Haniyeh: Free Gaza ships a seige breaking success; vessels arrive safely in Gaza

Date: 23 / 08 / 2008  Time:  09:53
Gaza – Ma'an –

The Free Gaza ships docked Saturday at approximately six o'clock local time in the Gaza port. The two wooden boats were greeted by hundreds of Gazans and journalists who lined the beach and piled into boats to welcome the activists.

The group will stay in Gaza for at least ten days, first attending a conference on the situation, then touring the entire Gaza Strip to see first hand what the siege has done to the area. Officials said it was possible that the crew will meet local political leaders, though no decision has been made.

As the crew pulled into the port, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called the ships to congratulate them on the voyage, and thank them for their perseverance.

Palestinian de facto Prime Minister of the Gaza Strip Ismail Haniyah gave an interview, and said that the voyage succeeded because of the enduring Palestinian spirit of steadfastness. He called the Free Gaza project a "siege smashing" success, and thanked the crew for their efforts.

Earlier Saturday the Israel cabinet meeting decided that the country would allow the Free Gaza ships to dock in the Gaza port despite earlier warnings from the Foreign Ministry that force might be used to prevent docking.

Israeli press reported their Foreign Ministry spokesman Aviv Shiron as issuing the statement, saying he gave no reason for the change in policy.

Earlier Saturday 11 boats and 20 journalists launched boats from the Gaza beach to meet the Free Gaza ships for their scheduled noon arrival. The boats returned to shore, however, after warning shots were fired around three o'clock, and the siege-breaking vessels were still not within sight.

Problems with navigation equipment which the crew blames on signal-jamming radio waves broadcast by Israel, delayed the arrival of the ships.

Originally expected to dock in the early afternoon, the estimated time of arrival for the wooden boats is between five and seven this evening.

Twenty journalists had launched 11 boats from the Gaza beach in order to receive the Free Gaza ships coming from Cyprus to break the siege, but almost all have returned to shore.

Palestinian citizens have been waiting for the ships to arrive since morning, though they are not in sight yet.

At 10am local time the crew of the Free Gaza released the following statement to the project's organizers:

"The electronic systems which guarantee our safety aboard the SS Free Gaza and SS Liberty have been jammed and scrambled. Both ships are flying Greek flags, and are in international waters. We are the victims of electronic piracy. We are currently in GMS P area A2 and we are relying on our satellite communications equipment to make a distress call, if needed.

We are civilians from 17 nations and are on this project to break the siege of Gaza. We are not experienced sailors. As a result, there is concern about the health and safety of the people on board such an emergency develop.

We are currently experiencing rough sea conditions, and we call on the Greek government and the international community to meet their responsibilities and protect the civilians on board our two ships in international waters."

Jamal Al-Khudari, Chairman of the People's committee against the blockade and member of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), warned Israel against harming the ships, which are carrying international peace activists and medical supplies for the people of Gaza.

He said in a press conference Saturday morning that organizers had lost contact with the ships for several hours during their voyage due to Israeli distortion frequencies that were broadcast. The ships resumed contact with Gaza later on in the early hours of the morning.

Al-Khudari commended the activists for persevering despite the disturbances, and added that the crew had come across water mines as they entered Gaza waters.

"We will meet them and honor them as heroes," said Al-Khudari.

***Updated 19:00 local Bethlehem time

Break siege vessels anchor at Gaza port

[ 23/08/2008 - 04:50 PM ]

GAZA, (PIC)--

The two anti-siege boats carrying foreign sympathizers with the plight of the Gaza Strip people under Israeli siege for more than two years on Saturday anchored at the Gaza port amidst massive and warm welcome.

Thousands of Palestinians flocked to the Gaza port to receive the vessels that braved Israeli threats and went ahead with the voyage to besieged Gaza carrying humanitarian aid.

Israel backed off at the last moment and decided not to intercept the two boats at sea, which facilitated their entry into Gaza breaking the Israeli siege for the first time through the sea harbor.

The vessels setting sail from Cyprus on Friday morning had faced troubles as their communication and navigation equipment went down as well as the telephones on board.

However, the 40 activists or more aboard the vessels were adamant on reaching Gaza despite difficulties and finally succeeded only to be warmly received by the beleaguered inhabitants of the Strip.

Ismail Haniya, the premier of the PA caretaker government in Gaza, expressed deep appreciation and thanked the activists on board those ships, describing their move as "daring and a progressive step reflecting that the siege was isolated and not welcome by many world peoples".

Haniya in a telephone contact with Al-Jazeera satellite TV channel said that the arrival of the vessels represented a step toward ending the siege.

He invited the Arab League secretary general and the Arab foreign ministers to visit Gaza through the Rafah border terminal and end the suffering of one and a half million Palestinians, and said that the Arabs should adopt swift decisions in the light of the arrival of those two vessels to Gaza and to invigorate the League's decisions regarding breaking the siege.

Haniya: The anti-siege boats have the right to reach Gaza

[ 23/08/2008 - 04:30 PM ]

GAZA, (PIC)--

Ismail Haneyya, the premier of the PA caretaker government, stated Saturday that the international solidarity boats sailing to the Gaza Strip to break the unjust Israeli siege have the right to reach their destination, expressing his appreciation for this humanitarian, courageous step.

Haniya also hailed the popular and official efforts being made to receive the multinational activists boarding the anti-siege boats, saying the scene on Gaza beaches reflects that the Palestinian people respect everyone being in solidarity with them.

The premier underlined that this multinational solidarity move exposed the nature of the unjust Israeli siege imposed on Gaza and Israel's real intention toward the Gaza people, urging the international community to take more steps to end the unbearable suffering of the Palestinian people.

In a related context, press sources reported Saturday that the Israel military gunboats opened fire at the Palestinian boats prepared to receive the anti-siege boats coming from Cyprus to the Strip forcing them to retreat to the port of Gaza.

Israel also interfered with the private telecommunications of the international anti-siege boats as they were sailing to the Strip and also mined the sea to prevent the boats from approaching Gaza.

Abu Zuhri: The break siege boats reflect growing European popular protests

[ 23/08/2008 - 03:14 PM ]

GAZA, (PIC)--

Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman in Gaza, on Saturday said that the two ships that sailed from Cyprus heading to Gaza carried the important message that the international popular protests against the siege were escalating.

Abu Zuhri told PIC reporter on board one of the boats waiting for the two ships carrying international peace activists and medical aid to the Gaza children that the "bold step on the part of European sympathizers reflects the growing popular rejection in Europe of the continuation of this racist occupation at the expense of the Palestinian rights and interests".

The spokesman said that the step addressed a message to the western rulers that their peoples were increasingly denouncing those rulers' unlimited support to occupation at the expense of the oppressed Palestinian people.

He added that it also directed a message to the Arab rulers that they should assume their duties in breaking the siege on Gaza especially when they see European volunteers risking their lives to break the siege on Gaza. Those rulers should act to break the siege especially when they have the Rafah terminal to serve this end, he elaborated.

Abu Zuhri said that whether those two ships arrived or not the step is considered "important" on the road to lift the siege and encourages other parties concerned with the siege to take bigger steps to challenge that siege.