{UAH} SOS message: 'Israel kidnapped participants of Freedom Flotilla'
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SOS message: 'Israel kidnapped participants of Freedom Flotilla'
The al-Awda boat was stopped as it was on the verge of reaching Gaza [Getty]
Date of publication: 29 July, 2018
An desperate SOS message was released by crew onboard a Norwegian-flagged flotilla that was intercepted by Israel on Sunday, as activists attempts to break a more than decade-long blockade of the Gaza Strip failed.
National Director of the Unite Union New Zealand representative on the International Freedom Flotilla to Gaza, Mike Treen, announced the hijacking of the boat by ISraeli naval forces in a video>
He claimed the flotilla participants have been kidnapped by Israel, in a pre-recorded message, and alleged that Israel had violated international maritime law by launching the "attack" on the flotilla.
"I ask for this message to be passed onto the Minister of Foreign Affairs of New Zealand Mr Winston Peters so he can take action to release the participants of the flotilla and also to ensure that the aid we were carrying to Gaza is delivered."
Breaking the siege
The Freedom Flotilla set sail in May for the Gaza Strip to challenge Israel's decade-old blockade of the besieged territory.
One of the vessels, al-Awda, was named to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the al-Nakba ("The Catastrophe), in which more than 700,000 Palestinians fled or were forcibly expelled from their homes during the establishment of the Israeli state.
This year's freedom flotilla was deployed just weeks after Israeli forces opened fire on demonstrators in Gaza protesting for the right of return, killing more than 60.
"The blockade of Gaza is in its 11th year. It is such a gross violation of international law that it can be characterised as a crime against humanity," participant Mikkel Grüner, a Danish national who is city councillor in Bergen, Norway, said at the time the flotilla set sail.
Volunteers joined the multinational fleet for different legs of the journey, with a select group of crew assigned to participate in the final run to Gaza.
The flotilla schedule was kept secret to protect the crew. In the past, mechanical failures have affected previous flotilla attempts, with allegations Israel may have tampered with the ships.
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Saudi Arabia backtracks, as king says Trump Israel-Palestine peace plan must include East Jerusalem
The Trump administration has not yet set a date for the peace plan's reveal. [Getty]
Date of publication: 30 July, 2018
Saudi Arabia's King Salman has said his country will not endorse US President Donald Trump's Middle East peace plan if it fails to address the final status of Jerusalem or the right of return for Palestinian refugees.
"We will not abandon you ... We accept what you accept and we reject what you reject," King Salman told Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in a recent meeting, Reuters reported on Sunday.
The renaming of the 2018 Arab League conference to "The Jerusalem Summit" in April, and a $200 million aid package for Palestinians later that month, were messages that the issues of Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees were back on the table, the report added.
The Saudi position was reportedly also expressed by King Salman during several recent talks with senior US officials and Arab leaders in the region.
The Saudi king's private assurances to Abbas and public defences of long-standing Arab positions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict seem aimed at reversing perceptions of Saudi Arabia following a series of controversial statements by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over the past year.
In December, the New York Times reported that bin Salman had pressured Abbas to accept Trump's peace plan, which made no clear commitment on a capital in East Jerusalem or full statehood.
Earlier this year, bin Salman said in an interview with US news magazine The Atlantic that Israel had the "right" to a homeland, a controversial departure from long-term Arab policy.
King Salman's recent pledges appear to have been prompted by US Donald Trump's controversial decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital and relocate its embassy from Tel Aviv to the contested city.
"They told the administration, 'what we could do for you before Jerusalem, we won't be able to do now'," a diplomat told Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
Diplomats in the region say the Trump administration's current blueprint for a peace plan - as conveyed during a tour of officials last month - does not include East Jerusalem as the Palestinian capital, the right of return for refugees, or a freeze on new Israeli settlements.
The Trump administration has not set a date to reveal the plan, with an official stating last month it wants to launch the proposal "when the circumstances are right".
Throughout Washington's diplomatic efforts Palestinian officials have expressed impatience with senior adviser Jared Kushner, saying they received no clear vision from the US on the direction or substance of talks.
Earlier this month, the Palestinian envoy to the UN said Trump's so-called "Deal of the Century" for Middle East peace was "dead upon arrival" following the recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
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