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Irish ship ‘Saoirse’ among New freedom flotilla en route to Gaza

Irish ship approached Gaza strip

DARA KELLY,

IrishCentral Staff Writer

Published Thursday, November 3, 2011, 8:03 AM

Updated Thursday, November 3, 2011, 9:23 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

The Irish flotilla carrying pro-Palestinian activists has reached international waters of the eastern Mediterranean and is approaching the Gaza strip.

Al Jazeera reposts that The MV Saoirse, left the port of Fethiye in southwest Turkey on Wednesday after Turkish authorities gave them permission to sail to the Greek island of Rhodes.

A Canadian boat, the Tahrir, is also on route, it is carrying six activists, a captain and five journalists. It is sailing under the flag of Comoris Islands.

The Saoirse is flying under the U.S. flag and has 12 Irish citizens on board. It has been docked in Turkey for some time after it allegedly sabotaged and suffered damage.

David Heap, a crew member on board the Tahrir told Al Jazeera that they decided to leave Fethiye due to the strained relations between Turkey and Israel.
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"The Turkish government has been creating more distance from Israel diplomatically and we know there is support from Turkish society for what we are doing.

"Our judgment was that the Turkish state would not interfere with us if we didn’t make too much of a public issue of our plan to depart from there," Heap told Al Jazeera.

“It will take at least a couple of days before the boats reach the Palestinian waters of the Gaza Strip, where they expect to be approached by the Israeli navy.

"We have some distance to cover between where we are now and Palestinian territorial waters of Gaza.
"Obviously we are going to avoid going through Israeli territorial waters.

"Our plan is to go directly from international waters into the territorial waters of Gaza - within a couple of days.

"We're not, at this point, going to state exactly when. We will choose our moment to what is favourable to what we are trying to do," Heap said.

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shuvonn | Nov 07, 2011, 12:48 PM EST

Bishop Sean you did not mention what is taught in isreali schools now why is that? *Israeli school textbooks as well as children's storybooks, according to recent academic studies and surveys, portray Palestinians and Arabs as "murderers," "rioters," "suspicious," and generally backward and unproductive. Direct delegitimization and negative stereotyping of Palestinians and Arabs are the rule rather than the exception in Israeli schoolbooks.* Just in time to prime the new idf recruits to kill Palestinians as they serve mostly after they graduate from high school in israel. Netanyahus (israel's current prime minister aside from this stating the bombing of the king david hotel was a LEGITIMATE target )Netanyahu's dad said The April 3, 2009 edition of Maariv, Israel's second largest daily newspaper, reported (in Hebrew) an interview with Benzion Netanyahu, in which he is quoted as saying the following with respect to what should be Israel's policy toward the Arab population under its control: “That they won’t be able to face [anymore] the war with us, which will include withholding food from Arab cities, preventing education, terminating electrical power and more. They won’t be able to exist, and they will run away from here. Yeah maybe HE and his son should keep their mouth shut too or is that just Palestinians you want to keep their mouth shut? Neyanyahu denies they (Palestinians) even exist !!

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seanomelbourne | Nov 04, 2011, 06:45 PM EDT

The grim reaper is spewing b-sh it again,women can vote in Libya.Turkey,Lebonon,syria,Tunis,Egypt,Algeria and palestine and many other Muslim states.Israel is a terrorist state and most of you read from yahoo's hymn book.Mike the stolen palestinian land was commandeered by the Terrorist Israeli state.The sad part is you Israeli lobbyists condone the murder of thousands of Palstinian women and children and accept that the bulldozing of private dwellings by the Terrorist IDF is okay.

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Mike7571 | Nov 03, 2011, 10:26 PM EDT

If their point was to truely help the Palestenians, they would participate witht the Israli Army. All the Isralis are trying to do (rightfully so) is to make sure arms aren't being smuggled in under the name of humanitarian aide. If you have a problem witht his, I really must question your motives.

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Pittsburghkid | Nov 03, 2011, 09:46 PM EDT

Palestinian do not want peace. Ireland is siding against Isreal. Ireland is losing it nuetrality. Next Ireland will be taking in refuges from Palestine, while native born Irish migrate. The Irish were alway hams. This is their way of mugging it up on the world scene, and gambling the future of Ireland.

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BishopSean | Nov 03, 2011, 08:54 PM EDT

Some reasons why not to participate in the "Freedom Flotilla:" Palestinian Ambassador to Lebanon Abdullah Abdullah said the creation of a Palestinian state will not mean an "end of the conflict." PLO diplomat Maen Rashid Areikat stated that "absolutely" no Jews could remain in a future Palestinian state. A poll by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research and the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion, sponsored by The Israel Project, showed that 61% of Palestinians reject a two-state solution, 72% support denial of Jewish history in Jerusalem and 53% support teaching Palestinian schoolchildren to hate Jews. Fatah Central Committee Member Abbas Zaki asserted, "If we say that we want to wipe Israel out...C'mon it's too difficult. It's not [acceptable] policy to say so. Don't say these things to the world. Keep it to yourself." And Mahmoud Abbas told an interviewer, "I will never recognize the Jewishness of the state, or a 'Jewish state.'" He also said that the kidnapping of Gilad Shalit was "a good thing." That Palestinians people in Gaza suffer privations is true. Should they be angry at somebody? Yes, their own leadership who have been rejecting up to now all mutually beneficial proposals for a two-state solution. Regards.

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Ajreaper | Nov 03, 2011, 08:46 PM EDT

Melbourne, LOL, oh my either completely misinformed or very comfortable telling half truths- for example 92% of the land in Israel is owned by the government and cannot be "bought" by anyone. Arabs in Israel have full voting rights and Israel is one of the few countries in the middle east that allows arab women to vote. The only difference between Arabs in Israel and non Arabs is Arabs are not required to serve in the military to avoid having to fight other Arabs (many do volunteer however). As of September 2011 Arab unemployment was about 27% and yes that is high but hardly above 50% as you claim. Your "facts" are, well not factual at all. Try harder next time there slick.

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seanomelbourne | Nov 03, 2011, 06:20 PM EDT

butlerreport Israel is the only "democracy" in the middle east where 20% of the population have less rights than the 80%.Israeli law states that an Israeli Jew is an adult at 18 and a Muslim is an adult at 16.Muslims are forbidden to live or buy property in certain areas.The Muslim unemployment in Israel is more han 50% so much for your Isaeli democracy you blinkered fool.

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CaptainCon | Nov 03, 2011, 04:10 PM EDT

Best wishes to Saoirse and Tahrir and thank you to those on board.

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Phaenius | Nov 03, 2011, 02:43 PM EDT

I hope this is not a repeat in that I still have not seen my comment show up. Basically i said before that how can Ireland survive if they become peopled by fools, and this word is defined in the Bible as one who says in their heart that there is no God...Especially when that God is the Jehovah who is bringing the Israelis back into the land and will fight against any nation that opposes His plan, and this is for His name's sake, not necessarily because any of the Jews are righteous and deserve it. Secondly, the people that God desires to destroy, he first makes their heart obstinate against Israel, and who is more obstinate than the Muslim Arabs surrounding Israel and desiring her destruction. I am Irish and am aware that our ancestors come from that portion of the world, in fact, the part called Lebanon. Joshua 11:16-20(KJV) 16So Joshua took all that land, the hills, and all the south country, and all the land of Goshen, and the valley, and the plain, and the mountain of Israel, and the valley of the same; 17Even from the mount Halak, that goeth up to Seir, even unto Baalgad in the valley of Lebanon under mount Hermon: and all their kings he took, and smote them, and slew them. 18Joshua made war a long time with all those kings. 19There was not a city that made peace with the children of Israel, save the Hivites the inhabitants of Gibeon: all other they took in battle. 20For it was of the LORD to harden their hearts, that they should come against Israel in battle, that he might destroy them utterly, and that they might have no favour, but that he might destroy them, as the LORD commanded Moses.

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colkelley | Nov 03, 2011, 10:19 AM EDT

Can you say "Gullible?" I knew that you could.

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jfmulligan | Nov 03, 2011, 10:07 AM EDT

Good job Saoirse!

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butlerreport | Nov 03, 2011, 10:00 AM EDT

Gaza's problem is not imports of which they have plenty, its exporting goods manufactured there. Access to Gaza is freely available through Egypt and Israel. These protesters obsessive need to side with the Arabs is a continuing embarrassment to Ireland and underlines their absolute and total hatred of Jews. They forget of course that Israel is the only democracy in the middle east with 20% of the population Israeli Arabs. Hamas, the rulers in Gaza, regard women as objects. These drama queens need to find something else to do - perhaps a job in McDonalds?

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