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Irish Gaza ship prisoners claim they were abused by Israeli commandos

Israeli commandos have been accused of abusing 14 Irish citizens

CATHAL DERVAN,

IrishCentral Staff Writer

Published Monday, November 7, 2011, 7:53 AM

Updated Monday, November 7, 2011, 10:50 AM

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Activist Naimh Moloughney packs bags to be loaded into the Cargo ship the MV Rachel Corrie named after a after a human rights activist killed by the Israeli military, before departing from Dundalk Harbour for the Middle East with a cargo of cement and supplies for Gaza.

Photo by Niall Carson/PA Wire

Israeli commandos have been accused of abusing 14 Irish citizens, after they stormed a boat attempting to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Two of the 14 Irish citizens awaiting court cases and deportation have revealed the full extent of the horrors they suffered at the hands of the Israeli military.

European Parliament member Paul Murphy and Irish effort co-ordinator Fintan Lane have described how they were hosed down under gun-point by commandos before they were transferred to an Israeli jail. Their boat, the MV Saoirse, was one of two attempting to breach the Israeli blockade of Gaza and deliver aid to Palestine when it was stopped and boarded in international waters by the Israelis

The Irish group were travelling as part of a two boat convoy to Gaza organised by the Freedom Wave humanitarian aid group.

Organizer Lane described how the Israeli forces surrounded the two ships before pointing guns through windows and turning high-pressure hoses on passengers.

“I was hosed down the stairs of the boat,” said Dr Lane. “Windows were smashed and the bridge of the boat nearly caught fire.

“The boats were corralled to such an extent that the two boats, the Saoirse and the Tahrir, collided with each other and were damaged, with most of the damage happening to the MV Saoirse.

“The boats nearly sank. The method used in the takeover was dangerous to human life.”

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Dr Lane also revealed how the Israelis eventually agreed to tow the boats to shore, with $30,000 worth of medical aid on board, after initially attempting to abandon the vessels at sea.

MEP Murphy, in a statement released by the Socialist Party he represents in the European parliament, said that ‘those on board were shackled and deprived of all personal belongings’ before they were taken to jail.

He added: “In Givon prison the authorities tried to disorientate us through sleep deprivation and the removal of our watches and the prison clock recording the wrong time.

“We have been given no time-frame as to how long we will be kept there before the deportation trial. We were denied our right to contact our families within 24 hours of arrest.

“Following protests, our treatment improved and books and writing materials were returned.”

Murphy also revealed that the 14 Irish arrested, including former rugby international Trevor Hogan, refused to sign ‘confessions’ that they had entered Israeli territory illegally.

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shuvonn | Nov 14, 2011, 08:18 AM EST

Your claims of being a military historian do not change the fact they were in International Waters when the vessels were boarded illegally. Or the fact that the blockade is illegal. There were three UN reports conducted and two out of three found the blockade to be illegal and the third one Palmer found the 9 dead to have been extrajudicial executions and israel used excessive and disproportionate force on the mavi marmara in INTERNATIONAL WATERS. And it was 67 NOT 68, and israel attacked Egypt first because of the closure of the straits of tirhan to israel so perhaps just a military historian with a bad memory? And losing a war does not equate to losing land any more with the creation of the Gevena Conventions to which israel is a signatory. And israel as the OCCUPYING POWER of Gaza (despite their denials to the contrary) DOES owe them what the Geneva Conventions says they do as a signatory.The argument presented by israel is not accepted by the international community and international lawmaking bodies, virtually all of whom regard Israel's activities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip as an occupation that denies the fundamental principle of self-determination found in the Article One of the United Nations Charter, and in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Further, UN Security Council Resolution 242 notes the "inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war" regardless of whether the war in which the territory was acquired was offensive or defensive. I guess you need to finish that military history degree of yours,

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jmccarten | Nov 10, 2011, 02:14 AM EST

Shuvonn, I am a military historian. Those protestors were not kidnapped International Law allows every country to arrest people entering their territorial waters. These protesters were in Israeli waters and therefore under International Law they can be arrested. The Palestinians should know that when you lose a war there are consequences like losing your rights and your land. The arabs attacked Israel in 1968 and again in 1972 and lost both wars, so losing wars does have consequences. Israel owes them nothing, but are willing to work with them to reach some sort of accomodation as long as they agree to not make war or commit terrorist acts against Israel. So far they have not done so. On his last day in office Bill Clinton talked to his predecessor George Bush for half an hour about Yassar Arafat and the Palestinians. Clinton told Bush "don't trust that man he is an outright liar" So Irish Peace groups should not become become "usefool fools" for Arab terrorist groups bent on the destruction of the only democracy in the Middle East.

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seanomelbourne | Nov 09, 2011, 05:41 PM EST

I find joycean a weak debater he never posts any factual information.His maudling adulation of the terrorist Israeli state is bemusing to say the least.

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jimmy12003 | Nov 08, 2011, 05:38 PM EST

the sad thing is that when the world is finally had enough of this parisite and iran sends in a nuke to rid the world of them, it will probably result in the loss of more innocent americans having to try and save there sorry cult from wipe out once again!

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merefalow | Nov 08, 2011, 01:43 PM EST

right is right,wrong is wrong,these guys maintain they are the chosen of god,so i guess they can do no wrong,the usa certainly doesnt think so or the uk.funny if you look at what they are doing to the palestinians it bears remarkable similarities to what the nazis did to them,and that was pretty wrong..?surely there must be a reasonable compromise in there somewhere because what is being done to the palestinians is plainly WRONG..

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shuvonn | Nov 08, 2011, 12:14 PM EST

What's your point joycean? All you have done is brag about how wonderful you think jews are....and that's YOUR opinion.

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joycean | Nov 08, 2011, 11:02 AM EST

Isreal is one of the US's staunchest allies, and we will never let her down. The US has a strong connection to Isreal. There are more Jews in the US (about 6.5 million) than there are in Isreal(approx. 5.5 mil). Many Jewish Americans hold dual US and Isreali passports or qualify. Of all US ethnic groups, the Jews are the wealthiest and the best educated. Jews tend to belive that their children should be professioals and many of our professoinals (doctors,lawyers, polititians) are Jewish.

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shuvonn | Nov 08, 2011, 08:06 AM EST

Gee gornish perhaps they do not go to syria, sudan or somalia because none of those places are currently having an illegal blockade like israel is on Gaza. And FYI it was NOT just Irish people who were on those vessels. Bravo? For blatant violation of INTERNATIONAL LAW?? It everyone minded their own business and stayed home, what kind of world would it be? You can call them losers, I consider them honorable people for standing up against israels treatment of the Palestinians. You'd be the type to piss and moan if you had a problem and no one would help you....

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gornisht | Nov 08, 2011, 07:17 AM EST

I can only say that these losers have caused me to shed tears. Why don't they go to Syria, or Sudan, or Somalia, or Iran.or Iraq, or Libya,or China? I know, its the Meditteranean climate!

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gornisht | Nov 08, 2011, 07:13 AM EST

It is amazing how losers can milk the system and get away with it! If they were "abused by the commandos, too bad, but I assume certified idiots do not know ant better! And, irealand has so many internal problems, they should (i.e. the losers) consider helping out their own country! Bravo Israel!

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Pittsburghkid | Nov 07, 2011, 09:56 PM EST

"The Ship of Fools" Hitler sent a boat load of Jew, and no country would take them in. When the Muslim get their way and distroy Isreal will Ireland take the Jews in? Mind you own business.

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AlunPalmer | Nov 07, 2011, 09:31 PM EST

I love how they always force them to go to Israel and then deport them for illegal entry. What odious claptrap! Gazans suing in Israeli courts are treated as foreign citizens, so Israel recognises that Gaza is not Israel. They have never declared war on Gaza because they don't want to recognise Palestine as a state, but with no declaration of war the blockade is illegal.

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cillowen | Nov 07, 2011, 05:36 PM EST

Nothing will be done about such abuse by god's chosen - such a tribe calls the shots worldwide - notice obama and his uk ilk partners scouring in their pants as they be prodded to do right for mighty oligarchical caball mavens whom they weasels serve.

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seanomelbourne | Nov 07, 2011, 04:46 PM EST

Joycean gives the Israeli's a "leave pass"for their toughness, tell that to the families of murdered Palestinian children or to Palestinian families who watched their homes bulldozed. The collective punishment of the Palestinian people is an international disgrace.They(Israelis) are very tough when facing unarmed civilians,they were not so tough a few years ago when Hezbollah beat the crap out of them. The terrorist Israeli states answer was to collectively punish all Lebanese including christians.Yes Joycean real tough.

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shuvonn | Nov 07, 2011, 03:58 PM EST

joycean drones on about israeli toughness THAT TOUGHNESS comes at a BILLIONS of dollars to the US price tag yearly so spare me your tripe, they never intended to enter israel, they were taken there against their will. The idf were founded by jew terrorists and the dregs of illegal militias (irgun, palmach, stern gang, lehi, etc) that the hypocrite Ben Gurion declare illegal and then absorbed them same illegal militias into the foundation of the idf....

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