STATEMENT BY YB DATO’ SRI ANIFAH AMAN, MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF MALAYSIA, ON THE SEIZURE OF THE VESSEL RACHEL CORRIE BY THE ISRAELI DEFENSE FORCES ON 5 JUNE 2010

PRESS RELEASE

STATEMENT BY YB DATO’ SRI ANIFAH AMAN, MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF MALAYSIA, ON THE SEIZURE OF THE VESSEL RACHEL CORRIE BY THE ISRAELI DEFENCE FORCES ON 5 JUNE 2010

Malaysia strongly demands Israel to ensure the safety of all the humanitarian activists onboard the cargo vessel MV Rachel Corrie that was seized by the Israeli Defence Force early morning of 5 June 2010.

Malaysia also demands for Israel not to take any drastic and violent military action on the unarmed passengers of the Rachel Corrie. All the humanitarian activists on board the Rachel Corrie should be given the necessary assistance to ensure their safety. Malaysia also calls on Israel to ensure a safe passage for the vessel to Gaza to deliver the humanitarian cargo. In this regard, Malaysia urges the International Community to persuade Israel to allow the humanitarian vessel to reach Gaza safely.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is closely monitoring the developments as there are six Malaysians on board the Rachel Corrie.

Dato’ Sri Anifah Aman
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Malaysia

5 June 2010

Israeli forces board the Rachel Corrie

Israel risked a fresh wave of international condemnation today when its troops boarded a boat attempting to break the blockade of Gaza and forcibly diverted it to the port of Ashdod.

Five days after the botched assault on a six-boat flotilla ended in the deaths of nine activists and international isolation for Israel, an unknown number of naval commandos stormed the MV Rachel Corrie in international waters, about 20 miles from the coast of Gaza.

Today’s operation was mounted despite growing calls for Israel to ease its siege of Gaza significantly. The US, Israel’s staunchest ally, said the blockade was “unsustainable and must be changed”.

Israel said it had met no resistance in stopping the 1,200-ton Rachel Corrie. “They complied with us completely,” an Israeli military spokeswoman told the Observer.

Greta Berlin of the Free Gaza Movement, the main organisation behind the flotilla, said the passengers and crew had four times refused to accede to Israeli demands to divert to Ashdod voluntarily.

“There’s no way that 20 people are going to resist a fully armed force,” she said. “The fact that Israel boarded a civilian boat in international waters is a violent act.”

She expected the 11 passengers – including the Nobel peace laureate Máiread Maguire– and nine crew would be treated “with kid gloves: the world is watching”.

There had been no contact with the boat since early this morning, said Berlin. “Communications are shut down.”

According to Israeli military accounts, commandos boarded the Rachel Corrie from naval vessels alongside rather than from helicopters, as happened in Monday’s operation. They gained control of the boat within minutes.

The passengers and crew had already declared their intention not to resist.

The boat, carrying medical supplies and construction materials, was being towed into port to Ashdod this afternoon. Israel said it would unload the aid and transfer it to Gaza. However, last week it refused to allow any construction materials from the flotilla into Gaza, claiming they could be used to make weapons and build underground bunkers.

The passengers, from Ireland and Malaysia, would be deported immediately, Ygal Palmor, spokesman for the Israeli foreign ministry, told the Observer. The Irish passengers would be offered flights from Ben Gurion airport; the Malaysians – whose government has no diplomatic relations with Israel – would be taken by bus to the land border with Jordan.

If they refused to comply with summary deportation, they would be taken to a detention centre until their case could be heard by a court, Palmor said.

All those deported would be refused entry to Israel for around 10 years, he added.

Israel has spent the past five days struggling to contain a diplomatic crisis and public relations catastrophe. Relations with its regional ally Turkey, whose nationals accounted for all those killed on Monday, have sunk to an unprecedented low.

Despite strenuous efforts by Israel to ensure the dominance of its version of events, accounts emerging from activists have claimed that Israeli troops fired first on the boat at the centre of the assault, the Marvi Marmara. Israel has claimed a hard core of 40 “jihadis” on board was intent on attacking its troops.

Autopsy reports on the dead activists yesterday revealed that some had been shot at close range, and five had gunshot wounds to the head.

The US has joined the growing international chorus for the siege of Gaza to be eased.

“We are working urgently with Israel, the Palestinian Authority and other international partners to develop new procedures for delivering more goods and assistance to Gaza,” said the national security council spokesman Mike Hammer. “The current arrangements are unsustainable and must be changed.”

Israel’s prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, has hinted at a limited adjustment in the blockade policy, but aid agencies fear it will a cosmetic change aimed at appeasing international opinion rather than a genuinely relieving of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

“Forces used the same procedures for Monday’s flotilla and Saturday’s sailing but was met by a different response,” he said in a statement.

“On today’s ship, and in five of the six vessels in the previous flotilla, [boarding] procedure ended without casualties. The only difference was with one ship, where extremist Islamic activists, supporters of terrorism, waited for our troops on the deck with axes and knives.”

He defended the blockade, saying it was meant to keep weapons out of the hands of the Iranian-backed Hamas and he would “not allow the establishment of an Iranian port in Gaza.”

Today’s operation was swiftly condemned.

“The Rachel Corrie and her cargo presents no threat to Israel,” said the Northern Ireland deputy first minister, Martin McGuinness. “[It] should have been allowed to proceed to Gaza without Israeli aggression.”

Yesterday The Free Gaza Movement said it was planning another flotilla attempt. “We will continue until we break the siege of Gaza,” Berlin said.

In London, thousands of people marched from Downing Street to the Israeli embassy to protest against the deaths of the nine activists and the latest move by Israel.

Among them was Sarah Colborne, director of campaigns and operations at the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign, who had been on the Mavi Marmara.

She spent almost two days in jail in Be’er Sheva in southern Israel, and was the first British survivor of the attack to return to London.

The foreign secretary, William Hague, said he was glad the interception had been peaceful.

He again called for a full, credible, impartial and independent investigation into last week’s events.

“We continue to stress to the Israeli government the importance of an investigation that ensures accountability and commands the confidence of the international community, and includes international participation,” he said.

“We urgently need to see unfettered access to Gaza to meet the humanitarian needs of the people of Gaza and to enable the reconstruction of homes, livelihoods and trade. That is why we continue to press the government of Israel to lift Gaza’s closure.”

He would be discussing these issues during visits to European capitals in the next few days, Mr Hague said.

Israeli forces board the Rachel Corrie

Israeli forces have boarded the Gaza-bound aid ship the MV Rachel Corrie and are taking it to Ashdod port in Israel.

Navy personnel entered the cargo ship from the sea. The operation took only a few minutes, Israeli army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Avital Leibovich said. No one was reported hurt.

“The ship has been boarded and there was full compliance from the crew and passengers on board,” he said.

The move, also confirmed by the Irish department of foreign affairs, came after Israel warned that its troops would enter the vessel unless it changed course to head away from Gaza.

The Irish-Malaysian ship the Rachel Corrie is one of the last remaining ships on the flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza.

It was still attempting to reach the blockaded territory despite the deadly commando attack by Israeli troops earlier in the week, and has rejected calls for it to unload its cargo in Israel.

Nine people died and hundreds of activists were seized and taken to Israel when troops stormed a flotilla of nine ships on Monday morning.

The Irish foreign affairs minister, Micheal Martin, earlier said he fully accepted the organisers’ decision to continue with their mission.

“If, as is their stated intention, the Israeli government intercepts the Rachel Corrie, the government demands that it demonstrate every restraint,” he warned.

“Those on board the Rachel Corrie have made clear their peaceful intentions and have stated that they will offer no resistance to Israeli forces.

“Based on these assurances, there can be no justification for the use of force against any person on board the Rachel Corrie.”

According to the Free Gaza movement, the Rachel Corrie had been tailed by three Israeli naval boats around 35 miles off the coast of Gaza.

Speaking last night, Derek Graham, first mate on the Rachel Corrie, said: “We are nervous, and people have started to get a little bit more anxious.

“But all we want to do is bring our aid in, unload it and come back out. We want to show the Palestinians that they can get in and out of their own country.”

Passengers issued a defiant message through the Free Gaza website: “Communication is difficult and sometimes impossible, and there are many rumours out there started by Israeli authorities, but there is no way we are going to Ashdod,” they said in a joint statement. “We are, for sure, on our way to Gaza.”

The Rachel Corrie, named after a 23-year-old American killed in Gaza in 2003 by an Israeli bulldozer, fell behind the original fleet after mechanical problems. Those aboard suspect it may have been sabotaged.

Communicating with those on board, among whom is the Nobel peace prize laureate Máiread Maguire, has proved difficult.

“They want to get in during daylight tomorrow,” said Martin O’Quigley of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign. “They don’t want to approach the exclusion zone in darkness.”

Maguire said the activists were determined to press on, but would offer no resistance should they be boarded.

“We will sit down,” she told the Associated Press in a telephone interview from the ship. “They will probably arrest us … but there will be no resistance.”

The White House has said Israel’s blockade of Gaza is unsustainable but urged the Rachel Corrie to sail to Ashdod.

“The current arrangements are unsustainable and must be changed. For now, we call on all parties to join us in encouraging responsible decisions by all sides to avoid any unnecessary confrontations,” Mike Hammer, a spokesman for the US national security council, said in a statement.

“In the interest of the safety of all involved, and the safe transmission of assistance to the people of Gaza, we strongly encourage those on board the Rachel Corrie and other vessels to sail to Ashdod to deliver their materials to Gaza.”

The Rachel Corrie is carrying 11 passengers, including the Scottish Captain Eric Harcis.

In addition to six British and Irish citizens on the ship, there are six Malaysians, including an MP, and a team of journalists, organisers said. Ram Karthigasu, a spokesman for the Malaysian travellers, said they were “determined” to continue the journey towards Gaza.

The ship is carrying school supplies, printing paper, children’s shoes, wheelchairs, sports equipment and fire extinguishers. Its load was checked by the Irish government before it sailed, according to organisers.

Israel bars cement and other building materials from entering Gaza, saying they are often used for building tunnels to smuggle in weapons and explosives.

Theguardian.co.uk

Freedom flotilla ship MV Rachel Corrie continues to head for Gaza

MV Rachel Corrie, which was named after a 23-year-old American killed in Gaza in 2003, is still bound for Gaza. Photograph: Niall Carson/PA
A ship carrying aid to Gaza is still heading for the blockaded territory, despite Israel insisting it will not be allowed to dock.

The MV Rachel Corrie, which was part of the original Freedom Flotilla intercepted by the Israeli military, leaving nine activists dead, is due to arrive in Gaza at 8am on Saturday, organisers said today.

Turkey today warned that it would reduce its ties with Israel to a minimum, and the Hamas leader said at Friday prayers in Gaza City that humanitarian aid alone would not be enough to aid the Palestinian cause.

The MV Rachel Corrie fell behind the original fleet after suffering mechanical problems, but has been sailing towards the Israeli coast since yesterday. There were earlier reports that the ship had turned back, but a spokesman confirmed this morning that it was still bound for Gaza.

Martin O’Quigley, from the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign, which is working with the Free Gaza Movement, said he spoke to two people on board this morning.

“They’re 150 miles from Gaza, and they should be approaching the exclusion zone at 8am tomorrow,” O’Quiqley said. “They’re about 80 miles from the previous interception point.”

O’Quigley said he had spoken to Máiread Maguire, the Nobel peace prize laureate, and Jenny Graham, from the Free Gaza Movement, two of 11 passengers on the ship.

The Corrie is attempting to defy the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, who said yesterday that the ship would not be allowed to reach the blockaded area.

“We shall not allow the ships to reach Gaza. Not now and not later on,” the Israeli news website ynet reported him as saying. “We intend to direct the Rachel Corrie ship to the Ashdod port and transfer its civilian goods to Gaza following a security check.”

In addition to six British and Irish citizens on the ship there are five Malaysians, including an MP and three journalists, organisers said. Ram Karthigasu, a spokesman for the Malaysian travellers, said he had spoken to them today and confirmed the Rachel Corrie was 150 miles from Gaza.

The ship is carrying school supplies, printing paper, children’s shoes, wheelchairs, sports equipment and fire extinguishers, organisers said. Israel bars cement and other building materials from entering Gaza, saying they are often used for building tunnels to smuggle in weapons and explosives.

The Corrie is attempting to reach Gaza four days after the Freedom Flotilla was intercepted, leaving eight Turkish nationals and one US citizen dead.

Speaking at Friday prayers in Gaza City, the de facto Hamas prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh, told crowds of worshippers that Israel’s blockade of Gaza was in its final stages.

“Now not only Gazans speak of the blockade, but also the [UN] security council and the international community. Everyone is demanding the siege be lifted.”

As a result of its assault on the aid flotilla, Israel was facing worldwide condemnation, he said. But humanitarian aid was not enough, Haniyeh added. “We have had warm words about the pain of Gaza but now we want these words to turn into action. Today we are in a new era of victory.”

He paid tribute to those killed and injured in Monday’s operation, saying: “It is not only the Palestinian people who are martyred by the Israeli enemy.”

Turkey’s deputy prime minister said today the country would reduce its relations with Israel “to a minimum”, as services took place in Istanbul to remember the dead. Bulent Arinc told the NTV broadcaster that Turkey had made many military and economic agreements with Israel, and these were now up for discussion.

“We are serious about this subject,” he said. “We may plan to reduce our relations with Israel to a minimum, but to assume everything involving another country is stopped in an instant, to say we have crossed you out of our address book, is not the custom of our state.”

Barack Obama called for the flotilla incident to be used to advance peace efforts, describing the deaths as a “tragic situation”.

“I think what’s important right now is that we break out of the current impasse, use this tragedy as an opportunity,” he said in an interview with Larry King yesterday

STATEMENT FROM THE MV RACHEL CORRIE June 5th, 1230 am Malaysian Time

THE peace activists aboard the MV Rachel Corrie bound for Gaza have unanimously agreed to proceed with their voyage to Gaza. This is to enable them to fulfil the hopes and aspirations of the people of Gaza, of which the cargo on board the MV Rachel Corrie, belong to.

It is also to fulfil the hopes and aspirations of the various donors
of the goods who wished to see the aid being delivered directly to
Gaza and to the people of Gaza and not through any third party. The
peace activists consider the unilateral siege imposed on Gaza as being
illegal, and any attempt to stop the delivery of such aid as crime
against humanity that violates international law, and accepted norms
and practices of the civilised world.

All activists on board requests that they be given safe passage to
deliver the cargo on board bound for Gaza.

The peace activists also wholeheartedly declare that they all comprise
of unarmed civilians. The cargo on board the MV Rachel Corrie is void
of any weapons or any apparatus that may be used for harmful purposes.

In light of concerns by certain quarters i.e. the Israeli authorities,
the activists have therefore unanimously agreed to allow for the
inspection of the cargo on board the MV Rachel Corrie. They request
and invite for

an independent international body, preferably inspectors from the the
United Nations to board the ship and do the necessary to certify as to
the nature of the cargo on board. Currently the MV Rachel Corrie is
150 miles away from the 25 mile line of Gaza.

Issued on behalf of the peace activists by the Perdana Global Peace
Organisation, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Any queries please contact;

1. Ram Karthigasu +60122270159 (ramkarthigasu@gmail.com

2. Sufi Yusoff (sufi71@gmail.com)

Captured and detained by Israel, an American tells his story

Sixty-four-year-old Paul Larudee, an American citizen and longtime pro-Palestinian activist, was on board one of the ships carrying humanitarian relief to Gaza that was raided by the Israeli navy on Monday. He dove into the Mediterranean Sea, only to be captured and held in an Israeli prison for two days.

This was not Larudee’s first brush with Israeli authorities, but it was easily his most dramatic. He spoke with Salon about the raid and his captivity this afternoon from Greece, where he arrived after being released by Israel.

At around 4 a.m. on Monday, Larudee’s ship was boarded by as many as 500 Israeli soldiers. After the ship’s captain called an alert, Larudee immediately walked out onto the deck and found that Israeli soldiers had broken the windows of the wheelhouse (the area where the captain controls the ship) in an attempt to take command of the vessel. As Larudee and several others tried to defend the wheelhouse, Israeli soldiers tased him twice so that he would back away from the area. He said he offered no resistance and just let his body go limp.

“I have never struck anyone in more than 20 years,” he said. “I was beaten. There is black and blue all over my body. They inflicted pain on me on a frequent basis because I did not recognize their authority.”

Everyone on all of the ships was completely unarmed, he said. However, on the Turkish ship — where the civilian fatalities occurred — some passengers clashed with the soldiers and tried to beat them up as they descended on the ship. (Larudee was on a different vessel.) “But that is akin to what the passengers on the hijacked 9/11 did to hijackers who had taken the aircraft,” he said. “In other words, they resisted someone who was invading their ship.”

After some time, Larudee decided to jump off the ship and to try to swim away from the Israeli forces.

“I knew it would be a way to slow down what they were doing,” he said. “It caused the ship to stop for an hour or possibly longer and it kept another ship occupied for several hours actually.”

He hoped this would create a diversion that would allow another ship to make its way to Gaza with the humanitarian aid. “It was worth doing that, but I paid a price for it.”

When the Israeli forces picked him up, Larudee said, he was severely beaten and tied to a mast at the stern of their ship. His legs and hands were bound as he was subjected to the hot sun in wet soaking clothes for four hours. He said his body almost went into shock from the extreme hot and cold conditions.

The soldiers refused to release him unless he told them his name. He repeatedly refused, but said he would cooperate only if they released him from the mast. They finally agreed and took him below deck. “For the remainder of the trip to the port, we got along fine,” he said.

When on land, Larudee was taken to the processing area, but refused to cooperate with authorities, who wanted him to say that he entered the country illegally. “This happened at 18 miles at sea, which is well beyond their own territorial waters, or anyone’s territorial waters,” he said. “We were in international waters. We weren’t violating anyone’s sovereignty or breaking any rules that we knew of, even by their standards.”

More beating ensued. Larudee, who again let his body go limp, said he was carried by nylon restraints, which were placed on his arms and legs. They cut into his skin, causing more contusions and deep pain. He was carried into an ambulance and taken to a hospital, but wasn’t treated. He said he believes he was taken there because the Israeli soldiers didn’t want the media to see his black eye, pronated joints, bruised jaw and body contusions.

Then, he was transported to the hospital ward of a prison, and eventually into an isolated cell. He was forbidden to speak with other prisoners, denied an attorney, a phone call, and access to television, radio, paper, pencils — anything else that would connect him to the outside world. A diabetic, Larudee was eventually granted a request to be moved to a cell with windows and some air circulation.

He spent a total of two days in the prison, and on the second day, was granted a 10-minute meeting with a representative from the U.S. embassy. Before the meeting, he was given a long-sleeve shirt to wear, but refused to put it on.

On the third day, the captain of Larudee’s boat, a Greek national who was sharing the same prison cell, met with the representative from his embassy. The Greek embassy official helped arrange for Laurudee to leave Israel for Greece. After arriving at the airport for his flight, Larudee was told that Israeli authorities wouldn’t permit him to go directly to Athens. Instead, they insisted that he fly first to Istanbul, then sign a release. Larudee refused to cooperate and was once again subjected to a beating by Israeli soldiers.

“But this time they did it in front of 30 to 40 other prisoners, who had seen similar things,” he said. “They went nuts.”

An all-out brawl began and some prisoners were badly beaten, Larudee said.

Those who had arranged for Larudee’s transport to Greece eventually intervened and negotiated with airport officials. Larudee was finally allowed to leave Israel. He’s now in Greece, where he says he’s staying with friends who are taking care of him. He is scheduled to fly home to the states on June 11.

“A lot of Americans are looking at Israel through rose-colored glasses,” he said. “Israel is not a demon, but it is not being held accountable for its actions, and when you do that, it allows bad things, very bad things, to happen.”

BY ANIKA ANAND

Solidarity Message from JUST to Peace Activists on Board the MV Rachel Corrie

Dear Sisters and Brothers,

Peace!

On behalf of the JUST family, allow me to express our solidarity and comradeship with all of you at this critical moment in your courageous quest for peace.

Your determination to break the illegal, immoral Israeli blockade and deliver humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians of Gaza has won accolades from human beings everywhere who cherish justice and value compassion.

The JUST family hopes and prays that you will succeed— Insya’Allah.

Your courage, your dignity and your willingness to persevere is a great inspiration to the rest of humanity. I remember at the personal level, my friends, Shamsul Akmar and Mathias Chang. I am also acquainted with Denis Halliday. For both Mariam and I, there is also our very dear friend, Mairead Maguire, who means so much to both of us. She is the shining symbol, the eloquent voice of humanity’s eternal thirst for justice.

May God bless and protect all of you—- that’s our deepest prayer.

In solidarity,

Chandra Muzaffar.

Gaza flotilla: Sarah Colborne’s account

On Sunday 30th we set off together. We had assembled all the boats in international waters. At 11pm that night, Israeli naval boats were detected on the radar and sighted and a decision was made to move further back into international waters, further from Israel.

We managed to get some broadcasts out that we were on a humanitarian mission, that the United Nations had called for ships to be sent with humanitarian aid to break the blockade on Gaza, that we were simply undertaking that goal. An emergency medical room was assembled and we were all told to put lifejackets on to prepare for any attack.

At 2am I went to sleep. At around 4.10am I woke up, went up to the deck where I could see outside and I saw boats, small dinghies but bristling with guns and Israeli military, speeding towards the ship. Helicopters then appeared. Gas and sound bombs were used and the reports from Sydney Morning Herald [a reporter from the newspaper was on Challenger, another boat in the flotilla] were that at 4.20am they reported gunshots, and the Challenger transmitted this information.

We then had the first passenger fatally injured. He was brought to the back of the open deck below. He was shot in the head. I saw him. He was obviously in a very bad way and he subsequently died. There were bullets flying all over the place when I was on the top deck and I took the decision to go downstairs.

It felt a bit surreal. I couldn’t quite believe they were doing what they were doing. There was live ammunition flying around and I could hear the sounds of the bullets flying and the whirr of the helicopter blades as people were dropped down onto the roof. What I saw was guns being used by the Israelis on unarmed civilians.

We asked for the Israelis to stop the attacks. We were asking in English: “We are not resisting, please help the injured.” Instead of helping the injured, the saloon remained surrounded by soldiers targeting individuals with laser sights. I could see the red of the laser sights sweeping over people’s heads.

The captain announced live ammunition was being used, to stop resisting and to go downstairs. At 5.15am we started broadcasting over the Tannoy for help to evacuate the critically injured and for emergency medical assistance.

We made two attempts to get the message across in the written form as well as the many announcements over the Tannoy. We wrote a sign in Hebrew saying: “SOS! Need medical assistance. People are dying. Urgent.”

It wasn’t until 7am that the Israelis started allowing the first critically injured people off and they were delivered into Israeli hands. An attempt was made to send a medic with each of the critically injured people. Instead, the medics were cuffed and put on the deck.

I saw four dead bodies in the saloon laid out on the floor. All passengers were removed on to the deck. As we were moved out we were all cuffed with cable ties. All our phones and cameras were removed. We were made to sit or kneel in lines on the deck. The sun was quite strong and I was aware that people were starting to get dehydrated.

We were kidnapped, we were deprived of our liberty and our belongings. People were illegally held against their will, taken to Israel from international waters. In terms of treatment, in terms of our basic rights they were completely and totally violated.

We are hoping that the deaths, the horrific deaths, of the people will not be in vain. We are hoping that this will act as a wake-up call internationally, including our own government, that the siege on Gaza must end. It is illegal, inhumane and immoral. Israel has been used to acting with impunity. That situation has changed now.

We can’t sit by and watch Israel violate international law every day. We want the British government to take action, ensure there are no future attacks on humanitarian aid convoys, to ensure there is a search carried out for those that remain missing, to ensure that those people who have been detained illegally will be released and most importantly to end the siege of Gaza.

3pm Malaysia time: Latest from rachel corrie

Statement from Shamsul Akmar on behalf of the Malaysians aboard MV Rachel Corrie at 3pm Malaysian time…”Glad to hear about the release of fellow Malaysians although concerned to hear they were not well treated.

“Hope we don’t have to go through the same ordeal but that choice is not ours. We are prepared to face whatever situation that awaits us and we are determined to go ahead and carry on with this mission. Hopefully with international pressure and backing from the various Governments we will be able to go further and be given safe passage to Gaza” “everyone on board is in high spirits”. Further enquiries call Sufi 0122088601/Ram Karthigesu 0122270159

Israeli Ambassador called in

Israel’s Ambassador to New Zealand was called in this morning to see Foreign Minister Murray McCully.

“I wanted to convey directly to the Ambassador New Zealand’s concern about the incident off Gaza,” Mr McCully said.

“I told him that Israel would need to respond to serious international scrutiny of yesterday’s tragedy, and that New Zealand would be taking a close interest in discussions at the United Nations Security Council.

“I left him in no doubt as to the gravity of our concerns.

“I requested, and received, assurances that the New Zealand citizen who had been on board the flotilla would be treated appropriately while in Israeli custody, and that normal consular access would be provided.

“I repeated our call for an immediate full investigation into the incident, and urged all parties to show restraint while we awaited the outcome of that investigation.

“The situation in Gaza is unsustainable and there should be an intensification of the effort to find a solution. New Zealand believes the current proximity talks between Israel and Palestine need to be turned into direct talks between the parties.

“In the meantime I have continued to encourage Israel to increase the flow of humanitarian and other necessary supplies into Gaza,” said Mr McCully.