The Israeli ambassador, Mr Boaz Modai, should be "called in" by the Government to explain how an Irish-owned ship, due to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza, was damaged, a number of TDs have said.
The MV Saoirse , which was to take part in the "Freedom Flotilla 2" bringing medical aid and sports equipment to Gaza, was deemed unfit to sail after damage to its propeller shaft was discovered on Monday evening. The ship had been berthed in the Turkish coastal town of Gocek.
Claudia Saba, a Palestinian living in Ireland, who has been involved in co-ordinating the flotilla, showed pictures of the damaged propeller shaft at a press conference in Dublin yesterday. The shaft appeared to be bent and to have had a piece cut from it.
Quoting Pat Fitzgerald, a fisherman based in Dunmore East, Co Waterford, who is in Turkey and had been planning to sail on the Saoirse , she said the damage done "could not have been accidental".
Almost identical damage was done to the propeller shaft of a Swedish boat, the Juliano, docked at Piraeus in Greece, which was also due to sail to Gaza. Pictures of this damage were also shown, which was described by Ms Saba as "too much a coincidence".
Source and full story: The Irish Times, 1 July 2011
