A statement by the Israeli military said there was not any violence during the incident, in which Israeli troops had boarded, and then searched the boat while forcing it to sail to one of their ports.
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Other protest ships have attempted similar runs to beat the blockade, including a Turkish-organized vessel in 2010 that was intercepted at sea by Israeli commandos in a raid that left nine activists dead and soured once-close relations between Israel and Turkey.
An earlier statement by the pro-Palestinian worldwide Solidarity Movement said the flotilla had been led by a converted fishing trawler called the Marianne of Gothenburg, with about 50 activists from 17 countries, including an Israeli Arab lawmaker.
In a letter to be distributed to flotilla passengers upon their arrival in Israel, Netanyahu said: “Welcome to Israel”.
Flotilla spokesperson Petros Stergiou told Al Jazeera that organisers lost contact with the Marianne at around 2am local time on Monday morning, as three military boats approached.
Meanwhile, Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett said the flotilla served as another reminder that the Palestinian chance for statehood has “also sunk to the depths”. “Israel’s repeated acts of piracy in global waters are worrying signs that the occupation and blockade policy extends to the entire eastern Mediterranean. The forces have reported that use of force was unnecessary, and that the process was uneventful”, added the statement. Under the rules that established the global Criminal Court in the Hague in 2002, only governments that fail to investigate their own actions during war may be brought up before the global tribunal.
The explosion of force used by Israel ultimately resulted in 1,462 Palestinian civilian casualties, a third of which were children.
JERUSALEM – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that Israel is considering leaving the United Nations Human Rights Council, as stated by Israeli radio. “The information we gathered points to serious violations of global humanitarian law and global human rights law by Israel and by Palestinian armed groups, in some cases, these may amount to war crimes”, she said.
It also strongly advises against any attempt to enter Gaza by sea, including participation in flotillas to deliver aid.
Moreover, Israel assists in hundreds of humanitarian projects, through worldwide organizations, including the building of clinics and hospitals.
“We once again call on the government of Israel to finally lift the blockade on Gaza“, the statement read.
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By the way, the volume of equipment that has been sent from Israel to Gaza is more than 500,000 times larger than the your boats that you are arriving on. Further attempts since have been thwarted, but without bloodshed. Although the country has maintained a naval blockade to prevent delivery of rockets and other weaponry, there is no siege of Gaza, Netanyahu said. We are committed first and foremost to the security of Israeli citizens, and do it responsibly and judiciously while adhering to global law and by being the only democracy in the region.
