The Israel Navy is gearing up to stop a flotilla that plans to run the blockade
of the Gaza Strip this week, amid predictions that violence will be minimal
after Turkey’s IHH organization – behind the Mavi Marmara last year – withdrew
from the initiative.
According to organizers, a number of the vessels –
including the US ship The Audacity of Hope – are to set sail from Greece on
Monday or Tuesday and then meet other ships that have already begun their
journeys from France and Ireland at a rendezvous spot in the Mediterranean
Sea.
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Vessels from Italy, Spain and Canada are also participating in the
flotilla.
On Sunday, Greek officials blocked some of the ships from
setting sail to Gaza and organizers said that they had hired lawyers who will
fight the stop-order with the aim of allowing the vessels to leave harbor on
Monday or Tuesday.
“We expect the flotilla to set sail later in the
week,” a military source said. “We are preparing for various scenarios, from no
violence to extreme violence.”
The navy and Military Intelligence are
closely tracking the flotilla, as well as reports that a Jordanian ship with
close to 200 Palestinian and other Arab activists might join the voyage toward
Gaza.
“We are pleased that the Turks are not participating but do not yet
know what to expect until we meet the ships at sea,” the military source
said.
The navy plans to stop the flotilla far from Gaza, after issuing a
warning that the territory is under a sea blockade.
“If the ships
continue sailing after being warned, then we will have the right to stop them
even if they did not yet enter Gaza’s territorial waters,” a defense official
explained.
Also on Sunday, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu convened his
security cabinet for final briefings from top naval officials and security
officials on the Gaza-bound flotilla.
The ministers heard intelligence
reports regarding the number of vessels, the passengers on board, and what the
ships are carrying. The government has declared that the flotilla will not be
allowed to enter Gaza, but will rather – if necessary – be towed into Ashdod
Port and the equipment on the ships impounded.
Israeli officials
expressed satisfaction that Cyprus has banned the use of it ports for the
enterprise, and that Greece and numerous other countries – such as the US,
Canada, France and Australia – have issued strong warnings to their citizens not
to participate.
Although these advisories have not prevented people from
these countries from gathering to take part in the flotilla, the significance of
the travel warnings, one diplomatic official said, was that they will give
Israel international legitimacy to act to keep the vessels from breaking the
blockade.
Before last year’s flotilla, diplomatic officials said, fewer
statements against taking part were made by governments around the world, partly
because the initiative was not seen as particularly significant.
The
fallout from the Mavi Marmara raid, however, where IDF commandos boarded the
ship and nine Turks were killed, changed the way numerous governments view the
attempts to break the blockade.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor,
when asked how Israel will deal with foreigners who do take part in the current
flotilla, said, “The same rules that applied last year still apply now: There is
a naval blockade on Gaza. It is obviously forbidden to breach it. Those who do,
or who manifest their intention to deliberately do so, will not be allowed to
proceed and will be treated according to the San Remo Manual and relevant
Security Council resolutions.”
The San Remo Manual on International Law
Applicable to Armed Conflicts at Sea is a codification of customary
international law.
Should the vessels be towed to Ashdod Port, Palmor
said, “their occupants, regardless of their profession or trade, will be treated
as individuals having attempted to enter Israel illegally: They will therefore
be given an opportunity to appeal, within three days, to a court of law, in
order to uphold their right to stay in Israel. Should they forgo their right to
appeal, they will be sent back to their country of origin without further delay,
and a 10-year travel ban to Israel will be applied to them.”
Arrest and
prosecution will considered by the attorneygeneral, depending on the
circumstances, Palmor said.
Sources in the Shurat Hadin (Israel Law
Center) on Sunday took responsibility for lodging an anonymous civil complaint
against the American-flagged ship, The Audacity of Hope, Army Radio
reported.
The complaint, filed to Greek harbormasters, alleged that the
vessel was not seaworthy and accused the organizers sailing the ship of aiding
terrorism.
Additionally, Shurat Hadin reportedly sent letters to 36
Americans planning to sail in the flotilla, warning them that their
participation might violate US criminal law.