Official: Israel won't give Gaza-bound boats PR

Official to 'Post': These people are ridiculous anarchists; they just want a confrontation.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN
hamas police free gaza boat 224 88 ap (photo credit: AP)
hamas police free gaza boat 224 88 ap
(photo credit: AP)
Pro-Palestinian activists who have been sailing to Gaza in a bid to break Israel's siege of the Strip are seeking a confrontation with the authorities, which is why they have not been stopped so far, an Israeli official involved in handling the issue told The Jerusalem Post Sunday. "We judge every incident individually. The past three times, the boats have been allowed entry, because it was decided that an operation to stop them was not worth conducting," the official said. The Free Gaza Movement has sent three boatloads of activists to Gaza, the last of which, Dignity, reached Gaza shores on Saturday, carrying 11 parliamentarians on board from Britain, Switzerland, Italy and Ireland. "The Dignity pulled into Gaza at 9:15 a.m. Gaza time after an uneventful trip from Cyprus," a Free Gaza Movement press release said. "The 23 passengers and crew on board were tired but ecstatic that they'd arrived. "The 11 members of various European parliaments, originally denied entrance through the Rafah border, made the crossing by sea, courtesy of the Free Gaza Movement's blockade-busting boat, the third trip for this human rights organization." The Israeli official described the sailing activists as "ridiculous people who play into Hamas's hands. They want to be stopped and they are looking for a confrontation, so we decided not to give them one." A drama involving the boats and the Israel Navy would serve the Free Gaza Movement's interest by attracting the media spotlight, the official said. "This has no significance, other than being a gimmick. The people on board are professional anarchists and pro-Hamas activists." Israel considers the waters around Gaza to be a combat zone. In August, ahead of the first arrival of a Free Gaza boat, an Israeli official warned that the navy had received orders to turn the boat around, a threat that failed to materialize.