Blockade of Gaza now extended into Greek ports
Sabotage of MV Saoirse and Greek blockade demonstrates length that Israeli state will go to in order to maintain inhuman siege of people of Gaza
In a statement released on Sunday, Paul Murphy, MEP said: “The actions of the Greek government in choosing to enforce Israel’s blockade of Gaza in Greek ports is outrageous. With their masked commandos boarding the US ship, the Audacity of Hope, they have collaborated with the Israeli establishment to prevent humanitarian aid being brought to Gaza. Activists are working in Greece to try to bring pressure to bear on the Greek authorities to reverse the decision and I call on working people in Greece to protest against this action in the strongest possible terms. However, I feel it is likely that this will not be reversed and therefore this decision probably marks the end of the Freedom Flotilla II."

Mr Murphy, was was due to sail with the sabotaged Irish ship MV Saoirse continued: “The Israeli state has once again demonstrated that it is willing to do anything to prevent their siege of the people of Gaza being broken. It also illustrates why it was vital for the Israeli Defence Forces or Mossad to sabotage the Irish boat, the MV Saoirse which was the only boat not docked in a Greek port. That act was a terrorist-style sabotage that threatened the lives of all of the passengers.

“Although we are all disappointed, we are more determined than ever to highlight the conditions in Gaza and to break the blockade. The conditions on the ground dramatically contradict the propaganda used by the Israeli establishment when trying to undermine the flotilla. 66% of people in Gaza are food insecure, with 80% relying on foreign aid and 300,000 people living on less than a $1 a day. These are all figures that have worsened dramatically since the imposition of the blockade of Gaza, designed as a collective punishment of the people of Gaza.

“I would like to thank all of the organisers of the Irish Ship to Gaza and the Freedom Flotilla II campaign for having put in herculean efforts to build the flotilla. It was an inspiring experience to be struggling alongside so many others to get to Gaza and I am fully confident that we will return once more to break the blockade.

“The revolutions in North Africa and the Middle East give us enormous hope that even the horrific oppression by the Israeli state can be defeated by a mass movement. I will be working with my sister party in Israeli/Palestine, the Socialist Struggle Movement, to build a united movement of Palestinians, the Arab masses generally, and Israeli Jewish workers to defeat the right-wing Israeli establishment and fight for a genuinely independent socialist Palestine alongside a socialist Israel as part of a socialist confederation of the region.”

On June 24, an anonymous complaint was filed against the ship's "seaworthiness". The Israel Law Centre (Shurat HaDin), took responsibility for the complaint in the Israeli media.

On Saturday Yigal Palmor, Israel's foreign ministry spokesperson dismissed the sabotage charges levelled against Israeli faction as "ridiculous," calling them "sad conspiracy theories".