Israel is trying to prevent the Freedom Flotilla from sailing to Gaza through sabotage of flotilla ships. Recently, it was noticed that the propeller shaft of Swedish-Greek joint boat Juliano was damaged and activists said it is the work of Mossad agents. The activists said the sabotage might have led to the explosion of the boat, adding that they would set sail as scheduled after the boat is repaired; however, another flotilla boat has been sabotaged this time. It was announced that the Irish boat MV Saoirse which was heavily damaged will not be able to join the flotilla. It has been understood that the boat was sabotaged as it was docked at Göcek port.

The crew of the MV Saoirse realized there was something wrong with the propeller shaft when they took the vessel for refueling at Göcek on Monday. Activists said a marine engineer who inspected the damaged boat in dry dock declared that it had been sabotaged. The activists held Israel responsible for the sabotage of the boat which is currently docked at Pire Port.

Irish activists said the boat was heavily damaged and if this had not been noticed before the start of the voyage, the lives of the passengers on board the ship would have been placed at risk. They said the boat will not join the flotilla because the maintenance will last more than several days.

The activists called for organization of a demonstration in front of the Israeli Embassy in Ireland and said, “We will close down Israeli Embassy.” There are around 350 friends of Palestine in the ships that will take part in Freedom Flotilla II.