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Hamas: 'Freedom Flotilla achieved its goals'

June 30, 2015 at 8:50 am

The “Freedom Flotilla achieved its goals” despite being intercepted by Israel, a statement deputy Hamas Chief Ismail Haniyeh said yesterday.

He reiterated that one of its goals was to “disclose the real face of the Israeli occupation, as well as to return the issue of the Israeli siege of Gaza to the headlines.”

Haniyeh called the Israeli action against the Freedom Flotilla III a “Zionist piracy”, noting that this “piracy” is a violation of international law and “proves the terrorist face of the Israeli occupation which bans sailing from and towards the Gaza Strip.”

The former Palestinian prime minister called the Israeli detention of former Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki a “violation of all international and diplomatic norms”.

He hailed Marzouki, describing him as an individual who represents the Arab Spring and the Arab revolutions which adopted the Palestinian issue.

He also saluted all the activists on board the flotilla, including politicians, parliamentarians and journalists, who put their life in danger trying to break the eight-year Israeli siege on the coastal enclave.

The Israeli navy intercepted the first of the flotilla’s ships, the Marianne of Gothenburg, at dawn yesterday approximately 100 nautical miles off the Gaza coast. The ship was towed to Ashdod seaport, a number of the activists on board have been deported.