FLOTILLA UPDATES; SABOTAGE AND VICTORY

FLOTILLA UPDATES; SABOTAGE AND VICTORY
June 28, 2011 at 11:26									(Activism, Eyewitness Report, Gaza, Hasbara, 
Humanitarian Aid, International Solidarity, Israel, Palestine, zionist 
harassment) 


A scuba  diver who examines the ship on a daily basis discovered Monday that the  
ship’s propeller shaft, which connects the transmission inside the  vessel 
directly to the propeller, was cut off.
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Irish Boat to Gaza ‘Copyleft’ by Carlos Latuff
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Gaza flotilla activists: One of our ships was sabotaged
Israeli activist  says his ship, which is docked in Greece’s Piraeus port, was 
found with  its propeller shaft broken which he believes was a deliberate 
attempt  at sabotage.
By Amira Hass
One of the ships  due to participate in the Gaza flotilla was deliberately 
tampered with  while it was docked in Greece’s Piraeus port, Gaza flotilla 
activists  told Haaretz on Monday.
The ship, due to  carry Greek, Norwegian, and Swedish passengers to Gaza, was 
found  with  its propeller shaft broken, the ship’s spokesman Israeli activist 
Dror  Feiler told Haaretz.
A scuba diver who  examines the ship on a daily basis discovered Monday that the 
ship’s  propeller shaft, which connects the transmission inside the vessel  
directly to the propeller, was cut off.
According to  Feiler, there is no doubt that the action was a deliberate attempt 
at  sabotage, which he believed also violated Greece’s sovereignty.
Even though the  problem can be fixed, it is still unclear how long it would 
take,  especially with Greece’s recently declared general strike on Tuesday and  
Wednesday.
This action adds  to a series of delays that have kept the Gaza flotilla from 
sailing,  including Greece’s determination to carry out additional non-routine  
examinations on several of the ships.
Earlier Monday, organizers of the Gaza flotilla accused Israel of pressuring 
Greece to halt the ships’ departure.
American activist  Ann Wright told a news conference that Israel is mounting a 
“tremendous  diplomatic offensive” to prevent the flotilla from setting sail.
Organizers urged  the Greek government in a statement not to “become complicit 
in Israel’s  illegal actions by succumbing to this pressure.”
Written FOR
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Meanwhile….
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Protesters urge Israel to lift Gaza blockade  
Israel vows to stop international activists from breaking the siege on the Gaza 
Strip.
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Israel’s security cabinet has voted to prevent an international flotilla from 
reaching Gaza, by any means possible.
The group of boats is due to leave Greece in a few days. Ehud  Barak, the 
Israeli defence minister, says any resulting confrontation  will be the 
responsibility of the organisers.
The Freedom Flotilla II is  part of the “Free Gaza movement” – a coalition of 
human rights groups  which sends ships to break Israel’s strict naval blockade 
of the Gaza  Strip. In 2008 it successfully entered Gaza five times.
However, the movement has been intercepted on the past four  voyages – including 
the lethal attack by Israeli forces on the Freedom  Flotilla last year on May 
31.
Nine people, mostly Turkish activists, were killed and many more injured.
Al Jazeera’s Barnaby Philips reports from the Greek capital, Athens.
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Source
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One Small Victory as Israel steps back a bit….
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Netanyahu rescinds decision to sanction journalists on board Gaza flotilla
PM changes tack: Israel won’t deport, bar foreign journalists aboard Gaza-bound 
vessels. 

After a day in  which every single news media outlet in the world seemed to 
weigh in,  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday rescinded a Government 
Press  Office decision to sanction any foreign journalist who participates in  
the Gaza Strip flotilla.
GPO director Oren  Helman had announced on Sunday that any foreign journalist on 
the  flotilla would be treated as an illegal infiltrator, meaning they would  be 
deported and then barred from entering Israel for 10 years. But  yesterday 
Netanyahu’s bureau issued a press release rescinding that  decision.
“When the matter  was brought to his attention, the prime minister directed that 
the  regular policy against infiltrators and those who enter Israel illegally  
not be implemented,” the terse statement said. “It has also been agreed  that 
members of the Israeli and international media will be attached to  Israel Navy 
vessels in order to create transparency and credible  coverage of the events.”
The Foreign Press  Association, which had condemned Sunday’s decision for 
sending “a  chilling message to the international media” that “raises serious  
questions about Israel’s commitment to freedom of the press,” welcomed  
yesterday’s reversal.
“We are pleased  to see that Israel has recognized the value of allowing 
reporters to  cover an important news event, and understands that journalists 
should  be treated differently from political activists,” it said in a  
statement.
Sebastian  Engelbrecht, a senior journalist from the German television network 
ARD,  said that last year’s flotilla, in which nine people were killed, was  the 
most widely covered news event in Germany; hence the media interest  in this 
year’s sailing. Netanyahu, he added, did well to reverse course,  as the attempt 
to bar journalists from covering the flotilla was “a  provocation” unbefitting a 
democracy.
Last year’s  flotilla, Engelbrecht continued, was “a terrible anti-Israel  
provocation,” and Israel should give thought to the mistakes it made in  dealing 
with it. “A free press is a sign that Israel isn’t afraid and  isn’t hiding 
anything,” he said.
Helman declined to comment yesterday.