Viva Palestina - Gaza mission #4

[faceless]

Delegation blocked from joining Gaza flotilla
30 May 2010
rte.ie

Three members of the Oireachtas have returned home after they were refused permission to leave Cyprus to join a flotilla bringing aid to the Gaza Strip. The international flotilla, carrying 10,000 tonnes of aid, is expected to reach the coast tomorrow, but Israeli authorities have vowed not to allow the human rights activists on board, to break its blockade of the Palestinian territory.

Israel, which controls the waters around Gaza, put a blockade in place in 2007 when Hamas took control of region. The six ships left international waters off Cyprus this morning but have no estimated time of arrival in Gaza.

Sinn Féin TD Aengus Ó Snodaigh - who was part of the Irish delegation - has said he believes Israel brought pressure on Cyprus to intervene. Chris Andrews TD and Senator Mark Daly (both Fianna Fáil) are the other members of the Irish contingent.

[modern]

And the President of Cyprus is supposed to be a 'Communist'...

[faceless]

I didn't know that - but which part of the country is that?

I've added video above, but the audio's gone well out of sync... I blame rte!

[modern]

Oh, it would be the Greek side. Think they'd be better off with a Center-Left one...

[major.tom]

[Brown Sauce]

here's a live feed from the Turkish ship ..

<div>Watch <a>live streaming video</a> from <a>insaniyardim</a> at livestream.com</div>

and a facebook page setup by an organiser

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Gaza-TV-News/119275738102852?ref=ts

[major.tom]

The tweets on http://witnessgaza.com confirm that the flotilla is still in international waters. No update for ~30 mins, so IDF are apparently jamming satellite communications. Wouldn't this qualify as piracy on the high seas?

I found a partial maritime Map for Gaza here: Gaza Partial maritime map (pdf format, but good quality)

[Brown Sauce]

Gaza TV's phlog - ipadio - phonecast live to the World, any phone, anywhere
http://www.ipadio.com/phlogs/Gaza_TVNews/2010/05/30/Gaza-TVs-phlog-Breaking-News-3-Israeli-War-Ships-Approa
3 Israeli war ships have now surrounded the Flotilla.They have been told that they either be towed into Israel, or be boarded.This is a serious threat.The Flotilla is 90 from Gaza in international waters.

[prpower]

I've just been watching the live stream. It appears that the Israelis have opened fire on the flotilla and killed at least 2 people and injured many others.

[faceless]

I'm just hearing that too - FUCKING IDF CUNT BASTARDS!

[modern]

This is truly shameful. No news channels are even bothering to pick up on this yet.

Some Facebook reports say at least 3 killed. How can aid ships cause such provocation?

[modern]

John Hurson's latest report: 2 unconfirmed killings and 30 injured.

[faceless]

Israeli CUNTS firing on unarmed people.

[modern]

There has to be serious repercussions over this:

http://www.worldbulletin.net/news_detail.php?id=59257

[faceless]

I've not stayed up this late for a long time - but this story sickens me to the core.