maandag 12 januari 2009

De Israelische Terreur 623



FREE GAZA TO ISRAEL: "WE ARE COMING IN ON TUESDAY"
Sunday, 11 January 2009 14:15 Written by Free Gaza Movement FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For More Information, Please Contact:
(Cyprus) Huwaida Arraf, +357 96 723 999 or +357 99 081 767

huwaida.arraf@gmail.com

(Gaza) Ewa Jasiewicz, +972 598 700 497
freelance@mailworks.org

(Egypt) Caoimhe Butterly, +20 121 027 072
hotmail.co.uk


(U.S.) Ramzi Kysia, +1 703 994 5422

rrkysia@yahoo.com


(Cyprus, 11 January 2009) - The Free Gaza Movement ship, "SPIRIT OFHUMANITY," will leave Larnaca Port at 12:00 noon, Monday, 12 January,on an emergency mission to besieged Gaza. The ship will carrydesperately needed doctors, journalists, human rights workers, andmembers of several European parliaments as well as medical supplies.This voyage marks Free Gaza's second attempt to break through theblockade since Israel began attacking the Gaza Strip on 27 December.Between August and December 2008, the Free Gaza Movement successfullychallenged the Israeli blockade five times, landing the firstinternational ships in the port of Gaza since 1967.
The Israeli military violently attacked an earlier attempt by the FreeGaza Movement to send an emergency boat filled with doctors andmedical supplies to Gaza. In the early hours of Tuesday, 30 December,the Israeli navy deliberately, repeatedly, and without warning rammedthe unarmed ship, the DIGNITY, causing significant structural damageand endangering the lives of its passengers and crew. The ship foundsafe harbor in Lebanon, and is currently awaiting repairs.
Fouad Ahidar, a member of the Belgian Parliament sailing to Gazaaboard the SPIRIT OF HUMANITY, responded to concerns that Israel mayattack the unarmed mercy ship by saying, "I have five children thatare very worried about me, but I told them, you can sit on your couchand watch these atrocities on the television, or you can choose totake action to make them stop."
Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip have injured thousands of civiliansand killed over 800 people, including scores of women and children.This ongoing Israeli massacre severely and massively violatesinternational humanitarian law defined by the Geneva Conventions,especially the obligations of an Occupying Power and the requirementsof the laws of war.
The United Nations has failed to protect the Palestinian civilianpopulation from Israel's massive violations of internationalhumanitarian law. Israel has closed off Gaza from the internationalcommunity and demanded that all foreigners leave. But Huwaida Arraf,an organizer with the Free Gaza Movements, stated that, "We cannotjust sit by and wait for Israel to decide to stop the killing and openthe borders for relief workers to pick up the pieces. We are comingin. There is an urgent need for this mission as Palestinian civiliansin Gaza are being terrorized and slaughtered by Israel, and access tohumanitarian relief denied to them. When states and the internationalbodies responsible for taking action to stop such atrocities chose tobe impotent, then we--the citizens of the world--must act. Our commonhumanity demands nothing less."
Israel has been notified that we are coming. A copy of thenotification to the Israeli Authorities is attached.
The media is invited to the Larnaca Port at 10:00am to for finalpreparations and a press conference before departure.
###
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Take Action! CALL the Israeli Government and let them know that theSPIRIT OF HUMANITY is coming to Gaza. DEMAND that Israel immediatelySTOP slaughtering civilians in Gaza and STOP using violence to preventhuman rights and humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people.
CALL
Mark Regev in the Prime Minister's office:
+972 2670 5354 or +972 5 0620 3264

mark.regev@it.pmo.gov.il



Shlomo Dror in the Ministry of Defence:
+972 3697 5339 or +972 50629 8148

mediasar@mod.gov.il


This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it


Major Liebovitz from the Israeli Navy:
+ 972 5 781 86248

Official Notification of Intent to Enter
January 11, 2009
To: The Israeli Ministry of Defense, Fax: 972-3-697-6717
To: The Israeli Navy
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 OccupyingPower and belligerent force in the Gaza Strip that on Monday, January12 we are navigating the motor vessel, Spirit of Humanity, from thePort of Larnaca to the port of Gaza City. Our vessel will be flyingthe Greek flag, and, as such, falls under the jurisdiction Greece.
We will be sailing from Cypriot waters into international waters, thendirectly into the territorial waters of the Gaza Strip withoutentering or nearing Israeli territorial waters. We expect to arriveat the 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 Portof Larnaca. There will be a total of 30 passengers and crew on board,among them members of various European Parliaments and severalphysicians. Our boat and cargo will also have received securityclearance from the Port Authorities in Cyprus before we depart.
As it will be confirmed that neither we, the cargo, any of the boat'scontents, nor the boat itself constitute any threat to the security ofIsrael or its armed forces, we do not expect any interference withour voyage by Israel's authorities.
On Tuesday, December 30, an Israeli Navy vessel violently, and withoutwarning, attacked our motor vessel Dignity, disabling the vessel andendangering the lives of the 16 civilians on board. This noticeserves as clear notification to you of our approach. Any attack on themotor vessel, Spirit of Humanity, will be premeditated and any harminflicted on the 30 civilians on board will be considered the resultof a deliberate attack on unarmed civilians.
The Steering Committee of the Free Gaza Movement
Contact: Huwaida Arraf, Free Gaza Movement, 357 96 723 999

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