<?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[#Freedomwaves Actvists refuse deportation&nbsp;deal]]></title><type><![CDATA[link]]></type><html><![CDATA[<hr align="left" size="1" width="100%" />
<strong>Press Release #<a href="http://wp.me/p16sn9-ePX" target="_blank">FREEDOMWAVES</a> | Topic <a href="http://wp.me/p16sn9-ePJ" target="_blank">FreedomWaves</a> | Category <a href="https://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/2011/05/29/iremember-the-mavi-marmara-massacre-in-pictures/" target="_blank">Flotilla</a> | <a href="http://wp.me/p16sn9-eSC" target="_blank">Pictures</a><a href="https://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/2011/05/29/iremember-the-mavi-marmara-massacre-in-pictures/" target="_blank"></a></strong></p>
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<p><img src="https://i0.wp.com/www.maannews.net/images/PhotoViewer/152869.jpg"></p>
<p><strong>Maan News Agency | Nov 6, 2011</strong></p>
<p>BETHLEHEM (Ma&#8217;an) &#8212; Activists detained in Israel after they attempted to sail to Gaza are refusing to sign a deportation agreement, a spokeswoman for the group said Sunday.</p>
<p>The document states that they entered Israel voluntarily and in an illegal manner, which the imprisoned boat passengers dispute, Huwaida Arraf said in a statement.</p>
<p>Their refusal to sign the deal, which would see them deported immediately, means they will be held for 72 hours before an Israeli immigration judge reviews their deportation, Arraf added.</p>
<p>The Irish-flagged Saoirse (&#8220;Freedom&#8221;) and the Canadian ship Tahrir (&#8220;Liberation&#8221;) &#8212; carrying 27 activists and reporters from nine countries &#8212; were intercepted by Israeli naval commandos in international waters off the Gaza coast and taken to Israeli port Ashdod on Friday.</p>
<p>Israeli Interior ministry spokeswoman Sabine Hadad said on Saturday that six passengers had been released and the remaining 21 people were still being held at a detention facility in Ramla near Tel Aviv.</p>
<p>Coordinator of the Irish ship Fintan Lane said Israeli forces used high-pressure hoses to take over the vessel, and caused a collision between the vessels, in a telephone call made to boat organizers from jail on Sunday.</p>
<p>Greek captain of the Tahrir Giorgos Klontzas, since released from jail, told Greek Omnia TV that Israel forces handcuffed him tightly and stuck fingers in his eyes during interrogation.</p>
<p>The Israeli military said no one was injured in the operation to block the ships from reaching Gaza, under a tightened Israeli blockade since Hamas took power in 2007.</p>
<p>The Israeli military maintains a land and maritime embargo on the coastal enclave of 1.6 million people, which international organisations criticize as &#8220;collective punishment,&#8221; in breach of the Geneva Conventions.</p>
<p>Activists organised a major attempt to break the Israeli blockade in May 2010, when six ships led by the Turkish Mavi Marmara tried to reach Gaza.</p>
<p>Israeli troops stormed the Marmara, killing nine Turkish nationals and sparking a diplomatic crisis with Ankara, which expelled the Israeli ambassador and has cut military ties with Israel.</p>
<p>Earlier this year, a second flotilla tried to reach Gaza, but several ships were sabotaged at port. Activists &#8212; who blamed the disabling of the ships on Israel &#8212; kept this week&#8217;s voyage under wraps until they set off from a southern Turkish port on Wednesday to avoid similar attempts, they said.</p>
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<p><strong><a href="http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=435391&amp;utm_source=twitterfeed&amp;utm_medium=twitter">Source and more at the Maan News Agency</a></strong></p>
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<strong>Action 4 #Freedomwaves <span style="text-decoration:underline;"><span style="color:#ff0000;text-decoration:underline;"><a href="http://wp.me/p16sn9-eVi" target="_blank"><span style="color:#ff0000;text-decoration:underline;">ALL NUMBERS,  CALL &amp; DEMAND SAFE PASSAGE 2 Gaza</span></a></span></span></strong></p>
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