Israeli forces seize Gaza-bound ship
Source: Agencies |
June 6, 2010, Sunday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
ISRAELI forces seized a Gaza-bound aid vessel yesterday without meeting any resistance, preventing it from breaking a naval blockade of the Hamas-ruled territory days after a similar effort ended in deadly violence.
Israel has faced mounting international pressure to lift the blockade since Monday's confrontation aboard a Turkish aid vessel headed for Gaza. But it stood by the embargo - which it says is needed to prevent the Islamic militant group from getting weapons - even as the Obama administration called the current restrictions "unsustainable."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has defended the blockade, saying it was meant to keep weapons out of the hands of the Iranian-backed Hamas and he would "not allow the establishment of an Iranian port in Gaza."
Under escort
The 1,200-ton Rachel Corrie, which was carrying 11 pro-Palestinian activists, nine crew and hundreds of tons of aid, was intercepted in international waters, about 30 kilometers from Gaza's shore, and was being escorted to the nearby Israeli port of Ashdod, the military said.
A military spokeswoman said yesterday's seizure took just minutes, and the ship's captain had gathered the passengers in one area of the vessel, presumably to avoid violence. She said commandos clambered onto the boat by sea, instead of descending from helicopters as happened on Monday when nine activists were killed.
Israeli warships had tailed the boat since early morning, determined not to let it reach Gaza despite international outrage over the earlier violence.
Greta Berlin, a spokeswoman for the Free Gaza group that organized the trip, described the seizure of the ship as "another outrage to add to the nine murdered" and denied Israeli claims that troops had been invited aboard.
The Rachel Corrie, whose passenger list included Nobel peace laureate Mairead Corrigan, had hoped to breach a three-year-old blockade that has plunged Gaza's 1.5 million residents deeper into poverty. But activists on board the Irish boat had insisted they would not resist if soldiers tried to take over their vessel.
Radio contact
The Israeli navy established radio contact with the vessel four times before boarding it, and urged it to sail to Ashdod instead of Gaza, the military said. Israel has offered to inspect the cargo and send items permitted under its blockade rules to Gaza overland.
The navy officers addressed the boat as "Linda" - the Cambodian-flagged vessel's name before it was renamed after an American college student who was crushed to death by a bulldozer in 2003 while protesting Israeli house demolitions in Gaza.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said yesterday that Israel would continue to enforce the blockade as long as Gaza's Hamas rulers don't meet conditions for international acceptance, including a renunciation of violence and recognition of Israel.
However, critics note that weapons are continuing to enter the territory through underground tunnels with Egypt and decry the increased hardship the embargo has caused ordinary Gazans.
In Turkey, an official autopsy report said a preliminary examination revealed that the nine men were shot a total of 30 times, and five of them were killed by gunshots to the head and their backs.
One of the activists was shot to death from close range, it said.
The autopsy report will be sent to the prosecutor's office in Istanbul in the next two months as evidence to be used against Israel in a possible court case, the state-run Anatolia news agency said.
Nearly 700 activists had joined that earlier operation, most of them aboard the lead boat from Turkey that was the scene of the violence.
Israel has faced mounting international pressure to lift the blockade since Monday's confrontation aboard a Turkish aid vessel headed for Gaza. But it stood by the embargo - which it says is needed to prevent the Islamic militant group from getting weapons - even as the Obama administration called the current restrictions "unsustainable."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has defended the blockade, saying it was meant to keep weapons out of the hands of the Iranian-backed Hamas and he would "not allow the establishment of an Iranian port in Gaza."
Under escort
The 1,200-ton Rachel Corrie, which was carrying 11 pro-Palestinian activists, nine crew and hundreds of tons of aid, was intercepted in international waters, about 30 kilometers from Gaza's shore, and was being escorted to the nearby Israeli port of Ashdod, the military said.
A military spokeswoman said yesterday's seizure took just minutes, and the ship's captain had gathered the passengers in one area of the vessel, presumably to avoid violence. She said commandos clambered onto the boat by sea, instead of descending from helicopters as happened on Monday when nine activists were killed.
Israeli warships had tailed the boat since early morning, determined not to let it reach Gaza despite international outrage over the earlier violence.
Greta Berlin, a spokeswoman for the Free Gaza group that organized the trip, described the seizure of the ship as "another outrage to add to the nine murdered" and denied Israeli claims that troops had been invited aboard.
The Rachel Corrie, whose passenger list included Nobel peace laureate Mairead Corrigan, had hoped to breach a three-year-old blockade that has plunged Gaza's 1.5 million residents deeper into poverty. But activists on board the Irish boat had insisted they would not resist if soldiers tried to take over their vessel.
Radio contact
The Israeli navy established radio contact with the vessel four times before boarding it, and urged it to sail to Ashdod instead of Gaza, the military said. Israel has offered to inspect the cargo and send items permitted under its blockade rules to Gaza overland.
The navy officers addressed the boat as "Linda" - the Cambodian-flagged vessel's name before it was renamed after an American college student who was crushed to death by a bulldozer in 2003 while protesting Israeli house demolitions in Gaza.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said yesterday that Israel would continue to enforce the blockade as long as Gaza's Hamas rulers don't meet conditions for international acceptance, including a renunciation of violence and recognition of Israel.
However, critics note that weapons are continuing to enter the territory through underground tunnels with Egypt and decry the increased hardship the embargo has caused ordinary Gazans.
In Turkey, an official autopsy report said a preliminary examination revealed that the nine men were shot a total of 30 times, and five of them were killed by gunshots to the head and their backs.
One of the activists was shot to death from close range, it said.
The autopsy report will be sent to the prosecutor's office in Istanbul in the next two months as evidence to be used against Israel in a possible court case, the state-run Anatolia news agency said.
Nearly 700 activists had joined that earlier operation, most of them aboard the lead boat from Turkey that was the scene of the violence.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
