Israel allows boats protesting Gaza siege to dock in Strip

[bemildred]

Israel decided on Saturday to permit a U.S.-based activist group protesting the Israeli-imposed blockade on the Gaza Strip to sail two boats carrying humanitarian supplies into the Palestinian territory.

The boats entered Gaza's territorial waters on Saturday afternoon.

A senior Israeli official said Saturday that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Defense Minister Ehud Barak consulted at length on the issue on Friday and decided not to prevent the boats, carrying 46 activists, from docking in the Strip. The official added that "the organizers of the mission were looking to create a provocation and it has been decided to allow them to dock in order to prevent the provocation."

He went on to say that the authorities in Greece and Cyprus inspected the vessels and their passengers before they set sail from the port of Larnaca in Cyprus Friday morning, and assured Israel that they carried no weapons.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1014462.html

[ProgressiveMuslim]

1. The live coverage on Al-Jazeera is awesome! nt

[bemildred]

2. Gaza Protest Boats Dock in Port, Greeted by Thousands (Update1)

Aug. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Two boats that sailed to the Gaza Strip to challenge the Israeli blockade of the Hamas-controlled territory docked at their destination and released balloons the colors of the Palestinian flag.

Thousands of Palestinians greeted the 46 civilians from 17 countries aboard the Free Gaza and Liberty vessels with whistles and cheers. Palestinian lawmaker Jamal al-Khodary boarded one of the vessels to greet the passengers.

``This is a great moment, to see people coming to show solidarity with us and telling the world that the unfair siege imposed on the Gaza Strip should end very soon,'' Khodary told reporters.

The group said its trip was to publicize the suffering of the people of Gaza and protest Israel's blockade on the impoverished seaside territory that was imposed after the Islamic militant Hamas group seized control of the area in June last year.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aitXdLsG8E9I&refer=home

[oberliner]

3. What does this sentence mean?

"The activists on the boats plan to meet with local leaders by Hamas leader Ismael Hania, who called on Arab countries to follow the lead of the international supporters and send boats to break the blockade."

Are they meeting with Haniyah himself or with local leaders? I've read that sentence a few times and I think there must be a word missing or something.

[bemildred]

5. I think you're right.

I'm guessing Ismail said it or arranged it or something. Maybe "by" means "according to", that would work the best.

[oberliner]

4. Palestinians: Leftist boats didn't bring enough food

Palestinian disappointment: A Gaza activist told Ynet Saturday that local residents were disappointed by the small quantities of food brought in by two boats carrying international leftist activists.

"Many people thought these boats will make a significant contribution to break the siege, not only politically but also in terms of brining in goods, equipment, food, and medicine," he said. "However, once it turned out these boats contain too little food and mostly activists…some people left the beach disappointed."

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3586532,00.html

[Scurrilous]

6. The view from the boat / 'Ordinary people can do something'

<snip>

"Haaretz spoke last night by phone with Jeff Halper, an Israeli professor who was among the activists who sailed to Gaza.

"We proved that ordinary people can do something and succeed," he said. "Even Tony Blair can't go to Gaza, but ordinary people with drive can. The welcome was amazing. There were tens of thousands of people. People came out in boats and on windsurfers to meet us. Children swam out to sea and flashed the victory sign. I feel like we're fresh air entering a prison where a million and half people are living.

"I tell myself: We're in the modern world, the 21st century, and yet such excitement - over what? Over something we take for granted, that two boats arrived. Here it's a national holiday. Their isolation is so complete," he said.

Halper said that Gazans were eager to speak Hebrew with him, and to reminisce about the years they spent working in Israel. "Our impression that Gaza is Hamas, that there is only hatred there, is mistaken," he said, adding that he learned that "we are more of an obstacle to peace than the Palestinians."

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1014504.html

[ProgressiveMuslim]

8. Hopefully this will be start of a new kind of resistance. nt

[azurnoir]

7. That is good news

the boats made it and were allowed to dock without incident, may this be at least a beginning in the lifting of the siege.

[LeftishBrit]

9. Good news!

This seems to be much more successful so far than I predicted.

[oberliner]

10. Why are peace activists meeting with a terrorist leader?

A more courageous stand might have been to speak a few words of criticism against the Hamas terrorist activities of the recent past.

"We are here to help the people of Gaza and our journey should by no means be seen as any kind of endorsement of Hamas. As such, we respectfully decline any invitation to meet with Mr. Haniyeh."

A statement like that would have taken some serious courage.

[LeftishBrit]

11. I agree that it would have been better to do so.

Absolute independence of *all* political leadership in the region - Israeli or Palestinian (and certainly such a group as Hamas)- would have made the mission far more effective and inspiring.

[Scurrilous]

12. Blockade-running boat activists tour Gaza Strip

<snip>

"Dozens of pro-Palestinian activists from 17 countries toured the Gaza Strip on Sunday after their two fishing boats were allowed in despite an Israeli naval blockade of the Hamas-ruled territory.

The group also said it plans to bring 10 Palestinian students to Cyprus on the return voyage in another bid to highlight Israel's strict restriction of movement into and out of the impoverished territory of 1.5 million people.

"We are thrilled to be here," said Greta Berlin, 67, an American activist and a founder of the California-based Free Gaza movement, which organised the trip.

"We could not believe it when we saw the shore," she told reporters in Gaza City. "(It) was one small step for humankind and one giant step for Palestine."

<snip>

"The group plans to spend 10 days in Gaza visiting schools, hospitals, and refugee camps before sailing back to Cyprus with 10 Palestinian students who have been accepted to study abroad but were prevented from leaving Gaza."

more

[ProgressiveMuslim]

13. ON MONDAY MORNING, HUMAN RIGHTS WORKERS GO TO SEA TO FISH

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Date : 08-24-2008

GAZA CITY, GAZA (24 August 2008) - Two days after the SS FREE GAZA and the SS LIBERTY arrived to a jubilant welcome in Gaza, 20 to 25 of the human rights watchers will go to sea with the fishermen in a show of support for their struggle to keep their industry productive.

According to a recent article in The Guardian, "in the 1990s, the Gazan fishing industry produced an annual income of around £5m. That had halved by 2007 and is still shrinking fast. Under the Oslo accords, which in 1993 were supposed to herald the coming of an independent Palestinian state, Gazan fishermen were to be allowed 20 nautical miles out to sea, where they could catch sardine as they migrated from the Nile delta up towards Turkey during the spring.But Israeli naval ships in recent years have imposed their own, much-reduced limits, sometimes fewer than 6 miles out."

The group will leave in the very early morning and go to sea at least 7 to 8 miles off the Gaza coast. They will be on board two to three of the small fishing boats lining the shores of the Gaza port, making sure they and their international flags are prominent. They intend to stay at sea for several hours, providing protection for the men as they search for and catch the fish.

"What gives Israel the right to take away the livelihood of these fishermen, and why does the world allow them to destroy an industry that used to provide for thousands of Palestinians?" Said Greta Berlin, one of the five organizers of The Free Gaza Movement. "We intend to challenge that right, backed up by warships and machine guns, just as we challenged Israel's right to prevent us from coming here on Saturday."

The organizers feel that, since they sailed to Gaza with no interference from the Israeli military, they have established a precedent to press for the human rights of Palestinians, who want nothing more than to be free to make a living, go to school, and receive medical treatment.

http://www.freegaza.org/index.php?module=boat_updates&id=65cd6bc98f757b05fd8172b1b174fcee&mode=details

[oberliner]

14. Gov't not planning to detain activists' boats leaving Gaza

Israel is not currently planning to stop or inspect two boats full of left-wing activists when they leave Gaza, because there is no intelligence indicating that the activists plan to smuggle wanted terrorists out of the Strip.

The activists do apparently plan to smuggle out two students who received Fulbright scholarships in the United States, but were denied U.S. visas on security grounds. However, the defense establishment's current thinking is that a clash over this issue would simply play into the activists' hands by generating media attention.

At Washington's request, Israel has already allowed five other Fulbright scholars to leave Gaza.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1014938.html