From Dr. Bill Dienst of Oregon, who traveled with the group breaking the siege of Gaza last week. Bill is a Family and Emergency Room physician for Omak, a town in rural Washington in the northwestern United States. In 1985, after an intensive summer course in Arabic, Bill took an extra year of medical school, and spent a half year in Egypt, the West Bank and Gaza volunteering with various Palestinian healthcare organizations, initially with the Palestine Red Crescent Society headquartered in Egypt. He has been to Palestine on trips sponsored by the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme, by Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility to Israel/Palestine and with the Palestine Medical Relief Society.
Here is his report (read more about their journey: www.freegaza.org ):
Good Morning from Gaza City,
The boats of SS Liberty and SS Free Gaza arrived safely in Larnaca Cyprus last night with some of the original passengers and 9 Palestinians from the Gaza Strip aboard.
About 9 of our original international passengers stayed on in Gaza to do media and other work.
Yesterday, British Journalist Lauren Booth and I attempted to exit via Eretz Crossing into Israel, accompanied by sick Palestinians needing specialty care not available in Gaza.
The Israeli border guards threatened to shoot us, but we advanced slowly with our arms raised holding our passports up high; We advanced right through the tunnel right up to the iron gate, but the Israelis would not open it. The US and British Embassy's gave us the Royal run around and would not help us.
So after a visit to Beit Hanoun to see the Al Athamna Family, who are still in a state of grief from the massacre of 19 members of their family by Israeli mortar shells 2 years ago, we headed back to Gaza City. So now we are waiting for the Egyptian authorities to let us out of Gaza through Rafah. They are under pressure from Israel to keep us trapped in here. Now I am getting a better appreciation of what it means to be a Palestinian from Gaza.
I will keep you posted as best I can. It has been a grueling, but very worthwhile month.
Love,
Dr. Bill Dienst, Gaza
http://www.FreeGaza.org
Saturday, August 30, 2008
From the August 27 edition of Ha'arretz:
Police detain Israeli for entering Gaza in blockade-busting boat
By Ofri Ilani, Haaretz Correspondent and Reuters
Police on Tuesday detained an Israeli activist who had sailed to the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip to challenge Israel's blockade of the coastal region.
They accused Jeff Halper, who also holds United States citizenship, of violating a ban on Israelis entering Gaza.
Halper was among 44 "Free Gaza" activists from 17 nations who sailed in two boats from Cyprus to the Gaza Strip on Saturday in defiance of the blockade.
He spent three days in the Gaza Strip before entering Israel through the Erez border crossing, where police detained him.
According to Halper, Israeli forces at the crossing initially told him that if he came with the boat - he should return the same way. However, he said, they allowed him to cross into Israel shortly afterward.
"He is being questioned at the police station in Sderot for entering the Gaza Strip in defiance of a military decree banning Israeli citizens from doing so," Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.
Halper told Haaretz on Tuesday that he expected to be interrogated upon his return to Israel. He expressed satisfaction with his success in entering and leaving Gaza, and said he did not fear harassment by Israeli security forces.
Israel allowed the activists to sail to the Gaza Strip, the first foreigners to reach the territory by sea since travel restrictions were tightened after Hamas's takeover more than a year ago, saying it wanted to avoid a public confrontation.
The activists brought with them a symbolic shipment of hearing aids.
As part of an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire that took effect in June, Israel has eased its blockade of the territory, allowing in more humanitarian goods and medical equipment.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1015457.html
Police detain Israeli for entering Gaza in blockade-busting boat
By Ofri Ilani, Haaretz Correspondent and Reuters
Police on Tuesday detained an Israeli activist who had sailed to the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip to challenge Israel's blockade of the coastal region.
They accused Jeff Halper, who also holds United States citizenship, of violating a ban on Israelis entering Gaza.
Halper was among 44 "Free Gaza" activists from 17 nations who sailed in two boats from Cyprus to the Gaza Strip on Saturday in defiance of the blockade.
He spent three days in the Gaza Strip before entering Israel through the Erez border crossing, where police detained him.
According to Halper, Israeli forces at the crossing initially told him that if he came with the boat - he should return the same way. However, he said, they allowed him to cross into Israel shortly afterward.
"He is being questioned at the police station in Sderot for entering the Gaza Strip in defiance of a military decree banning Israeli citizens from doing so," Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.
Halper told Haaretz on Tuesday that he expected to be interrogated upon his return to Israel. He expressed satisfaction with his success in entering and leaving Gaza, and said he did not fear harassment by Israeli security forces.
Israel allowed the activists to sail to the Gaza Strip, the first foreigners to reach the territory by sea since travel restrictions were tightened after Hamas's takeover more than a year ago, saying it wanted to avoid a public confrontation.
The activists brought with them a symbolic shipment of hearing aids.
As part of an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire that took effect in June, Israel has eased its blockade of the territory, allowing in more humanitarian goods and medical equipment.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1015457.html
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