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Israeli Navy boards two Gaza-bound boats
Israeli Navy boarded two protest boats trying to break the Gaza Strip blockade on Nov. 4 and towed them to an Israeli port north of the Palestinian territory, officials said.
The military said forces boarded the boats after repeated calls for them to turn around were ignored. The boarding was done peacefully and nobody was hurt, the military said. It was the latest attempt by pro-Palestinian activists heading for Gaza by boat to draw attention to the five-year blockade of the impoverished coastal strip. Once the vessels reach the port of Ashdod, the activists will be questioned by police and immigration officials and then sent back to their home countries as soon as possible, said Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld. There were 27 activists from nine countries including the U.S. and Ireland aboard the boats.
Last year, Israeli troops killed nine Turkish activists when they resisted an Israeli operation to halt a similar flotilla. Each side blamed the other for the violence. One day before the Israel Navy boarded protesters boats, the U.S. said it received assurances from Turkey that it would not send warships to accompany two new aid ships seeking to break Israels blockade of the Gaza Strip.
In September, amid a longstanding dispute with Israel over aid flotillas, Turkey threatened to send warships to escort any Turkish aid vessels trying to reach Gaza in defiance of Israels naval blockade. But State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters that U.S. officials had warned Ankara against such a step at the time.
Weve been clear to them that we think such action would be an extremely bad idea. And theyve now reassured us that is not their course of action in this case, she said.
Israeli Navy boards two Gaza-bound boats - Hurriyet Daily News
Israeli Navy boarded two protest boats trying to break the Gaza Strip blockade on Nov. 4 and towed them to an Israeli port north of the Palestinian territory, officials said.
The military said forces boarded the boats after repeated calls for them to turn around were ignored. The boarding was done peacefully and nobody was hurt, the military said. It was the latest attempt by pro-Palestinian activists heading for Gaza by boat to draw attention to the five-year blockade of the impoverished coastal strip. Once the vessels reach the port of Ashdod, the activists will be questioned by police and immigration officials and then sent back to their home countries as soon as possible, said Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld. There were 27 activists from nine countries including the U.S. and Ireland aboard the boats.
Last year, Israeli troops killed nine Turkish activists when they resisted an Israeli operation to halt a similar flotilla. Each side blamed the other for the violence. One day before the Israel Navy boarded protesters boats, the U.S. said it received assurances from Turkey that it would not send warships to accompany two new aid ships seeking to break Israels blockade of the Gaza Strip.
In September, amid a longstanding dispute with Israel over aid flotillas, Turkey threatened to send warships to escort any Turkish aid vessels trying to reach Gaza in defiance of Israels naval blockade. But State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters that U.S. officials had warned Ankara against such a step at the time.
Weve been clear to them that we think such action would be an extremely bad idea. And theyve now reassured us that is not their course of action in this case, she said.
Israeli Navy boards two Gaza-bound boats - Hurriyet Daily News
