The Cambodian-flagged Irish[1] [2] [3] MV Rachel Corrie was part of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla that sailed to Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid in 2010. The ship was unable to join the other six ships in the flotilla because of mechanical problems that forced it to undergo repairs in Malta.[4] The other six ships were confronted by a raid on 31 May 2010 during which nine activists were killed by Israeli naval forces.
The aid-carrying vessel got under way on 31 May 2010, with its crew insisting that they would go to Gaza.[4] The governments of Israel and Ireland reached an agreement to unload the ship's cargo in the southern Israeli port city of Ashdod, but the group sponsoring the ship rejected the proposal.[5] Israeli commandos boarded the ship from speedboats at around noon on 5 June 2010, in international waters about 30 kilometers from Gaza. The Israeli commandos seized control, and the ship and its passengers were diverted towards Israel, away from its original course.[6] After an inspection, Israel delivered the entire cargo to Gaza, including cement, which is usually banned.[5]
See also: Gaza flotilla raid.
The vessel is a former merchant ship owned and operated by the Free Gaza Movement.[7] It was partially funded by the Perdana Global Peace Organisation, a Malaysian NGO headed by former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad.[8] The ship is Irish-owned, and had the former Assistant UN Secretary-General Denis Halliday and Nobel Peace Prize winner Mairead Maguire on board. Halliday said that the ship would stop only when Israelis forced the ship to do so.
Passengers aboard the Rachel Corrie said that the purpose of their journey was to bring both humanitarian aid to the Gazan population and public attention to the Egypt-Israel blockade of the Gaza region; a blockade criticised by United Nations Relief and Works Agency for imposing "abject poverty" on 350,000 Gazans.[9] [10] Israel says the blockade of Gaza is needed to prevent the infiltration of weapons and militants into the coastal territory run by Hamas, which they and much of the international community have designated a terrorist organization.[5] Israel has also called the campaign a "provocation intended to delegitimise Israel".[11]
The ship was carrying humanitarian supplies,[5] including 550 tons of cement intended to rebuild schools, homes and other building destroyed in Gaza,[12] as well as 20 tons of paper, 100 tons of high-end medical equipment (including a CT scanner), fabric and thread,[13] [14] and educational supplies.[15] Cement is one of the items which Israel has banned from entering Gaza as it worries that cement can be used to build bunkers, tunnels and rockets, but it has recently allowed some shipments for specific civilian building projects.[16]
The aid-laden ship was checked for weapons in Ireland by customs officials and a senator from the Irish Green Party. No weapons were found.[17] Irish Prime Minister (Taoiseach) Brian Cowen called on Israel to allow the passage of the Rachel Corrie. Ireland later reached an agreement with Israel and made a proposal to the ship that it divert to Ashdod, where Israel offered to transfer its cargo to the Gaza Strip, under the supervision of passengers and Irish diplomats. The passengers of the ship rejected the proposal.[18] Israel reported its troops had taken control of the ship on 5 June, about 16 nautical miles (30 km) off the coast. An IDF spokeswoman said there "was full compliance from the crew and passengers on board".[19]
Former United Nations Assistant Secretary-General, Denis Halliday, aboard the Rachel Corrie, expressed concern that some of these humanitarian goods would likely be seized if the MV Rachel Corrie accepted "an offer of an escort to another port". The cargo, although it all falls within the remit of humanitarian aid as defined by the United Nations, "would be confiscated by the Israelis, given that they do not define this as humanitarian goods – in breach of the UN definition of same".[20]
Prior to the ship's last leg of its journey, Denis Halliday requested a final inspection of the cargo: "We are calling on the UN to inspect the cargo and escort us into Gaza, and to send a UN representative to sail on board before they enter the exclusion zone".[21] Trade unions and government officials had previously inspected the cargo, "so we are 100 percent confident that there is nothing that is offensive or dangerous", he told Israel's Channel 2 Television.[22]
There were eleven passengers on board the ship: Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maireád Corrigan-Maguire, former UN Assistant Secretary-General Denis Halliday, film maker Fiona Thompson, husband and wife Derek and Jenny Graham and six Malaysian citizens.
The Malaysian members were: Member of the Parliament of Malaysia, for the Parit constituency, Mohd Nizar Zakaria; Perdana Global Peace Organisation representatives, Shamsul Akmar, Matthias Chang and Ahmad Faizal Azumu ; TV3 reporter Halim Mohamed and TV3 cameraman Jufri Junid.[23] [24]
The ship was captained by Eric Harcis, a British citizen from Orkney, Scotland.[25]
The IDF or the Mossad may have sabotaged three of the ships before the raid.[26] According to the National Post, Israeli deputy defense minister Matan Vilnai hinted that Israel had exhausted covert means of stalling the vessels. He said: "Everything was considered. I don't want to elaborate beyond that, because the fact is there were not up to 10, or however many ships were [originally] planned."[27] A senior IDF officer hinted to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that someone had tampered with some of the vessels to halt them far from the Gaza or Israeli coast.[28] [29] According to UPI press coverage, the officer alluded to "grey operations" against the flotilla and said that no such action had been taken against the Mavi Marmara out of fear that the vessel might be stranded in the middle of the sea, endangering the people on board.[26] [29] Israel was accused of sabotaging activist ships in the past but no evidence has been found to back up these claims.[26]
Three ships – the Rachel Corrie, the Challenger I and the Challenger II – were damaged or malfunctioned. While the Challenger I continued, the Challenger II turned back halfway through the journey and Rachel Corrie docked for repairs in Malta. Greta Berlin of the Free Gaza Movement said someone may have tampered with electric wires.[30]
The Israeli military sent three warnings to the Rachel Corrie asking it dock in Ashdod, change course, or face a naval takeover.[5] The ship was shadowed by two Israeli Navy vessels, and its radar was jammed.[6] [31] After trailing the Rachel Corrie for several hours, Israeli commandos boarded the ship from speedboats at around noon on 5 June 2010, in international waters around 55km (34miles) off the Gaza Strip,[32] Preliminary reports indicated that there was no resistance.[33] The boarding involved about 20 combat soldiers. All the crew were arrested by these forces[34] as reported by veteran war correspondent Ron Ben-Yishai.[5] The commandos forced the ship to sail to the Israeli port of Ashdod,[35] [36] where the crew were taken into custody by immigration authorities.
Greta Berlin, a spokeswoman for the Free Gaza group, said the takeover was "another outrage to add to the nine murdered" and denied an Israeli statement that troops had been invited aboard.[37] The Gaza-bound vessel was addressed as Linda (an earlier official name) by naval officers during the air and sea operation.[38] [39] [40]
The protest activists and crew, having waived their right to appeal an order of deportation, left Israel on 6 June 2010, an immigration official said.[41] [42]
that's part of the conversation that we're having and how can we do this in a way where groups that have a vital interest in seeing the expansion of goods to the people of Gaza, have confidence that those materials will actually reach the people of Gaza and various groups that are working to help the people of Gaza ... And we hope in the meantime that everybody here will make responsible decisions and avoid unnecessary confrontations.[45]Similar sentiments were expressed by the Irish Foreign Affairs Minister in a press release.[44] [46]
Northern Ireland's deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness criticised what he called "Israeli aggression" in the take over.[6]
Dockworker unions in Sweden persuaded members not to service Israeli ships from 15 June – 22 June, South Africa has refused to handle Israeli ships, and the UK's Unite union has passed a motion to boycott Israeli companies.[6] [47]