Freedom Flotilla II

This article is about the 2011 flotilla. For the 2010 flotilla, see Gaza Freedom Flotilla. For the 2010 flotilla raid and its aftermath, see Gaza flotilla raid. For the 2015 flotilla, see Freedom Flotilla III.

"Freedom Flotilla II – Stay Human"[1] was a flotilla that planned to break the maritime blockade of the Gaza Strip by Israel by sailing to Gaza on 5 July 2011. Ultimately, the sailing did not take place.[2]

The flotilla was organized by a coalition of 22 NGOs. Its name refers to the May 2010 Gaza Freedom Flotilla. Their stated goal was to end the blockade of Gaza "completely and permanently".[3] Initially, 10 ships, with 1,000 activists[4] were set to sail for Gaza, but by 28 June 2011, the number of expected participants had decreased to fewer than 300, plus a few dozen journalists, and by 7 July all but a few dozen activists had returned home.[5][6]

The flotilla was publicly opposed by the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Turkey, Canada, the Middle East Quartet (consisting of the EU, Russia, the United Nations, and the United States), and United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. It was publicly supported by Hamas.[7]

Activists on two ships, one in Greece and one in Turkey, found similar damage to their propeller shafts, and claimed that the ships had been sabotaged by Israel.[8] It was reported that the investigation by Turkish authorities on one of the ships determined that there may have been no sabotage at all, and that any damage happened before the boat arrived in Turkey, but these media reports appeared prior to the formal investigation beginning and the Turkish coastguard enquiry has yet to announce its findings. The media reports were disputed by Irish Ship to Gaza, the owner of the vessel.[9][10][11] Greece forbade the vessels from leaving its ports, citing safety concerns,[12] but offered to instead send any humanitarian aid to Gaza in its own vessels, under United Nations supervision. Greece's offer was supported by Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and the United Nations, but rejected by the flotilla activists.[13][14] Subsequently, two flotilla ships, the Audacity of Hope and Tahrir, disobeyed Greece's orders. They were intercepted by the Greek coast guard, brought back to shore, and a few activists were arrested. Activists responded by occupying the Spanish embassy in Athens.[15]

Only the French ship Dignité Al Karama managed to approach Gaza. They advised the Greek authorities that their destination was the Egyptian port of Alexandria,[16] and then turned toward Gaza.[17] On 19 July, the ship was intercepted and boarded without incident by Israeli commandos and escorted to the Israeli port of Ashdod.[18]

  1. ^ Bannoura, Saed (27 June 2011). "German activists hold 'solidarity flotilla' in Berlin canals". Al-Jazeerah: Cross-Cultural Understanding. IMEMC News. Retrieved 16 August 2011.
  2. ^ "Flotilla delayed until next week". Jewish Journal. Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 1 July 2011. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
  3. ^ "Press Release from Istanbul" (Press release). Freedomflotilla.eu. 18 June 2011. Archived from the original on 25 June 2011. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference AJN_24Jun2011a was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Katz-2010 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Magnezi, Aviel (28 June 2011). "Fewer than 300 join flotilla". Ynetnews. Tel Aviv. Retrieved 30 June 2011.
  7. ^ "Gaza-bound activists vow to complete trek". CBC World News. 2 July 2011. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
  8. ^ "Israel also sabotaged Irish ship, say Gaza flotilla organizers". Haaretz. Israel. Retrieved 30 June 2011.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference apgreece was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference greece_blocks_boat was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ "Sabotage of MV Saoirse". Blog archive. Irish Ship to Gaza. 4 July 2011. Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference greek was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference voareject was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference bill was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference sunk was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ "Dignité-Al Karama sailing to Gaza". Aletho News. 18 July 2011. Retrieved 22 August 2011.
  17. ^ Cite error: The named reference AlJazeera-2011-07-18 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  18. ^ Cite error: The named reference BBC-2011-07-19 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).