[Peace-discuss] Inter Press Service: Now Gaza's Ark Prepares to Dare Israel

[Robert Naiman]

Now Gaza's Ark Prepares to Dare Israel
Eva Bartlett, Inter Press Service, Mar 27 2013
http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/03/now-gazas-ark-prepares-to-dare-israel/

Gaza City - "An ark is literally a large floating vessel designed to
keep its passengers and cargo safe," say the group preparing 'Gaza's
Ark'. But their ark, they say, is "a vessel that embodies hope that
the Palestinians of the Gaza Strip can soon live in peace without the
threat of the Israeli blockade."

An initiative by Palestinians in Gaza and international solidarity
activists, Gaza's Ark entails "purchasing a run-down boat from a local
fishing family," says Michael Coleman, a member of Free Gaza Australia
and on the Gaza's Ark steering committee.

"The refurbishing will be done by Palestinians in the port of Gaza,
and the sailing will be with a mixed crew of Palestinians and
internationals," says David Heap, spokesperson for Gaza's Ark in
Canada and Europe. The sailing date has not been announced yet.

Pointing to a weathered fishing trawler with a 'for sale' sign painted
on it, Mahfouz Kabariti, president of Gaza's Fishing and Marine Sports
Association, points to fishers' poverty.

"Why sell?" he asks. "Because of years of poor incomes from Israeli
restrictions on sea, many fishers have debts they cannot pay off.
Fishers were optimistic when the Israelis re-extended the fishing
limit six miles. We hoped that maybe it would be extended to 12
miles."

The Ark initiative includes exporting a token amount of trade goods
from Palestinian artisans, an act which Coleman admits is "symbolic"
but necessary. Exports will include date goods, embroidery, and crafts
from the Aftfaluna society for Deaf Children and other associations in
Gaza.

The steering committee for Gaza's Ark comprises mainly well-respected
Palestinian scholars, doctors and rights activists from Gaza.
International supporters include Archbishop Desmond Tutu, various UK
and Canadian former and current members of parliament, two former UN
assistant secretaries general, and Hedy Epstein and Suzanne Weiss,
both Holocaust survivors.
[...]
"Gaza's Ark is the evolution of the flotilla movement. We've moved
away from sailing into Gaza with aid," says Coleman. "We now focus on
sailing trade out, because it's quite clear that if the Palestinians
were able to trade, their dependence on aid would be diminished quite
significantly."

The Ark website emphasises the need for trade, their slogan is "trade, not aid."

Aid, the website notes, "does not address the root cause of why the
Palestinians of Gaza are in need: the Israeli blockade. We believe
that aid provides a 'cover' for the actions of the Israeli government
against the people of Gaza, alleviating the consciences of
international powers while leaving the blockade in place."

The Gaza's Ark initiative aims to "challenge the blockade of Gaza from
the inside out. By purchasing Palestinian exports from Gaza, buyers
around the world can bring critically-needed public attention to the
blockade while supporting Palestinian businesses in Gaza," reads the
Ark website.
[...]
The Al Mezan Center for Human Rights notes that "it is common for the
(Israeli) navy to open fire on fishermen, pursue them in Gazan waters,
and destroy and confiscate their equipment, including their nets and
boats. Such acts constitute flagrant violations of Israel's legal
obligations as an occupying power under international law, and violate
the fishermen's rights to life and work."

Gaza's fishers once numbered over 10,000, but under the Israeli siege
and assaults, the vast majority have given up on a trade that was
passed down to them by their fathers and grandfathers.

With the siege, Israel has also enforced no-go zones along the Green
Line border separating Gaza and Israel, and in Gaza's sea, to which
Palestinians under the Oslo accords have the right to fish as far as
20 nautical miles from the coast.

Since 2008, Israel has unilaterally enforced a limit of between six
and three miles. Although Israeli authorities expanded this limit back
to six miles following the cessation of Israel's November 2012 attacks
on Gaza, in March 2013 Israel again unilaterally declared Palestinians
can go no further than three miles.

Fishers and human rights groups report that the Israeli navy shoots
on, harasses and abducts Palestinian fishers even within three miles,
as close at times as less than a mile from Gaza's coast. The Israeli
navy has killed and injured numerous fishers while shooting at their
boats.

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