Israeli forces on Saturday boarded the Rachel Corrie after it ignored orders not to head for Gaza, but there was no repetition of the bloody violence when commandos stormed an aid boat earlier this week.
The military said its troops had boarded the ship “with the full compliance” of the crew and passengers in a peaceful operation in which there was no use of violence by either side.
“Our forces boarded the boat and took control without meeting any resistance from the crew or the passengers. Everything took place without violence,” a spokesperson told AFP, saying no shots had been fired.
Also, Israel has faced mounting international pressure to lift the blockade since Monday’s deadly confrontation aboard a Turkish aid vessel headed for Gaza. But it stood by the embargo — which it says is needed to prevent the Islamic militant group from getting weapons — even as the Obama administration called the current restrictions “unsustainable.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the blockade in remarks following the takeover, saying it was meant to keep weapons out of the hands of the Iranian-backed Hamas and he would “not allow the establishment of an Iranian port in Gaza.”
The ship and the 15 people on board, most of them Irish or Malaysian activists, was being escorted into the southern Israeli port of Ashdod from where the aid would be transferred to Gaza through land crossings, the military said.
Speaking to a reporter in Ashdod, Army spokesperson Avital Leibovitz said the operation had been conducted peacefully.
“They didn’t storm the ship — they boarded it with the agreement” of the people on board, she said. “They are on the way here and it will probably take a few hours.”
The decision to commandeer the Rachel Corrie came after the vessel refused to respond to four requests to head for Ashdod, instead staying its course for Gaza Strip and risking a potentially explosive confrontation with the Navy.
Israel promptly warned the 1,200-tonne cargo ship that it would boarded by naval forces if it did not change course. “Our soldiers will board you if you refuse to change course... We are ready to use force to defend ourselves,” Ms Leibovitz told the BBC, quoting the message relayed to the vessel.
Israeli forces intercepted the ship in international waters shortly after dawn but only contacted the Rachel Corrie several hours later when it was 28 nautical miles from the coast but did not specify exactly where.
The 1,200-ton Rachel Corrie, which was carrying 11 pro-Palestinian activists, nine crew and hundreds of tons of aid, was intercepted in international waters, about 20 miles from Gaza’s shore and was being escorted to the nearby Israeli port of Ashdod, the military said. The military said Saturday’s takeover began at 12.15 pm Israeli time and took just minutes. —AFP,AP