With multiple ships disabled, Gaza flotilla organizers regroup in Greece
Irish group pulls out of flotilla due to alleged sabotage, for which they are blaming Israel; others are getting ready to receive the call instructing them to start sailing.
By Amira Hass Tags: Gaza flotilla IDF. PalestiniansGREECE - With two ships sabotaged - the Irish ship is in no condition to sail and the Swedish-Greek-Norwegian Giuliano is still being repaired - the impulse is to depart from port and wait for the rest at sea, along with the French ship that sailed Saturday. This is also the wish of all those on the Tahrir, the Canadian ship with its 50 passengers.
The backpacks allowed on deck are half-packed, in a state of near readiness. The lists of telephone numbers are ready, in case there's a need to rush for a quick departure.
Psychologically people are getting ready to receive the call at three in the afternoon or two in the morning, and they know who they have to call in turn.
The strict instructions are not to be more than a 20-minute walk from the hotel. And certainly not to dream about taking a tour bus to ancient Greek sites, to climb a mountain or to risk inhaling tear gas during a demonstrations in Athens. But these instructions have been in place for days, so the fact that they appear in print is not enough to hint at a time of departure.
At the Athens press conference the flotilla organizers held on Monday, some journalists insisted on being told where the ships are. But the sabotage proved how logical it was to refuse to answer the question.
In both case of sabotage what was targeted were the rods connecting the propeller shaft to the engine. Two more points for those who present the flotilla as a declaration of war.
For the Giuliano, a routine inspection while it was in port revealed the sabotage, but the sabotage of the Irish ship Saoirse (freedom ) was discovered while it was being tested at sea, not far from the Turkish port where it was anchored. The crew found that something was wrong. The crew's assessment is that the sabotage was not meant to prevent their departure but to worsen at sea. That way, the lives of the passengers and the crew would be endangered.
Due to the seriousness of the damage, the Irish group is finding it difficult to pay for the repairs.
"Israel is trying to outsource the siege on Gaza to Greece and the U.S.," said Dror Feiler at the press conference. In other words, it turns other countries into collaborators in the imposition of the siege by blocking the flotilla - with warnings, threats, bureaucratic delays and adopting a "provocation" narrative. It seems like the participants in the flotilla are undergoing a process of "Gaza-tization." They are willingly experiencing, for a few days, some of the characteristics of life under siege in the Gaza Strip. They are tied up against their will within a limited radius of several kilometers. Their plans are repeatedly foiled by superior forces. Their clearance to depart has been canceled, and they are waiting for it to be renewed.
One of the participants in the flotilla is Mohammed Hamou, 29, a teacher of history, math and English as a second language at a high school in Canada and an instructor on religion at a university in Ontario.
"Are you not concerned about how the Israeli authorities will treat you because of your name?" I asked him.
"I would hope not. I hope to be treated as a Canadian citizen, a citizen of the world, and even asking this question should make us reflective about the treatment of non-Westerners in Israel," he said.
About 1,000 Muslims study at the University of Western Ontario, where he serves as their chaplain. His mother was born in Lebanon, and her family emigrated there in the 1950s. His father was born in Syria. He was born in Canada.
"Why are you on the ship?"
"As a conscious citizen of the world, who wants to assist the people who are in need and also to help guide governments of this world, I feel they are not doing enough. And therefore the citizens should stand up."
Israel is not the only class bully in the world, he says, so it's important for citizens of the world to act together. "The Palestinians need help from the outside," says Hamou.
 |
An activist playing a trumpet as others hold banners yesterday on their boat named “Audacity of Hope” moored near Athens. |
| Photo by: AP |
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If this flotilla tries to invade a sovergn nation, then by all rights that nation has a right to defend itself, no less than the Chinese, Vietnam, Korea, USA. The fact that it is Israel makes this an antisemetic situation because no other flotilla tries to break an embargo,, Where is the flotilla invading Cuba to break the US embargo. Ha! So to israel shot first ask later.. THere are too many enemies out there that will do anything they want to destroy your country.
The flotilla is not trying to "invade" Israel - or should I say Palistine.
the thugs are claiming victgim status.
Gazans don't need flotilla's expired medicine and broken wheelchairs,they need a responsible government wishing to live peacefully with the neighbors instead of killing them.Stop the killing,embrace peace and you won't need flotillas to see and meet real foreigners.
Israel's grip on Gaza is slipping. Currently Isael is parading on the world stage in full arrogance mode attempting to justify a policy which cannot be justified. If Israel is worried about weapons, let them search the boats at sea and let them proceed. There is no reason not to let the boats proceed to Gaza after such a search. This is a losing issue for Israel.
all the scaremongering,threats against journalists and activists has not deterred people acting in order to break the immoral illegal siege and the occupation on the people of Gaza..The people of the world are with you and wish you the very best..
I thing, Israel should also activate its WMD...After all,some peace activists could have hidden wooden stics again and old ladies may hide mininukes from Iran? Gaza flotila - stay human could endanger existing status quo .... Whole flotila should be sanked just like "truth history of Palestine". IDFshould not repeat mistake like in 67 with USS Liberty. peter czech
Oil money, UNWRA, EU funding... they are the most over-funded "oppressed" group in history and a comprehensive visit to the "WB" and Gaza shows how super-rich and un-oppressed most of them truly are. There are checkpoints and spot checks on both sides of the green line, such is conflict between look-alike cousins - There is no colonial situation there, no starvation and no oppression as the Israel-haters so desperately wish to believe. By far most Pal towns and villages hardly even see Israelis, except for on their big flat screen TVs in their huge mansions. Try visiting the true third world for a comparison, Hass. You will be shocked.
IDIOTS ALL IDIOTS
If you file through the European papers and channels you will see that nobody care to do a great report on that nonsense-Flotilla. So they are doing everthing just to get some attention. I wonder who is behind that enterprise, who of the "Peace Activists" would have enough money to purchases a new ship for $ 800.00 ? There is an organisation behind all this and I would make an easy guess!
Same applies to Sweden and Norway---now lets see who else the Geniuses in Israel can steer in the right direction.
May God thwart their plans. Foolish people.
The USSR was a military super-power without a moral back-bone. Look what happened there and predict your future.
I have a news for you. USSR was the major supporter and sponsor of Arab terror. Like you, Soviet propaganda call Israel "agressor, terrorist state" etc etc. Birds of feather flock togeter,eh?
engine's ran down, vessels' seaworthiness doubtful, no showers on board, useless cargo
check european media, nobody talks about these tortillas..even the turkish "hürriyet" is reserved. a huge miscalculation on the part of the organizers, now they have realized it and all of a sudden the ships are "sabotaged"and uncapable to sail ..
The mossad will also be on the board The organizers will be held accountable for losses...
They would have to be very very stupid to think that. Surely they can't be THAT stupid? Oh, I forgot: we're talking about Bibi.
Do you have ANY Proof that there are Weapons for Hamas on Board, or Terrorists or whatsoever ? No ? Thought So.....
Proof of terrorists or weapons will be provided when we search the ships, should they make it.
those who thinks that they can defeat the state of israel are total fools. last time, israel was caught off guard. the fools should have known that this time israel would be ready. their little propaganda charade will be of no consequence.
If any sabotaging was done..I have no doubt it was invented,or they tried it themselves .And yess if they think they that by commandering those ship of FOOLS..and in such large letters(GAZA)Shows their wanting a good reputation so's the world will notice them.. The simple reason is attraction to themselves alone..Pathetic and a puerile characters the lot of them that they are.A big drama for naught.
Israel has every right not only sabotage even destroy the entire flotilla its arms consignment in the name of aid to be used against innocent jewish population. Every Hindu stands with the Jewish people and Israel. Destiny has given Indian Hindus a brethren and we stand by them at all cost.
how the Palestinians carried a coffin in Lebanon & said that Israeli soldiers had shot him ? After he was filmed by BBC & CNN, they opened the lid & out sprang the 'dead' man ! Something like jesus trick. Don't put it beyond these organizers of the Flotilla,to use the same rouse. Seeing that they are not getting enough PR they decided on this path. Evidently it never seems to fail no matter how many times you use it !
Others may call it a Jew hate love in, I call it for what it is, a flotilla of parrots and people ignorant of the real world and what terrorists do to get new recruits. I wonder if the gays on the boats will be wearing their gay pride t shoits and the women will be wearing short shorts?
Dear reader, are you getting the point?
heal thyself.. it is obvious you are in dire need of some analysis
Either the Shin Bet is doing a really good job or the ships they bought are junk Either way, it makes me happy to see these provocateurs getting their due.
israel has declared a blockade on gaza. the blockade needs to be enforced and is being enforced. those who attempt to break the blockade are in violation of international law. none of this should be too difficult to understand.
Did you not see what happened last time?? You think we want to go through the same thing again? Contrary to popular belief we do not enjoy killing and do not want the bad press, however these people are about to break the law and must be confronted.
is what scares Israel. Anything which challenges the delusional propaganda under which Israelis operate is terrifying. The flotilla reveals a core truth: either the occupation has ended in which case the ships will be in Palestinian waters and it is illegal for Israel to act in any way, or the occupation has not ended, in which case Israel might act legally but it then admits to maintaining the occupation of Palestine.
Israel can not take the risk of allowing packages get in Gaza un-inspected. At any moment, they may contain weaponry.
do you have a proof that the sabotage was by israel? that it was sabotage at all? just because they are looking for an excuse to step back, doesn't make their accusation truth..
Thats exactly what i would say of some of your Rightists "Leaders"...
yep, it is expensive to maintain such ships by professionals and the irish are having financial problems at the moment. and after having realized that the pr-effect won't be as expected they decided to pull out .of course, the pride doesn't allow to admit all this. what did dror feiler expect , that there would be no warnings and threats after what happened last year? but words don't damage ships. the "sabotage by israel"is invented or self-staged to excuse their stepping back.
Send The flotilla to help the starving nations of Africa!! Yet YOU all insist in provoking a conflict with Israel. 'Gaza doesn't need anymore humanitarian aid,' says Gisha movement director!!!
So, when you have all the daily needs, you are happy in the prison? The flotilla s are mainly symbolic against the blockade. Israel claims, that there are no occupation. What other word you could use, when you are not able to go out from your own country or get in and you have the "supervisor" all the time. People are protesting even against their own governement because of much more minor things (higher taxes, age of the retirement)than because of the lack of the freedom caused by the outsider.
Just a bunch of liberals and anti-israeli/semites looking to make themselves feel better by confronted the state they dont believe has a right to exist. Its clear that they are not doing this to provide much needed aid.
main sponsors of the flotilla are producers of popcorn.
These non-violent Israeli acts even prevent people from being hurt. Hooray for non-violence!
The moment a flotilla ship pokes its nose out of the harbor it will be fair game to all international terrorists that crave notoriety or a mention in the media and will take a potshot at the ship just for fun.you will learn, that not the whole world supports your cause.also don't take showers, because the boat may sink, if the bilgepumps are faulty.
with two luxury hotels and many new cars and a new mall and several new apartment complexes in gaza, they dont look ,like theyre "suffering" ... Hotels and malls ? theres a desperate need for concrete ? are they gonna use the useless letters and flyers as aid ?
Anyone who cares about Israel and wants to save it from itself should be working hard to inform Israelis that this sort of propaganda just makes them look foolish, if not insane.
They should just let them have their little flotilla, carry some banners, shout and demonstrate and then they'll go home. The fact is that the border between Gaza and Egypt is open. If the main concern of the demonstrators was merely to enter Gaza and show solidarity or for any reason, (the tasty felafel perhaps), they could just walk right in from Egypt. Oh wait, a bird just fell out of the sky, dead, on my lawn. No doubt that it's Israel's fault!
if they are not stuppid and want to do something humanitarian you should already be in Lbia, syria or Iran, not on the ship to Gaza. they are only fearful people who seek for a show
Hey Peter. Your drivel above sounds like Likud's charter. Quoting upon request. It's a hightime you became familiar with who's who in Israel. And Likud today is rather "center" of the heavily brownish political spectrum of Israel. There are many wet dreamers in Israeli government who claim "the rivers" of the Greater Israel to be Nile and Euphrates. For Israeli right wing you would be quite a useful idiot - that is, if your blatantly howaboutist "reasoning" didn't make of you a useless one.
meggito told you so
They float around in a giant toilet helping to make smelly Hamas presentable.
... they are busy making enemies against Israel.
I understand that most of these people on the flotilla's are doing it for the publicity and to further their own private (or public) agendas. When they thought there was not enough press attention on them, they invented hype (fact: a propeller-less boat can not sink/ is not life threatening to passengers), but at least have the conviction to go through your task without winging and bitching at every turn. If the weather turns bad - Israel will be blamed too?
The boat was not propeller-less, the propeller shaft had been cut into and yes a boat that loses a propeller at sea due to a weak propeller shaft can sink.
just as there is no letdown in these extremists attempts to break the siege, there is no stoping Hamas from smuggling weapons and killing innocent civilians without the blockade. But the ignorant flottila organizers see only what they want to.
May be they can save time in Greece and learn "in loco" about The Allegory of the Cave – also known as Plato's Cave, or the Parable of the Cave – is an allegory used by the Greek philosopher Plato in his work The Republic to illustrate "our nature in its education and want of education". They will pay a high price for the nature of their no-education!!! Israel have many fire fighter airplanes full of urine of pigs from arabs farms waiting for them in the midle of the sea !!!
Is anyone reading this knowledgeable in ship propeller issues? I'm no expert, but it seems to me these 'life threatening' claims are nonsense. Assuming that the damage to these boats' propeller shafts is progressive and would have caused the shafts to break after a few hundred thousand rotations, all that would have happened is that the propeller would have fallen off and sunk. Further, the lack of propulsion and vibration from the unbalanced shafts would have been obvious long before they reached the breaking point and would have forced the boat captains to stop their engines. Life threatening? Someone tell these people to stop their whining.
There is wind and rain and big waves. With no propulsion, things can be dicey.
surely the organisers should have multiple of threats from mossad thugs
...this is way better than beeing blamed for the death of people in international water because of a millitary raid! israel doesnt want the flotilla, it told the world for months and if the organizers cant take care about their ships, well bad luck then.
Canada needs your incitement at its universities. As a n "educator" your open mind is refreshing. As a Canadian born child of Holocaust survivors its wonderful to know that future generations will benefit from your one sided, heavily biased Arab viewpoint. I look forward to finding you on campus to present you with our intellectual blockade of you and your followers. Unfortunately though the history of Arab Anti Israel protests always result in violence. Lets see how that goes, if you do return to Canada and don't find yourself in a prison cell next to a Hamas baby killer. Happy sailing.
Sure, you are heading toward Gaza where there is a clear "no go" policy by the State of Israel. And then you wonder why Israel is responding back (maybe). Sabotage at dock side does not endangere lives, ask the French gvnt. Get a life
There needs to be a port in Gaza as part of the two state solution that Israel supports. If Israel had any sense, they would help to build the port with customs zone under the control of the UN so that exports and imports can be delivered and weapons can be kept out. What is Israel so scared about?
i hope you will have terorism in your country, and loose some of your close friends/relatives, so that you can undertand ısraeli's feelings
Instead of giving their "aid" in private and without fanfare to Gaza's needy and receiving a blessing from G-d, these exhibitionists short on criticism of the real Hamas plague in the region and long on their tales of Israeli wrongdoing instead choose the scenic, media route to get their few minutes of YouTube fame. Proverbial Pride leads before a fall and these activists will assist in propagating this warning for yet another generation.
Moronic Leftist Internationalist Cukkoos.
do you think anyone from these ship of fools would stand by and allow their home countries to face missile attacks day in and day out for years? Not one country would stand for it...not one. Israel gave back gaza unilaterally. The pals in gaza CHOSE to support a govt who is on record as wishing to destroy the jewish state of israel. They voted for hamas...KNOWING what the objective was....israel has EVERY RIGHT to impose a blockade to prevent the importation of weapons into the strip....these activists have underlying issues with jews and of that there is NO doubt....people will say that is the typical response, but the truth remains...these are not peace activists, these are jew haters who will support anything so long as it opposes a jewish state called israel. I say they ought to be sunk, picked up and imprisoned in israel for long term sentences. Who cares what the "world" will say...it matters not when you have the UN and ban ki fool supporting ahmedinejad's hate fest in iran's farce of a conference on terrorism. The world has gone mad and the fashionable set like obama and ashton are leading us all down a path of colossal destruction with their naive appeasement policies. It's a disgrace how weak and afraid these so called leaders of the free world have become. Cowering before the arabs who have extorted all of them. pure cowardice.
The Palestinians live under one of the most brutal occupations and colonisations in modern history. That is why they attack Israelis. They don't attack Jews, they attack those who occupy and colonise them. The old furphy of pretending this is about religious discrimination doesn't wash with the world anymore.
Even mechanical problems are blamed on the Jews.
Abbas failed because he is no different from all othe Palestinian leaders. Boasting & arrogant their only policies ! Go back to the negotiation table without stupid dreams. That what your people wants from you !
What paranoid garbage!! the organisers bought a bunch of unseaworthy ships, that minimise financial loss when Israel impounds them, as Israel surely will. Amira Hass suffers from Stockholm Syndrome.
There is no evidence, but they still blame Israel. Is there anything these people would not blame on Israel. Sabotage, conspiring with other goverments,etc.
Good point.
Maybe Ireland should focus on its fallen economy. Or perhaps on Libya or Syria, where the governments are killing their own people. I think the Gaza fetish is some fringe people who are jumping on to a popular target, Israel.
There comes a point where the guilty have left too many instances to be bad luck. This was the doom of the disastrous Dubai killing where Israel sent so many people with so many forged passports that the whole scheme unraveled. It seems the same fools have been at work in the Flotilla case. The stage has been set. If any further ill fortune happens in the future Israel will be indicted even if it isn't guilty.
You're so smart, or have you forgotten, the Jews have been blamed for all the world's ills, since time began.
have they tracked down any of those 32 dubious Dubai killers yet?
At first anyone might be skeptical about charges of sabotage. Then there were too many instances to be ignored. Anyone who has set sail understands that a certain amount of bad luck is to be expected. Then there is the point where bad luck becomes too much bad luck to be a coincidence.
These ships should be sailing to Syria where Arabs are being murdered right now for demanding their freedom but these flotilla groupies know Assad would kill them all for sure.
some earnest good hearted honest dupes being used by politicos shame shame shame
While sitting off-shore, the IDF frogmen will have a much longer swim to do their sabotage. And they will be easier to spot coming.
What clowns, what a farce and on top of that a fake sabotage. I hope the participants will not forget to wear their red nose. The worst that could happen to the palestinians is the Israeli let these guys through in Gaza.
Everything is made into a major event with the foreign ministry, the Mossad, the IDF, the prime minister, and the media all on high alert for days and weeks. The cause of the flotilla gets a large amount of media attention (except in America where there is a media blackout on the subject). Israel can be counted on to do something over the top and stupid. This has already happened enough to insure that another flotilla will come no matter what the outcome of this one.
A good deal of interest shown by the American news outlets American Thinker and Pajamas Media.
I am preparing a flotilla to get as many people as I can to bring letters and sympathy to those israelis,including children who have been victims of terrorist attacks,bring love letters to their families and friends.I want to visit the southern israel and visit the communities near the Gaza Strip .most of citizens there live under constant fear of terror attacks(name it missiles)launch from the Gaza Strip.Lets see the story from both sides,lets bring Peace to Israel.Who wants to join me?ISREAL YOU ARE NOT ALONE!!
I think that IDF when/if it has to intercept the flotilla that it should lead with reporters. Then if anything happened the reporters would be there to record and tell the rest of the world. Under those conditions people could not say that Israel started any bloodshed.
why should not Israel?
alahuakbar
With all that is happening in Athens lately ...as Amira Haas pointed out in her report....maybe there are other forces at work looking to saboutage the flotilla.
And Amira is reaching new heights of idiocy with her rambling talk of "Gaza-ization" of these "activists".
I am sure most mean well. Good luck to them.
All ships in the harbor should be randomly pinging their active sonar at full power. And if you see any indications of divers actually in the water near your ship, take a plastic bottle and fill it part way with dry ice. Tie the bottle to a heavy weight. Add a bit of water, then seal the cap tight and drop it over the side. *BOOM* Won't do any structural damage, but the shockwave will rupture the eardrums of anyone down there.
Row,row,row your boats gently up the stream!!!
Without a paddle...
Gawd, this is entertaining! Can't wait for tomorrows installment
It makes perfect sense for people to want to join the flotilla. It is necessary to show support for Palestinians who, after all, are those who attacked athletes in Olympic Village, who pushed a man in a wheelchair off a ship at sea, who have shelled Israeli civilians, and who have held an Israeli prisoner for five years without allowing the Red Cross to check on his condition for three years. All that deserves support because, after all, the victims are only Jews.
a tiny fraction of one percent have ever engaged in murder or terrorism. It's about the same percentage for Israelis, by the way. Also, spambots will harvest an email thats left out in the open like that.
The continued severe violation of baic human rights by israelis are countless.
for 60 years...Also, the only POW Israeli being held is probably in waaaaay better condition than the thousands of Palestinians being held in Israeli jails. Thats a fact.
Those who swarmed Palestine in monstrous waves of immigration designed to destroy the Arab demographics, who terrorized Arabs and British until the British pulled out, who took over Arab property left by fleeing Palestinians, who destroyed over 400 Arab villages, built settlements on Palestinian territory, established checkpoints which prevent Palestinians from travelling freely, imprisoned 1.5 Gazans with an illegal blockade, built a wall that deprives Palestinians from farming their land and causes them to walk for hours to get to their destination, killed thousands of innocent civilians in attacks on Palestinians, such as the Gaza massacre, who continue to oppress and occupy Palestine for the past 63 years. Yes, anyone can see that the Israelis must be supported for their human rights record.
When are these delegates going to realize that it is the Islamic Iranian backed terrorist group Hamas whom they are supporting. Israel keeps the sea border closed to enable them to have control of what is going into Gaza....FGS, letting ships go into Gaza is giving Hamas a 'carte blanc' to import bombs and weapons which will be used to kill Israelis..