Israel National News reported that the
Israeli Navy halted a Lebanese ship with eighteen people on board, including crew as well as Syrian and Lebanese nationals, intending to intrude upon Israel's sovereignty over Gaza's coastal waters:
The ship had docked in Cyprus, where local authorities said they inspected it to determine to make sure its 60 tons of medicine, food, toys and books did not include weapons destined for Hamas.
Two Israeli helicopters were reported in the area at the time of the
interception, approximately 32 kilometers (20 miles) from the Gaza coast.
Among those on board were a reporter for the Arabic-language Al Jazeera
network, human rights activists and former Greek Catholic archbishop of Jerusalem, Monsignor Hilarion Capuccci.
Israel previously had warned that the ship would be breaking international law by trying to reach Gaza, where pro-Arab activists have landed four times since last August despite Israeli threats to stop them. The government reversed its policy and ordered the Navy to stop more activists' ships from reaching Gaza during Operation Cast Lead.
A Ynet report adds:
The ship was surrounded by 18 Israeli gunboats demanding the crew turn back.
The Israeli army confirmed the report, adding that the boat was towed to the Ashdod port and that the crew was taken in for questioning.
Journalists claimed that the Navy had contacted the ship's captain over the radio and warned him not to continue towards Gaza.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak confirmed that the navy seized the boat and led it to the Ashdod Port, after learning it was trying to approach Gaza via Egypt.
"The Navy boarded a small vessel making its way to Gaza from Tripoli, despite the sea embargo. The crew told us they understood they could not enter the waters and that they would be turning back to the El Arish Port.
"Once in Egyptian waters, the ship tried to 'crawl' back to Gaza waters, at which point the navy stopped it."
IMRA's Dr. Aaron Lerner reports:
Israel Radio broadcast excerpts of the Arab language Al Jazeera broadcast reporting the boarding of the vessel by Israeli forces. The Al Jazeera correspondent claimed that the Israelis openned fire on the vessel and then boarded the vessel and hit members of the crew.
Convicted gun runner Monsignor Hilarion Capuccci was released by Israel in return for the explicit and solemn promise from the Vatican that he would never again involve himself in Arab-Israeli affairs.
A subsequent report shed more light on events leading to the ship's seizure, noted that the
IDF found no arms on board the ship and that the eighteen passengers on board were deported from Israel on Friday morning.
On Wednesday, the navy contacted the ship and told the captain that it would not be allowed to enter the Gaza Strip. The captain told the navy that the vessel would sail to El-Arish in Egypt.
On Thursday morning, though, after the ship was already in Egyptian waters, it tried to break the blockade and sail into Gaza. The navy again contacted the ship and warned it to turn around.
"They told us that they're determined to get to Gaza and that they do not plan to stop," explained a senior naval officer involved in the operation. "We told them that we plan to stop them if they break the blockade. They explained that they don't plan to stop. They continued, and we stopped them."
Three of them [the eighteen passengers] - two Indian nationals and one Briton - were taken to Ben Gurion Airport, while the remainder of the crew, from Lebanon and Syria, were transferred to their countries via the Kuneitra border terminal.
On Thursday night, the IDF coordinator of military activities in the Palestinian territories ordered the transfer to Gaza of thousands of blood units carried on the ship in order to ease the humanitarian situation in the Strip. The blood was transferred via the Erez border crossing.
Although the navy found no weapons or other contraband on board this ship, hopefully, this event demonstrates a consistent, stricter Israeli policy regarding her sovereignty over Gaza's coastal waters and ships bound for Gaza.
