Israel to send impounded Gaza-bound ship back to Lebanon
Last update - 01:19 06/02/2009By Anshel Pfeffer, Avi Issacharoff and Roni Singer-Heruti, Haaretz Correspondents
Israel has decided to release a cargo ship it detained Thursday for attempting to break the blockade of the Gaza Strip. The freighter and its passengers will be redirected back to Lebanon on Friday with the help of international organizations.
The Israel Navy boarded the vessel after it tried to break the blockade, and escorted it into the port of Ashdod, Israeli officials said.
The Israel Defense Forces said that troops found about 150 bottles of mineral water and a few dozen kilograms of food and medicine on board, despite earlier claims that it was carrying dozens of tons of humanitarian aid.
The Tali, a cargo vessel flying the flag of the West African state of Togo, was sent by the Palestinian National Committee Against the Siege in cooperation with the U.S.-based Free Gaza Movement. Its cargo was claimed to have included about 60 tons of medicine, food and toys, plus 10,000 units of human blood plasma which requires constant refrigeration.
No weapons were found aboard the ship, an Israeli army spokesman said.
It was the first apparent attempt by a foreign ship carrying aid to reach the Palestinian territory since Israel ended its 22-day offensive against Hamas in Gaza two weeks ago.
Military sources said that on board the vessel - dubbed the "Brotherhood Ship" - were nine people, including Greek-Catholic Archbishop of Jerusalem Monsignor Hilarion Capucci, who was arrested in 1974 after being caught smuggling weapons from Lebanon to activists in the Palestine Liberation Organization.
Capucci was sentenced to 12 years in prison, but was released after three years upon a papal request to the Israeli government. He has made frequent anti-Israel comments since his release.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak confirmed that the navy boarded the vessel and ordered it to Ashdod.
Barak said the navy had initially allowed the ship to sail to Egypt but its captain made a U-turn towards Gaza's shore.
The army had earlier said in a statement that, "The actions of the boat crew raised suspicion, as it could threaten security concerns, or furthermore, the boat could be used for smuggling banned equipment [weaponry, etc.] in to or out of the Gaza Strip," the IDF said in a statement.
"As a result of the actions taken by the boat crew, an Israel Navy force intercepted, boarded, and took control of the cargo boat, directing it towards Ashdod," the army said.
I called on Israel to sink the boats that were the first attempt to enter Gaza by the sea last summer.
If Israel would have sunk those two boats then that would have been the end of the attempts to violate Israeli waters by these terrorist supporters.
It is very simple Israeli territorial waters are being violated and this must be stopped using deadly force if needed.
