VIDEO - "Dignite al Karama", "Freedom Flotilla 2" boat heads for Gaza
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8x-ot5bh6w
Uploaded by otraverdad on Jul 5, 2011
http://freedomflotillanews.wordpress.com/
ATHENS - A French motor yacht slipped out of Greek waters Tuesday in an attempt to break Israeli's naval blockade on Gaza, reviving an international campaign that appeared to have ground to a halt.
The "Dignite al Karama" is so far the only boat in a planned flotilla organised by pro-Palestinian activists to set sail from Greece, after the authorities there blocked other vessels from leaving the port of Athens, Piraeus.
The 19-metre (63-foot) yacht had eight passengers aboard and expected to be "off Gaza within an day or two," said a spokesman for the French Boat to Gaza campaign, Jean-Claude Lefort.
Lefort said the Dignite had managed to slip past the Greek authorities because "it wasn't spotted. It wasn't in Piraeus, it was somewhere else."
While the Dignite celebrated its departure, frustrated activists from the Spanish boat in the flotilla occupied the Spanish Embassy in Athens on Tuesday, a diplomatic source said.
Thirty mainly Spanish activists had met with their ambassador to ask Madrid to put pressure on Greece to allow them to sail, according to one of the protesters. They then "decided to occupy the rooms," he said.
"It's somewhat of a symbolic occupation. There are only four activists currently in the embassy, all of whom are Spanish," the source from the embassy said, adding that a dozen supporters were gathered in the street.
Another small boat, the Juliana, was preparing to leave the Alimos marina south of Piraeus on Tuesday, a spokesman for the boat's Greek, Norwegian and Swedish crew said.
Meanwhile Captain John Klusmer of the US boat Audacity of Hope was released on Tuesday without charge by a prosecutor in Piraeus, according to Jane Hirschmann, a spokeswoman for his group.
Klusmer was detained after the US boat was intercepted by coastguards Friday while attempting to break Greece's ban.
Greek authorities said they imposed a ban on the flotilla's departure for the "safety" of the activists on board, but pro-Palestinian supporters have accused Athens of merely extending Israel's blockade.
An attempt by the Canadian Tahrir to set sail was thwarted Monday just minutes after it left port on the island of Crete.
The Tahrir, which was carrying activists from Canada, Belgium, Italy, Switzerland and Turkey, was boarded by more than a dozen armed special forces, according to passengers on the boat, and was forced to turn back to port.
The Freedom Flotilla II had originally intended to set sail from Greece with 12 boats and over 350 activists from 22 countries, but has come up against a stream of obstacles, including two vessels they claimed were sabotaged.
Organisers have blamed Israel for sabotaging the propellers on the Irish and Swedish-owned boats and for blackmailing Greece into imposing the ban on all Gaza-bound vessels leaving its ports.
The flotilla's planned departure coincided with the news that the president of the debt-ridden country, Karolos Papoulias, is set to visit Israel in an effort to strengthen their diplomatic and economic ties.
Activists continued to plan protests in Athens to challenge the ban, with calls for a march on Syntagma Square outside the parliament on Tuesday evening.
The Zionist state had also begun making intense preparations to foil plans by hundreds of activists to flood Israel's Ben Gurion international airport on Friday in a show of solidarity with the Palestinians.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered authorities to prepare for the "planned provocation," which will "be dealt with in accordance with Israeli law and international law and conventions," his office said in a statement.
Israeli media reported that flights landing on Friday from Europe would be taken to a separate terminal and all passengers carefully screened.
Pro-Palestinian activists have also said they plan to arrive in their hundreds at Ben Gurion airport outside Tel Aviv on Friday to protest against Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip.
...........
Lone boat heads to Gaza
as flotilla stalls in Greece
By Hazel Ward (AFP) - 2 days ago
JERUSALEM - A lone French yacht with 12 people on board was on Wednesday the only vessel from a 10-ship flotilla to be heading for the Gaza Strip after the remaining vessels were tied up by red tape in Greece.
The MV Dignite/Al Karama, which left Greek waters early on Tuesday, was heading slowly towards Gaza, a spokesman for the French Boat to Gaza campaign told AFP, saying they had not yet given up hope they would be joined by others from the ill-fated Freedom Flotilla which had been due to set sail last week.
But attempts by pro-Palestinian campaigners on board a second ship, the MV Juliano, to join their French colleagues at sea failed for a second day running as the Greek coastguard once again thwarted their plans to leave.
Most of the 10 ships that had been due to join the convoy are stuck at ports in Greece after Athens imposed a blanket ban on the departure of any vessels destined for Gaza.
Another ship, the Irish-owned MV Saoirse, is currently undergoing repairs at a Turkish port after its propeller was damaged in what activists claimed was "sabotage" by Israel.
"They're getting on very well," Thomas Sommer-Houdeville told AFP by phone from Athens, saying the MV Dignite had begun to move slowly towards Gaza on Tuesday afternoon after waiting for several hours in international waters to see if the the Greek, Norwegian and Swedish activists on board the MV Juliano would to also manage to set sail.
"Yesterday afternoon, our Greek colleagues (on board the MV Juliano) were not able to leave, so they decided to start sailing slowly" towards Gaza, he said after speaking by phone to activists on board the Dignite.
"They are now heading for Gaza slowly so if any of the boats manage to get out, they will be able to meet up with them.
"For the time being, our desire is to go to Gaza," Sommer-Houdeville said, admitting the activists on board would later decide based on what was possible "logistically and technically."
"At the moment, we have one boat which has managed to break the Greek blockade and we are hopeful that there will be others," he said.
The MV Juliano, which was to have set sail on Wednesday, said it was once again prevented from leaving Perama port near Athens, weighing anchor only to sail to a nearby port.
"It is not possible to leave for Gaza because the Greek authorities' ban remains in place," boat spokesman Dimitris Plionis told AFP.
Mary Norden, a Swedish MP who was to have been one of the six passengers on board, said she had "decided to return to Sweden" after failing in "the fight with the Greek coastguard."
Greek officials turned back the boat on Tuesday afternoon, she said earlier.
Both the US Audacity of Hope and the Canadian vessel, the MV Tahrir, each of which have some 50 passengers and crew aboard, have tried to set sail since Athens imposed the ban on Friday, but were turned back.
And two of the vessels have also sustained damage, in what organisers claim was sabotage by Israeli agents.
In yet another blow to the flotilla activists, a Swiss firm said it would not be able to fulfil a 3,000-tonne cement order, worth 25,000 euros ($36,000), which was to have been taken to Gaza.
In an email to the Ship to Gaza Sweden campaign, Interbulk cited the Greek ban as a force majeure, saying it would not be able to deliver the goods and would return the payment in full.
Officials in Athens say they imposed the ban for the "safety" of the activists on board in the wake of last year's bloody showdown. Israeli commandos raided a six-ship flotilla heading for Gaza, in a confrontation that left nine Turkish activists dead and dozens of people injured.
More than 300 activists from 22 countries had signed up to participate in this year's flotilla, among them dozens of middle-aged and elderly Americans and Europeans.
Israel has made no secret of its determination to prevent the Freedom Flotilla II from reaching Gaza, which has been under a blockade since 2006 after militants there snatched an Israeli soldier who is still being held at a secret location.
Copyright © 2011 AFP. All rights reserved.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hbiMLHGjXqjCKq2AriDRzUWQ-XHA?docId=CNG.62875ee35cc28aa30725ee1bfd4cfbde.31
Click to viewUploaded by otraverdad on Jul 5, 2011
http://freedomflotillanews.wordpress.com/
ATHENS - A French motor yacht slipped out of Greek waters Tuesday in an attempt to break Israeli's naval blockade on Gaza, reviving an international campaign that appeared to have ground to a halt.
The "Dignite al Karama" is so far the only boat in a planned flotilla organised by pro-Palestinian activists to set sail from Greece, after the authorities there blocked other vessels from leaving the port of Athens, Piraeus.
The 19-metre (63-foot) yacht had eight passengers aboard and expected to be "off Gaza within an day or two," said a spokesman for the French Boat to Gaza campaign, Jean-Claude Lefort.
Lefort said the Dignite had managed to slip past the Greek authorities because "it wasn't spotted. It wasn't in Piraeus, it was somewhere else."
While the Dignite celebrated its departure, frustrated activists from the Spanish boat in the flotilla occupied the Spanish Embassy in Athens on Tuesday, a diplomatic source said.
Thirty mainly Spanish activists had met with their ambassador to ask Madrid to put pressure on Greece to allow them to sail, according to one of the protesters. They then "decided to occupy the rooms," he said.
"It's somewhat of a symbolic occupation. There are only four activists currently in the embassy, all of whom are Spanish," the source from the embassy said, adding that a dozen supporters were gathered in the street.
Another small boat, the Juliana, was preparing to leave the Alimos marina south of Piraeus on Tuesday, a spokesman for the boat's Greek, Norwegian and Swedish crew said.
Meanwhile Captain John Klusmer of the US boat Audacity of Hope was released on Tuesday without charge by a prosecutor in Piraeus, according to Jane Hirschmann, a spokeswoman for his group.
Klusmer was detained after the US boat was intercepted by coastguards Friday while attempting to break Greece's ban.
Greek authorities said they imposed a ban on the flotilla's departure for the "safety" of the activists on board, but pro-Palestinian supporters have accused Athens of merely extending Israel's blockade.
An attempt by the Canadian Tahrir to set sail was thwarted Monday just minutes after it left port on the island of Crete.
The Tahrir, which was carrying activists from Canada, Belgium, Italy, Switzerland and Turkey, was boarded by more than a dozen armed special forces, according to passengers on the boat, and was forced to turn back to port.
The Freedom Flotilla II had originally intended to set sail from Greece with 12 boats and over 350 activists from 22 countries, but has come up against a stream of obstacles, including two vessels they claimed were sabotaged.
Organisers have blamed Israel for sabotaging the propellers on the Irish and Swedish-owned boats and for blackmailing Greece into imposing the ban on all Gaza-bound vessels leaving its ports.
The flotilla's planned departure coincided with the news that the president of the debt-ridden country, Karolos Papoulias, is set to visit Israel in an effort to strengthen their diplomatic and economic ties.
Activists continued to plan protests in Athens to challenge the ban, with calls for a march on Syntagma Square outside the parliament on Tuesday evening.
The Zionist state had also begun making intense preparations to foil plans by hundreds of activists to flood Israel's Ben Gurion international airport on Friday in a show of solidarity with the Palestinians.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered authorities to prepare for the "planned provocation," which will "be dealt with in accordance with Israeli law and international law and conventions," his office said in a statement.
Israeli media reported that flights landing on Friday from Europe would be taken to a separate terminal and all passengers carefully screened.
Pro-Palestinian activists have also said they plan to arrive in their hundreds at Ben Gurion airport outside Tel Aviv on Friday to protest against Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip.
...........
Lone boat heads to Gaza
as flotilla stalls in Greece
By Hazel Ward (AFP) - 2 days ago
JERUSALEM - A lone French yacht with 12 people on board was on Wednesday the only vessel from a 10-ship flotilla to be heading for the Gaza Strip after the remaining vessels were tied up by red tape in Greece.
The MV Dignite/Al Karama, which left Greek waters early on Tuesday, was heading slowly towards Gaza, a spokesman for the French Boat to Gaza campaign told AFP, saying they had not yet given up hope they would be joined by others from the ill-fated Freedom Flotilla which had been due to set sail last week.
But attempts by pro-Palestinian campaigners on board a second ship, the MV Juliano, to join their French colleagues at sea failed for a second day running as the Greek coastguard once again thwarted their plans to leave.
Most of the 10 ships that had been due to join the convoy are stuck at ports in Greece after Athens imposed a blanket ban on the departure of any vessels destined for Gaza.
Another ship, the Irish-owned MV Saoirse, is currently undergoing repairs at a Turkish port after its propeller was damaged in what activists claimed was "sabotage" by Israel.
"They're getting on very well," Thomas Sommer-Houdeville told AFP by phone from Athens, saying the MV Dignite had begun to move slowly towards Gaza on Tuesday afternoon after waiting for several hours in international waters to see if the the Greek, Norwegian and Swedish activists on board the MV Juliano would to also manage to set sail.
"Yesterday afternoon, our Greek colleagues (on board the MV Juliano) were not able to leave, so they decided to start sailing slowly" towards Gaza, he said after speaking by phone to activists on board the Dignite.
"They are now heading for Gaza slowly so if any of the boats manage to get out, they will be able to meet up with them.
"For the time being, our desire is to go to Gaza," Sommer-Houdeville said, admitting the activists on board would later decide based on what was possible "logistically and technically."
"At the moment, we have one boat which has managed to break the Greek blockade and we are hopeful that there will be others," he said.
The MV Juliano, which was to have set sail on Wednesday, said it was once again prevented from leaving Perama port near Athens, weighing anchor only to sail to a nearby port.
"It is not possible to leave for Gaza because the Greek authorities' ban remains in place," boat spokesman Dimitris Plionis told AFP.
Mary Norden, a Swedish MP who was to have been one of the six passengers on board, said she had "decided to return to Sweden" after failing in "the fight with the Greek coastguard."
Greek officials turned back the boat on Tuesday afternoon, she said earlier.
Both the US Audacity of Hope and the Canadian vessel, the MV Tahrir, each of which have some 50 passengers and crew aboard, have tried to set sail since Athens imposed the ban on Friday, but were turned back.
And two of the vessels have also sustained damage, in what organisers claim was sabotage by Israeli agents.
In yet another blow to the flotilla activists, a Swiss firm said it would not be able to fulfil a 3,000-tonne cement order, worth 25,000 euros ($36,000), which was to have been taken to Gaza.
In an email to the Ship to Gaza Sweden campaign, Interbulk cited the Greek ban as a force majeure, saying it would not be able to deliver the goods and would return the payment in full.
Officials in Athens say they imposed the ban for the "safety" of the activists on board in the wake of last year's bloody showdown. Israeli commandos raided a six-ship flotilla heading for Gaza, in a confrontation that left nine Turkish activists dead and dozens of people injured.
More than 300 activists from 22 countries had signed up to participate in this year's flotilla, among them dozens of middle-aged and elderly Americans and Europeans.
Israel has made no secret of its determination to prevent the Freedom Flotilla II from reaching Gaza, which has been under a blockade since 2006 after militants there snatched an Israeli soldier who is still being held at a secret location.
Copyright © 2011 AFP. All rights reserved.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hbiMLHGjXqjCKq2AriDRzUWQ-XHA?docId=CNG.62875ee35cc28aa30725ee1bfd4cfbde.31