Irish Nobel laureate aboard Gaza-bound ship says group won’t resist if Israel storms vessel
By Sarah El Deeb, APFriday, June 4, 2010
Nobel laureate on aid ship: we won’t resist Israel
CAIRO — The Irish Nobel Peace Prize laureate on an aid ship heading to Gaza says the activists on board will not resist Israeli soldiers if they board the vessel.
Mairead McGuire said Friday afternoon the 1,200-ton Rachel Corrie is 134 miles (215 kilometers) off the Gaza coast and is expected to reach Israel’s 20-mile exclusion zone Saturday morning.
She said the mission aims to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, which is under a three-year-old Israeli blockade. Israel has vowed the ship will not reach land.
McGuire said the activists are prepared to be arrested and taken to Israel if Israeli soldiers board the boat.
The Irish-flagged ship’s attempt to break the Gaza blockade comes four days after an Israeli commando raid on a larger aid flotilla left nine activists dead.
