Israel Still Holding Gaza-Bound Passengers, Including Parliamentarians; Some Tasered
by Robert Naiman on 21 October 2012 - 3:53pm
Israel Still Holding Gaza-Bound Passengers, Including Parliamentarians; Some Tasered Video Disproves Israeli Government Claims on Estelle Cargo; 3 Israelis, 18 Internationals Held
New York, October 21, 3pm EDT - More than 24 hours after their illegal detention in international waters at 10 AM local time Saturday, Israeli authorities are still holding 21 passengers who were on board the Estelle which was sailing to Gaza when intercepted by Israeli forces, of whom three are Israeli and eighteen are internationals. There were originally 30 on board the boat from eight countries: Israel, Canada, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Greece, and Spain. Six have been deported and at this writing three are in the process of being deported.
Passengers on the Estelle, including Israeli combat veteran Yonatan Shapira, have reported that the passengers were tasered when Israeli forces commandeered the ship.
Israeli officials have claimed that there were no humanitarian goods onboard. In fact, the items in the cargo room of Estelle were: 2 olive trees; 41 tons of cement; wheelchairs; walkers; crutches; midwifery stethoscope; children's books; toys; 300 footballs; musical instruments; theatrical equipment; VHF radio (for a ship); 1 anchor (the last two items were for the Gaza's Ark project.) The ship was inspected at many ports. A video of the cement being loaded onto the ship is here.
"We call on the U.S. to use its influence with the Israeli government to ensure the Estelle passengers and crew are treated with dignity, that their rights as non-violent protesters are respected and that they all be released immediately,” said Jane Hirschmann, organizer of the U.S. Boat to Gaza.
Rashid Khalidi, Edward Said Professor of Arab Studies at Columbia University, said today: "It's striking that while the Swedish Foreign Affairs Ministry has the moral clarity to say that it agrees with the Ship to Gaza that the border crossings must be opened and that the ship should have been allowed through, the U.S. State Department is silent about this gross violation of human rights and international humanitarian law."
"I should say that every time Israel stops a boat, that's another blow to its diminishing legitimacy and another element of support, both to the those who are resisting internally and to those who are opposing the policies outside, and sooner or later the wave will sweep over the barriers," Noam Chomsky, who was visiting Gaza, told a news conference at Gaza port.
For immediate release:
contact: US Boat to Gaza, Robert Naiman, naiman@justforeignpolicy.org;
Richard Levy,
Finnish Minister of Foreign Affairs Erkki Tuomioja writes in his blog post that the blockade of Gaza must end:
http://www.tuomioja.org/
Tuomioja:
Estelle and the Gaza blockade
The Israeli navy has this morning stopped M/S Estelle on its way to Gaza, captured it and taken the ship and its crew and passengers to the Port of Ashdod in Israel, where we will provide consular assistance to the Finnish citizens. It seems that all people onboard will soon be deported from Israel. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Finnish Transport Safety Agency have followed closely the passage of the ship and have been in contact with the Finnish master of the ship after having received confirmation that the ship, which is under Swedish ownership is still in the Finnish vessel register. Following Israel's contacts to Finland we have conveyed to the ship the message that Israel will not allow the ship to sail to Gaza and may enforce this with the use of force. Warning of this kind was necessary because there was a significant danger that an eventual use of force could have led to personal injuries.
We have studied carefully the legal questions related to this issue and have concluded that Finland, in the capacity of the so called flag state, has neither an obligation nor a possibility or a reason to act in a different way. Sweden, as the home country of the owner of M/S Estelle and of the Ship to Gaza organization is more directly involved in the situation, but has declined to act as enforcer of the Israeli blockade nor to act as an advocate for those breaking it.
Finland will also in this situation rely on international law, but the legal issues involved are not, however, unambiguous. The international fact-finding mission that reported to the Human Rights Council on the tragic Flotilla incident causing a loss of many human lives concluded that the Gaza blockade was contrary to international law. The so called Palmer Report of the UN Secretary-General's Panel of Inquiry came to the conclusion that the maritime blockade was in line with international law. The latter view has been the one many states have felt obliged to live with.
Regardless of the differing answers provided by international law, the Gaza blockade is politically unacceptable like the European Union has clearly stated when calling for it to be lifted. The purpose of equipping M/S Estelle has been to provide humanitarian assistance to Gaza as well as to express a strong political opinion in favour of the rights of the Palestinians. Although, this aim is by no means contrary to the views of Finland, it is equally clear that we cannot recommend to anyone to participate in undertakings which may even place their lives in danger.
