Gaza-flotilla activists slam Israeli claims of violence

Jun 28, 2011, 12:16 GMT

Athens/Tel Aviv - Organizers of an international 10-ship flotilla aiming to break Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip slammed Tuesday Israeli claims that they were carrying dangerous materials or that they planned to use violence against Israeli soldiers who tried to stop them on the high seas.

The claims were 'absolutely ridiculous' and the flotilla was a 'non-violent initiative,' Huwaida Arraf, of the Free Gaza movement, said.

All the passengers on board the vessels had signed a pledge of non-violence, she told the German Press Agency dpa.

Israeli military spokeswoman Lieutenat-Colonel Avital Leibovich said Israel had received information that sulfuric fertilizer was among the cargo carried by the flotilla.

The intention was to throw this material at soldiers who tried to board the vessels in order to prevent them from reaching their destination, she told dpa.

Dror Feiler, an Israeli activist sailing with the flotilla, told Israel Army Radio that the claims were an 'attempt in advance to justify violence by the Israel Defence Force.'

Israel said Monday it was 'determined' to stop the flotilla from breaking its Gaza blockade, but unlike a previous attempt a year ago hoped to do so without casualties.

Several hundred pro-Palestinian activists from Greece, Canada, the United States and other countries plan to board the 10 ships, including two cargo vessels - carrying almost 3,000 tons of aid, medicines, a fully equipped ambulance and cement - for a journey across the Mediterranean Sea to Gaza.

It was unclear when the flotilla would set sail, after the organizers charged Tuesday that one of the ships had been sabotaged just days before their scheduled departure from a Greek port.

'We found the axel of the propeller cut from the passenger boat Juliano, which is docked at the port of Pireaus,' Manolis Pleonis, one of the organizers, told the German Press Agency dpa. He said it would take several days to repair, although he did not believe this would delay the overall operation.

'We do not have proof who did it but we can only assume that it was the Israelis because they have been known to do such things in the past,' he said.

Organizers said a US vessel is also docked in a port in Greece, the base of flotilla operations, but have refused to disclose exact locations over security concerns. A 40-member Canadian ship is also among the vessels.

The departure of several vessels was being delayed by Greek authorities, who were under pressure from Israel and other countries, flotilla organizers told a news conference in Athens on Monday.

The estimated 400 passengers include at least 15 journalists and renowned US author Alice Walker. The Israeli government dropped a threat to issue deportation orders against journalists on the flotilla.

On May 31, 2010, Israel's interception of the Freedom Flotilla I turned violent when naval commandos clashed with activists wielding knives and iron bars. Both sides accused each other of starting the violence.

The flotilla organizers vowed that they were determined to attempt to break the blockade, despite Israeli offers for them to dock and unload their aid in the Israeli port of Ashdod or in Egypt's al-Arish.

The Gaza Strip-based Committee to Lift the Gaza Siege said Tuesday it was ready to receive the flotilla, and warned Israel not to try to intercept the ships or harm their crews.

The committee called on the United Nations to protect the ships form what it called 'Israeli piracy and terrorism.'

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