Thursday, June 3, 2010

Israel dumps British activists in Turkey without passports or money after bloody Gaza raid

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Irish activist Shane Dillon arrives back at Dublin Airport after he was deported from Israel. Dillon can't hide his emotions as he hugs his girlfriend


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Crossing Jordan: Pro-Palestinian activists who were aboard the Gaza-bound aid flotilla raided by Israel arrive in Jordan


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Release: Pro-Palestinian activists who were aboard the Gaza-bound aid flotilla raided by Israel on Monday are bussed into Jordan from the Israeli-controlled Allenby Bridge which links Jordan with the West Bank


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Daddy's home: Palestinian aid flotilla attack survivor Hasan Nowarah is greeted by his son at Glasgow Airport. He was the first of 42 Britons detained in Israel to be allowed to return home

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Bestselling Swedish author Henning Mankell, who was also on board the aid convoy, speaks to media upon arriving at Landvetter Airport, outside Gothenburg, after being deported from Israel


British activists seized during the bloody raid on Gaza aid ships were kicked out of Israel last night and flown to Turkey without passports or money.

The 29 Britons had no choice but to fly to Istanbul, from where they will have to find their own way home.

They were among 700 protesters from the ships set free from an Israeli desert prison.
Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein declared that 'keeping them here would do more damage to the country's vital interests than good'.

The release followed days of terrible PR for the Jewish state after its deadly commando raid on six ships carrying humanitarian aid to the blockaded Gaza Strip. At least nine people died in Monday's bloodbath on the Mavi Marmara.

Israel claims its commandos were forced to shoot after being attacked with knives and clubs.



Yesterday Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu noted that on the Mavi Marmara, 'we saw an action directed by terrorists affiliated with Hamas. This was not the Love Boat. It was a hate boat.'

The surviving protesters were captured and taken to Israel. The injured were placed in hospital - including one British man who remains there - and 679 were shut up in prison.

Last night embassy officials in Tel Aviv said there were 36 Britons in the aid flotilla, not 42 as previously reported, and that 29 were deported on the planes provided by the Turkish government.

With one in hospital, and one deported on Tuesday, that leaves five Britons whose exact whereabouts are unknown.

A spokesman for the embassy said there was no time to help with emergency passports, but that consular staff were standing by in Istanbul to provide them.

The Government is under no obligation to fly the protesters home, however.

Prime Minister David Cameron told the Commons that Israel should lift its blockade of the Gaza Strip
Mr Cameron said he deplored the loss of life, and added: 'Friends of Israel - and I count myself a friend of Israel - should be saying to the Israelis that the blockade actually strengthens Hamas's grip on the economy and on Gaza.'

But David Miliband, the shadow foreign secretary, said the Government had not been strong enough in condemning the violence, and that the protesters had a right to consular support.

A private Irish aid ship with a cargo of medical supplies is still determined to reach Gaza. The MV Rachel Corrie, carrying 15 activists including Northern Irish Nobel Peace laureate Mairead Corrigan-Maguire, expects to reach the point where Israeli commandos raided the flotilla later this week.

Irish prime minister Brian Cowen has appealed to Israel to let it through - even though the ship is also carrying concrete, a material banned under the blockade.






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