[News] Free Gaza's ship launches another emergency mission

[Anti-Imperialist News]

FREE GAZA TO ISRAEL: WE ARE COMING IN ON TUESDAY

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  Monday January 12, 2009 08:05
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 by Free Gaza Movement 
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Press release Free Gaza Movement
(Cyprus, 11 January 2009) - Free Gaza's ship, SPIRIT OF HUMANITY, 
will leave Larnaca Port at 12:00 noon, Monday, 12 January, on an 
emergency mission to besieged Gaza. It will carry desperately needed 
doctors, journalists, human rights workers, and members of several 
European parliaments plus medical supplies. This voyage marks Free 
Gaza's second attempt to break the blockade since Israel began 
attacking the Gaza Strip. Between August-December 2008, Free Gaza 
successfully challenged the Israeli blockade five times, landing the 
first international ships in Gaza port since 1967.

fgm.jpg


Israeli military violently attacked an earlier attempt by Free Gaza 
to send an emergency boat with doctors and medical supplies to Gaza. 
On 30 December, Israel's navy deliberately, repeatedly and without 
warning rammed the unarmed DIGNITY, causing significant structural 
damage, endangering the lives of passengers and crew. The ship found 
safe haven in Lebanon, and awaited repairs.

Fouad Ahidar, a Belgian parliamentarian sailing to Gaza aboard SPIRIT 
OF HUMANITY, responded to concerns that Israel may attack the unarmed 
mercy ship: "I have five children very worried about me, but I told 
them, you can sit on your sofa and watch these atrocities on TV, or 
you can choose to take action to make them stop."

Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip have injured thousands of civilians 
and killed over 800 people, including hundreds of women and children. 
This ongoing massacre is a massive violatation of international 
humanitarian law, defined by the Geneva Conventions, especially 
obligations of an Occupying Power and requirements of laws in war. 
The United Nations has failed to protect the Palestinian civilian 
population from Israel's violations of IHL. Israel has closed off 
Gaza from the international community (today refusing to allow a 
European parliamentary delegation to enter via Rafah) and demanded 
that all foreigners leave.

Huwaida Arraf, a Free Gaza organizer, states, "We cannot just sit by 
and wait for Israel to decide to stop the killing and open the 
borders for relief workers to pick up the pieces. We are coming in. 
There is an urgent need for this mission as Palestinian civilians in 
Gaza are being terrorized and slaughtered by Israel, and access to 
humanitarian relief denied to them. When states and the international 
bodies responsible for taking action to stop such atrocities choose 
to be impotent, then we--the citizens of the world--must act. Our 
common humanity demands nothing less."

Israel has been notified by fax that we are coming. A copy of our 
notification to Israeli Authorities is attached. The media is invited 
to Larnaca Port at 10:00am for final preparations and a press 
conference before departure. ###

Official Notification of Intent to Enter

January 11, 2009

To: The Israeli Ministry of Defense, Fax: 972-3-697-6717

To: The Israeli Navy, Fax: 03-737-6123 / 03-737-7175

To: The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Fax 972-2-5303367

From: The Free Gaza Movement

This letter serves as a formal notification to you as the Occupying 
Power and belligerent force in the Gaza Strip that on Monday, January 
12 we are navigating the motor vessel, Spirit of Humanity, from the 
Port of Larnaca to the port of Gaza City. Our vessel will be flying 
the Greek flag, and, as such, falls under the jurisdiction of Greece.

We will be sailing from Cypriot waters into international waters, 
then directly into the territorial waters of the Gaza Strip without 
entering or nearing Israeli territorial waters. We expect to arrive 
at Gaza Port on Tuesday, January 13, 2009.

We will be carrying urgently needed medical supplies in sealed boxes, 
cleared by customs at the Larnaca International Airport and the Port 
of Larnaca. There will be a total of 30 passengers and crew on board, 
among them members of various European Parliaments and several 
physicians. Our boat and cargo will also have received security 
clearance from the Port Authorities in Cyprus before we depart.

As it will be confirmed that neither we, the cargo, any of the boat's 
contents, nor the boat itself constitute any threat to the security 
of Israel or its armed forces, we do not expect any interference with 
our voyage by Israel's authorities.

On Tuesday, December 30, an Israeli Navy vessel violently, and 
without warning, attacked our motor vessel Dignity, disabling the 
vessel and endangering the lives of the 16 civilians on board. This 
notice serves as clear notification to you of our approach. Any 
attack on the motor vessel, Spirit of Humanity, will be premeditated, 
and any harm inflicted on the 30 civilians on board will be 
considered the result of a deliberate attack on unarmed civilians.

The Steering Committee of the Free Gaza Movement
<http://www.freegaza.org>http://www.freegaza.org




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