FREEDOM WAVES TO GAZA
Palestinian youth join boats set to challenge Israel’s siege of Gaza
- Irish and Canadian boats in international waters on their way to challenge illegal siege policy
- Palestinian activists call for end to international complicity in Israel’s crimes
- Support actions taking place throughout the West Bank and inside Israel
الشباب الفلسطينيين يتحدون الحصار الإسرائيلي على غزة
- سفينتان الاولى إيرلندية والثانية كندية تبحران في المياه الدولية في طريقهما لتحدي الحصار غير القانوني على قطاع غزة.
- الشباب الفلسطيني يصدر بيانا يطالب بوضع حداً للتواطئ الدولي مع الجرائم الإسرائيلية.
- تقام مجموعة من الفعاليات التضامنية في كلّ من الضفة الغربية والداخل الإسرائيلي.
انضم لهذه البعثة الدولية المتجددة ناشط فلسطيني من حيفا لتحدي الحصار الإسرائيلي الخانق على غزة من خلال البحر. ويحمل ركاب السفن رسالة التحدي والأمل ضد سياسات إسرائيل التي تفصل الفلسطينيين عن بعضهم البعض. وقد أختار المبادرون والمنظمون لحركة "أمواج الحريّة لغزة" عدم الإعلان عن هذا المجهود لتفويت الفرصة على إسرائيل لعرقلتهم ومنعهم كما حصل مع "أسطول الحريّة الثاني" في تموز الماضي.
ومن المتوقع أن تصل السفن التي أبحرت يوم الاربعاء من تركيا، إلى غزة يوم الجمعة، حيث تبحر من المياه الدولية مباشرة إلى مياه منطقة غزة دون أن تدخل إلى المياه الإسرائيلية. وتحمل السفن على ظهرها حمولة رمزية من الأدوية بقيمة 30,000$، ومجموعة من الركاب الملتزمين في الدفاع السلمي عن الأسطوال وعن حقوق الإنسان للفلسطينيين.
"فرضت إسرائيل على فلسطينيي غزة والضفة الغربية ان يعيشوا في قفص، مانعة أي تواصل جسدي فيما بيننا. ما نريده هو كسر الحصار الذي فرضته إسرائيل على أبناء شعبنا"، يقول مجد كيّال، طالب فلسطيني في علم الفلسفة من حيفا وهو أحد ركاب سفينة "تحرير". يضيف كيّال:"وجودنا في المياه الدولية هو بحدّ ذاته إنتصار للبعثة.الحصار الاسرائيلي على قطاع غزة لا يمكن السكوت عنه، ومسؤوليتنا الأخلاقية تحتم علينا وضع حداً لهذا الظلم".
في المقابل، قامت مجموعة من الشباب الفلسطيني بتوقيع بيانا ًيطالب المجتمع الدولي والأمم المتحدة على وجه الخصوص "بإتخاذ إجراءات عاجلة لحماية هذه السفن وكذلك لوضع حدّ لتهاونه مع الحصار الإجرامي الإسرائيلي على قطاع غزة". كما وأدان البيان التصريحات السابقة للأمين العام للأمم المتحدة والتي قال فيها بأن المساعدات لغزة يجب أن تصل من خلال "المعابر الشرعية والقنوات القائمة"، بالرغم من إعتراف الأمم المتحدة بأن فشل إسرائيل في تحمل مسؤولياتها خلق مساً غير مسبوقاً في كرامة الإنسان.
هذا وينظم فلسطينيون في الضفة الغربية وداخل إسرائيل، خلال الأسبوع الجاري نشاطات وفعاليات تضامنية مع "أمواج الحرية"، بما في ذلك اعتصام خارج مبنى الأمم المتحدة (شارع طوكيو، رام الله) ومسيرات في عدد من مدن الضفة الغربية.
يذكر، أن هذه هي المحاولة البحرية الحادية عشر لكسر الحصار على غزة، سبقتها 5 بعثات وصلت بسلامة إلى غزة ما بين آب وكانون الأول 2008، بينما تم اعتراض البعثات الباقية بطريقة عنيفة من قبل إسرائيل.
وقد اعتدت إسرائيل على ركاب "أسطول الحرية" في شهر أيار 2010، وهو في المياه الدولية، وقتلت 9 ناشطين وجرحت أكثر من 50. مما أدى إلى موجة عارمة من الإدانات لما قامت به إسرائيل، كما أدى ذلك الى نشاطات إحتجاجية عديدة في أنحاء العالم. كما وتم في تموز الماضي إحباط الجهود لتسيير أسطولاً جديداً إلى غزة، حيث خضعت حكومة اليونان إلى ضغوطات من قبل إسرائيل وحكومات غربية، إضافة إلى أعمال التخريب الإسرائيلية في السفن المشاركة، بغية منع ابحارها.
وتتزامن "أمواج الحرية" مع تصاعد في القصف الإسرائيلي على غزة، مما يؤكد أهمية مبادرات دولية كمبادرة الأسطول، لردع إسرائيل عن الاستمرار في اعتداءاتها.
لمزيد من المعلومات:
+970-592-346-895
[email protected]
ملاحظة للمحريين:
للحصول على معلومات سريعة حول "أسطول أمواج للحرية":
http://witnessgaza.com/
تويتر:
@PalWaves #FreedomWaves
On Wednesday, November 2, two international ships left the Turkish harbor to carry humanitarian aid through the Israeli blockade of Gaza.
The event, called ‘Freedom Waves for Gaza’, unites 27 activists from 9 countries, including America, Canada, Denmark, Belgium, Germany and Australia, alongside Palestinians from Bethlehem and Haifa, in a broad-based international movement to break Israel’s illegal and immoral suffocation of the 1.6 million inhabitants of the Gaza Strip. The Irish yacht Saoirse (Freedom), which carries 15 activists, and the Canadian boat Tahrir (Liberation), which holds 12, will attempt to carry $30,000 in medical supplies beyond the Israeli blockade later this week. ‘Freedom Waves for Gaza’ is the 11th attempt by international activists to deliver humanitarian aid through the Israeli blockade of Gaza since 2008.
As the boats navigate international waters, Palestinian youth activists will parade a large wooden effigy of the aid boats through the streets of Ramallah, while distributing white armbands and ribbons emblazoned ‘Freedom Waves for Gaza’. In addition, they will hold a demonstration outside of the UN office in Ramallah on Thursday, demanding that the UN end its compliance with the Israeli blockade and protect the humanitarian mission.
Indeed, in a letter given to the UN on Wednesday, Palestinian youth insisted that “it is incumbent upon the UN to take urgent steps to protect the boats en route to Gaza and all of the humanitarian volunteers aboard, as well as to declare its support for nonviolent, humanitarian action, designed to do what the UN and its members states have thus far failed to do.”
Organizers of the flotilla mission withheld the news from the world until the boats reached international waters, to prevent Israeli or international sabotage that plagued previous aid attempts. Though the humanitarian vessels departed from Fethiye, Turkey, organizers insist that the Turkish government is not involved with Freedom Waves for Gaza. Says Huwaida Arraf, “because Freedom Flotilla 1 was mostly an international effort, and because with the Mavi Marmara Turkish people were killed, it became mainly a Turkish thing…which detracted from the fact that it really was an international effort. So this time we want to show that it’s not just Turkey, its an international effort.” In fact, no Turkish citizens are aboard either of the two ships.
Freedom Waves for Gaza comes at a time when minor improvements to the situation- such as the opening of the Rafah land crossing from Egypt to Gaza in May- or minor concessions by Israel- such as its allowance of minor consumer goods into Gaza in the wake of the Mavi Marmara massacre in 2010, touted internationally as an ‘easing of the blockade’ (though it led led 10-year-old Gaza schoolchild Abed Rahmen Jadee to lament ‘I don’t want any more snacks or coke. I want a new school’)- have done little to meaningfully alleviate the humanitarian crisis that plagues the 1.6 million inhabitants of Gaza, half of whom are under the age of 16.
Organizer Huwaida Arraf, chair of the Free Gaza movement, stresses that “by reaching Palestinians through their own port, the flotilla defies the dehumanization of a whole population and supports the continuing efforts of the people of Gaza to assert their dignity. The Palestinians will accept nothing less than a total end to the illegal Israeli blockade of Gaza and all forms of violence and discrimination against them.”
The most recent figures published by the UN and international humanitarian and human rights organizations confirm that roughly 75 – 80% of the population rely on international aid in order to survive; 65% live below the poverty line; 52% are food insecure; approximately 40% are unemployed; there are no building materials for much-needed schools and hospitals; 90 – 95% of the drinking water is contaminated and unfit for consumption; seriously ill patients cannot get access to the specialist treatment that would potentially save their lives; and children are suffering untreated post-traumatic stress as a result of the white phosphorous shells used illegally in Israel’s invasion in January 2009.
In its declaration to the UN, the Palestinian youth stated that “in our schools, universities and through our organizations, we are taught about human rights and international law, and yet it seems like Palestinians fall into a class of people upon whom these rights don’t apply. Like the blacks in America a half a century ago, or in South Africa two decades ago, we are victims of an exclusivist ideology and those who tolerate and enable it.”
The declaration continues- “Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit has been returned to his family, removing one of Israel’s main pretexts, albeit not a justification, for its Draconian closure policy. And while 1027 Palestinian prisoners have been exchanged for Shalit (although 550 have yet to be released), over 1.5 million Palestinians remain caged in the prison that is Gaza.”
During the campaign, Witness Gaza (witnessgaza.com) will be a central information hub, in contact with representative organizations from activists’ home countries. Palestinian youth representatives will be updating the world via Twitter at #PALWaves, as will international activists aboard the ships- unless Israel jams the communications signal, as has occurred in previous flotilla aid attempts.
In Wednesday’s press release, Majd Kayyal, a Palestinian activist from Haifa aboard the Tahrir, insisted that “Israel has caged Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, prohibiting physical contact between us. We want to break the siege Israel has imposed on our people. The fact that we’re in international waters is already a victory for the movement.”
As new Israeli airstrikes are claiming lives in Gaza, and as Benjamin Netanyahu threatens to intensify the bombardments, it is due time to once again bring to the world’s attention what the UN in 2009 called the ‘protracted human dignity crisis’ caused by Israel’s closure of Gaza. Says Huwaida Arraf, “the people of Gaza have called on the peoples and governments of the world to challenge an illegal, immoral, and irrational Israeli naval blockade that has caused, and continues to cause, incalculable human suffering. We are responding to that call. Our primary aim is to overcome the continuing blockade of Gaza through civil resistance and non-violent direct action, and to establish a permanent sea lane between Gaza and the rest of the world.”
The event, called ‘Freedom Waves for Gaza’, unites 27 activists from 9 countries, including America, Canada, Denmark, Belgium, Germany and Australia, alongside Palestinians from Bethlehem and Haifa, in a broad-based international movement to break Israel’s illegal and immoral suffocation of the 1.6 million inhabitants of the Gaza Strip. The Irish yacht Saoirse (Freedom), which carries 15 activists, and the Canadian boat Tahrir (Liberation), which holds 12, will attempt to carry $30,000 in medical supplies beyond the Israeli blockade later this week. ‘Freedom Waves for Gaza’ is the 11th attempt by international activists to deliver humanitarian aid through the Israeli blockade of Gaza since 2008.
As the boats navigate international waters, Palestinian youth activists will parade a large wooden effigy of the aid boats through the streets of Ramallah, while distributing white armbands and ribbons emblazoned ‘Freedom Waves for Gaza’. In addition, they will hold a demonstration outside of the UN office in Ramallah on Thursday, demanding that the UN end its compliance with the Israeli blockade and protect the humanitarian mission.
Indeed, in a letter given to the UN on Wednesday, Palestinian youth insisted that “it is incumbent upon the UN to take urgent steps to protect the boats en route to Gaza and all of the humanitarian volunteers aboard, as well as to declare its support for nonviolent, humanitarian action, designed to do what the UN and its members states have thus far failed to do.”
Organizers of the flotilla mission withheld the news from the world until the boats reached international waters, to prevent Israeli or international sabotage that plagued previous aid attempts. Though the humanitarian vessels departed from Fethiye, Turkey, organizers insist that the Turkish government is not involved with Freedom Waves for Gaza. Says Huwaida Arraf, “because Freedom Flotilla 1 was mostly an international effort, and because with the Mavi Marmara Turkish people were killed, it became mainly a Turkish thing…which detracted from the fact that it really was an international effort. So this time we want to show that it’s not just Turkey, its an international effort.” In fact, no Turkish citizens are aboard either of the two ships.
Freedom Waves for Gaza comes at a time when minor improvements to the situation- such as the opening of the Rafah land crossing from Egypt to Gaza in May- or minor concessions by Israel- such as its allowance of minor consumer goods into Gaza in the wake of the Mavi Marmara massacre in 2010, touted internationally as an ‘easing of the blockade’ (though it led led 10-year-old Gaza schoolchild Abed Rahmen Jadee to lament ‘I don’t want any more snacks or coke. I want a new school’)- have done little to meaningfully alleviate the humanitarian crisis that plagues the 1.6 million inhabitants of Gaza, half of whom are under the age of 16.
Organizer Huwaida Arraf, chair of the Free Gaza movement, stresses that “by reaching Palestinians through their own port, the flotilla defies the dehumanization of a whole population and supports the continuing efforts of the people of Gaza to assert their dignity. The Palestinians will accept nothing less than a total end to the illegal Israeli blockade of Gaza and all forms of violence and discrimination against them.”
The most recent figures published by the UN and international humanitarian and human rights organizations confirm that roughly 75 – 80% of the population rely on international aid in order to survive; 65% live below the poverty line; 52% are food insecure; approximately 40% are unemployed; there are no building materials for much-needed schools and hospitals; 90 – 95% of the drinking water is contaminated and unfit for consumption; seriously ill patients cannot get access to the specialist treatment that would potentially save their lives; and children are suffering untreated post-traumatic stress as a result of the white phosphorous shells used illegally in Israel’s invasion in January 2009.
In its declaration to the UN, the Palestinian youth stated that “in our schools, universities and through our organizations, we are taught about human rights and international law, and yet it seems like Palestinians fall into a class of people upon whom these rights don’t apply. Like the blacks in America a half a century ago, or in South Africa two decades ago, we are victims of an exclusivist ideology and those who tolerate and enable it.”
The declaration continues- “Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit has been returned to his family, removing one of Israel’s main pretexts, albeit not a justification, for its Draconian closure policy. And while 1027 Palestinian prisoners have been exchanged for Shalit (although 550 have yet to be released), over 1.5 million Palestinians remain caged in the prison that is Gaza.”
During the campaign, Witness Gaza (witnessgaza.com) will be a central information hub, in contact with representative organizations from activists’ home countries. Palestinian youth representatives will be updating the world via Twitter at #PALWaves, as will international activists aboard the ships- unless Israel jams the communications signal, as has occurred in previous flotilla aid attempts.
In Wednesday’s press release, Majd Kayyal, a Palestinian activist from Haifa aboard the Tahrir, insisted that “Israel has caged Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, prohibiting physical contact between us. We want to break the siege Israel has imposed on our people. The fact that we’re in international waters is already a victory for the movement.”
As new Israeli airstrikes are claiming lives in Gaza, and as Benjamin Netanyahu threatens to intensify the bombardments, it is due time to once again bring to the world’s attention what the UN in 2009 called the ‘protracted human dignity crisis’ caused by Israel’s closure of Gaza. Says Huwaida Arraf, “the people of Gaza have called on the peoples and governments of the world to challenge an illegal, immoral, and irrational Israeli naval blockade that has caused, and continues to cause, incalculable human suffering. We are responding to that call. Our primary aim is to overcome the continuing blockade of Gaza through civil resistance and non-violent direct action, and to establish a permanent sea lane between Gaza and the rest of the world.”