Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas says, "If the ships reach Gaza, it's a victory for Gaza. If they are intercepted and terrorized by the Zionists, it will be a victory for Gaza, too."
The shit is about to hit the fan. The media will really clobber Israel over this. So, what else is new?
From Haaretz.com:
Organizers of an eight-ship flotilla said Friday they continued to head for Gaza despite Israel's warnings to intercept them as soon as they enter Israeli-controlled waters off the coast.
The organizers have ignored Israeli offers for the flotilla to dock in its southern port of Ashdod, just north of Gaza, and to transport the 10,000 tons of aid to the coastal enclave from there.
The ships that had sailed from various ports over the past week were in the process of hooking up in international waters and scheduled to arrive off the coasts of Gaza on Saturday afternoon.
Israel has said it will overtake the ships as soon as they enter a 20-mile Israeli-controlled zone off Gaza. They will then be towed to the Israeli port of Ashdod, where the foreign nationals will be handed over to Immigration Police for deportation abroad, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor.
Israel considers the effort by international left-wing elements and Islamic organizations as intentional provocation under the guise of humanitarian aid.
Israel considers the effort by international left-wing elements and Islamic organizations as intentional provocation under the guise of humanitarian aid.
The Israeli message has been that the activists are welcome to bring the humanitarian aid to the port of Ashdod, where it will be examined and if found suitable will be permitted to enter the Gaza Strip through the land crossings. If the activists try to break the siege, they will be arrested.
The flotilla with some 700 passengers is the largest yet attempt to break the Israeli-imposed embargo on the Gaza Strip.
1 comment:
I still think they should sink the ships....
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