FLOTILLA RAID:THE KILLING by Israeli commandos of nine activists in an aid flotilla attempting to break its blockade on Gaza is a "watershed" in terms of the future of the blockade, Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin has said.
Mr Martin said the renewed focus, prompted by the fatal commando raid last week, had bolstered international calls for the blockade to end.
“I think there is very significant collective international pressure to lift the blockade, and I would encourage the Israeli government to reflect on what has happened and to change its policies in relation to it,” he said.
In its dealings with Israel over the past week, the Irish Government had constantly reiterated its opposition to the blockade. Mr Martin described the blockade as “very counterproductive” and said it made “no strategic sense”. “Our position is very clear: that the blockade has to be lifted. It makes no sense. From the humanitarian perspective it has had an appalling impact . . .[and] the main people who gain are actually Hamas,” he told RTÉ radio yesterday.
Mr Martin said he was "relieved" that the Israeli interception of the Irish-Malaysian aid ship MV Rachel Corrieon Saturday had passed off without violence or injury to any members of the crew.
He paid tribute to those onboard, who included several Irish activists, for “demonstrating in no uncertain terms their peaceful intentions”. He said the Government had “relentlessly” communicated this to the Israeli authorities in the days leading up to the interception.
“[It] demonstrates the capacity of people to engage in political protest to make their point peacefully, and that is something I hope the Israeli government will take on board and not be branding people like this as being on a ‘voyage of hate’ as one [Israeli] minister did last week,” Mr Martin said. “Very clearly people have great conviction [regarding] the humanitarian importance of getting aid to Gaza but also the broader issue of lifting the blockade on Gaza to facilitate reconstruction.” Mr Martin described last week’s raid on the flotilla as “absolutely unacceptable” and indicated that Israel should receive further censure.
“I think the international community need to have clear red lines in terms of what is acceptable and unacceptable behaviour,” he said.