At 5.30pm on Tuesday, roughly seven hours after being intercepted on
international waters 50 miles off the coast of Gaza, the Al Karame-Dignity,
a heavy speedboat, sailed into Ashdod port, escorted by four Israeli
military vessels.
The boat had been stopped by Israeli naval forces after refusing to break its
course for Gaza. It was boarded by a force of elite naval commandos and
taken over without incident.
Rear Admiral Roni Ben Yehuda, deputy commander of the Israeli Navy, watched
its progress from the vantage point of Jonah Hill, used by British soldiers
during the mandate era as a look out for Jewish ships attempting to dock
illegally in Palestine.
Ben Yedua told the Telegraph: "[Today was] a success because the naval
blockade wasn't breached and because we didn't give any opportunity to open
a supply way to smuggle arms into Gaza. "Everyone must remember this
attempt doesn't stand by itself. It's part of a much bigger campaign to open
a supply line via the sea to Gaza. We can't be selective. If we want to
ensure terrorists won't be able to smuggle arms into Gaza, we must keep this
blockade in place."
In Athens, where there are hundreds of activists still hoping to sail for
Gaza, the IDF stance was met with derision by flotilla organisers.
Dimitris Plionis, a member of the flotilla steering committee, said: "Just
look at the passengers on board this boat. They are professors, former MPs,
they pose no security threat to Israel. We are not challenging Israel's
security, we are challenging the blockade that is trapping 1.5 million
people."
Ben Yehuda confirmed that while they had not yet thoroughly searched the Al
Karame-Dignity, he believed there were no arms or humanitarian aid on board,
adding that its voyage to Gaza was "only for provocative reasons."
The Israeli police force stated that contrary to earlier reports, there were
in fact 17 passengers on board the boat including one Israeli, understood to
be Ha'aretz journalist Amira Hass. It is illegal under the terms of Israeli
law for an Israeli citizen to enter Palestine.
Micky Rosenfeld, spokesman for Israel's police force, explained the security
procedure facing the activists currently being held at Ashdod port: "
All passengers will be questioned and then sent back to the countries they
originated from. The Israeli passenger will be questioned and no doubt
released. She was intercepted while still in international waters."
