Women’s Boat to Gaza participants going home

The Women’s Boat to Gaza (WBG) group of activists who were intercepted by Israeli naval forces earlier this week as they tried to break the siege on Gaza are now going home, WBG confirmed today.

In a press release on their website, WBG announced that “the last of our wonderfully brave participants…are either home with their loved ones and supporters, or on their journey home,” adding that “the women were detained for two days – a relatively short time compared with previous flotillas.”

According to WBG, some of the female participants were deprived of sleep upon being detained by Israeli authorities.

WBG added that: “While being taken to the port of Ashdod against their will, the women sang…and waved towards the shores of Gaza, where they knew Palestinian women had been waiting to greet them.”

The boat contained notable personalities, including 1976 Nobel Laureate Mairead Maguire.

While this flotilla ended peacefully, it has not always been so. In 2010, Israel boarded the Turkish aid ship Mavi Marmara and killed nine activists, with a further dying of his wounds later on. The incident caused a diplomatic spat with Turkey that has only recently been resolved.