It pains me to write this.
Terrible news has reached us in the early hours of Thursday – the Irish Ship To Gaza, MV Saoirse, has been SABOTAGED, presumably by agents of Israel. The damage is extensive, and indeed, if it had gone undetected apparently may have been lıfe-threatenıng if the ship had been at sea.
This is an unacceptable act of aggression against an Irish vessel (which is sovereign Irish territory), against the Freedom Flotilla, and most importantly against the people of Palestine which this flotilla was intending to reach in an act of humanitarian solidarity.
Irishtimes.com has also reported the Irish ship, the MV Saoirse, is no longer taking part in the flotilla because it has been "dangerously" sabotaged.
“This was the type of sabotage that endangered human life,” Mr Lane said last night. “They put divers under the boat who cut a piece out of the propeller shaft. That means that the damage would have happened gradually and what would have happened eventually is that the propeller would have come up through the bottom of the boat, caused a flood in the engine room and would have caused the boat to sink.”
He said the attack was “unnerving” for the crew, classifying it as a “violent attack” on the lives of those aboard. He said pictures detailing the damage to the ship would be published by the campaign today during a press conference in Dublin.
Mr Lane said that, due to the extent of the damage, the MV Saoirse would not be in a position to sail, adding that just six of the 20-plus crew who had been due to set sail would be able to take part in the flotilla by joining an Italian-based vessel today.
Dammit!
The Irish government was perhaps the most vociferous in its warnings to Israel not to harm its citizens. Pathetic cowardice of Israel, terrified of unarmed siege-breakers.
livid, just livid.
better than a massacre tho.
There’s time enough for that too, Annie.
We’re in the early innings yet. There appear to be no bounds to the approbation the Israelis yearn to heap upon themselves.
let us pray no deaths this time around.
At the same time Israel is lobbying the Irish government to vote against the Palestinians in the UN in September. Fat chance.
For most Irish people Israel looks more and more like the Black and Tans .
link to en.wikipedia.org
Bingo. Do not think the Irish will roll over
Eamon Gilmore, the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of the new Irish government, has issued a pretty firm statement: Belfast Telegraph: Irish Gaza aid ship damaged in dock:
Amira Hass has the lead on Haaretz on these developments:
link to haaretz.com
She is making the very sensible point that these acts of sabotage and legal delays are putting the whole story of the Gaza siege on the front pages of newspapers around the world. No sentient observer doubts that Israel is behind these acts. Thus even if no ship leaves port the political goals of the flotilla are being achieved. However, we all know that some of the ships will set sail. Therefore making their voyage and confrontation with the Israeli navy even more newsworthy.
Poor Israel is being pummeled in the eyes of the world no matter what they do now. Literally, the whole world is watching. Anything Israel tries at this point to divert attention is the equivalent of pouring more gasoline on a growing public relations conflagration.
However this turns out the flotilla is turning out to be a great success. Also for those of us who were worried about the safety of the volunteers on those boats and ships, there is good news in this — with this intense publicity Israel’s option to engage in another atrocity is greatly reduced. I noticed in the same Haaretz issue, that Barak is trying to turn down the heat and divert attention away from the flotilla. He is basically trying to say — no big deal. Sorry Barak it is a big deal and you are in the spotlight.
What has been most striking about the flotilla response is the unanimity in Israel that the flotilla must not get through. I have seen Bibi and Barak and some IDF clown and they all parrot the same line. .
They will never ever relent on Gaza. There is no plan B. Gazans are not human in the Israeli mindset.
I found this quote today from March 20 2009
“I felt there was a lot of thirst for blood,” one soldier is quoted as saying. “This is the beauty of Gaza. You see a person walking down a street or path; he does not have to be with a weapon. You just have to see him with something, and you shoot him.”
This is the logic of the blockade. It drives the autism of the IDF and the insanity of the Israeli government’s response to the flotilla. It is much worse than Jim Crow.
There is another aspect of the beauty of Gaza. Israel’s hatred of Gaza is so all consuming that it drives Israel to act consistently, irrationally and ever more intensively against its own self interest.
“Gazans are not human in the Israeli mindset.”
Until they are ruled by the terrorist organization.
link to ustogaza.org
Passengers on the U.S. Boat to Gaza, The Audacity of Hope, invite Greek and international media to inspect The Audacity of Hope at 3 pm Athens time on Thursday, June 30, in the town of Perama (next to Piraeus), 42 Democratis.
The entire boat will be open for view, photography, and video. The captain, crew, and passengers on the boat will be available for interviews and inspection. The cargo of the ship – 3,000 letters from Americans to the people of Gaza – will also be available for view, photographs, and video. Everything that will be on the boat when it sets sail, including food and passengers’ personal medications for use during their voyage, will be available for inspection.
The Audacity of Hope was inspected by Greek officials on Monday, June 27 after a complaint was lodged by an Israeli group that the vessel was not seaworthy. We have not yet received notification of their findings nor a copy of their report, but we are certain that our boat is up to code. Meanwhile, Israeli officials have made outrageous allegations that passengers on the flotilla will be bringing “sacks of sulfur” to pour on Israeli soldiers. Even Members of Israel’s own security cabinet have dismissed these charges as “media spin” and “public relations hysteria.”* We invite the media onto our boat to conduct a thorough inspection. We are confident that such an inspection will show that our boat is “sulfur-free” and ready to sail.
“On behalf of the 36 passengers and 4 crew on The Audacity of Hope, I invite the media to ask us anything, inspect anything, taste our food, look inside our bags” said Gale Courey Toensing, a passenger on the American boat. “Our voyage is totally transparent and we have nothing to hide. All we want to do is sail to Gaza with our cargo of letters from Americans to the people of Gaza.”
Thank goodness they did not set sail, and the extensive damage was detected beforehand. It seems that this damage, whomever may have caused it, could have resulted in the loss of life of everyone on board, as well as the massive amount of urgently needed aide for the starving masses in Gaza.
I’m curious if the ship was insured? I had read previously that since the ship was planning on breaking a blockade that is legal under international maritime law, that insurance was withheld for the vessel. If that is the case, this may set back the anti-zionist movement quite a bit.
The remaining ships should be thoroughly checked for damage. I don’t see any ships sailing at all towards the sovereign Jewish state of Israel under these circumstances.
You don’t have to worry about that! None of them are planning on sailing to Israel, “Jewish state” or otherwise. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that the only circumstances that these ships will end up in an Israeli port is if they’re stormed by pirates, hijacked, some of the passengers are shot execution style and the rest are herded into (hopefully temporary) prison camps on so-called “Jewish” soil.
The flotilla is not sailing into Israeli waters; nor is it sailing into Gaza waters since Gaza is not a state; it’s sailing into de facto neutral waters bordering Gaza. Hence Israel has no legal right to stop the flotilla. Further, Israel is not living up to its duty to prevent the occupied folks from starving–a slow starvation “diet” and lack of emergency access to medical services is not walking the fine line of Israel’s duty to provide basic humanitarian aid to those it blockades and lays seige to. It’s out of line.
i’m sure israel is the last place the ships are intending to sail under any circumstances.
but you already know that.
I’d like to tell you what I think of your feigned concern! You’re real good at spinning specious turd, but let me tell you what you can’t spin: ZIONIST TERRORISM, because that’s exactly what these vile criminal acts and intent to cause lethal harm to innocent civilians amount to!
maximalistNarrative
A) “Thank goodness they….etc etc etc..”
Sick bucket anyone?
B) “I don’t see any ships sailing at all towards the sovereign Jewish state of Israel “
Gaza is in Israel now is it? AMAZING!! I.e., amazing how maximalistNarrative’s propensity for arrogance unconsciously overflows.
Maybe that international flotilla should go up the Potomoc River to Washington DC? Would be interesting to hear the WH daily briefing on that, and watch how various governmental regimes interact, and see if the American press even covers the story.
On January 6, 2009 Israel signed the “Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Maritime Navigation” which is an anti-terrorism treaty that states:
1. Any person commits an offence if that person unlawfully and intentionally:
(d) places or causes to be placed on a ship, by any means whatsoever, a device or substance which is likely to destroy that ship, or cause damage to that ship or its cargo which endangers or is likely to endanger the safe navigation of that ship; or
—-
1. Each State Party shall take such measures as may be necessary to establish its jurisdiction over the offences set forth in article 3 when the offence is committed:
(a) against or on board a ship flying the flag of the State at the time the offence is committed; or
—
States Parties shall co-operate in the prevention of the offences set forth in article 3, particularly by:
(a) taking all practicable measures to prevent preparations in their respective territories for the commission of those offences within or outside their territories;
call it what it is. state-sponsored terrorism.
Hear, hear.
An Irish ship is sabotaged in a Greek port, presumably by Israeli forces. Neither country is at war with Israel and the ship is not intended for hostile purposes.
It looks as though Israel is at war with everyone.
It’s too bad that almost everyone has surrendered. Don’t they know yet that Israelis DO NOT stop shooting even if there is a declared cease fire?
Israel used Irish passports to get its assassins to Dubai in 2010.
The sabotage apparently took place in the Turkish coastal resort town of Göcek, next to Fethiye.
Irish Herald: In Turkey former Blues star Trevor tells of sabotage by Israeli Mossad:
Irish Times: Irish ship will not sail to Gaza after ‘sabotage’:
Die Presse: Gaza-Hilfsflotte: Antriebswelle eines Schiffes angesägt :
So the Israelis have defied Turkey once again.
Perhaps worth pointing out, as the Die Presse article does, that the name of the ship, Saoirse, is Gaelic for “freedom”.
Turkish Hürriyet Daily News confirms: the sabotage happened in Turkey: Israel ‘sabotaged’ second flotilla vessel, flotilla organizers claim:
Hürriyet is the Turkish for Saoirse which is the Irish for Freedom .
Thanks, lysias.
Not a Greek port, then, but a Turkish port.
Now it is all clear.
The saboteurs must have been EOKA terrorists.
I vacilate between thinking that Israel can spin any turd into gold and that they’re going to carry a big black eye on this one. In the turd to gold scenario, they claim they saved lives by sabotage, and that this was the more humane act. Seeing as the world has already given them permission to commit whatever sovereignty violating action they like throughout the globe, they come off as heroes.
In the black eye scenario, this is just one more wearying act of bullshit for a world’s generation that has no special feelings for Israel and doesn’t frighten at the accusation of anti-semitism.
This was clearly a serious criminal act that potentially endangered many lives. It ought to be possible to identify the perpetrators and bring them to public justice. The Irish authorities should be encouraged to undertake a criminal investigation. If Dubai can do it so can Ireland. This sort of thing is totally unacceptable as an internal issue but with international involvement, if that is the case, it approaches an act of war. Is it possible Israel has handed the world a golden gun?
But “the world” with power is not taking the golden gun offered. Instead it’s ganging up on BDS: link to hudson-ny.org
I accept that but it is still a top priority to find the perpetrators of this crime and uncover any Israeli links, should they exist, because even those neutral to the issue of flotillas will be roused by such a vicious and irresponsible act. I am waiting for Lieberman to claim the sabotage was the work of
activiststerrorists to cast blame on Israel.I hope that all the other activists redouble their efforts and GUARD their ships!
Steel conducts sound and heat very effectively and there is no way this kind of sabotage could be done entirely silently and quickly. If the ship was well guarded then there is a great chance the diver(s) who attempted the sabotage be discovered.
The arrest of an Israeli diver(s) engaged in sabotage would be a major success for the flotilla.
The Canadian flotilla boat has been put under constant guard by the crew as more and more boats are being sabotaged by Israel Firsters. “We have learned that an Israeli law center financed by an American conservative, religious group, headed by John Hagee, is funding the attack on the Gaza flotilla. We call on the Greek government to let us sail,” said Ann Wright, a former US State Department official with the flotilla. link to gazatvnews.com
Thanks citizen just sent this to the BBC please join me
“Retired American and former US State Dept official Colonel Ann Wright who is on the US boat to Gaza “The Audacity of Hope” has demanded that the Greek government allow the flotilla to sail…especially after the alleged Israeli attack on the Irish ship. I guess the Greek government needs to ask the International Monetary Fund the World Bank, Israel and the US first.
Please interview Colonel Ann Wright about these issues.
We call on the Greek government to let us sail,” said Ann Wright, a former US State Department official with the flotilla. link to gazatvnews.com
Email them now while they are on air. They did mention the Israeli attack on the Irish ship
Have had lots of comments and questions read on the BBC, Diane Rehm, Talk of the nation etc.
Give it a shot. Email the BBC. Link above
I am actually surprised that they would have not pre-emptively thought about this. Would have had to have underwater surveillance. Hopefully there is an international investigation.
After two boats in last year’s flotilla were apparently sabotaged, they should have thought about this.
Ok the Diane Rehm show is focused on the Greek economic situation and the protest.
link to thedianerehmshow.org
Pile on ask them while they are covering the secure passage of the legislation that will ensure international lending institutions their billions. Will the Diane Rehm show cover the US boat to Gaza’s “secure passage” out of Greek waters into international territory?
Let the Rehm team know that you have noticed that they have not touched the international flotilla story. That they do not touch the expansion of illegal settlements etc either. Is the Diane Rehm show Isreali occupied territory?
Ask on the Rehm blog for all to see
link to thedianerehmshow.org
Done.
The media has failed to find out who the locals are who are working with Israel to sabotage the Gaza flotilla. NPR just reported that 1500 “journalists” will be covering the visit of Prince William and Kate Middleton to Canada. So few journalists are assigned to do actual news reporting these days.
NPR….basically Israeli occupied territory. Often repeat the I lobbies and Israels unsubstantiated claims about Iran. Often do bad bad bad Iran stories
Perhaps just coincidentally, Joe Biden’s wife Jill on the morning of June 28th visited the U.S. guided missile destroyer USS Ramage, which happened to be off the coast of Athens. On Board the USS RAMAGE: Dr. Jill Biden Visits with Sailors in Greece. Wouldn’t that have been around the time the first boat was sabotaged in Piraeus harbor?
I wonder what the Ramage’s mission is for being in Greece, and whether it is carrying any SEALs.
Or maybe the Shayetet 13 or Mossad hitched a ride.
The culprits are apparently posing as fishermen. Amira Hass: Israel also sabotaged Irish ship, say Gaza flotilla organizers:
Zionists believe the means justify the end…any means; mug, injure, kill the wrong person, killing innocent people trying to help the victims of the scourge of Occuption.
They consider themselves above the law and the rest of humanity.
Wrong.
It is so-called “peace activists” who consider themselves above the law and are going to breach a legal blockade to support terrorist organization.
“It is so-called “peace activists” who consider themselves above the law”
What law? Be specific.
“are going to breach a legal blockade”
What legal blockade?
” to support terrorist organization”
No, to bring aid to the people of Gaza.
“What law? Be specific.”
Law which allows to impose naval blockade during war.
“What legal blockade?”
One Israel imposes on Gaza.
“No, to bring aid to the people of Gaza.”
5000 letters it is a significant aid.
They must be edible, these letters, and envelopes might be used to build houses.
Now seriously: There is no need whatsoever to breach blockade to deliver aid – there is official channels which work more than efficiently.
Therefore this flotilla is a political act to make a point and not to provide aid.
The over-riding point is that the blockade/seige is illegal under international law. And this point has been documented many times on this web site, oh Darkbringer. Similarly, the occupation is illegal and “administered” illegally.
“Law which allows to impose naval blockade during war.”
Exactly what law is that, and how does it apply in this case?
‘“What legal blockade?”
One Israel imposes on Gaza.’
But that blockade has been shown to be illegal under international law.
“5000 letters”
And what terrorist organization is going to use them to carry out mass murders?
“There is no need whatsoever to breach blockade to deliver aid – there is official channels which work more than efficiently.”
Pull the other one.
“Therefore this flotilla is a political act to make a point ”
And why shouldn’t it be? Why is it wrong to make a point about Irael’s monstrous treatment of Gaza?
Lightbringer July 1, 2011 at 5:27 am
” Law which allows to impose naval blockade during war”
Er…that’s the law that allows the occupier to impose a blockade. It’s not the law that prevents folk from attempting to break a blockade.
NO SUCH LAW EXISTS. Under International Law the occupied have a right to assistance from ANYONE who cares to give goods, aid and even arms.
“…this flotilla is a political act to make a point and not to provide aid
Correct. You can’t eat (or bomb Israel) with letters
“They consider themselves above the law ”
No kidding
“I was the Minister of Justice. I am a lawyer…But I am against law — international law in particular. Law in general.”
-Tzipi Livni
Unfortunately, Greek authorities are otherwise occupied and probably don’t have the level of sophisticated investigative ability Dubai authorities demonstrated. There is, however, no difference between these acts of sabotage and attempt to do lethal harm to innocent civilians and the extra-judicial assassination we witnessed in Dubai.
I suggest that next time, surveillance equipment be installed at the next port of departure for the Flotilla so that these TERRORISTS can be caught red-handed!
This latest bit of sabotage happened in a Turkish port, not a Greek one.
Yes, I know, but my point is that knowing the Flotilla is threatened in every way, there should be some kind of security aparatus where they dock to protect it. That’s the least that governments can do. We are dealing with ruthless agents who are trained killers.
Revised Irish Times article gives the cost of the damage: Irish Gaza aid ship abandons mission:
More details from Monthly Review: Sabotage of MV Saoirse in Turkey:
‘An Act of International Terrorism’: