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Israeli navy seizes Gaza-bound flotilla vessel

Xinhua, June 29, 2015 Adjust font size:

Israeli navy boarded and seized a vessel taking part in a flotilla set to reach the Gaza Strip early Monday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced in a statement.

The Israeli navy boarded the ship, Marianne, about 100 nautical miles from the shore of Gaza and redirected the ship to the Ashdod port.

"After exhausting all diplomatic channels, the Israeli government ordered the navy to redirect the vessel to prevent breach of the naval blockade," the IDF said in a statement.

"In accordance with international law, the Israeli navy advised the vessel several times to change course. Following their refusal, the navy boarded and searched the vessel in international waters to prevent the intended breach of maritime blockade of the Gaza Strip," the IDF added.

IDF spokesperson Peter Lerner said the boarding of the boat was "uneventful."

The vessel is the first in a flotilla called the "Third Freedom Flotilla," set to reach Gaza and transgress the Israeli-imposed blockade, in order to raise awareness to the blockade, and provide humanitarian assistance as well. Israel imposed the blockade on Gaza following Hamas' takeover of the enclave in 2007.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement commending the Israeli navy and calling the flotilla a "demonstration of hypocrisy and lies."

He said there is no siege on Gaza and that Israel allows the transfer of goods and humanitarian materials to the strip.

On the other hand, activists on the Marianne vessel told the Al Jazeera news channel that Israel "acted like state pirates and attacked our boat in international waters."

Marianne was part of the flotilla of four ships with activists and politicians, including Arab Israeli lawmaker Basal Ghattas, who was harshly criticized by right wing parliament members over his participation in the flotilla.

Ghattas had told Israeli media before setting sail in the vessel last week that it is his "moral duty" and "obligation" to inform the world of the 2 million people living under siege and on the verge of explosion in the strip.

"We need to end this problem and find ways to put an end to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza," he told the Walla news website last week.

Five years ago in 2010, a flotilla with mainly Turkish pro-Palestinian activists setting to reach the Gaza Strip was stopped by the Israeli navy, which boarded the boat and confronted with the activists, resulting in the death of nine of them.

Relations between Israel and Turkey has soured since then. Netanyahu apologized for the incident in 2013 in a phone call to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The two countries are reportedly trying to normalize ties through a series of negotiations. Endit