News from French and Greek Boat to Gaza Concerning the Israeli Seizure of the French Flotilla

Israel seizes French Flotilla

Press Release Athens, 19/7/2011 1:30pm This morning, the French flag ship “Dignité/Al Karama”, carrying 16 passengers -among them the coordinator of the Greek Initiative Vangelis Pissias, and representing the international “Freedom Flotilla II – Stay Human” - started to sail from outside Port Said of Egypt towards the Gaza Strip. The boat gave its last position when in international waters, approximately 50 miles away from Gaza coast. Since 11:00am, while surrounded by 4 Israeli naval ships according to its passengers, every communication has been interrupted. A little while ago, it was reported as confirmed that the vessel was seized. Israel, once again, appears to play the role of the sheriff in the south-eastern Mediterranean. The disregard of any notion of international law, the mobilization of any legal or illegal means to achieve its objectives -to prevent any attempt of expressing practical international solidarity with Palestine- is a permanent well known tactic. The Greek government acted in such a pro-Israeli way that even Israel wouldn't expect, shamelessly accepting congratulations by the Israeli and US governments, while at the same moment Palestinians in Ramallah heavily disapproved of the Greek President -first time for a Greek politician. We demand from the Greek government, of course not to condemn the illegal act of its Israeli friends, who once again intervened militarily and beyond any concept of international law, against unarmed citizens in the international waters of SE Mediterranean, but to do, at least, the minimum and fundamentally self-evident: intervene immediately in order to protect -as required by the Constitution-the life and integrity of all on board and -above all- the Greek Vangelis Pissias. The Greek society will provide the response to the latest Israeli provocative act. The Greek society who -unlike it's government- stands firmly and through time in solidarity to the Palestinian issue and the Palestinian people. We call for a rally today at Syntagma, Tuesday 19th at 7:00pm Passenger List for "Dignité / Al Karama" 1. Stéphane Corriveau (Canadian Boat to Gaza) 2. Dror Feiler (Ship to Gaza-Sweden and European Jews for a Just Peace, composer - musician) 3. Hilary Folacci (Sailor) 4. Jérôme Gleizes (European Greens) 5. Jacqueline Le Corre (MD, Collectif 14 Support to the Palestinian people, PCF/french communist party) 6. Jean Claude Lefort (Honorary Member of french Parliament) 7. Jo Leguen (Navigator) 8. Claude Léostic (Spokesperson of Campaign "A French ship to Gaza" - Association France/Palestine /Solidarity -AFPS) 9. Yamin Makri (Collectif 69 Support the Palestinian people) 10. Omeyya Naoufel Seddik (Tunisian Federation for citizenship on both sides- FTCR, political scientist) 11. Dr. Vangelis Pissias (Campaign "Ship to Gaza - Greece", professor at Higher Institute of Technology, Athens) 12. Thomas Sommer - Houdeville (Spokesperson of Campaign "A French ship to Gaza" and "Campagne Civile Internationale Pour la Protection du Peuple Palestinien - CCIPPP", associate researcher at the IFPO - Institut Français du Proche Orient) 13. Yannick Voisin (captain). Also on board 14. Ayyash Derradji Al Jazeera journalist 15. Stéphane Guida, cameraman for Al Jazeera, 16. Amira Hass (Israeli journalist - Haaretz). The FPM Team

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BREAKING: Greek military halts Freedom Flotilla2 in its tracks

Happening now:

Greek military, avowing to stop the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, from leaving port, has placed the US Ship in a military port. Journalist Joseph Dana has said the office of the presidency has said to seize the Canadian boat while in port. Passengers aboard the US Flotilla are demanding to see their consult reps, but so far they haven't been able to.

There is a live press conference happening now, in Athens, for the Freedom Flotilla.

WATCH LIVE

Preparations for protests in Ottawa and Washington DC are being reported.

Rumors are emerging that Israel may be offering to bail Greece out of its current economic woes. If the rumor is true it might explain the new found corporation between the two countries.

Update:
Protesters have gathered outside the Greek consulate in NY chanting,"American citizens taken into custody by Greek gov"

An impromptu protest has spontaneously begun on the Greek island of Corfu, against the Greek Government's recent actions to block the Flotilla2.

2 Update:
Flotilla2 activists say they are, "angry and sad" and now having to consider a Plan B.

The Holland Flotilla boat has joined with the American boat on the Island of Corfu to protest.


It appears that both the Greek and Canadian governments have been complicit in taking actions to undermine the Freedom Flotilla2 effort. Meanwhile the American Jewish Committee (AJC) has praised the actions taken by the Greek Gov. "We express our admiration and deeply-felt gratitude for this courageous, principled step by Greece," says Executive Director David Harris of the AJC.
Greece is now pledging to Israel to expand it's police maritime coverage in order to prevent all Flotilla2 boats from leaving its shores. Harris goes on to state his gratitude to Greece for, "...preventing a serious challenge to Israel's legal maritime blockade of Gaza..." and that others should, "...follow Greece's lead in ensuring that the flotilla campaign, a Hamas solidarity movement disguised as a humanitarian enterprise, is no longer able to carry out its provocations."

His comments echo of talking points frequently used by Israeli supporters. Such talking points include identifying Hamas as a terrorist organization, and eluding that the sole purpose of Hamas is to destroy Israel. When the last Freedom Flotilla was attacked by the IDF, one of the talking points issued to Israeli pundits was that the Flotilla might have been carrying concrete, which Hamas, they claimed, would invariably use to build bunkers and military installations to carry out attacks on Israel.

3 Update:

(Photo is of armed Greek coast guard, blocking US Flotilla boat)

It is now confirmed that in return for stopping the Flotilla, Israel helped raise support for the Greek bail-out in the EU. An Israeli official stated to a reporter, "Flotilla organizers didn't understand that today's Greece is nothing like last year's, and they paid for it."

Egypt closes boarder with Gaza without warning or reason

Was it too good to be true? Or will Egyptians unite and protest the move?

Free Palestine

(Translated from Arabic via Google)

BREAKING: Egypt shuts down Rafah crossing !

Urgent: Egypt closed the Rafah crossing in a surprise without informing the Palestinian side and, without giving any reasons. and citizens with supporters of Hamas stormed the Egyptian gate of the Rafah crossing in protest against the policy pursued by the administration of prevention in Egypt.

Island: Reuters: Dozens of angry Palestinians storm Rafah crossing gate in Gaza after its closure by Egyptian authorities. Cheers for the citizens and people says wants to end the siege, and the police trying to disperse the demonstrators and onlookers now


UPDATE: The boarder, Rafah Crossing, has been re-opened.
(Translated from Arabic via Google)
Aljazeera : Egypt reopens Rafah crossing

Al Jazeera broadcast an announcement soon now that the Egyptian authorities decided to reopen after being closed for several hours

"FUCK HAMAS! FUCK ISRAEL!" The Youth of Gaza Speak Out, Issue a Manifesto

The Suffering Youth of Gaza, Issue a Manifesto

The Youth of Gaza

The Manifesto

"Fuck Hamas. Fuck Israel. Fuck Fatah. Fuck UN. Fuck UNWRA. Fuck USA! We, the youth in Gaza, are so fed up with Israel, Hamas, the occupation, the violations of human rights and the indifference of the international community!

"We want to scream and break this wall of silence, injustice and indifference like the Israeli F16s breaking the wall of sound; scream with all the power in our souls in order to release this immense frustration that consumes us because of this fucking situation we live in...

"We are sick of being caught in this political struggle; sick of coal-dark nights with airplanes circling above our homes; sick of innocent farmers getting shot in the buffer zone because they are taking care of their lands; sick of bearded guys walking around with their guns abusing their power, beating up or incarcerating young people demonstrating for what they believe in; sick of the wall of shame that separates us from the rest of our country and keeps us imprisoned in a stamp-sized piece of land; sick of being portrayed as terrorists, home-made fanatics with explosives in our pockets and evil in our eyes; sick of the indifference we meet from the international community, the so-called experts in expressing concerns and drafting resolutions but cowards in enforcing anything they agree on; we are sick and tired of living a shitty life, being kept in jail by Israel, beaten up by Hamas and completely ignored by the rest of the world.



"There is a revolution growing inside of us, an immense dissatisfaction and frustration that will destroy us unless we find a way of canalising this energy into something that can challenge the status quo and give us some kind of hope.

"We barely survived the Operation Cast Lead, where Israel very effectively bombed the shit out of us, destroying thousands of homes and even more lives and dreams. During the war we got the unmistakable feeling that Israel wanted to erase us from the face of the Earth. During the last years, Hamas has been doing all they can to control our thoughts, behaviour and aspirations. Here in Gaza we are scared of being incarcerated, interrogated, hit, tortured, bombed, killed. We cannot move as we want, say what we want, do what we want.

"ENOUGH! Enough pain, enough tears, enough suffering, enough control, limitations, unjust justifications, terror, torture, excuses, bombings, sleepless nights, dead civilians, black memories, bleak future, heart-aching present, disturbed politics, fanatic politicians, religious bullshit, enough incarceration! WE SAY STOP! This is not the future we want! We want to be free. We want to be able to live a normal life. We want peace. Is that too much to ask?"

'No dispute No controversy No complexity' Norman Finkelstein

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