Moate woman escapes arrest as Israeli forces intercept flotilla

Seven Irish people are understood to have been arrested by Israeli forces while on a humanitarian aid flotilla to Gaza - however a Moate woman travelling on a boat with President Catherine Connolly's sister was not among those arrested during the incident.

Louise McCormack, who is originally from Mount Carmel Drive in Moate is one of the Irish participants in the Global Sumud Flotilla which is currently sailing to Gaza as part of an effort to secure humanitarian aid for the people of the region.

Louise is on a boat with Sligo's Margaret Connolly - President Connolly's sister - and Cormac O'Daly from Dublin. Also travelling on the boat is a Norwegian man who lives in Wales, a Scottish man, and an American man.

In a video update posted this afternoon (Thursday) on the @irelandforpeace Instagram page, Louise said their boat "escaped the Israeli attacks" in waters between Italy and Greece last night, and was continuing "to make our way to Gaza".

She condemned what she described as "a deliberate military attack by the Israeli occupation forces" on the flotilla, and was also very critical of what she said was the inaction of European Governments.

"Last night, in the early hours of this morning, April 30, Israeli naval forces boarded 22 flotilla ships, humanitarian aid ships, full of civilians," said the Westmeath woman.

She said 180 people who had been travelling as part of the flotilla were currently "unaccounted for" and it was assumed they had been "taken as hostages" and were being transported to Israel.

"These are civilians, with humanitarian ships, in European waters that we are supposed to control; international waters between Italy and Greece," said Louise.

"There has been no response, no condemnation, no action by the EU. Under international law this kind of forced boarding is illegal. There was no consent. It's called piracy.

"Israel came extraordinarily far, over 1,000 nautical miles away from Israel, up into our waters, snatched international global civilians, and there has been no condemnation. Israel has a chokehold on our Governments," she stated.

"When a State can send its military into another region, attack civilian vessels, and have no consequences, that's not power that's impunity; the kind of impunity that's held by a country who commits a genocide."

She also questioned why European Governments were not condemning the attack.

"Civilians have to realise that we have a responsibility to hold our own Governments to account. This is not ok, this is not acceptable.

"There are six (sic) Irish comrades of ours who have been taken - we don't know where they are. They're some of the most genuine, lovely, heartwarming people... taken last night from between Italy and Greece. What are our Governments doing about it?

"We need to shut down the docks. We need to go to Shannon airport and shut it down, and we need to force our Government to listen and tell them that we don't want to be complicit.

"This system that's in place is not ok, and we want to overthrow it," Louise's video message concluded.