Bethlehem - MaÂ’an - Two of the 21 Free Gaza ship crew members were released without charges Wednesday, both Palestinian citizens of Israel, following interrogation by intelligence officers. Nineteen other crew members, including a former US congresswoman and a Nobel Peace Prize winner, remain in prison cells at IsraelÂ’s Ashdod jail facility awaiting deportation.
Enjoy it, Cynthia. It's for...THE PEOPLE!
The group was overwhelmed by eight Israeli naval warships as they steered a small ferry carrying reporters and humanitarian supplies toward the Gaza Strip on Tuesday. According to the capturing officers the ship was in violation of the Israeli blockade of the area, which was a closed military area as a consequence.
Free Gaza members on the Spirit of Humanity were threatened with live fire on two occasions, they said, and have pledged to continue their efforts to secure the safe release of the 19 remaining imprisoned crew members, and to continue efforts to break the Israeli siege on the coastal strip.
The two members released from prison Wednesday were Lubna Masarwa and Huwaida Arraf, both organisers of the Free Gaza Movement.
In an interview with the Israeli news agency Ynet, Arraf, who is also a citizen of Israel, said that authorities "put us in a warehouse, where we slept on a cockroach-infested cement floor, as armed soldiers were monitoring us.
Probably felt right at home...
"They didn't say a word to us. They confiscated all our personal belongings and phones, and they didn't let us contact anyone. A day later they left us at the Ashdod central bus station without any money or belongings," Ynet quoted her as saying. "What they did to us is unforgivable, but we're not the story here," she added.
Oh sure you are...
"The fact they threatened us with violence because we wanted to transfer medical supplies and drawing equipment for children is simply absurd."