As the people of Gaza waited expectantly on the shores of the besieged enclave, and as the ships of Freedom Flotilla 3 sailed towards them in solidarity and to highlight the siege, Israeli forces boarded the Marianne and kidnapped the crew.
Advertisement
Israel has deported two top political figures who had taken part in a flotilla defying the Zionist regime’s blockade of Gaza Strip.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commended the sailors and commanders of the Navy for their “determined and efficient action in detaining the passengers on the ship that tried to reach the Gaza coast in contravention of the law“.
“According to global law, the Israeli navy repeatedly asked the ship to change course”, the Israeli Military said in a statement.
The report also condemned the “indiscriminate” firing of thousands of rockets and mortars at Israel, which it said appeared to have been intended to “spread terror” among Israeli civilians.
The interception occurred without incident and there were no injuries, the IDF said. “But Mr Netanyahu dismissed the organiser’s goals”.
Activists said the vessel had Europeans that included politicians and was on the way to Gaza, the Palestinian territory that has been blockaded. “There are another 14 who have begun the expulsion process”, a spokeswoman for Israel’s immigration authority told AFP.
The four-vessel flotilla was the latest in a series of protest voyages across the Mediterranean against Israel’s nine-year blockade of Hamas-ruled Gaza.
In 2010, Israeli commandos boarded boats headed to Gaza, including the Turkish Mavi Marmari passenger ship. It was sailing from Gothenburg to Gaza when it was stopped by the Israeli Navy just after midnight.
“We once again call on the government of Israel to finally lift the blockade on Gaza”, the statement read.
The Israeli Ambassador to New Zealand claims the Israelis are completely within their right to detain activists on board a “freedom flotilla” to Gaza. It says it assists in hundreds of humanitarian projects, through worldwide organizations, including the building of hospitals and clinics.
“A substantial number of cases have been reviewed, investigated and closed”.
The United Nations investigators called on all sides to cooperate with the worldwide Criminal Court (ICC), which has opened a separate preliminary investigation, adding that current accountability mechanisms may not be adequate to address this issue.
Omnibus appropriations legislation that passed in December states that economic assistance to the Palestinians should cease if they “initiate” or “actively support” an ICC “investigation” that “subjects Israeli nationals to an investigation for alleged crimes against Palestinians“.
Advertisement
Investigations had to be serious and comprehensive “before indictments are being prepared so that the indictments will also carry with them weight and assure prosecution”, Manor said. In 2012, Israel ended its membership over an investigation into illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, only to restore relations one year later.
