Israel Navy intercepts sole remnant of flotilla heading for Gaza

By Anshel Pfeffer and Amira Hass for Ha'aretz

IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz ordered the Israel Navy on Tuesday to intercept the French yacht Dignite-Al Karame after it had refused to stop heading toward the Gaza shore.

Elite troops from Shayetet 13, a naval commando unit, boarded the vessel minutes after the IDF chief issued the order, and took it over quickly with no resistance on the part of the passengers.

When the Karame was some 50 miles away from Gaza, the Israel Navy began trailing the yacht and contacted the passengers on board, demanding they state their final destination and disclose if they are carrying any weapons.

A member of the Greek delegation to Gaza answered the questions and promised that they are not carrying any kind of weapons. He said their destination is the Gaza port.

An Israel Defense Forces official confirmed that the Israel Navy contacted the yacht, and warned it that it is nearing a blockaded area. Defense establishment sources stressed that they would not allow any kind of vessels to dock in the Gaza Strip, so any ship trying to break the blockade would be intercepted.

Following the quick interception of the vessel, the IDF sailed it to the Ashdod port where the passengers will be taken into police custody and handled by Israeli immigration authorities.

The IDF spokesperson stressed that the order to intercept the ship was issued only after the passengers repeatedly refused to answer the demands of the navy and stop sailing toward Gaza. According to the IDF spokesperson, none of the passengers were hurt and IDF soldiers offered the passengers food and beverages following the interception.

Greta Berlin of the Free Gaza Movement said the Dignite-Al Karame had previously declared Alexandria, Egypt, as its destination so it could slip out of Greece, and then changed its route to Gaza, saying it was a legal move.

Defense establishment sources said Sunday they expected no violent resistance from the 10 activists and three crew members aboard the Dignite-Al Karame, so its interception should be swift and smooth.

Dignité on the last leg of voyage to Gaza

For Immediate Release

Dignité on the last leg of voyage to Gaza: Small French ship carrying message that cannot be silenced

[ ATHENS] The Steering Committee of Freedom Flotilla II: Stay Human can confirm, that after anchoring in international waters overnight, the French-flagged ship Dignité / Karama has commenced the last leg of its voyage to Gaza. We wish all on board well and remind Israel to refrain from interfering with our vessel as it makes its way through the illegal and immoral sea blockade it has imposed on the Gaza Strip.

It is in large part because the Dignité commenced its voyage from a French port and the French government refused to interfere with this civilian human rights initiative that the ship continues its mission. The Dignité and its passengers – from France, Canada, Greece, Sweden, and Tunisa – represent a flotilla that was delayed by acts of sabotage and by an egregious act of complicity by the Greek government with Israel’s human rights violations and policy towards Gaza that the International Committee of the Red Cross determined to be “collective punishment.” But they also represent the steadfastness and determination of the flotilla movement to sail until the blockade is broken. The idea that Freedom Flotilla II could be stopped misunderstands the nature of this non-violent movement and its strength of purpose.

Despite most of the ships being unable to leave Greek ports, the flotilla nonetheless managed to highlight the vicious nature of Israel’s policy towards Gaza. Israeli leaders showed their willingness to use intimidation, lies, economic blackmail, threats of violence, and sabotage to stop boats that Israeli military officials admitted would not be carrying weapons. This clearly demonstrates that Israel’s blockade of Gaza is not based on “security”, but is meant to punish the Palestinian people, denying their freedom and keeping them cut off from the rest of the world.

Israel believes itself untouchable and continues its affront to humanity as a result of the international community’s failure to take tangible measures to defend Palestinian human rights. Indeed, as we have seen recently in Greece, some significant players – including the EU and the US – are even directly complicit in Israel’s crimes. This is why international civil society has mobilized to take direct action.

We cannot predict how Israel will behave as the Dignité approaches Gaza but we can say that – just as Israeli threats and violence have failed in the past to deter non-violent global solidarity with the people of Palestine – those on board this small French ship intend to reach their destination. The Dignité carries a message of solidarity and human empathy from the people of the world to the people of Gaza, and all of Palestine, that Israel’s violence can never silence.

While the Dignité continues to sail to Gaza, proving that the will of global civil society cannot be intimidated, the remaining ships in Freedom Flotilla II: Stay Human are regrouping to fulfill our obligations to the besieged people of Gaza and to the hundreds of thousands of ordinary people around the world who funded and organized this act of solidarity.

As long as the illegal blockade of Gaza remains in place, ships will sail to confront it; as long as Israel continues its occupation, colonization, and violent repression of Palestinians and our governments are silent about it, the global solidarity movement will mobilize to challenge it directly.

History shows that Israel is running out of options; we are only getting stronger.

For more information:

Huwaida Arraf (US): +1-202-294-8813

Alex Harrison (London): +44-759-485-7448

Angela Godfrey-Goldstein (Jerusalem): +972-547-366-393

Israel and the Flotillas: Clever madman

There is much angst among people of conscience over the fate of Freedom Flotilla II, but by effectively scuttling it, Israel is really just hammering more nails in its own coffin, says Eric Walberg

The efforts by Israel to prevent Freedom Flotilla II from leaving Greece have been largely successful. Of the original 10 ships, only the French ship Al-Karama (dignity) with 10 activists including French politicians, which sailed from the French Corsica two weeks ago, and the sabotaged-and-repaired Juliano (named after Juliano Meir Khamis, the murdered Israeli director of Jenin’s Freedom Theatre), were able to elude the Greek coastguard as of early this week.

Then Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman telephoned Sierra Leone's President Ernest Bai Koroma and persuaded him to withdraw his country's flag from the Swedish Juliano, giving the Greek coast guard the opportunity to block the ship in Heraklion. Though Al-Karama was apprehended by the Greeks while refueling at sea near Crete, it managed to give them the slip and is still chugging along, the lone survivor.

The Spanish Gernika (named after Picasso's 1937 mural against fascism) is still in port along with the remaining ships, though 20 Spaniards are occupying their embassy -- six of them on a hunger strike. Activists haven't given up hope that the Gernika, another French boat the Louise Michel, the Italian Stefano Chiarini, the Freedom for All and the Methimus II -- all sequestered or sabotaged -- will still prevail.

Israeli special operatives were able to dive in Greek and Turkish waters to sabotage some of the ships, including the Juliano and the Irish Saoirse (sabotaged in Gocek, Turkey). Both vessels had their propellers damaged -- if they had not discovered the damage, they could well have sunk at sea.

“Anonymous” (Israeli) complaints of unseaworthiness were used by Greek authorities to delay other ships. The Greeks, clearly acting on Israeli-US orders arrested the captain of the American ship, and then did the same to his crew members who went on a hunger strike outside the US embassy in Athens on 4 July, the anniversary of American independence.

The Canadian ship Tahrir had actually departed after its captain decided he was endangering the crew by remaining in the port, with Israeli frogmen liable to conduct further acts of sabotage. Spokesman Dylan Kenner explained that the Greek coast guard illegally boarded the ship and towed it back to port. When the passengers refused to identify the captain of the ship, all 50 of them were taken into custody.

The Tahrir finally threw in the towel when Greek authorities suddenly demanded new papers, knowing organisers would not be able to produce them on short notice. Ditto the US Audacity of Hope.

The Israeli government has thus extended its illegal blockade of Gaza to Greek ports, Kenner argued. Greece offered to ferry the aid to Gaza in cooperation with the UN, an offer the activists turned down as “insufficient”, since their mission was also about the rights of the Palestinian people and not just about aid.

The response from Israel was delight at the Greek actions. In Jerusalem, Israeli President Shimon Peres told Greek President Karolos Papoulias, “I want to thank you for following the instructions of the United Nations secretary-general and stopping the Gaza flotilla… Israel always has its hand stretched out in peace.” Greece and Israel are currently carrying out joint military manoeuvres, the sixth in the past year.

The response of the US Congress was to vote 407–6 to suspend funds to the Palestinian Authority should it pursue a unilateral declaration of statehood at the UN in September. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said, “We stand by Israel as our most valued ally.”

In related news, another ship, the Spirit of Rachel Corrie from Malaysia, after seven weeks trying to break the siege, was finally allowed to unload its 32 tons of PVC pipes at the El-Arish port in Egypt, thanks to the direct intervention of Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf, who assured activists that the pipes would reach Gaza. Their success coincided with the visit to Egypt of former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, who is a staunch friend of Palestine. Malaysia does not recognise Israel and is one of the few countries with a principled stand against Israeli atrocities.

As the Flotillers licked their wounds, hundreds of Western activists attempted to enter Israel en masse 8 July in a “Flytilla” to show solidarity with Palestinians in the West Bank. Israeli “intelligence” was prepared however, providing European airports with no-fly-lists of known peaceniks, preventing 350 from boarding their flights, in violation (what else is new?) of international law. More than 500 still made it to Ben-Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv. Of them, 124 were arrested, 40 are now on a hunger strike after being denied access to lawyers and medical treatment, and 69 have already been deported.

As always, Israel achieves its narrow, tactical victories at the expense of its long term strategy of achieving respect as a legitimate nation; instead, isolating itself further as a rogue nation with no concern for human rights or the welfare of others, despised by most of the world. In a 2010 European opinion poll 60 per cent saw Israel as the greatest threat to world peace (74 per cent in the Netherlands).

It extends its criminal siege of Gaza and occupation of the West Bank to Greek ports and European airports. It acts to encourage anti-Jewish sentiment where there is none, as it insists it speaks on behalf of the world’s Jews, its very raison d’etre being to act as a “safe haven” for them. The over-reaction by Israel to these peaceful protests, according to Gilad Atzmon, proves once again what Israel is all about: “the Jewish State is a closed society driven by ‘Pre-Traumatic Stress Disorder’ fuelled by vivid imaginary fantasies of destruction.”

The Flotilla, composed of well-meaning, perhaps naive peaceniks, was never intended to best the world’s most dangerous and highly militarised society. With virtually all the world’s governments in thrall to Israel, its sole purpose was first, to show Palestinians that they have the world’s people behind them and to encourage them to keep up their heroic resistance, and second, to highlight just how reprehensible Israel is as a state, how unprincipled and untrustworthy as a partner.

By its actions, the Israeli government and its cheerleaders have unwittingly done their part in this pro-Palestinian public relations campaign. Whatever the fate of the Flotilla, it has acted as further fuel to the boycott, divest and sanctions (BDS) campaign and the struggle to delegitimise Israel, or rather to assist Israel in its self-inflicted process of delegitimisation as an apartheid state.

Appropriately, this week, the seventh anniversary of the International Court of Justice ruling against the separation wall, the Free Gaza Movement (FGM) and the Palestinian Boycott National Committee called for an immediate and comprehensive military embargo on Israel. “The international community has a legal and moral responsibility to end their complicity with Israel’s unlawful actions,” declared the FGM. This is the only way to pressure Israel to abide by international law, to stop attacking civilian ships in international waters and bombing civilians with white phosphorous.

Israeli politicians are smirking at their ability to stymie the Freedom Flotilla II. But, writes blogger Saker, this is a Pyrrhic victory for the Israeli ship of state. They are like those partying on the deck of the Titanic, who were oblivious to the fact that, thanks to their hubris, their ship would soon rest at the bottom of the ocean.

Flotilla organisers consider sailing from Egyptian ports!

Gulf News reports:

The organisers of the Gaza aid flotilla are not ruling out the possibility of the fleet sailing from Egyptian ports should their efforts to sail from Greece fail to materialise.

Pro-Palestinian activists in Egypt have taken up the flotilla's cause, inviting organisers to launch the fleet from Egypt after Greece made it clear that it would not allow the Freedom Flotilla 2 to launch from its ports.

A source close to the flotilla's organisers told Gulf News that the Free Gaza Movement, which is organising the flotilla, had already been in contact with the Egyptian government about the issue and would not rule out sailing from Egyptian ports.

Organisers held a meeting earlier this year with former Egyptian Deputy Prime Minister Yahya Al Jamal and the foreign ministry official in charge of Palestinian affairs.

The Egyptian officials clarified their position on the Gaza blockade at the meeting. "[They] stressed two points: that the government recognises Gaza as occupied and therefore Israel is responsible for the population there, and that the peace treaty with Israel involves certain responsibilities for Egypt regarding the [shared] border," the source said.

The officials also told the organisers that they were trying to avoid a situation in which Gaza is "offloaded" to Egypt — purportedly referring to a situation in which Israel would relieve itself of any responsibility pertaining to Gaza and, in effect, transfer it to Egypt.

Officials at the Egyptian foreign ministry turned down a Gulf News request for a comment, tersely saying the initiative is still being discussed. However, Hani Sadeq, a professor of political science at the Suez Canal University, said that Egypt's military rulers were unlikely to allow the flotilla to sail from the country.

Playing it safe

"It is unlikely that they will agree to allow the sailing of the flotilla [from Egypt's ports] lest tensions with Israel... escalate. Instability inside Egypt would not encourage them to run the risk of opening another front of turmoil with Israel," Sadeq said.

The Egyptian government, he said, was more likely to evade public pressure by permanently opening the Rafah border crossing with Gaza.

"The corporatist interests of the Egyptian military do not necessarily match the interests of the people of Egypt," said the source close to the flotilla's organisers.

"As such, pressure from the United States and Israel would be paramount on Egyptian military leaders".

The cause has, however, been taken up by what is largely regarded as Egypt's most influential newspaper, Al Masry Al Yawm.

The paper has started a campaign calling on the organisers to sail from Egypt if they do not succeed in doing so from Greece.

Lina Atta Allah, a reporter for the paper who has been involved in the campaign, said it may be a challenge to have the call resonate in Tahrir Square where activists are busy with the revolution that ousted the Hosni Mubarak regime.

"The way we're pitching it is that one issue doesn't take priority over another, that all the issues are connected, and that this is one struggle against oppression," she said, adding that she has already seen positive signs. The campaign, she said, was being organised for two reasons.

Righting its wrongs

"Firstly, Egypt's post-revolution position towards the blockade of Gaza must change completely. Egypt should [now] play an active role in ending the blockade. Second, it is an opportunity for Egypt to rewrite a rather shameful history of having contributed to the blockade under the Mubarak regime."

Lina said slogans supporting the campaign had already started appearing in Tahrir square and the response by the paper's readers has been overwhelming.

Narmeen Saleh, a pro-Palestinian activist said that because of growing public anger at the government's policies, "officials will not block public support to the campaign".

"This step will reassert Egypt's regional status, which suffered terribly under Mubarak," she said.

-------

NB: This is *exactly* what I wanted to see happen : the "Egyptian option" will put us in a win-win situation.

The Saker

How to turn the Freedom Flotilla 2 debacle into an opportunity

What can we make of the FF2 debacle?

First, let's say this openly: the FF2 was a comprehensive defeat for civilized mankind and a major tactical victory for the "Jewish state of Israel". Yes, the FF2 did bring some additional attention to the Gaza blockade and the plight of the Palestinian people, but that is a very modest achievement at best. I would argue that the benefits of drawing the media attention back to Gaza are far offset by the costs of allowing the Israelis to claim "we are invincible, we can even outsource our repressive policies to any government we want".  Like the Borg in the Star Trek series, the Israelis always want to convince us that "resistance is futile". I can just imagine how depressing and demotivating such an outcome must be not only for the people of Gaza, but also to all the Free Palestine activists worldwide: frankly, the FF2 was, in essence, stillborn.

I have to say that I do not feel that the blame for this outcome should put upon the organizers of the FF2. Before the Papandreou regime, Greece used to be generally pro-Palestinian and I don't believe that anybody could have predicted the abject degree of subservient collaboration the Papandreou regime would engage in. Yes, there were signs of a "rapprochement" between Greece and the Israel, but that this would include a wholesale violation Greek and international law including preventing all the ships of the FF2 from *leaving* Greek waters was, I think, quite imaginable to predict, even for the most cynical among us.

What happened in Greece is a "perfect storm": a mob of international "banksters" mugging Greece, a Greek government comprehensively sold out to these international mobsters, Israel courting Greece to try to offset its crashing relationship with Turkey, and an always present Uncle Sam using all his might to blindly support any Israeli interests. As for the Greek general public, it would be fair to say that it had bigger fish to fry.

Still, the decision of the the US organizers of the Audacity of Hope to basically throw in the towel and leave is premature. In fact, I would argue that the FF2 can use the Greek government's actions to basically maintain a constant pro-Gaza campaign in Greece, in far more comfortable, not to mention safer, conditions than on the high seas.

Since the Papandreou regime is in violation of God only knows how many legal norms, sooner or later the FF2 would have prevailed. Yes, this might be a long-time effort and yes, it might be  costly, but I am quite confident that both money and volunteers could easily be found. 

Furthermore, pounding Israel's image via its shabbos-goy Papandreou and getting a pound of his flesh in the courts, the media and the public opinion could be a wonderful context for the preparation of the next, third, freedom flotilla, if only because of the legal precedence which will inevitably be set.  This might well be one of the  few situation were repeating the same thing over and over again expecting different results is not a sign insanity, but a very rational choice.

Now let's also look forward at what could be done next in preparation for a Freedom Flotilla 3. Here are some ideas which came to me:

First, letters could be sent out to all major politicians in Greece, Turkey, Syria (both sides), Lebanon (both sides), Egypt, Libya (both sides), and Cyprus (both sides) asking them to take a stance for the record on the legality of leaving the territorial waters of their country to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza.Politicians  answering 'yes' would be on the record, those answering 'no' - or refusing to answer - could then be denounced as 'Israeli puppets/agents' - something rather damaging to any politician in these countries. Such a write-in campaign would be simple, cheap, very effective and, frankly, great fun to do: basically, this would rattle the cages of the entire political class of the region.

Second, alternative routes need to be carefully considered. This is a tough one. Turkey seems to have gotten cold feet at the idea of a 2nd, nevermind 3rd, Freedom Flotilla. Egypt is in a situation too similar to the one of Greece: in deep chaos (albeit for different reasons), and very susceptible to the pressure from Uncle Sam. Libya is even in worse shape, with a Qaddafi regime fighting for survival and an opposition totally controlled by the CIA/MI6/DGSE agents. So it appears that there are not good options, but is that really so?  Let's take another look at the "Egyptian option": it would be easy to find *many* people in Egypt willing to help. Furthermore, since there are major elections scheduled in the near future, candidates running for office will be extremely careful about their stance on Palestine. And there is no March 14 movement in Egypt, no AIPAC, at least not overtly. Even more than in any other country, a write-in campaign asking politicians to state their position on the record could be use to unmask and embarrass pro-Israeli politicians. Is that not a "win-win" situation in political terms?

Third, the choice of Egypt will also complicate the job for the Israeli naval thugs who will try to intercept the next flotilla. First, Egyptian and Gaza territorial waters are adjacent to each other making it hard to monitor them and easy to organize false alarms (which always wear down the defending side). Furthermore, should the Israelis show their usual contempt for international law and decide to enter into the Egyptian territorial waters this would result in yet another diplomatic nightmare for pro-Israeli politicians and yet another wonderful opportunity to denounce the Zionists.

Fourth, the logistical capabilities needed to bring people from Egypt to Gaza are far smaller than from Greece to Gaza. Bottom line - a lot of money could be saved by choosing the Egyptian option.

None of the above is anything close resembling an actual plan. It is nothing more than a suggestion that I submit for discussion. I have always believed that a tactical defeat creates new opportunities to make a virtue out of necessity and that a fresh look into previously unconsidered options can be most productive.

I sure hope that the Free Palestine movement will rebound from its latest setback.

The Saker

July 6th Update from the U.S. Boat to Gaza

The presence of the U.S. Boat to Gaza in Athens is winding down. For more than 2 weeks the 37 passengers (someone was added at the last moment), 4 crew members and about 12 people in the support team there worked hard to make sure our boat - The Audacity of Hope - could sail as part of the international Freedom Flotilla 2 to Gaza. The Greek government's willingness to serve as the enforcer of Israeli's naval blockade of Gaza made it impossible for this journey to happen.

But the creative and determined spirit of this team of committed activists could not be stopped or silenced. They worked tirelessly to make the point in countless ways: they attempted to set sail knowing it might lead to a confrontation with the Greek authorities, they stood by the boat's captain when he was arrested and jailed for several days, several people held a hunger strike for a few days, everyone marched and rallied with other flotilla activists and with the people of Athens in their own struggle for economic justice, and incredible energy went into getting the word out to people throughout this country and around the world as the work with the media continued through it all.

Last night our group's activities in Athens ended and here's a description from one of our people there: "We all went to Syntagma Square which looks much like Tahrir where there is an encampment and thousands of people gather each night. On Sundays there may be upwards of 50,000 and on big nights hundreds of thousands. We unfurled to drum beats 22 flags sewn together representing the countries participating in the Flotilla. Our black and white signs were in Greek, Arabic and English. It was a beautiful sight. Then we marched to the Spanish Embassy where our Spanish partners were occupying its embassy demanding the release of their boat. We arrived at about 9 pm with drummers leading the way. They came out on balconies and we sang to each other. It was quite the sight."

Here's a link to video footage of last night's activity: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MB3195hOk4Y

Now our folks are beginning the journey home - some will arrive today, some tomorrow and others in the days ahead. Everyone is tired, but their energy is strong! They will share their stories and talk about their experiences in communities everywhere. And they will use this incredible time they shared in Athens as a spring board for further activism and organizing.

As soon as we can, we will send more information about the next steps and how you all can stay involved in the work to end the Israeli naval blockade and lift the siege of Gaza, as well as the efforts to end the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territories. That, after all is said and done, is what this effort has been about, and that is the work that must continue.

Below is a quick overview of several items related to our presence in Athens and our work with the flotilla. In the coming days we will be including further updates on our website so please check there. Also, remember, there are great photos and videos from these last two weeks on our site...check them out!

peace,

Leslie 

-------------------

JULY 6, 2011 OVERVIEW

1) Captain Released

Our boat's captain - John Klusmire - had a hearing on Tuesday in a Greek court. Her was released from jail, where he had been since Saturday morning, and was told he had no restrictions or limitations on his movements or activities. The charges against him were not dropped but we are hopeful that eventually they will be. Thanks everyone for all of the calls and email messages you sent to Greek and U.S. authorities in support of John!!

2) Hunger Strike Over

The 9 passengers who were on a hunger strike in support of our captain ended their fast. On Sunday they had been detained by the Athens police for several hours, and then on Monday 6 people (some others and some of the same folks) were again detained and then let go a few hours later. Everyone was fine and since then no one has been held by the police.

3) Our Boat

The Audacity of Hope remains in the hands of Greek authorities and we do not yet know when they will release it. Several of our people are staying in Athens for the foreseeable future to make sure the boat is safe. While we do not own the boat - we leased it from a Greek company - we feel a responsibility to make sure it is returned to its owner in good condition.

4) Information on Some of the Other Boats  - Please note that the situation for each boat has been constantly changing so it's possible that some of this information could already be put of date. We will try to get an update on the boats on our website as soon as possible.

a) On 7/5, the Greek Boat to Gaza group held a press conference at the Athens Press Club. Present were Dimitris Plionis, an organizer from the Greek group, Dr. Mattias Gardell of the partner group Swedish Boat to Gaza, Members of Parliament Tasos Kourakis and Theodoris Dritsas 2 MPs, and Green Party representative Iannis Tsironis. They denounced the government actions and policies forbidding ships of the Flotilla to leave Greek ports, effectively extending the Israeli siege of Gaza to Greek waters and outsourcing the siege of Gaza. Also attending in solidarity was MP Panagiotis Kouroublis, who had recently been expelled from the ruling PASOK Party for voting against the IMF austerity plan. He was given a standing ovation when he entered the hall.

b) The owners and crew of the Greek/Swedish/Norwegian passenger boat Juliano went on board in the port of Perama near Piraeus, and attempted to take the boat to the port town of Fokia, approximately 10 km. away, where they were due to attend a welcome ceremony at the invitation of the Fokia mayor, honoring the passengers and crew. However, the port authorities prevented the boat from leaving, without citing any justification. In the meantime, two rented boats filled with journalists and supporters gathered at the port to cover the action and to demand release of the boat, and have been confronted by port police. At latest report, the standoff continues, and a crowd of people is gathering at the Perama Port Authority to demand the release of the boat.

c) Passengers of the Spanish boat Guernica entered the Spanish embassy in Athens and staged a sit-in, demanding that the Spanish government intercede with Greece to release the boat. They hoisted the Palestinian flag and are refusing to leave until their boat is given permission to leave.

d) Canadian citizen Sandra Ruch remains in custody in the port city of Aghios Nikolaos. She and one other Suha Kneen, Michael Coleman, Australian Canadian were charged with impeding coast guard authorities by placing themselves in kayaks in front of police boats attempting to stop the Canadian boat, Tahrir from leaving Greek waters. They have been charged with interfering with law enforcement.

e) The other French passenger boat Karameh is again at sea in international waters, awaiting the other boats in the Flotilla. After leaving France, it proceeded to the eastern Mediterranean, where it sheltered in a safe port before returning to international waters.

On eve of U.S. Independence Day, U.S. passengers on flotilla start open-ended fast at U.S. Embassy in Athens

Demand that U.S. government pressure Greece to free their boat and captain, and allow boat to sail to Gaza

For Immediate Release

Contact:

Athens: Donna Nevel (30) 694-266-3852, Medea Benjamin (30) 698-404-7912

NY: Leslie Cagan 845- 688-5646

July 3, 2011 Athens, Greece

Members of the U.S. Boat to Gaza have begun an open-ended fast calling on the U.S. government to defend our right to sail out of Greece. The fast has begun in front of the U.S. Embassy at 91 Vasilisis Sophias Avenue in Athens. Fasters delivered an urgent letter to the Embassy and plan to sleep overnight outside the Embassy gates.

Passengers and U.S. boat organizers participating in the fast are: Medea Benjamin, Ken Mayers, Paki Wieland, Kathy Kelly, Ray McGovern, Helaine Meisler, Nic Abramson, and Carol Murry.

Passenger Kathy Kelly said, “We call on officials at the U.S. Embassy in Athens to publicly acknowledge our right to sail and to call on the Greek government to free our ship and its captain immediately.”

There will also be a march in support of the flotilla beginning at 7 pm organized by Greek activists who have been protesting the government’s austerity measures in Syntagma Square. The march will include a demand on the Greek government to let all of the boats in the Freedom Flotilla 2 sail to Gaza and to free the captain of the U.S. ship, who has been held in jail.

The departure of the U.S. Boat to Gaza – The Audacity of Hope – was first delayed by a complaint filed by the Israel Law Center and shown to be frivolous. Greek authorities then inspected the boat but, until the boat set sail five days later, the results of that inspection has not been shared with the captain and his crew.

The Greek Coast Guard stopped The Audacity of Hope some 20 minutes after it had left the dock on Friday, July 1. The Coast Guard ordered the captain to stop the ship, which he did. Commandos with drawn rifles ordered the ship to return. It is now impounded at a military dock in Athens and the captain has ben arrested.

Over the past two weeks, two boats of the international flotilla to Gaza have been sabotaged while docked at Greek ports. The potential danger to the U.S. boat was obvious to the captain, the crew and the passengers: there was a clear possibility that the U.S. boat would be sabotaged next.

Greek consular officials in the United States, when besieged with calls by angry Americans, told callers that they should direct their protest to U.S. officials because they were ultimately responsible. “We know that the U.S. government has been supporting Israel’s underhanded efforts to thwart the flotilla, and has been pressuring the Greek government to stop us. This is a disgrace,” said passenger/faster Medea Benjamin. “On July 4, it’s time for our government to declare independence from Israel and start supporting its own citizens.”

We note that on June 24, passengers on the U.S. Boat to Gaza visited the Consul General in Athens, Deputy Consul General Kate Brandeis agreed that the U.S. Boat “had a right to sail to Gaza.”

Ms. Brandeis assured the passengers that the consulate was there to assist U.S. citizens that run into difficulty while in Greece. To date, we have received no assistance from the U.S. Embassy and the captain of our boat, a U.S. citizen, remains in jail and has yet to be visited by anyone from the U.S. Embassy.

Interview: Adam Shapiro on the Gaza flotilla

Gaza-bound aid flotilla grounded in Greece

Statement of the Greek Embassy in Washington DC

Announcement on the Flotilla

Prohibition of the departure of ships with Greek and foreign flags from Greek ports to the maritime area of Gaza today

Pursuant to a decision by the Minister of Citizen Protection Mr. C. Papoutsis, the departure of ships with Greek and foreign flags from Greek ports to the maritime area of Gaza has been prohibited today.

By orders of the Hellenic Coast Guard Head Quarters to all local Hellenic Coast Guard Authorities, all appropriate measures are taken for the implementation of the said decision.

As it is known, the Hellenic Coast Guard local Authorities have already been instructed to submit to ships Masters of ships of any flag the relevant notice to mariners that designates the area of maritime blockade by Israel.

More specifically, for ships flying the Greek flag, relevant entries shall be made in the ships logbook together with the reception of the above mentioned notice to mariners as well as with the communication by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, dated 22 June 2011.

Furthermore, the broader maritime area of eastern Mediterranean will be continuously monitored by electronic means for tracking, where applicable, the movements of the ships allegedly participating in such campaign.

Finally, police controls of passengers and crews are conducted while there is cooperation with local police and customs Authorities for rigorous controls on issues of their competence.

Video of the Audacity of Hope stopped at sea by Greek commandos

This is how the Papandreou regime executes Israeli orders:

To say that I am absolutely disgusted would be an understatement.