Israel Deports Detainees From Women's Gaza Flotilla
The
13 women, including a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, were detained on
Wednesday after their boat was prevented from reaching the Gaza Strip.
haaretz.com|Di Haaretz
All but one of the 13
women activists detained on Wednesday for trying to break Israel's
blockade of the Gaza Strip have been deported from Israel, according to
the French news agency AFP on Friday.
The
report quoted Interior Ministry spokesperson Sabin Haddad as saying:
"All the boat's passengers have left Israel except a woman who will fly
to Oslo this afternoon."
The
women, who included Nobel Peace Prize winner Mairead Maguire of
Northern Ireland and a number of parliamentarians, were detained after
their sailboat, the Zaytouna-Oliva, was intercepted in international
waters about 35 nautical miles off the coast of Gaza.
The boat was diverted to the port of Ashdod and the women held in custody before being deported.
“The
deportation was much quicker than in prior flotillas," said Wendy
Goldsmith, a member of the land team assisting the women. "While we had a
great legal team assisting the women, we suspect that the reason for
the quick release was because of all the negative media attention Israel
has been receiving for its illegal interception."
The
Women’s Boat to Gaza, which set out from Barcelona, is part of the
International Freedom Flotilla Coalition of pro-Palestinian groups,
mostly based in Europe. The coalition has sent several aid boats bound
for Gaza, though the last to successfully reach Gaza was in 2008.
In 2010, Israel intercepted the Turkish Mavi Marmara flotilla bound for Gaza, killing 10 Turkish nationals.
Meanwhile,
legendary rock band Pink Floyd "reunited" on Thursday night in support
of the flotilla. The group "stands united in support of the Women of the
Gaza Freedom Flotilla, and deplores their illegal arrest and detention
in international waters by the Israeli Defense Force," the three living
members of the band, David Gilmour, Nick Mason and Roger Waters, wrote
on their Facebook page.
Haaretz
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