SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Israel Says it will Prevent Peace Protest Boats Reaching Gaza Strip
Israel warned tonight that an attempt by peace activists to sail twoboats to the Gaza Strip was a "provocation" and said it would consider"all options" to prevent them reaching their destination.
A group of 46 activists set sail this morning from Cyprus and werehoping to reach Gaza tomorrow to challenge the economic blockade Israelhas imposed on the territory, as well as delivering a cargo of 200hearing aids for a deaf school and 5,000 balloons.
Aug 23, 2008
Israel warned tonight that an attempt by peace activists to sail twoboats to the Gaza Strip was a "provocation" and said it would consider"all options" to prevent them reaching their destination.
A group of 46 activists set sail this morning from Cyprus and werehoping to reach Gaza tomorrow to challenge the economic blockade Israelhas imposed on the territory, as well as delivering a cargo of 200hearing aids for a deaf school and 5,000 balloons.
Among those on board is Lauren Booth, Tony Blair's sister-in-law."I've been nervous, but today I'm excited," said Booth, 41, shortlybefore the boats sailed. "It's not about our fear, it's about thepeople waiting in Gaza. You can't think about anything else."
Israel has already warned the two boats not to undertake the journeyand tonight Aviv Shiron, the spokesman for Israel's foreign ministry,said the journey was a "provocation" and that "all options" were underconsideration to prevent the boats reaching Gaza.
It appears most likely that there will be a standoff with theIsraeli authorities tomorrow and that the activists will be arrestedrather than allowed into Gaza.
Although Israel withdrew its soldiers and settlers in 2005, it stillcontrols Gaza's air space and sea space, as well as nearly all theborder crossings.
Until a recent ceasefire with Hamas - the Islamist group that wonPalestinian elections more than two years ago and now controls Gaza -the Israeli military was mounting regular incursions into theterritory, saying it wanted to stop rocket fire into southern Israel.It has imposed a tight economic blockade aimed at weakening Hamas.
In a statement issued as they departed today, the activists saidthey would lodge a legal protest against any attempt by the Israelis toarrest them.
"If Israel chooses to forcibly stop and search our ships, we willnot forcibly resist," they said. "If we are arrested and brought toIsrael, we will protest and prosecute our kidnapping in the appropriateforums ... It is our purpose to show the power that ordinary citizens ofthe world have when they organise together to stand against injustice."
On January 20th, it begins...
Political revenge. Mass deportations. Project 2025. Unfathomable corruption. Attacks on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Pardons for insurrectionists. An all-out assault on democracy. Republicans in Congress are scrambling to give Trump broad new powers to strip the tax-exempt status of any nonprofit he doesn’t like by declaring it a “terrorist-supporting organization.” Trump has already begun filing lawsuits against news outlets that criticize him. At Common Dreams, we won’t back down, but we must get ready for whatever Trump and his thugs throw at us. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. By donating today, please help us fight the dangers of a second Trump presidency. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Israel warned tonight that an attempt by peace activists to sail twoboats to the Gaza Strip was a "provocation" and said it would consider"all options" to prevent them reaching their destination.
A group of 46 activists set sail this morning from Cyprus and werehoping to reach Gaza tomorrow to challenge the economic blockade Israelhas imposed on the territory, as well as delivering a cargo of 200hearing aids for a deaf school and 5,000 balloons.
Among those on board is Lauren Booth, Tony Blair's sister-in-law."I've been nervous, but today I'm excited," said Booth, 41, shortlybefore the boats sailed. "It's not about our fear, it's about thepeople waiting in Gaza. You can't think about anything else."
Israel has already warned the two boats not to undertake the journeyand tonight Aviv Shiron, the spokesman for Israel's foreign ministry,said the journey was a "provocation" and that "all options" were underconsideration to prevent the boats reaching Gaza.
It appears most likely that there will be a standoff with theIsraeli authorities tomorrow and that the activists will be arrestedrather than allowed into Gaza.
Although Israel withdrew its soldiers and settlers in 2005, it stillcontrols Gaza's air space and sea space, as well as nearly all theborder crossings.
Until a recent ceasefire with Hamas - the Islamist group that wonPalestinian elections more than two years ago and now controls Gaza -the Israeli military was mounting regular incursions into theterritory, saying it wanted to stop rocket fire into southern Israel.It has imposed a tight economic blockade aimed at weakening Hamas.
In a statement issued as they departed today, the activists saidthey would lodge a legal protest against any attempt by the Israelis toarrest them.
"If Israel chooses to forcibly stop and search our ships, we willnot forcibly resist," they said. "If we are arrested and brought toIsrael, we will protest and prosecute our kidnapping in the appropriateforums ... It is our purpose to show the power that ordinary citizens ofthe world have when they organise together to stand against injustice."
Israel warned tonight that an attempt by peace activists to sail twoboats to the Gaza Strip was a "provocation" and said it would consider"all options" to prevent them reaching their destination.
A group of 46 activists set sail this morning from Cyprus and werehoping to reach Gaza tomorrow to challenge the economic blockade Israelhas imposed on the territory, as well as delivering a cargo of 200hearing aids for a deaf school and 5,000 balloons.
Among those on board is Lauren Booth, Tony Blair's sister-in-law."I've been nervous, but today I'm excited," said Booth, 41, shortlybefore the boats sailed. "It's not about our fear, it's about thepeople waiting in Gaza. You can't think about anything else."
Israel has already warned the two boats not to undertake the journeyand tonight Aviv Shiron, the spokesman for Israel's foreign ministry,said the journey was a "provocation" and that "all options" were underconsideration to prevent the boats reaching Gaza.
It appears most likely that there will be a standoff with theIsraeli authorities tomorrow and that the activists will be arrestedrather than allowed into Gaza.
Although Israel withdrew its soldiers and settlers in 2005, it stillcontrols Gaza's air space and sea space, as well as nearly all theborder crossings.
Until a recent ceasefire with Hamas - the Islamist group that wonPalestinian elections more than two years ago and now controls Gaza -the Israeli military was mounting regular incursions into theterritory, saying it wanted to stop rocket fire into southern Israel.It has imposed a tight economic blockade aimed at weakening Hamas.
In a statement issued as they departed today, the activists saidthey would lodge a legal protest against any attempt by the Israelis toarrest them.
"If Israel chooses to forcibly stop and search our ships, we willnot forcibly resist," they said. "If we are arrested and brought toIsrael, we will protest and prosecute our kidnapping in the appropriateforums ... It is our purpose to show the power that ordinary citizens ofthe world have when they organise together to stand against injustice."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.