IDF forces visited & searched vessel attempting to breach maritime blockade of Gaza in int’l waters https://t.co/2YMB3lhadC
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) June 29, 2015
IDF naval fighters board the Swedish Marianne vessel that was attempting to break the blockade on Gaza. No injuries reported.
(INN) IDF naval fighters early on Monday morning boarded the Swedish ship Marianne that was taking part in the latest flotilla trying to violate Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza.
The troops took control of the ship and will take it to the Ashdod Port where its contents will be inspected. The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said the takeover process was short and there were no injuries on either side.
“According to the decision of the political echelon, and after exhausting all diplomatic channels to prevent the Marianne vessel from reaching the coast of the Gaza Strip and violating the naval blockade, navy fighters took over the vessel a short time ago before its arrival in Gaza,” the statement said.
“The action was taken after a large number of requests to the passengers on the vessel. Once the passengers clarified that they would not cooperate and proceed to the Ashdod Port, it was decided to take over the vessel and sail it to the Ashdod port.”
The so-called “Freedom Flotilla 3”, which set sail from Crete on Friday, has been backed by the European Campaign to Break the Siege on Gaza. Members of the European Parliament, journalists, athletes, artists, as well as radical leftist Israelis will be on board.
Arutz Sheva has exclusively revealed that the flotilla is indirectly funded by the French government via a pro-Palestinian NGO.
The flotilla was the latest in a series of attempts by activists to break the naval blockade on Gaza, imposed by Israel after Hamas violently took control of Gaza from rival Fatah in 2006.
The most famous of the flotillas was the 2010 one involving the Turkish Mavi Marmara, which claimed to be providing "humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza."
The ship repeatedly defied orders to turn around and dock at the Ashdod port and ignored repeated warnings to change course, forcing IDF troops to board the vessel - only to be attacked by Islamist extremists on board wielding knives and metal bars. The wounded soldiers had no choice but to open fire, resulting in the deaths of ten of Islamists on board.
After an investigation, Israeli authorities discovered the vessel to be carrying no humanitarian aid - in fact, no aid supplies at all - indicating how the true goal of the provocative move was to open Gaza to free naval access, which it has consistently used to smuggle in weapons to be targeted against Israel.
