Israeli navy seizes Gaza-bound yacht

[sce56]

Source: WGN-Reuters

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The Israeli navy on Tuesday seized a French yacht carrying pro-Palestinian activists intending to sail to the blockaded Gaza Strip and forced it to go to Israel's Ashdod port, a military spokeswoman said. There were no reports of violence as the marines boarded the "Dignite-AlKarama" yacht in the eastern Mediterranean, she said. "I can confirm that the yacht has been boarded and that everything went smoothly, there were no casualties," the spokeswoman said.

Chief military spokesman Brigadier-General Yoav Mordechai said the passengers were transferred from the small yacht to one of the warships and were sailing to Ashdod. The 17-passenger yacht had declared an Egyptian port as its destination when it left Greek waters on Sunday but then said it was changing course toward the Palestinian enclave and hoped to arrive by Tuesday afternoon. It had planned to sail to Hamas-ruled Gaza as part of a flotilla carrying activists and aid, but other vessels were prevented from sailing after docking in Greece. Activists accused the Greek government of intervening on Israel's side.

"In accordance with government directives, after all diplomatic channels had been exhausted and continuous calls to the vessel had been ignored, IDF (marines) boarded the Al-Karame in an effort to stop it from breaking the maritime security blockade on the Gaza Strip," a military statement said. It added that the boarding became necessary because those on the yacht refused to obey instructions to go to Ashdod port. "The soldiers operated in line with procedures and took every precaution necessary while using all operational tactics determined prior to the operation, to avoid causing harm to the activists on board while ensuring the safety of the soldiers.

The statement said that upon arrival in Ashdod, some 20 kms (12 miles) northeast of the Gaza Strip, the passengers would be questioned by police and some could face deportation. Israel, whose marines killed nine Turkish activists when they stormed a Gaza-bound flotilla in the Mediterranean last year, had vowed to stop any new attempt to breach a naval blockade it deems necessary to prevent arms from reaching Gaza, which is ruled by the Islamist group Hamas.


Read more: http://www.wgntv.com/sns-rt-us-palestinians-isrtre76i18g-20110719,0,6267297.story

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We all knew this was going to happen!

[Blue_Tires]

1. Well, to Israel's credit...

At least this time they stormed the boat without "accidentally" shooting all the passengers...

[KareBear]

2. at least this time

At least this time the passengers didn't "accidentally" try to beat, stab, disarm, and hang the soldiers.

[Jefferson23]

3. Ken O’Keefe: ‘We, the defenders of the Mavi Marmara, are the modern example of Gandhi’s essence’

Ken O’Keefe, former US Marine, Gulf War veteran, and now survivor of the Mavi Marmara massacre, has issued a remarkable and searing statement from Istanbul. “While in Israeli custody I, along with everyone else, was subjected to endless abuse and flagrant acts of disrespect. Women and elderly were physically and mentally assaulted. Access to food and water and toilets was denied. Dogs were used against us, we ourselves were treated like dogs. We were exposed to direct sun in stress positions while hand cuffed to the point of losing circulation of blood in our hands. We were lied to incessantly, in fact I am awed at the routineness and comfort in their ability to lie, it is remarkable really. We were abused in just about every way imaginable and I myself was beaten and choked to the point of blacking out… and I was beaten again while in my cell.

In all this what I saw more than anything else were cowards… and yet I also see my brothers. Because no matter how vile and wrong the Israeli agents and government are, they are still my brothers and sisters and for now I only have pity for them. Because they are relinquishing the most precious thing a human being has, their humanity.“

O’Keefe was a human shield in Iraq who formally renounced his US citizenship in protest in 2001; he now has Irish as well as Palestinian citizenship. On the morning of the attack, as he describes it, he was “directly involved in the disarming of two Israeli Commandos. This was a forcible, non-negotiable, separation of weapons from commandos who had already murdered two brothers that I had seen that day.” Subsequently brutalised by the Israeli military, he is defiant: “I challenge any critic of merit, publicly, to debate me on a large stage over our actions that day. I would especially love to debate with any Israeli leader who accuses us of wrongdoing, it would be my tremendous pleasure to face off with you. All I saw in Israel was cowards with guns, so I am ripe to see you in a new context“.

http://pulsemedia.org/2010/06/06/ken-okeefe-we-the-defenders-of-the-mavi-marmara/


Hoax: Video Showing Heavy Weapons Discovered on Mavi Marmara is a Fraud


A video has been racing around the Internet — purportedly showing heavy weapons discovered behind bags of flour on the Mavi Marmara. The find would serve to justify the lethal raid on the flotilla to Gaza and some posters have asked why no uproar? The answer is because the video is a fraud — it shows a boat that was actually searched in 2009.

http://jonathanturley.org/2010/06/08/hoax-video-showing-heavy-weapons-discovered-on-mavi-marmara-is-a-fraud/

[OneAngryDemocrat]

4. Repelling illegal boarders...

...is perfectly LEGAL, and ACCEPTABLE.

Just keepin' it real.

[sce56]

5. Especially on the high seas not in territorial waters!

[hack89]

9. You can enforce a blockade on the high seas

The only limitation is that you cannot board in the waters of a neutral country.

[Devil_Fish]

8. +1. in international waters, the illegal boarders were nothing more then pirates. NT

[hack89]

10. Perfectly legal

Check your international law again.

[GillesDeleuze]

6. those pooooor soliders.

obviously deadly force is always necessary.

[Fozzledick]

7. So much for the Iranian Armada!

:rofl:

[Downwinder]

11. What's the difference between the Israeli navy and Somali Pirates?

[Nihil]

12. The American military doesn't open fire on the Israeli Navy.

(Though the reverse doesn't necessarily apply)
:P

[Behind the Aegis]

13. What's the difference between "stupidity" and "ignorance?"

[hack89]

14. The IDF is obeying international law and the pirates aren't.

Do I win a prize?