French boat to reach Gaza Strip today
‘Breaching maritime law’
Pro-Palestinian activists on a French yacht which sailed from a Greek island at the weekend are expected to reach the Gaza Strip today, organisers said, but Israel warned the ship will be stopped.
The Dignite/Al Karama left the Greek island of Kastellorizo late on Saturday following a troubled stay in Greece after Athens imposed a ban on the departure of any ships planning to join an international flotilla heading for Gaza.
The vessels had hoped to break an Israeli naval blockade on the Palestinian territory, despite warnings from the Jewish state.
Reached by satellite phone on board the ship, activist Thomas Sommer-Houdeville said the lone vessel expected to reach Gaza this afternoon.
“We hope to arrive between 12 and 2, we don’t want to go during the night,” he said, adding that the yacht was carrying a “symbolic message of peace and hope and love”.
Israel yesterday vowed to block any attempt to breach its naval blockade on Gaza, which it insists is an entirely legal measure.
“If this boat is on its way to Gaza, which is a breach of international maritime law, and tries a provocative act – yes, we shall intercept it,” Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon told reporters in Jerusalem.
“But I assure you we shall try our best to make those on board very comfortable.”
Mr Sommer-Houdeville said the activists on board the boat had no specific plan for how to respond if Israel tried to stop the vessel or board the yacht.
“We hope that they will not, we don’t have a plan but we have a peaceful humanitarian mission. We are a peaceful boat flying a French flag,” he said.
On board are 16 people, including three crew members and three journalists, among them Amira Hass, a veteran columnist with the left-leaning Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
The crew and seven of the passengers are French, while another three are representing boats which had been due to join the flotilla but were blocked from leaving Greece.
Officials in Athens say they imposed the ban for the “safety” of the activists on board in the wake of last year’s bloody showdown, when Israeli commandos raided a six-ship flotilla in a confrontation that left nine Turkish activists dead.