<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?><oembed><version><![CDATA[1.0]]></version><provider_name><![CDATA[Occupied Palestine | فلسطين]]></provider_name><provider_url><![CDATA[https://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com]]></provider_url><author_name><![CDATA[occupiedpalestine]]></author_name><author_url><![CDATA[https://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/author/hajarhajar/]]></author_url><title><![CDATA[French protest boat still headed toward&nbsp;Gaza]]></title><type><![CDATA[link]]></type><html><![CDATA[<p>Published today (updated) 06/07/2011 11:10<br />
<img src="https://i2.wp.com/www.maannews.net/images/345x230/136222_345x230.jpg" alt="" /><br />
The &#8220;Dignite al Karama&#8221;, pictured here in June 2011, is the only boat in a planned flotilla to have set sail for Gaza [AFP/Murielle Kasprzak, File]</p>
<p><strong>By <a href="http://www.maannews.net/eng/Search.aspx?AUTHOR=Ella%20Ide">Ella Ide</a></strong></p>
<p>ATHENS, Greece (AFP) &#8212; A French motor yacht slipped out of Greek waters Tuesday in an attempt to break Israeli&#8217;s naval blockade on Gaza, reviving an international campaign that appeared to have ground to a halt.</p>
<p>The &#8220;Dignite al Karama&#8221; is so far the only boat in a planned flotilla organized by pro-Palestinian activists to set sail from Greece, after the authorities there blocked other vessels from leaving the port of Athens, Piraeus.</p>
<p>The 63-foot yacht had nine passengers aboard and expected to be &#8220;off Gaza within an day or two,&#8221; said a statement from the French Boat to Gaza campaign.</p>
<p>&#8220;They are going to break the blockade in the name of the Freedom Flotilla, in the names of all those who have supported this mobilisation, for justice and the law,&#8221; the statement said.</p>
<p>Earlier, campaign spokesman Jean-Claude Lefort said the Dignite had managed to slip past the Greek authorities because &#8220;it wasn&#8217;t spotted. It wasn&#8217;t in Piraeus, it was somewhere else.&#8221;</p>
<p>While the Dignite celebrated its departure, frustrated activists from the Spanish boat in the flotilla occupied the Spanish embassy in Athens on Tuesday, a diplomatic source said.</p>
<p>Thirty mainly Spanish activists had met with their ambassador to ask Madrid to put pressure on Greece to allow them to sail, according to one of the protesters. They then &#8220;decided to occupy the rooms,&#8221; he said.</p>
<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s somewhat of a symbolic occupation. There are only four activists currently in the embassy, all of whom are Spanish,&#8221; the source from the embassy said, adding that a dozen supporters were gathered in the street.</p>
<p>Another small boat, the Juliana, was preparing to leave the Alimos marina south of Piraeus on Tuesday, a spokesman for the boat&#8217;s Greek, Norwegian and Swedish crew said.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Captain John Klusmer of the US boat Audacity of Hope was released on Tuesday without charge by a prosecutor in Piraeus, according to Jane Hirschmann, a spokeswoman for his group.</p>
<p>Klusmer was detained after the US boat was intercepted by coastguards Friday while attempting to break Greece&#8217;s ban.</p>
<p>Greek authorities said they imposed a ban on the flotilla&#8217;s departure for the &#8220;safety&#8221; of the activists on board, but pro-Palestinian supporters have accused Athens of merely extending Israel&#8217;s blockade.</p>
<p>An attempt by the Canadian Tahrir to set sail was thwarted Monday just minutes after it left port on the island of Crete.</p>
<p>The Tahrir, which was carrying activists from Canada, Belgium, Italy, Switzerland and Turkey, was boarded by more than a dozen armed special forces, according to passengers on the boat, and was forced to turn back to port.</p>
<p>The Freedom Flotilla II had orginally intended to set sail from Greece with 12 boats and over 350 activists from 22 countries, but has come up against a stream of obstacles, including two vessels they claimed were sabotaged.</p>
<p>Organizers have blamed Israel for sabotaging the propellers on the Irish and Swedish-owned boats and for blackmailing Greece into imposing the ban on all Gaza-bound vessels leaving its ports.</p>
<p>The flotilla&#8217;s planned departure coincided with the news that the president of the debt-ridden country, Karolos Papoulias, is set to visit Israel in an effort to strengthen their diplomatic and economic ties.</p>
<p>Activists continued to plan protests in Athens to challenge the ban, with calls for a march on Syntagma Square outside the parliament on Tuesday evening.</p>
<p>Israel had also begun making intense preparations to foil plans by hundreds of activists to flood Ben Gurion international airport on Friday in a show of solidarity with the Palestinians.</p>
<p>Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered authorities to prepare for the &#8220;planned provocation,&#8221; which will &#8220;be dealt with in accordance with Israeli law and international law and conventions,&#8221; his office said in a statement.</p>
<p>Israeli media reported that flights landing on Friday from Europe would be taken to a separate terminal and all passengers carefully screened.</p>
<p>Pro-Palestinian activists have also said they plan to arrive in their hundreds at Ben Gurion airport outside Tel Aviv on Friday to protest against Israel&#8217;s blockade of the Gaza Strip.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=402795">Source</a></p>
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<li><strong>SPECIAL TOPIC | <a href="https://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/special-topics/flotilla-ii-the-armada/">FLOTILLA II</a></strong></li>
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<strong>In Pictures</strong></p>
<div style="width: 272px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/2011/05/29/iremember-the-mavi-marmara-massacre-in-pictures/"><img src="https://occupiedpalestine.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/mavi-marmara-massacre.jpg?w=262&#038;h=172" alt="" width="262" height="172" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Album | The Mavi Marmara Massacre</p></div>
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<li><strong>More pictures in the Gallery</strong><strong> | <a href="https://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/images-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B5%D9%88%D8%B1/" target="_blank">Images | الصور</a></strong></li>
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