[Peace-discuss] Israel Still Holding Gaza-Bound Passengers, Including Parliamentarians; Some Tasered

[Robert Naiman]

http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/node/1323

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Israel Still Holding Gaza-Bound Passengers, Including Parliamentarians;
Some Tasered
**Video Disproves Israeli Government Claims on Estelle Cargo; 3 Israelis,
18 Internationals Held**
*
For immediate release:
contact: US Boat to Gaza, Robert Naiman, 217-979-2857;
naiman at justforeignpolicy.org;
                                              Richard Levy, 917-797-4466

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<http://www.ynetnews.com/Ext/Comp/ArticleLayout/CdaArticlePrintPreview/1,2506,L-4294718,00.html>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<http://shiptogaza.se/en/Pressrum/Pressmeddelanden/what-estelle%C2%B4s-cargo-gaza>:
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<http://www.gazaark.org/%20about-us/mission-statement/>.)
The ship was inspected at many ports. A video of the cement being loaded
onto the ship is here <http://t.co/Kb5ZH5v0>.

"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 <http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/node/1322> 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 <http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=6146>.

---

-- 
Robert Naiman
Policy Director
Just Foreign Policy
www.justforeignpolicy.org
naiman at justforeignpolicy.org
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