An Irish aid ship has been forced to pull out of a flotilla attempting to break the Gaza blockade after it was damaged while docked in Turkey.
The MV Saoirse, which was to take part in the 'Freedom Flotilla II' bringing medical aid and sports equipment to Gaza, was deemed unfit to sail after damage to its propeller shaft was discovered on Monday evening. The boat had been berthed in the Turkish coastal town of Gocek.
Six members of the Irish Ship to Gaza, including Dr Lane and former Leinster rugby player Trevor Hogan, plan to join an Italian ship, while seven other members will arrive back in Dublin airport tonight. Others hope to travel on other aid ships.
Claudia Saba, a Palestinian living in Ireland who has been involved in co-ordinating the flotilla, showed pictures of the damaged propeller shaft at a press-conference in Dublin today. The shaft appeared to be bent and to have had a piece cut from it.
Quoting Pat Fitzgerald, a fisherman based in Dunmore East, who is in Turkey and had been planning to sail in the MV Saoirse, she said the damage done “could not have been accidental”.
Almost identical damage was found to have happened to the propeller shaft of a Swedish boat, the Juliano, which was also due to sail to Gaza.
Ms Saba described this as “too much a coincidence”.
She said: “Had they gone out to sea, the pressure would have flooded the engine room. It was not damaged in such a way as to prevent it setting sail. It was damaged so it would fail at sea.”
In a statement, the co-ordinator of the Irish Ship to Gaza campaign, Dr Fintan Lane, said the alleged “act of sabotage” was an appalling attack that should be condemned. He said the most likely saboteurs were Israel, as the “only likely party to have carried out this reckless action”.
However, a spokesman for the Israeli embassy in Dublin the Israelis had no information about what happened to the boat.
“We are not connected to it in any way. We have heard about it in the media like anyone else,” he said. “We again reiterate that we welcome any aid that Irish citizens may wish to donate to the Palestinian people and we will gladly help pass it to Gaza through the regular land crossings.
“We further wish to repeat what the United Nations data clearly shows: there has never been hunger in Gaza, there is no humanitarian crisis there. However, Israel together with the international community will continue to work to further improve conditions in Gaza despite Hamas’ violent disregard for the needs of the people in Gaza and in southern Israel.”
Rejecting these denials as implausible, Richard Boyd Barrett TD of the United Left Alliance said the “sabotage” was an “absolute outrage”.
Independent TD Mick Wallace and Socialist TD Joe Higgins called on the Government to call the Israeli ambassador to account for the damage to the ship. Also present at the press conference were ULA TD Joan Collins, Socialist TD Clare Daly and Independent TD Thomas Pringle.
At a separate event, Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Eamonn Gilmore, said he was concerned about the alleged malicious damage to the vessel. “That is something I think that is going to have to be investigated initially by the Turkish authorities and I will take a very serious view of it if turns out that there was sabotage of that vessel.”
Israel imposed a naval blockade after Hamas militants overran the Palestinian territory in 2007. It said it will not allow the flotilla to reach Gaza. Last year, an Israeli raid on a similar flotilla killed nine activists on a Turkish vessel. Each side blamed the other for the violence.
Almost €130,000 was raised in Ireland to fund the humanitarian mission, which planned to take medication and sports equipment to Gaza. Repairs to the vessel - which arrived in Gocek earlier this month - will cost an estimated €15,000.
Almost €130,000 was raised in Ireland to fund the humanitarian mission, which planned to take medication and sports equipment to Gaza. Repairs to the vessel - which arrived in the port of Gocek in early June - will cost an estimated €15,000.
Mark Hogan, brother of the former Leinster rugby star, said the group remained determined and confident about bringing an end to the immoral and illegal blockade on Gaza. "They will not be deterred by the malicious and reckless sabotage on the MV Saoirse," he said. "This outrageous attack has instead reinforced their desire to complete their mission and sail to Gaza with their cargo of humanitarian aid.
“I urge the Irish Government not to stand idly by any further but to intervene and contact the Israeli government and ensure the safe passage of Freedom Flotilla II,” he added.
