Demonstrators protesting Israeli military action in the Gaza Strip stormed a U.S. military ship at the port of Oakland.
In fact, three people climbed onto the Cape Orlando and held onto the gangway to prevent the ship from leaving the dock. However, close to 2 pm, harbour workers tied the ship to the pier and Oakland police said the workers had been sent home and no action would be taken. Nearly an hour later, the three who boarded were arrested and the Cape Orlando left port.
The ship, operated by the Maritime Administration, was on its way to Israel after a stopover in Tacoma, Washington state, but this information could not be confirmed.
About 50 demonstrators gathered at the ship’s dock in the Port of Oakland before dawn, chanting “Free Palestine, from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” and “Hey hey, ho ho, the occupation has got to go,” as they voiced their objections to the conflict.
The protest organizers claimed that, according to a confidential source, the ship was on its way to Israel with weapons and military equipment; union officials and subcontractors claimed otherwise: it was empty and periodically came and went from the port.
Melvin McKay, president of the Seafarers and Warehouse Workers International Union, said he had requested that the protest organizers remove people from the ship, which he said was no longer in operation: “This vessel has been out of service for 17 years.”
In a statement, protest organizers said several people had locked themselves on the ship, with more than 200 others protesting directly on board.
Lara Kiswani, the Palestinian executive director of the Arab Resource and Organizing Centre, says the ship was due to set sail on Friday and was intended to carry weapons to Israel.
