The Israeli government continues to detain a number of passengers seized in international waters Friday while trying to challenge the Israeli naval blockade on Gaza. The passengers were on two boats — one from Canada and the other from Ireland — as part of the “Freedom Waves” flotilla.

Some 20 activists are believed to remain in custody after refusing to sign statements asserting they had entered Israel illegally. Flotilla organizers have accused the Israeli military of physically assaulting some of the activists and tasering at least one of them. Democracy Now! correspondent Jihan Hafiz was among those detained despite her press credentials. Hafiz had been filing daily reports for Democracy Now! from the Canadian ship named “Tahrir.” She spent three nights behind bars, where she was strip-searched and denied phone calls to relatives for 48 hours. She was finally deported Monday night and arrived in New York City just hours ago.

Israel has not returned her equipment or footage. In a Democracy Now! exclusive, Hafiz joins us in our New York studio. “All of the [Israeli] commandos on all of these boats were heavily armed… It looked like they were taking on an army of a foreign country,” says Hafiz, noting the masked soldiers pointed their guns at the heads of those on board.

(Source: reddit.com)

the Belfast Friends of Palestine held a Rally at the old Andytown Barracks in support of the Irish citizens kidnapped from on board the MV Saoirse Irish Ship to Gaza, by Israeli pirates. Friends, family and supporters of the Belfast crew John Mallon and Phil McCullough attended along with local MLA Paul Maskey.

IDF Soldiers board the vessels en-route to the Gaza Strip (by idfnadesk)

Gaza flotilla passengers positive about their mission

(Source: youtube.com)

Updated | 1:16 p.m. My colleague Isabel Kershner reports that the Israeli Navy intercepted two small boats bound for Gaza on Friday, apparently ending the latest effort by international activists to breach Israel’s maritime blockade of the Palestinian coastal enclave.

Canadian and Irish ships sailing with Freedom Waves to Gaza have been illegally boarded by the Israeli military in international waters a short while ago.

www.DemocracyNow.org - A Canadian boat and Irish boat quietly left a Turkish port Wednesday, bound for Gaza. Democracy Now! first broke the news on our live broadcast yesterday. This flotilla, named Freedom Waves to Gaza, marks the latest attempt by international activists to break the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza. The ships are hoping to reach Gaza by Friday, but Israel has threatened to stop the ships. “I anticipate that the Israeli army, the navy, is probably considering boarding us, at some point, on our way to Gaza and the siege,” said passenger Kit Kittredge of the group, Code Pink. “I am not feeling fearful. I am feeling actually pretty peaceful. And that’s what we are: We are a peaceful boat and a peaceful flotilla going to end the siege.” Democracy Now! correspondent Jihan Hafiz filed this video report from the Tahrir boat from international waters and interviewed live on the program by the telephone from the ship in international waters.

(Source: democracynow.org)

GAZA — Local fishermen, Palestinian youth, civil society and international supporters will be awaiting the arrival of Freedom Waves to Gaza which is currently approaching the blockaded strip.  The press conference is being hosted by the Palestinian Fishing and Marine Sport Association (PFMSA), and will be held in Gaza’s fishing port on Friday, 4 November at 9:30 a.m.

“Tomorrow we are gathering in the port to welcome the passengers on the flotilla who are coming here in solidarity with the people of Gaza, said Mahfouz El Kabariti, President of PFMSA.

“We hope that they reach Palestine safely and we call on everyone in Gaza to join us at the port to reciprocate the solidarity that they are showing to us.”
Following the press conference, attendees and media are invited to board fishing boats and sail out of the harbor to welcome the flotilla to Gaza.

For more information please contact:

• Rana Baker (English, Arabic): 059-9625468
• Mahfouz El Kabariti (Arabic):  059-9745666
• Jehan Al Farra (English, Arabic): 059-2166994
• Hussien Amody (Arabic, English) : 059-9725117
• For the latest updates follow #FreedomWaves on Twitter.

(Source: witnessgaza.com)

RAMALLAH — Two civilian boats, the Canadian Tahrir (Liberation), and the Irish Saoirse (Freedom), carrying 27 people from nine countries, are currently in international waters making their way to the beleaguered Gaza Strip to challenge Israel’s ongoing criminal blockade of the territory.

A Palestinian youth activist from Haifa has joined this renewed international mission to challenge Israel’s unrelenting stranglehold on Gaza via the sea. The message they carry is one of unity, defiance, and hope, in spite of Israel’s policies that have physically separated Palestinians from each other.

The “Freedom Waves to Gaza” organizers chose not to publicize the effort in advance given Israel’s efforts to block and sabotage Freedom Flotilla II last July. The boats, which set sail from Fethiye, Turkey, are expected to arrive in Gaza on Friday afternoon, sailing from international waters straight into Gaza’s territorial waters without entering Israel’s waters.

The boats carry symbolic cargo – $30,000 in medicines, along with a diverse group of passengers, all committed to nonviolent defense of the flotilla and Palestinian human rights.