[Peace-discuss] Sarah Lazare @CommonDreams: Ship Aimed at Breaking Gaza Blockade Rocked By Explosion

[Robert Naiman]

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2014/04/29-5

Published on Tuesday, April 29, 2014 by Common
Dreams<http://www.commondreams.org/>
Ship Aimed at Breaking Gaza Blockade Rocked By Explosion
'You can sink a boat but you can't sink a movement'
- Sarah Lazare, staff writer

The partially submerged ship shown shortly after the attack (Photo courtesy
of Gaza's Ark)Gaza's Ark—a freedom flotilla aimed at breaking the Israeli
blocked from within this besieged strip—was rocked by an explosion early
Tuesday, partially sinking the vessel weeks before it was to set sail from
the Gaza Port.

According to a statement
<http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2014/04/29-1> from
Gaza's Ark, no one was injured in the blast, but the night guard "was taken
to the hospital for tests."

Ehab Lotayef, member of Gaza's Ark steering committee, told *Common Dreams*,
"We don't have solid proof of who carried out the attack, but it is very
clear there is one specific entity interested in the boat not sailing and
in continuing the blockade of Gaza."

This is the first physical attack against Gaza's Ark, which has been under
construction for nearly a year. Jointly organized by Palestinians in
Gaza—including the Palestine Sailing Federation and the Fishermen’s
Solidarity Campaign—and international solidarity organizations, the vessel
was constructed by Palestinians and slated to embark in June on a voyage
through international waters carrying Palestinian goods and people from
Gaza and around the world.

"The goal is to challenge the ongoing, illegal Israeli blockade and focus
worldwide attention on the situation in Gaza and the complicity of the
governments that support it or look the other way," according to the
organization's
website <http://www.gazaark.org/faq/>.

The Ark is affiliated with the Freedom Flotilla coalition, whose vessels
have attempted to deliver humanitarian aid and other materials to Gaza.
According to Lotayef, by starting from within Palestine, and employing only
Palestinian labor, Gaza's Ark organizers hope to "empower people in Gaza
and help elevate the lack of jobs."

The explosion Tuesday follows numerous attacks on vessels attempting to
break the siege, including a 2010 Israeli
assault<http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/israels-attack-gaza-freedom-flotilla-looking-back-year-later>
on
the Mavi Marmara ship sailing from Turkey that killed nine people and
injured dozens, sparking global condemnation.

Since 2007, Israel—with U.S. backing—has intensified its blockade of Gaza,
trapping and isolating its population of 1.7 million people. The siege has
strangled the local economy, forcing 80
percent<http://www.oxfam.org/en/emergencies/gaza> of
all people in Gaza to rely on humanitarian aid, and has cut residents off
from essential goods, including clean
water<http://mondoweiss.net/2014/02/struggles-continue-blockade.html>
medical
supplies. While Palestinian fishing vessels are ostensibly allowed to
travel six nautical miles from the Gaza shore, they havereported coming
under Israeli fire<http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/04/blast-damages-gaza-anti-siege-boat-2014429124952109693.html>
just
two nautical miles from shore.

Yet organizers say they are determined to continue the plan to sail from
Gaza's waters and are currently assessing the condition of the boat and
charting out next steps.

"Neither this nor any other attack will stop our efforts to challenge the
blockade of Gaza until it ends," adds David Heap of Gaza's Ark Steering
Committee

Said Lotayef, "You can sink a boat but you can't sink a movement."
-- 
Robert Naiman
Policy Director
Just Foreign Policy
www.justforeignpolicy.org
naiman at justforeignpolicy.org
(202) 448-2898, extension 1
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