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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Irish Activists Seek Safe Passage for Gaza Aid Ships |
| 2011-11-04 |
| [An Nahar] Irish activists supporting a new bid to break Israel's blockade of the Gazoo Strip urged their government on Thursday to seek Israeli assurances that a new aid flotilla would be allowed free passage. The two vessels, the Irish Saoirse (meaning Freedom) and the Canadian Tahrir (Liberation in Arabic) which are carrying 27 people, are south-west of Cyprus and expect to reach Gazoo by Friday, the activists told a presser in Dublin. Claudia Saba, a spokeswoman for the Irish Ship to Gazoo group, said the activists had called on the Irish foreign ministry to tell Israel not to impede the vessels. "All Ireland has to do to ensure Irish citizens are not attacked and not approached in any way, seeing as they are never going anywhere near Israeli waters, is to say: 'If you want to maintain good trade and diplomatic relations with us then do not dare touch our citizens'," Saba said. Padraig Mac Lochlainn, foreign affairs front man for the small opposition Sinn Fein party which has representatives on the Irish ship, also called on the government "to speak to the Israeli government and seek safe passage". A front man for the Irish foreign ministry told Agence La Belle France Presse it was in contact with the flotilla organizers and the Israeli authorities, adding: "Our chief concern is the welfare of the Irish citizens who are traveling on the flotilla. "We are acting to try and ensure to the greatest degree possible that we do not have any repeat of any incident such as what happened on the first flotilla." In May 2010, Israeli naval commandos raided a flotilla of ships trying to sail to Gazoo, killing nine Turkish activists and sparking a diplomatic crisis. A second flotilla tried to reach the Paleostinian territory in July but several ships were sabotaged and the rest were intercepted before they arrived. Irish activists accused Israel of sabotaging their ship and Dublin said it would take a "very serious view" if sabotage were proved. Saba said the Saoirse was carrying 15 passengers but no aid, while there is about $30,000 worth of medical aid on the Tahrir. Israel has vigorously defended what it calls its right to maintain a blockade on Gazoo, saying it is necessary to prevent weapons from entering the coastal territory. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #9 Tell the Paddys to go have another drink, they're not making sense yet. |
| Posted by: mojo 2011-11-04 14:50 |
| #8 Why do the Irish care? There is a growing and vocal Muslim immigrant population in Ireland, politically aligned with the left. |
| Posted by: lotp 2011-11-04 14:05 |
| #7 Should have played The Protestant Boys on loudspeakers while boarding. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2011-11-04 12:30 |
| #6 The Juice Navy had to board the ships. Another ineffectual propaganda trip |
| Posted by: Frank G 2011-11-04 11:13 |
| #5 I think Israel's best option is to contract with a neutral power to have tugboats in the area for the purpose of towing "disabled ships" to a neutral port. I would personally recommend Greek Cyprus, because I bet they would agree to it, being on friendly terms with Israel. And it would make the Turks livid. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2011-11-04 09:15 |
| #4 "save us from the consequences of our actions!" F*ck em. They volunteered for the Irish Swim Team. Let them swim. |
| Posted by: Frank G 2011-11-04 08:48 |
| #3 Dublin said it would take a "very serious view" if sabotage were proved Proud beggars. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2011-11-04 03:47 |
| #2 Why do the Irish care? |
| Posted by: Water Modem 2011-11-04 01:27 |
| #1 Have the boarding parties armed with potato guns... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2011-11-04 00:23 |