FOURTEEN IRISH activists detained by Israeli authorities after they attempted to break the naval blockade on Gaza in a joint Irish-Canadian flotilla will return home in the next two days.
Seven members of the Irish Ship to Gaza campaign are due to arrive in Dublin today, including national co-ordinator Fintan Lane; Leinster and former Ireland rugby player Trevor Hogan; People Before Profit councillor Hugh Lewis; Siptu activist Mags O’Brien; Sinn Féin councillor Patrick Fitzgerald; and University of Limerick lecturer Zoe Lawlor. The remaining activists – among them Socialist MEP Paul Murphy, former Fianna Fáil TD Chris Andrews, artist Felim Egan, and Sinn Féin councillor John Hearne – are expected to return on Friday morning.
The group’s return comes a week after their boat, the MV Saoirse, which had been sailing with a Canadian vessel Tahrir (Liberation), was intercepted by the Israeli navy in international waters.
Campaign spokeswoman Claudia Saba said the aim of the flotilla was to highlight the situation in Gaza. “It is because of the continuing inaction of governments around the world, including the Irish government, that ordinary people feel compelled to act.”
Meanwhile, five members of the United Left Alliance have accused Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Eamon Gilmore of double standards over the incident.
The TDs, Independent Seamus Healy, Socialists Joe Higgins and Clare Daly, and People Before Profit’s Richard Boyd Barrett and Joan Collins, wrote to Mr Gilmore demanding that Israel’s ambassador to Ireland be expelled over the activists’ arrest at sea.
“If any other country acted in this fashion against Irish citizens, the pressure on you to condemn outright such an action would be considerable,” they said.
“However, different standards seem to apply to Israel in the world of international diplomacy.”
Irish consular officials in Israel assisted the group over the past week, visiting them every day during their detention. On the day of the activists’ arrest, Mr Gilmore said he was relieved there had been no violence during the interception and that Irish citizens involved were “safe and well”.
He said his department, through headquarters in Dublin and the Irish embassy in Tel Aviv, had been in constant contact with the Israeli authorities throughout the episode and had urged that “all possible restraint” be exercised in carrying out any interception.