RACHEL CORRIE UPDATES 2

UPDATE:

According to a statement from Ygal Palmor, spokesman for the Israeli foreign ministry as reported in the British newspaper The Guardian here, the Rachel Corrie passengers from Ireland and Malaysia would be deported immediately. The Irish passengers would be offered flights from Ben Gurion airport; the Malaysians – whose government has no diplomatic relations with Israel – would be taken by bus to the land border with Jordan. If they refused to comply with summary deportation, they would be taken to a detention centre until their case could be heard by a court, Palmor said. All those deported would be refused entry to Israel for around 10 years, he added.

If correct, then it's good news. Is our government aware of this? Or is it just another Israeli media spin?

 
ORIGINAL POST:

In my previous post, I've posted updates from early morning yesterday up until the time the Israelis took control of the Rachel Corrie ship. Now it seem certain that the Israeli navy had boarded and seized control of ship - apparently without the violence that characterized the bloody attack on the Mavi Marmara earlier - and diverted to Ashdod Port where it has reportedly docked.

 Israeli military vessel leaves the navy port of Ashdod to meet the Gaza-bound Rachel Corrie

Reuter's photo of Israeli Defence Force boats approaching the Rachel Corrie

According to the passengers' account reported here, their cameras and cell phones have been confiscated and they would be allowed to fly out to their homelands today. Despite an initial tense standoff, the passengers, including six Malaysians, are reported to be unharmed although their actual conditions have yet to be confirmed. There is so far no news of when or whether they will be released, notwithstanding the aforementioned report.

Watch here the latest videos from the Witness Gaza website:

Video showing the Israelis soldiers boarding the Rachel Corrie

The Rachel Corrie before the departure to Gaza; also narrates the draconian siege of Gaza, Israeli atrocities and the sufferings of the Gazans.

As expected, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gloated (and spinned) on the peaceful ending to a standoff between the  Israeli navy and  Rachel Corrie. He said: "We saw today the difference between a ship of peace activists, with whom we don't agree but respect their right to a different opinion from ours, and between a ship of hate organised by violent Turkish terror extremists" (emphasis added). Read his statement here. What a spin! The bloody attack on the Mavi Marmara demonstrated that it was the Israelis that showed utter disrespect for others and that the only evidence of hate came from the Israelis attackers themselves.

The Free Gaza Movement has issued a statement that it remains undeterred by the Rachel Corrie setback and that it will be back with another humanitarian mission to Gaza in the next couple of months:

Therefore, we are putting Mr. Netanyahu on notice that we are returning in the next couple of months with another flotilla, that his actions and the actions of his soldiers have energized thousands of people who have stepped forward with offers to help and participate on the next voyage. We’d also like to remind Mr. Netanyahu that siezing our ship, the Rachel Corrie, is yet another violent act from a long series of violent acts against civilians that Israel has committed this week.

Click here for the full statement.

Will the Perdana Global Peace Organisation organise another mission?

Meanwhile, watch the following video of the Israelis bloody attack on the Mavi Marmara. This is reportedly the whole video without Israel's edits/tampering.