Marama Davidson wants to end the blockade of Gaza
Marama Davidson wants to end the blockade of Gaza

A Green Party MP from New Zealand has been arrested by the Israeli navy for trying to break the blockade of Gaza.

Marama Davidson, was one of a dozen women on the Women’s Boat to Gaza, protesting against Israel’s decade-long blockade of the Palestinian province of Gaza.

On Thursday, Israeli armed forces boarded the vessel, detained the activists and took them to the Israeli port of Ashdod.

The New Zealand Green Party’s co-leader Metiria Turei said: “This inhumane blockade has been in place for a decade, resulting in plummeting living standards and health services, high unemployment, and severe food insecurity for the people of Gaza.”

“More aid is urgently needed to help rebuild the homes, public services and livelihoods that were destroyed in 2014 in the war between Israel and Hamas,” Turei continued.

On Friday, the party announced that Davidson was safe and well and expected to be deported imminently, after detention in the Israeli capital of Tel Aviv.

“Marama Davidson has spent much of her life standing up for human rights here and around the world. We’re very proud of everything she’s achieved on this trip, and are glad to have her coming home,” said Mrs Turei.

The Green Party is New Zealand’s third-biggest party, with 14 of the parliament’s 121 seats.