French boat escapes from Greek port - will reach Gaza in day or two

-
(pic: former presidential candidate Olivier Besancenot is aboard with Green Party Euro-MP Nicole Kiil-Nielsen and trade unionist Annick Coupe)

Vive la France - it appears a French boat has managed to slip from the clutches of that new outpost of Israel which used to be known as Greece AFP report below.

PARIS — A small French pleasure craft with eight protesters on board left Greek waters overnight and set off for Gaza in an attempt to break an Israeli naval blockade, organisers said Tuesday.

The "Dignite al Karama" is so far the only boat in a planned flotilla organised by pro-Palestinian activists to set sail from Greece, after the authorities there blocked other vessels from taking part in the protest.

The 19-metre (63-foot) motor cruiser is carrying, among others, the former French far-left presidential candidate Olivier Besancenot, Green Party Euro-MP Nicole Kiil-Nielsen and trade unionist Annick Coupe.

They expect to be off Gaza within an day or two, the group told AFP.

"The boat was able to take on board fuel and food. It's heading towards Gaza," said Jean-Claude Lefort, spokesman for "A French Boat for Gaza", the French wing of the international maritime demonstration. more

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Egyptians continue to keep Gaza's only exit closed

-
Image
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) – The Gaza Strip’s only exit to the outside world, the Rafah crossing between Egypt and the enclave, was shut down for the second consecutive day on Saturday. Sources at the terminal confirmed to Ma’an that the crossing point was still closed. On Friday, Palestinian official Mahir Abu Sabha said that Egyptian officials at the site informed the Palestinian side it would remain closed until further notice. more
Read more

Support striking Palestinian quarry workers demanding their rights from Israeli employer

-
Image
On 16 June, 35 Palestinian workers at Salit Quarries in Mishor Adumim (in area C, east of Jerusalem, in the Occupied West Bank) began a strike. The workers, organized with the independent union WAC-Ma'an, are demanding an end to exploitation and humiliation, and insist on signing a first collective agreement. Salit Quarries’ main customer is Readymix Industries (Israel). The total reliance of Salit Quarry on Readymix as their biggest and by far the most important customer puts responsibility on Readymix to make sure that their clients abides by labour laws and safeguards elementary rights for the workers of Salit. We call upon Readymix to urge the Salit management to terminate this unnecessary strike by signing the collective agreement with the workers and WAC-Ma’an. Click this protest link to send your message. The text of the message is as follows: I write to you to express my grave concern about the failure of Salit management to sign a collective agreement with the workers of
Read more

Israeli warships open fire at Gaza fishermen

-
Image
GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli warships opened fire at fishermen off the coast of Gaza City early Wednesday, a fisherman said. A fisherman told Ma'an Israeli ships fired gunshots at Palestinian fishing boats, and that a shell hit the water near the boats. No injuries were reported. An Israeli army spokeswoman said that "warning shots were fired in the air," without providing further details. Palestinian fishermen are only allowed to venture three nautical miles from Gaza's shore, though official Israeli-Palestinian agreements previously settled on 20 nautical miles. more
Read more