Articles
Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, August 2009, page 20
Special Report
Israeli Navy Commandeers Gaza Relief Boat in International Waters
By Delinda C. Hanley
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FIVE MONTHS after President Barack Obama called on Israel to lift its blockade, Gaza borders are still closed to reconstruction materials and most humanitarian aid. The Spirit of Humanity, a Free Gaza Movement boat, left Cyprus for Gaza full of vitally needed medical and relief supplies on the morning of June 29. By evening, three hours from Gaza, in international waters, the boat was surrounded by eight Israeli navy ships, which proceeded to jam its communications systems (shades of Israel’s deadly 1967 attack on the USSLiberty), threatened to fire on the unarmed boat, and ordered the captain to return to Cyprus. Not seeking a confrontation, but not turning back, the 21 human rights workers and journalists from 14 countries aboard the Spirit decided to remain in international waters.
On June 30, at 3 p.m., Israeli occupation forces commandeered the ship, forcibly removed the passengers, and towed the boat to Israel. The passengers were arrested and are awaiting deportation, including Irish Nobel Peace laureate Mairead Maguire and former U.S. Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney (D-GA), who earlier had sent appeals to President Obama and the State Department for assurances of protection for the relief mission. When Somali pirates commandeered American ships delivering humanitarian aid and tankers transporting oil, the U.S. Navy came to the rescue and began providing escorts. No U.S. ships answered distress calls from the Spirit of Humanity, however.
“This is an outrageous violation of international law against us. Our boat was not in Israeli waters, and we were on a human rights mission to the Gaza Strip,” said McKinney, the Green Party’s 2008 presidential candidate. “President Obama just told Israel to let in humanitarian and reconstruction supplies, and that’s exactly what we tried to do. We’re asking the international community to demand our release so we can resume our journey.”
This was the eighth Free Gaza boat to try to break Israel’s siege. On Dec. 29 and 30, 2008—just over a week after Israel ended its 22-day assault on Gaza—the Israeli navy rammed and almost sank the Dignity, which carried three tons of medical supplies, three surgeons, a member of the Cypriot parliament, McKinney and Irish human rights activist Caoimhe Butterly. This time, with the world watching, Israel did not try to sink the Spirit.
Just before being kidnapped by Israel, Huwaida Arraf, Free Gaza Movement chairperson and delegation co-coordinator on this voyage, stated: “No one could possibly believe that our small boat constitutes any sort of threat to Israel. We carry medical and reconstruction supplies, and children’s toys.... Our boat was searched and received a security clearance by Cypriot Port Authorities before we departed, and at no time did we ever approach Israeli waters. Israel’s deliberate and premeditated attack on our unarmed boat is a clear violation of international law.”
In addition to the four Americans aboard—McKinney, Arraf, International Solidarity Movement co-founder and filmmaker Adam Shapiro, and nurse/filmmaker Kathy Sheetz—the passengers included five British and two Irish citizens, including Maguire, as well as citizens from Bahrain, Yemen and other countries.
According to State Department deputy spokesman Robert Wood, “The Department of State’s highest priority is the protection of U.S. citizens abroad. As soon as the Department learned that a Free Gaza ship intended to sail, the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv expressed our concern for the safety of any Americans on board to the government of Israel. In the current situation, the embassy has actively engaged with Israeli authorities to obtain consular access to detained Americans; to ensure their well-being and access to legal counsel should they want that; and to provide a channel of communication to their families.”
By the end of the day on July 1, the men and women were being held in Ashrod Detention Facility, separated according to gender, according to Free Gaza organizer Butterly, named one of Time Magazine’s European heroes of the year 2003. Lubna Masarwa and Arraf were released that day without charge or court appearance.
Just as the U.S. mainstream press has ignored and helped cover up Israel’s attack on the USSLiberty, so it has ignored Israel’s act of piracy 32 years later, with its current attack on the Spirit of Humanity.
Delinda C. Hanley is news editor of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs.
