| Submit your comments on this article |
| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| French Protest Boat Quits Greece for Gaza |
| 2011-07-06 |
| [An Nahar] A small French pleasure craft with eight protesters on board left Greek waters overnight and set off for Gazoo in an attempt to break an Israeli naval blockade, organizers said Tuesday. The "Dignite al Karama" is so far the only boat in a planned flotilla organized by pro-Paleostinian activists to set sail from Greece, after the authorities there blocked other vessels from taking part in the protest. The 19-meter 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 Gazoo within an day or two, the group told Agence La Belle France Presse. "The boat was able to take on board fuel and food. It's heading towards Gazoo," said Jean-Claude Lefort, front man for "A French Boat for Gazoo", the French wing of the international maritime demonstration. "We are going to send a delegation to the French foreign ministry to ask for protection. Depending on how that goes, we will advise on our progress," he added. Israel has warned it will halt any vessels approaching Gazoo. Asked how the Dignite had managed to slip past the Greek authorities, which have prevented the rest of the flotilla in Athens' port Piraeus, Lefort said: "It wasn't spotted. It wasn't in Piraeus, it was somewhere else." On Monday, Greek forces intercepted a Canadian boat carrying more than 30 Gazoo-bound activists from Canada, Belgium, Italia, Switzerland and Turkey and forced it to moor in Crete. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #6 You can label 100% of flotoids as Anti-Semites. |
| Posted by: Uneper Thomock8371 2011-07-06 20:07 |
| #5 According to Ha'aretz, they turned back, not wanting to go on alone: On early Tuesday morning, a French yacht participating in the flotilla left a port near Athens, but turned back after several hours, Israel Radio reported. The report stated that flotilla activists aboard the Dignite-Al Karama did not want to be the only ones sailing to the Strip, after the other boats were prevented from doing so by the Greek coast guard. The announcement contradicted an earlier message posted by the organizers on the A French Boat for Gaza campaign’s website, which stated that "late in the night, the French boat reached international waters. It is heading now towards Gaza." The post went on to say that "the Israeli blockade, which thanks to the Greek government has been extended to the gates of the European Union, has been broken”. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2011-07-06 17:22 |
| #4 Que the "Somali Pirates", Shlomo... |
| Posted by: mojo 2011-07-06 12:08 |
| #3 Why don't they go to Libya so Mo can kick their asses just like he's doing to their "military" |
| Posted by: regular joe 2011-07-06 11:44 |
| #2 Olivier Besancenot, Green Party Euro-MP Nicole Kiil-Nielsen and trade unionist Annick Coupe Poor Nicole, nowhere to run on a small boat. |
| Posted by: gr(o)mgoru 2011-07-06 04:58 |
| #1 A small French pleasure craft with eight protesters on board... The S.S. Minnow vs. the Israeli Navy. Yeah, that'll work. Cue the Gilligan's Island theme... |
| Posted by: PBMcL 2011-07-06 01:03 |