Former MP detained on ship bound for Gaza released by The Canadian Press | www.cbc.ca | October 23, 2012

“…The vessel was trying to break through Israel’s blockade of Gaza and reportedly carrying aide supplies when it was intercepted and diverted to an Israeli port.

“Eva Manly says she’s waiting for Foreign Affairs to confirm her husband has left Israel.”

Former MP Jim Manly released from Israeli detention by Campbell Clark, The Globe and Mail | October 23, 2012

“…Mr. Manly, a 79-year-old former New Democrat MP, was arrested and detained Saturday when Israeli authorities boarded a ship headed to Gaza. He and several Europeans were seeking to deliver supplies to symbolize opposition to the Israeli blockade…”

Son of detained ex-MP says NDP has lost its way by Peter O’Neil, Vancouver Sun | October 22, 2012

“MP-turned-protester Jim Manly is under arrest in Israel after Gaza operation and his son says Mulcair is ‘muzzling’ MPs on Israel issues”

“… So New Democrat roots — and personal disappointment with his party over the weekend — run deep for the son of Jim Manly, a former NDP member of Parliament who was detained in Israel Saturday after a ship with humanitarian aid bound for Gaza was stopped and boarded by an Israeli security team…

“… He said NDP deputy leader Libby Davies, once an outspoken defender of Palestinian rights and a critic of Israel, has been “muzzled and whipped” by Mulcair…

“[John Manly’s wife] also said her husband and other participants were refusing to leave until Dror Feiler, a Swede who was born in Israel and has renounced his citizenship, is released by authorities…”

According to this story from www.perthnow.com.au, Israeli Gaza boat activists, including Dror Feiler (http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/breaking-news/israeli-gaza-boat-activists-freed/story-e6frg13l-1226501213023) have been released from custody. This article mentions the accusation that the Israelis used tasers.

Probably these are good sites for updates: Gaza’s Ark and Canadian Boat to Gaza Youtube Channel.

Jim Manly’s Israeli Detention On Way To Gaza Leads Family To Ask Feds For Help (content removed, using web.archive.org) by The Canadian Press | www.huffingtonpost.ca | October 22, 2012

“… The 79-year-old was on the Finnish-flagged MV Estelle to draw attention to what he called the struggles of the Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip.

“… An official for Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said Monday the government recognizes Israel’s “legitimate security concerns” over flotillas into Gaza.

“We have strongly urged those wishing to deliver humanitarian goods to the Gaza Strip to do so through established channels. Unauthorized efforts to deliver aid are provocative and, ultimately, unhelpful to the people of Gaza,” Baird’s spokesman, Rick Roth, said in an email…

“Israel imposed an embargo on Gaza after the Islamic militant organization seized control of the territory in 2007.

“Israel says it needs the blockade to prevent smuggling of weapons.

“But critics say the embargo amounts to the collective punishment of Gaza’s residents.”

Canadian in custody as Israeli navy seizes pro-Palestinian activist boat By Diaa Hadid, Associated Press | October 20, 2012

“… Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement praising the military for enforcing the blockade, said there “is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza” and accused the activists of trying to “to provoke and slander Israel’s name.”

“… Jim Manly’s wife Eva has said her husband was on the Gaza-bound vessel to bring attention to “the suffering of the Palestinians of Gaza.”…”

Noam Chomsky explains what it’s all about, in response to a question from David Heap of GazaArk.org:

“I’m here in Gaza, I’ve been here for several days. I was here hoping to greet the latest boat from the Flotilla, the Estelle. We were waiting at the Gaza port. The boat, like earlier ones, was hijacked by the Israeli navy. They call it Israeli territorial waters, it’s actually Gazan waters or international waters, Israel has no right to those waters. The Estelle was another effort to break the siege, as in some way is our visit. The siege is a criminal act that has no justification. It should be broken and it should be strongly opposed by the outside world. It’s simply an effort to intimidate the Gazans into self-destruction, to try to get rid of them and destroy the society. There is absolutely no justification for it — military justifications are claimed but they have no credibility. The people on the boat should be honoured and respected for their courage and commitment and for undertaking a brave and important effort to break the siege, the criminal siege, and bring hope to the people of Gaza who are imprisoned, literally imprisoned in the biggest prison in the world. Also to bring to the world the message that we on the outside have a real responsibility to bring these criminal acts to an end.”