"Free Gaza" initiative to try and enter Gaza by sea and open port

[Scurrilous]

<snip>

"A small shipping vessel will set sail for Gaza from Cyprus on 5 August expecting to be illegally detained as it enters Gazan waters.

The waters off the Gaza Strip are patrolled by Israeli naval vessels, and Israel enforces a "Fishing Limit" that is 6 nautical miles (11.1 km) from the Gaza shore. These restrictions on access and borders are enforced despite the 2005 Israeli "disengagement" from the Gaza Strip.

There will be 60 people aboard the "Free Gaza" vessel including a Holocaust survivor a survivor of the Palestinian Nakba, and members of the international Palestinian diaspora.

The crew intends to travel into the Gaza strip, past the international waters boundary, the 1996 Oslo accords boundary (20 nautical miles from the Gaza coast), the 2002 Bertini agreement boundary (12 nautical miles and 22.2 km from the Gaza coast) and the current "Fishing Limit" imposed by the Israeli navy since October 2006.

Legally, the group says there should be no problem passing each of these lines since Israel disengaged from the Gaza strip in 2005 and should no longer its control airspace and territorial waters.

The initiative hopes to draw attention to the continued de facto occupation of Gaza. In an interview with Ma'an on Saturday, a spokesperson for the group in Israel said that the crew expects to be stopped by the Israeli navy shortly after they cross from international waters into Gazan territorial waters, which according to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, extend 12 nautical miles (22.2 km) from an area's shoreline."

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[azurnoir]

1. Thanks for the article

hope they succeed in at least getting past the international waters.

[notfullofit]

3. Iran dropping floating devices off the Gaza coast

Taking the protest against the Gaza blockade to a new level, two boats packed with foreign left-wing activists will attempt to sail from Cyprus to the sealed Gaza harbor in two weeks' time

snip...

The purpose is to get into the Gaza harbor and breach the siege," Godfrey-Goldstein said Thursday. "The IDF will probably stop us but part of the point is to show that Gaza is closed off."

She said that if the boats were stopped by the Israel Navy, they would likely remain at sea for a few days in an effort to get the government to change its policy and allow free access to Gaza by sea.

Such access is not allowed and the waters off the coast are patrolled by the navy, mainly due to weapons-smuggling from Egypt and other countries.

In April, The Jerusalem Post reported that Iran was increasing its efforts to smuggle arms into the Strip by dropping floating devices off the Gaza coast that are then picked up by Gazan fisherman.

According to defense officials, Iran was sending rockets and other advanced weaponry to Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip via tunnels dug under the Philadelphi Corridor from Sinai as well as by sea. Officials said the navy was doing an effective job in curbing the smuggling by sea but that there were shipments that Israeli forces had not succeeded in intercepting.

The IDF Spokesman's Office would not say what the navy intends to do in the event that the protest boats try to enter the Gaza harbor.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1215331093036&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%
2FShowFull

I wonder how this will play out.

[Scurrilous]

2. Red tape hold-up for Scottish mercy mission

<snip>

"A COUPLE driving a van full of life-saving medicines from Edinburgh to Gaza have become caught up in a diplomatic row and are stranded at the Egyptian border.

Khalil Al Niss and Linda Willis spent ten days driving 1.5 tons of medicines donated by groups across Scotland to the border of the troubled area.

Gaza residents are suffering from a severe lack of vital medical supplies, including medication for
heart conditions and diabetes, as well as syringes, bandages, swabs, and antibiotics.

The couple have spent the last two days at the border between Egypt and Palestine after officials refused them entry to the territory, claiming they do not have the correct paperwork.

Speaking from the border, Ms Willis said: "Egyptian bureaucracy is amazing. We sat, had tea, filled out forms and were told 'okay, you're ready to go now. Just go over to that office there and fill out one more form'.

"We're completely exhausted. It's just been such a long journey.

"It would be fantastic if we could enter and deliver the medicine and save some lives."

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[Vegasaurus]

5. Why aren't you screaming about Egypt preventing the passage of this necessary aid

and medicines?

Why doesn't Egypt care at all about the Palestinian people? Why do they let them suffer so, by keeping the border closed and refusing entry into Gaza?

[Scurrilous]

8. Gaza mission stuck at border

<snip>

"A COUPLE driving a van packed with life-saving medicines from Edinburgh to Gaza have hit yet another bureaucratic hitch.

Khalil Al Niss and Linda Willis, from Balerno, have been stuck at the Egyptian-controlled border into Gaza for days as they await entry permission, but had hoped to be finally allowed entry over the weekend after an appeal from their MP.

But last night Ms Willis said they had been told they must now travel to an Israeli-controlled crossing point near Rafa to have their van checked before travelling back to enter Gaza and are awaiting permission to set off.

They spent ten days driving 1.5 tons of medicines donated by groups across Scotland to the border of the troubled area."

http://news.scotsman.com/uk/Gaza-mission-stuck-at-border.4333828.jp

[notfullofit]

9. Freaking disgraceful!!

Note, if it had been at an Israeli crossing it would have made headlines around the world.

[Scurrilous]

4. Israel fears European ship may sail to Gaza to 'break siege'

<snip>

"Israel is worried by reports that a group of left-wing activists from Europe plans to set sail for Gaza from Cyprus on August 5 under the slogan "breaking the siege."

The activists will reportedly include three members of the European Parliament.

It is still not certain how serious the plans are. However, Israel fears that if the ship does sail, it will create a provocation that would at best cause public relations damage, and could even result in violence.

The ship is being organized by the Free Gaza Movement and the International Solidarity Movement. Many of the latter's members have been barred from entering Israel on security grounds.

The organizers have reportedly raised almost $300,000 to finance the operation and recruited 60 people to sail on the ship. These include activists from several countries as well as journalists."

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[Behind the Aegis]

6. Oh the irony.

"A small shipping vessel will set sail for Gaza from Cyprus..."

[Name removed]

10. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Scurrilous]

7. U.S. leftists confirm plans to sail to Gaza to break siege

<snip>

"A group of U.S.-based activists confirmed Tuesday it would challenge Israel's blockade of the Palestinian territory by sailing boats from Cyprus to Gaza next week.

The Free Gaza group said it would make the trip in two Greek-flagged boats, after raising most of the $300,000 needed for the voyage from private donations.

Paul Larudee, one of the event's organizers, said the group will deliver 100 hearing aids to a Palestinian charity as a form of humanitarian aid.

"Israel says it's pulled out its soldiers from Gaza so they should have no objection to us going there," said Larudee, whose group is based in El Cerrito, California.

"We have been in contact with the authorities in Greece, in Cyprus and with the Palestinians ... There is no reason to contact the Israeli authorities because we will not be using their territory."

About 40 people from 16 countries, including Israelis and Palestinians, would take part in the event, he said during a news conference in Athens, adding that private boats were also invited to join the activists."

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[madeline_con]

11. Will there be a live feed? n/t

[Scurrilous]

12. Boat Updates:

http://www.freegaza.org/index.php?module=boat_updates

[Behind the Aegis]

13. All kinds of "fun" propaganda and lies at that site. n/t

[madeline_con]

14. Thank you. I'll be waiting.

[azurnoir]

15. Thank you n/t

[pelsar]

16. not a word about Egypt.......amazing isn't?

lots of info about the occupation, closed borders, illegal israeli activities.......i guess they too have trouble with geography and the southern egyptian border and the short history of the egyptian blockade......

i guess they dont want to get the egyptians mad......its not PC?

[azurnoir]

17. Well something is indeed amazing

But that no one is condemning those evil Egyptians for not allowing their Palestinian brothers free access isn't what amazes me. Are you really unaware of why Egypt is keeping Rafah is closed right now? But to belabor a point once again-

Egypt to keep Rafah closed pending soldier deal: Israel

We received clear assurances that Rafah will not be opened as long as the question of Shalit is not solved," said the official, who was present at talks between Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Israeli President Ehud Olmert.

Israel has eased some of its restrictions on Gaza as part of a truce with Palestinian militants that began on Thursday, but made any opening of Rafah, the only crossing that bypasses Israel, conditional on a prisoner swap.

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iW4d6nNUbvvTSvq1tCzp1qA5TwoA

Egypt did open Rafah for 2 days to allow people stranded on either side through

Israel had shut the crossings on June 25 after an Islamic Jihad rocket salvo which the Palestinian faction said was in retaliation for Israel's killing of one of its leaders in the West Bank.

On Tuesday, Egypt again opened the Rafah crossing - Gaza's main gateway to the outside world - for two days to allow hundreds of people stranded on both sides to cross.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/997910.html