Media told not to join flotilla
The warning, issued yesterday, reflects Israeli jitters about the flotilla, which comes just over a year after a similar mission ended in the deaths of nine Turkish activists in clashes with Israeli naval commandos.
In a letter to foreign journalists, the Government Press Office’s director, Oren Helman, called the flotilla “a dangerous provocation that is being organised by Western and Islamic extremist elements to aid Hamas”.
“I would like to make it clear to you and to the media that you represent, that participation in the flotilla is an intentional violation of Israeli law and is liable to lead to participants being denied entry into the State of Israel for 10 years, to the impoundment of their equipment and to additional sanctions,” said Helman.
Up to 25 Irish people, including former TD Chris Andrews and former rugby star Trevor Horgan are travelling on board the MV Saoirse which is expected to rendezvous with other vessels this week ahead of the final leg of the journey towards Gaza. Popular Swedish crime writer Henning Mankell is also travelling with the flotilla.
Organisers of the flotilla say the mission is necessary to draw attention to the plight of Gaza’s 1.6 million residents where unemployment is estimated at close to 50% and the territory still suffers from a shortage of badly needed construction materials. An Israeli naval blockade of seaports is ongoing, forcing the Palestinian inhabitants of Gaza to rely on a single land crossing.
The Irish participants are among one thousand activists in the flotilla hoping to bring reconstruction materials and humanitarian aid to the troubled region.
Yesterday, Socialist Party MEP Paul Murphy criticised Justice Minister Alan Shatter for describing the flotilla as more of “a political protest”. Mr Murphy said the flotilla was also a humanitarian exercise.
