
David Heap
The Irish Times reports, “An Irish ship, the MV Saoirse, (carrying 14 people), yesterday entered international waters en route to Gaza as part of a joint Irish-Canadian effort to break Israel’s naval blockade of the territory. Those participating in the two-vessel flotilla hope to reach Gaza on Friday… The Canadian boat, named Tahrir (Liberation) is carrying 12 people.”
Council of Canadians chapter activist David Heap is onboard the Tahrir. The Irish boat includes Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Paul Murphy.
The news report says, “An Israeli official said yesterday the flotilla would not be allowed to reach its destination. ‘They will not be allowed to breach the blockade,’ he said, speaking on condition of anonymity. He would not say what measures would be taken to stop the two ships, but confirmed Israel knew they were heading for Gaza’s shores.”
The flotilla is part of the Freedom Waves to Gaza initiative, a non-violent, civil society movement to challenge the Israeli blockade of Gaza.
At its annual general meeting in Montreal on October 23, the Council of Canadians passed a resolution resolving that the Council of Canadians: support the Canadian Boat to Gaza to end the illegal blockade of Gaza; call on the Government of Canada, the United Nations and the international community to do everything in their power to ensure the safe passage of the Canadian Boat to Gaza and the safety of all those aboard; call for an end to the blockade of Gaza, in accordance with international law.
For Council of Canadians blogs on Gaza, please see http://canadians.org/blog/?s=gaza.