As deported activists arrive home Congresswoman disappointed by lack of US response July 7, 2009
Gaza / PNN
Following the hijacking of an aid boat by the Israeli navy last Tuesday, 21 imprisoned human rights activists have been released and deported.
The “Spirit of Humanity” was intercepted as it reached Gaza waters with a cargo of medicine and reconstruction materials.
The crew and passengers were detained, including former US Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney and Madreid Maguire a Nobel Peace laureate. This weekend saw protests across Europe for their release, centering on a rally in Geneva, Switzerland.
The crew, which includes the citizens of 12 different countries, left from Ben Guiron Airport this morning after five days’ detention in Ramle Prison. Some report being held in overcrowded conditions, denied medicine, and having their faces slammed into the floor during their arrest. Two members of the crew were not deported.
The Free Gaza website states that while in prison activists were under pressure to declare that they had illegally entered Israel, which they strongly deny. In an interview activist Adie Momech said, “They keep giving us forms to sign but they are in Hebrew so we don’t.”
International pressure for their release began mounting since the hijack, and on Friday protests took place outside the Israeli embassies in Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Italy and Denmark. The British government had expressed concern for the detainees, and the UN Rapporteur on Human Rights in Palestine, Richard Falk, had condemned the arrests as part of the illegal blockade of the Gaza Strip. “This Israeli action implements its cruel blockade of the entire Palestinian population of Gaza, in violation of Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention that prohibits any form of collective punishment directed at an occupied people”, said Falk.
The European campaign to lift the siege on Gaza also called for the activists’ release. A spokesman for the movement in Britain, Rami Abdo, described these actions as a clear example of “the brutal practices of the occupation” which is currently holding more than 11,000 Palestinian political prisoners.
But crew member as a former US Congresswoman, McKinney expressed disappointment in the reaction from America. “State Department and White House officials have not affected our release or taken a strong public stance to condemn the illegal actions of the Israeli Navy of enforcing a blockade against humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians of Gaza, a blockade that has been condemned by President Obama.”
Despite insistence from some that they will challenge deportation, the released activists are arriving in their home countries. The location of the boat’s cargo of aid is currently unknown but it is believed that it is still being held by the occupation authorities.
Momech said while in Israeli custody, “This is not about us here in the cells, it’s about the denial of human rights to the people of Palestine, and in particular the inhumane blockade of Gaza. People must not forget about what is happening to Gaza. At the moment they are even being denied food and medical supplies.”
While some medical supplies and food are periodically being allowed through the Gaza crossings, both are considered inadequate.
The activist added, “After the carnage of the [nearly] 1,500 people killed in January, we won’t forget and we’ll keep on going and keep fighting for the human rights of the people of Palestine.”
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