Irish MP : Israel must not be allowed to stop Gaza boats

Israel must not be allowed to prevent Irish and Canadian boats from delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza, says Sinn Fein's shadow foreign minister Padraig Mac Lochloainn. “These two boats should be allowed safe travel and the Irish Government should be speaking to the Israeli authorities to ensure that they get it,” Mac Lochloainn said. “I would further urge the Government to do all in its power to end the siege of Gaza and the suffering of the Palestinian people,” he also said in a statement obtained by IRNA. Israeli warships were reportedly seen six miles from the Irish MV Saoirse boat and Canadian Tahrir after they successfully reached international waters in the Mediterranean Sea on Thursday night in the latest attempt to break the five year siege of Gaza. Earlier this year, the propeller shaft of the MV Saoirse was sabotaged while docked in Turkey and prevented the ship from completing its aid mission as part of the defunct second freedom flotilla, but has since been repaired. “The Irish Government must defend the right of Irish citizens joined by human rights activists from eight other countries to sail through international waters and deliver a message of hope to the beleaguered people of Gaza forced to live in an open air prison on horrendous circumstances,” the Sinn Fein MP said. He praised the efforts of the crews of the two boats, which include Sinn Fein members, in the latest mission dubbed the 'Freedom Waves to Gaza Initiative.' “I want to commend them and their colleagues for their heroism and courage in standing up for the rights of the people of Gaza to live free of oppression,” Mac Lochloainn said. “The Freedom Waves to Gaza Initiative is a non-violent, civil society movement, the primary aim of which is to end the Israeli blockade of Gaza. They have responded to an urgent call for international solidarity from 46 civil society organisations in Gaza,” he added. An emergency demonstration was being called by the Irish Palestine Solidarity Campaign in Dublin on Friday night in the support of the humanitarian initiative, which has raised over €140,000 via small donations in fund the MV Saoirse's mission. “It is clear from the recent vote at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) to accept the full membership of Palestine that the overwhelming weight of international opinion supports the right of the Palestinian people to statehood, dignity, justice and freedom,” Mac Lochloainn said.