Posts Tagged ‘Mairead Maguire’

Israel to deport Cynthia McKinney, others Thursday, July 2nd, 2009

From: Green Party Watch
by Gregg Jocoy

Fox News is reporting that the authorities in Israel plan to deport Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney after taking the ship she and 20 others were using in an attempt to deliver humanitarian air to the people of Gaza. The article implies that Israel intends to keep the ship, registered in Greece.

The article quotes Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor.

“Nobody wants to the keep them here. They will be released as soon as they are checked.”

The article says that McKinney and the others, including 1977 Nobel Peace Prize winner Mairead Maguire, are being held at Ben Gurion International Airport and will be deported from there. McKinney and the others were on board the Spirit of Humanity, operated by the Free Gaza Movement. Referring to their captivity, Free Gaza Movement founding member Greta Berlin told Ynet news, an online publication based in Israel:

They simply kidnapped the passengers. I call on the Israeli occupation forces to release our people immediately. It’s funny. What are they going to do? Deport us? The last place we wanted to reach was Israel.

In an earlier report Fox News reported that Congresswoman McKinney was demanding the immediate release of the the crew of the seized ship.

“This is an outrageous violation of international law against us,” said McKinney. “Our boat was not in Israeli waters and we were on a human rights mission to the Gaza Strip. 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.”

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Israelis intercept Gaza aid ship Tuesday, June 30th, 2009

A map of the Gaza Strip

[From BBC NEWS]

Israeli forces have boarded a ship trying to carry aid and pro-Palestinian activists to the Gaza Strip in defiance of Israel’s blockade of the territory.

The 20 passengers include former US congresswoman Cynthia McKinney [2008 Green Party presidential candidate] and Nobel Prize winner Mairead Maguire.

Ms McKinney described it as “an outrageous violation of international law”, as the boat was on a humanitarian mission and was not in Israeli waters.

The Israeli military said the boat was trying to enter Gaza illegally.
The US-based Free Gaza Movement has breached the blockade five times since August 2008.

Two other attempts by the activist group were stopped by Israeli warships during Israel’s three-week military offensive in Gaza in December and January.

Israel keeps a tight hold on Gaza, which has been ruled by militant group Hamas since June 2007, having seized control of from its rival, the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority.

The Israeli military said the passengers and crew of the Greek-registered ship Arion would be handed over to immigration authorities in Ashdod, and its humanitarian aid cargo would be taken to Gaza by road after a security check.

“An Israeli navy force intercepted, boarded and took control of the cargo boat Arion … as it was illegally attempting to enter the Gaza Strip,” a military spokesman said.

Reconstruction
The mission is the latest by the Free Gaza Movement, which has renamed the ferry boat Spirit of Humanity.

Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney official portrait.

Image via Wikipedia

“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 Ms McKinney in a statement.

“President [Barack] 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.”

On Monday, a report by the International Committee of the Red Cross described the 1.5 million Palestinians living in Gaza as people “trapped in despair”, unable to rebuild their lives after Israel’s offensive.

Donors have pledged $4.5 billion for reconstruction and rehabilitation in Gaza following the 22-day offensive which left more than 50,000 homes, 800 industrial properties and 200 schools damaged or destroyed, as well as 39 mosques and two churches.

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