. this Irish govt doesnt support Israel, stop the Rachel corrie.
and try to make sense this time will you?
The IRA supported palestinian freedom fighters and this is how they are perceived in 80% of the planet.
How would you feel if a boat full of terrorists and was trying to infiltrate your country? People act out of humanitarian motive not go to ship with firearms, clubs, and knives! "Peace activists" were attacked with clubs, knives, and firearms Israeli soldiers! This is not peace This is violence! "Peace activists" were stab Israeli soldiers until the soldiers were forced to defend themselves! What country would allow such attackers to infiltrate her country? on the Ships were active terrorists from Hezbollah! The point here that the ship passengers came in advance with weapons to attack the Israeli soldiers ... Although Israel offered to move the goods in a controlled manner to prevent transfer weapons are and the ship passengers Refused to this offer to cause provocations ..
DEPORT THEM TO gaza LET EHM ENJOY THE DELIGHTS OF THE hamas
.. isnt the border open on the egyptian side?
they are not stupid... and when there officers heads checked with iron bars, UN does not bother how many lose lives.
You mean it set sail BECAUSE of the Israeli raid. ...and it won't be the last. Every leftoid with a yacht is going to be coming at you this summer.
It set sail along with the other boats but is slower than the rest and comes from further away.
we can handle the business
Use the boats as security for the costs associated with intercepting them. Israel would get a fine collection!