KUALA LUMPUR: Even after two months, I can still remember the rush I felt from hearing the sounds of gunshots fired by an Israeli navy ship over the Malaysian humanitarian ship MV Finch on May 16. I recall vividly the day before the incident when I could barely sleep. Emotions aside, the spectre of being arrested by the Israelis was real. On that fateful day at 3am, I joined the other non-essential members of the mission sitting on the open deck of MV Finch as it made its way to Palestinian waters from the El Arish Port waiting area in Egyptian waters. There, I joined reporters Mohd Faizal Hassan from Bernama and Canadian Julie Lévesque from Global Research, Mohd Radzillah Abdullah from the Malaysian Prime Minister’s Department and Irish humanitarian activist Jenny Graham. It was a cold night with a visible full moon. We waited for what seemed to be long hours on a wetmattress laid out on the deck before dawn broke. This was when we began to see fishing boats with fishermen waving at u...

Readers will remember The Spirit of Rachel Corrie (MV Finch) first entered Palestinian waters some time ago - on 16 May to be precise, and has only now been allowed to unload its Cargo by the Egyptian authorities who still appear to be doing their best to collude with Israel's blockade and siege. From Global Research The Spirit of Rachel Corrie finally was allowed to berth at the El-Arish Port on Tuesday July 5, 2011 at 7.10 pm (Egypt time) for the unloading of the UPVC pipes to Gaza. The cargo of 32 tonnes took almost 4 hours to be transferred to 7 awaiting trailers. The humanitarian aid cargo will be taken to Ouja at the Israeli border where it will be reassigned to other trailers sponsored by the Palestinians to be delivered to Gaza via Karem Shalom. The impasse finally ended after Perdana Global Peace Foundation President, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad met the Prime Minister of Egypt, Dr. Essam Sharaf on June 29 in Cairo. The Perdana Global Peace Foundation records with sincere grat...

From almasry alyoum A Gaza-bound aid ship has docked at the city of Arish in North Sinai and is preparing to transport its cargo by land, Egyptian authorities declared on Sunday. The Miles of Smiles is currently unloading, Secretary General for North Sinai Governorate Gaber al-Araby said. It is carrying 12 ambulances, baby milk and other humanitarian aid, he said in a press statement... ...The vessel, hoisting a Moldovian flag, departed from Venice, Italy. The aid is expected to pass into Gaza through Egypt’s Rafah land crossing. Palestinian news reports believe 60 activists of different nationalities are on board. more

From Ahram Online Activists on a Malaysian aid ship that had been bound for Gaza refused to hand their cargo to Egypt on Thursday, saying they feared it would end up in Israel. They had tried to land in Gaza last week but changed course when the Israeli navy fired warning shots. Matthias Chang, who is heading the mission for the Perdana Global Peace Foundation, told AFP the group was not consulted when the Malaysian and Egyptian governments worked out a deal to end the impasse. Chang said Egypt had insisted the cargo be discharged and transported via Kaern Shalom, at the Israeli border in Gaza. "We are not assured that this cargo would in fact be delivered to Gaza, as in the past... most of the humanitarian aid was laid to waste in Israel," he added. Chang also questioned Cairo's refusal to allow the cargo, consisting of 7.5 kilometres (4.6 miles) of sewage pipes, to be transferred via the Rafah crossing -- Gaza's only crossing that bypasses Israel -- given that it wo...

From the International movement for a Just World The International Movement for a Just World (JUST) is glad that The Spirit of Rachel Corrie has been allowed to dock at El Arish port in Egypt. It took the Egyptian authorities 8 days to make that decision. This is a matter of great regret. The humanitarian aid that the Malaysian owned cargo ship has been carrying, namely, 7.5 kilometres of pipes that would help restore the devastated sewerage system in Palestinian Gaza, can now be delivered to Gaza by land. The repair and restoration of the sewerage system is essential for the rebuilding of Gaza’s infrastructure destroyed by Israel’s brutal assault upon the strip in December 2008 and January 2009. It is hoped that the Egyptian authorities will expedite the delivery of this aid to Gaza. The peace activists on The Spirit of Rachel Corrie, a number of whom are Malaysians, had initially tried to break the Israeli siege of Gaza and deliver the aid material directly to the people of Gaza. It ...

EL-ARISH, May 24 ( Bernama ) -- The mission to send PVC pipes to Gaza is expected to continue by land following the Egyptian authorities' decision to allow the MV Finch carrying humanitarian aid to berth and unload the cargo at El-Arish Port. Bernama reporter Mohd Faizal Hassan via SMS text to the national news agency's headquarters in Kuala Lumpur texted: "It is understood that the Egyptian foreign minister has given permission (for the ship) to berth and unload the goods today...InsyaAllah (God willing), we will be on land." The MV Finch has been stranded outside El-Arish Port for a week, waiting for the Egyptian authorities to allow it to berth at the port and now the ship's engine has broke down. more

From Perdana Global Peace Foundation 9:42 am KL (24/5/11) Egypt time 3:42 am (24/5/11): We are back at the port’s waiting area with a broken steering. The team’s spirit is high and resolute. We have surmounted many difficulties and sabotage and came through. The team, led by the team leader, have upheld their dignity and the justice of their cause by standing up to the futile attempt to humiliate them by unreasonable detention of their ship, crew, and passengers for 7 days. They even forced us to sail towards international waters – away from the shortest route to Gaza – and towards the Israeli naval ships waiting to capture and or shoot us down as we discovered later. By the Grace of God, we were saved from this insidious scheme and remain victorious. more

UPDATE, Monday 23 May, at 13.30pm EDT, 20.30pm local time The Spirit of Rachel Corrie is back in Egyptian territorial waters. The crew and passengers are safe. The Malaysian Embassy in Cairo has advised that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has granted permission to the ship to berth in the port of Al Arish tomorrow May 24th and unload its cargo. This decision by Egypt's Foreign Minister Nabil Al Arabi, which remains to be confirmed, is of fundamental importance. Mr. Al Arabi had indicated almost month ago his resolve to open the border at Rafah and end the Gaza blockade. more

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) - A Malaysian aid ship attempting to land in Gaza after being warned off by Israeli naval forces last week has been forced to abort its mission after engine trouble, activists said. Matthias Chang, who is heading the mission for the Perdana Global Peace Foundation, told AFP on Monday that the MV Finch was now stuck six nautical miles from Egypt's Al-Arish port. "At about 5:30pm local time, our vessel developed engine trouble and we lost our steering capability, so we had to stop our attempt to reach Gaza by sea," he said more

UPDATE Monday 23 May At 8.33am EDT (14.33pm local time) The Spirit of Rachel Corrie lifted anchor and started sailing towards Gaza. UPDATE: 9:53pm EDT, Egypt time 3:53pm "The Egyptian Navy is forcing us out of their territorial waters and has asked us to go to international waters. One Egyptian patrol boat is coming very fast from behind with a gun pointing at us." Everyone is calm and steady. We are okay." From our latest communication with the ship, it appears that the Egyptian Navy is collaborating with the Israelis with a view to endangering the security of the ship. We call upon human rights organizations, Palestinian solidarity organizations Worldwide to take an active position regarding the Spirit of Rachel Corrie. SPREAD THE WORD, REPORT THIS MESSAGE ON FACEBOOK Support the Spirit of Rachel Corrie's resolve to break the blockade. What happens in the next few hours will be decisive. Egypt is complicit in supporting the blockade. The objective is to break the E...

(pic: Matthias Chang, mission leader, is still on hunger strike) The MV Finch (Spirit of Rachel Corrie got within one mile of the Gaza coast, the closest any ship has got since the blockade was imposed in 2007. See report at Global Research . Bernama reporter Faizal Hassan who is onboard the ship, informed the Malaysian national news agency's headquarters in Kuala Lumpur via SMS that the situation was getting critical as the port authorities had not sent medical aid and clean water to the ship. "Our water supply will run out any time soon," he lamented. Faizal said the decision whether to allow MV Finch to enter and berth at El-Arish Port would depend on the meeting in Jakarta between Malaysia's Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman and his Egyptian counterpart. He said all the 12 passengers and crew members of the ship hoped the meeting would bring good news to enable the PVC pipes meant for the people of Gaza to be unloaded and sent there.

From Bernama JITRA, May 21 ( Bernama ) -- The Perdana Global Peace Foundation (PGPF) will continue with its mission to send humanitarian aid to besieged Gaza Strip despite its aid ship, the MV Finch, encountering a number of problems and obstacles. PGPF advisor Datuk Mukhriz Tun Mahathir said the foundation had from the outset realised the risks involved in undertaking the endeavour. Mukhriz hoped that the cargo vessel, which had been blocked by Israeli forces from approaching Gaza, would be allowed to berth at the El-Arish port by the Egyptian authorities... ... "Food supplies have been brought to the ship but it's facing dwindling water supply," said Mukhriz. He expressed hope that the Egyptian authorities would be more considerate, given that the sole objective of the mission was to deliver much-needed humanitarian supplies to Gazans. "We also hope that Wisma Putra (Malaysian Foreign Ministry) would be able to help us out. We consider Egypt as a friend of ours,...

Egypt, despite promises to the contrary, has still not allowed MV Finch (Spirit of Rachel Corrie) to berth at El Arish. EL-ARISH (Egypt), May 20 ( Bernama ) -- Matthias Chang, 61, leader of the Malaysian humanitarian aid mission to Gaza has gone on a hunger strike since Thursday evening onboard the cargo ship, MV Finch, in protest against the refusal of the authorities here to allow the ship to enter El-Arish Port. The action was taken immediately after the Egyptian army turned away the vessel from the port area, according to Bernama reporter Mohd Faizal Hassan, who is among 12 passengers, including humanitarian activists, and crew members onboard the MV Finch via SMS Friday. more There is also a report in the Star which says that provisions were allowed on to the ship Friday morning: Perdana Global Peace Foundation spokesperson Shamsul Azhar thanked the Egyptian authorities for their assistance adding that the supplies, provided Friday morning, were currently sufficient... ... When a...

EL-ARISH (Egypt), May 18 ( Bernama ) -- It has been two days since Malaysian humanitarian aid ship MV Finch anchored at the waiting area off El-Arish Port but has yet to receive clear signals if it will be allowed to come to shore, Bernama's correspondent Mohd Faizal Hassan said in a SMS note to Bernama's heaquarters here Wednesday... ...There was only about four tonnes of fresh water left and rationing had been enforced, he said, adding that frantic calls had been made between the ship and El -Arish Port authority, shipping agents in Greece and Egypt as well as Malaysian Embassy officials in Egypt. Mohd Faizal said it was unclear whether the delay was due to illegal use of Egyptian waters to sneak into Gaza, an act that can be slapped with a fine, or due to incomplete documentation from the shipping agent in Greece where the ship originated. more

Welcome to the back-to-front world of Israeli diplomacy. Israel goes on a killing spree on its borders against unarmed civilians and it complains to the UN about 'provocation' and now its planning to complain again - this time about aid ship MV Finch (Spirit of Rachel Corrie) trying to deliver sewage pipes to Gaza. Israel was expected to file a protest with the UN Security Council on Wednesday over a Malaysian ship flying a Moldovan flag that tried to run the sea blockade of the Gaza Strip Monday night, but was turned back by the navy. The navy, according to Foreign Ministry officials, fired warning shots after the MV Finch – manned by seven Malaysians, a Canadian, two Indians and two Irish – entered Israel’s territorial waters. The ship, which was carrying plastic sewage pipes intended to be brought into Gaza overland, sailed instead to El Arish. more

More on what happened aboard MV Finch (Spirit of Rachel Corrie). Initially it was reported by Global Research that the Egyptians cooperated with the Israelis but it turns out their role was far more supportive of the aid activists. When the Israeli navy became aware of the presence of the Egyptians - and that the vessel they were threatening to board was in Egyptian waters - they had second thoughts about persisting with their piracy. The following exchange took place between the Israeli navy and the ship as reported by the Free Malaysia Today journalist on board the Spirit of Rachel Corrie: "Israeli army: This is a warning shot. Turn around. Captain Jalil Mansor: We are unarmed civilians on a humanitarian mission to Gaza. Israeli army: This is a closed military zone. It’s a violation. Turn around. Mansor: We will continue (the mission). The Israelis then headed to the back of the aid vessel and released a second warning shot into the air. ...

KUALA LUMPUR, May 16 ( Bernama ) -- All 12 people, including seven Malaysians, two Irish nationals, two Indians, a Canadian and crew members on board 'MV Finch' [Spirit of Rachel Corrie - Moldovian-flagged] will now use the land route to accomplish their humanitarian aid mission to the people of Gaza in Palestine. Perdana Global Peace Foundation (PGPF) representative in Jordan, Tan Sri Dr Samsudin Hitam told Bernama when contacted in Amman today that the vessel was still in Egyptian waters and expected to arrive at the Port of El Arish in Egypt when given the green light by the authorities. "Currently the ship has been forced to anchor in Egyptian waters, 30 nautical miles from Gaza. We are waiting for word from El Arish," he said. Dr Samsudin said the journey by land to Gaza would take about three hours and most likely lorries would be used to transport the PVC sewage pipes and the members of the mission. "All passengers and crew are safe although the journey to...

(pic: Spirit of Rachel Corrie Ship - Photo by PGPF) Egypt – PNN – Israeli Naval forces attacked and intercepted on Monday morning aid boat named “The Spirit of Rachel Corrie Mission” off the Gaza coast. The ship’s 12 crew and passengers are safe. Currently the ship has been forced to anchor in the Egyptian waters at one and a half nautical miles from the Gazan waters. The vessel left the Port of Piraeus, Greece on Wednesday, May 11. The humanitarian initiative is sponsored by Perdana Global Peace Foundation (PGPF) and participating in this mission includes anti-war activists and journalists from the Asian, American and European continents. The cargo ship The Spirit of Rachel Corrie (officially known as FINCH) is carrying 7.5 kilometers of UPVC (plastic) sewage pipes to help restore the devastated sewerage system in Gaza. The ship was named after the courageous American activist who was crushed and killed by an Israeli bulldozer in 2003 while trying to prevent the demolition of anoth...

From the Alternative Information Center Israel launched a public campaign Tuesday (22 March) against the international organizations planning the Freedom Flotilla II aid convoy, set to sail to Gaza in May of this year. Mavi Marmara, part of the original Freedom Flotilla to the Gaza Strip in May 2010 Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon plans to meet with foreign ambassadors at the ministry on Tuesday to seek their help in stopping this year's flotilla, reported the Israeli news daily Haaretz. The Foreign Ministry has also been asking foreign governments, including Spain, Britain, Ireland and Sweden, to publish travel advisories warning their citizens against sailing to Gaza. Britain and Ireland have in fact done so, according to Haaretz. The Freedom Flotilla II will sail for Gaza sometime between May 15, in commemoration of the "Nakba" ("catastrophe"), and May 31, the first anniversary of the deadly 2010 flotilla mission, which left nine activists dead....

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition called on the states of participating activists to ensure the boats' safety from Israeli aggression at a meeting in Amsterdam. The group plans to sail to Gaza in May. Campaigner Amin Abu Rashed noted that the international community condemned Israel's raid of a Gaza flotilla on May 31 2010, when Israeli forces killed 9 passengers and injured dozens more. more