Israeli Navy Takes Over Flotilla Ship Without Incident

Israeli Navy Takes Over Flotilla Ship Without Incident. (Matzav).

IDF naval fighters early on Monday morning boarded the Swedish ship Marianne that was taking part in the latest flotilla trying to violate Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza.

The troops took control of the ship and will take it to the Ashdod Port where its contents will be inspected.

The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said the takeover process was short and there were no injuries on either side.

Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu issued the following statement this morning:

“I would like to commend the sailors and commanders of the Israel Navy for their determined and efficient action in detaining the passengers on the ship that tried to reach the Gaza coast in contravention of the law. This flotilla is nothing but a demonstration of hypocrisy and lies that is only assisting the Hamas terrorist organization and ignores all of the horrors in our region. Preventing entry by sea was done in accordance with international law and even received backing from a committee of the UN Secretary General.

“Israel is the only democracy that defends itself in accordance with international law. We are not prepared to accept the entry of war materiel to the terrorist organizations in Gaza as has been done by sea in the past. Just last year we foiled an attempt to smuggle by sea hundreds of weapons that were destined for use in attacks against Israel’s citizens.

“There is no siege on Gaza. Israel assists in transferring goods and humanitarian equipment to Gaza – approximately 800 trucks a day that have recently brought into Gaza more than 1.6 million tons of goods. Moreover, Israel assists in hundreds of humanitarian projects, through international organizations, including the building of clinics and hospitals.

“Israel is a state that seeks peace and acts in accordance with international law so that the residents of Gaza might have safe lives and their children may grow up in peace and quiet.”

The following is a copy of the letter that was issued:

Welcome to Israel,

You seem to have gotten lost. Perhaps you meant to sail to a place not far from here – Syria, where Assad’s army is slaughtering its people every day, and is supported by the murderous Iranian regime.

Here in Israel we face a reality in which terrorist organizations like Hamas try to kill innocent civilians. We defend our citizens against these attempts in accordance with international law.

Despite this, Israel transports goods and humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip – up to 800 trucks a day. In the past year we enabled the entry of over 1.6 million tons of products, an average of one ton per person in the Gaza Strip. By the way, these supplies are equivalent to 500,000 boats like the one you came in on today.

Israel provides assistance to hundreds of humanitarian projects through international organizations, including the building of clinics and hospitals.

However, we will not allow the terrorist organizations to transfer weapons into the Gaza Strip by sea. Only one year ago, we thwarted an attempt to smuggle hundreds of weapons into the Gaza Strip by ship. These weapons were meant to target innocent Israeli civilians.

There is no siege on the Gaza Strip, and you are welcome to transfer any humanitarian supplies for the Gaza Strip through Israel.

Barring the entrance of boats and ships into the Gaza Strip is in accordance with international law, and was even backed by a committee commissioned by the United Nations Secretary General.

If you were truly concerned about human rights, you would not be sailing in support of a terrorist regime which summarily executes citizens in the Gaza Strip, and uses children as human shields.

If you were to travel around in Israel, you would see for yourself that the only stable democracy in the Middle East guarantees equality for all its citizens and freedom of worship for members of all religions; it is a country that upholds international law so that its people can live in safety and its children grow up in peace and quiet.

{Matzav.com Israel News Bureau}

@IsraelMatzav @BritsForIsrael @WTEpaminondas 'Open air prison #gaza' send more #Flotillas http://t.co/wcNtiH5XqP pic.twitter.com/t7K7HvtZay

— MFS - The Other News (@MFS001) June 27, 2015

IDF has been instructed to stop the pro-Palestinian flotilla.

Israeli army preparing to block another Gaza flotilla. (TOI).

The Israeli military is monitoring a blockade-busting flotilla on its way to the Gaza Strip and is preparing to block it if need be, Channel 2 news reported Sunday night.

The convoy, consisting of several small vessels, was expected to sail from Greece to Gaza in the coming days, carrying humanitarian supplies for the Hamas-controlled enclave.

Jewish Home leader and Education Minister Naftali Bennett said Sunday night the flotilla was another indication of the failure of the 2005 Israeli pullout from Gaza, saying in a statement: “Ten years after the disengagement rockets are fired at our children from [the evacuated settlements of] Gush Katif, tunnels are dug towards our communities from Gaza and terror flotillas are sent to our shores from Turkey…we evacuated Jews and got flotillas in return.”

The Marianne of Gothenburg, a Scandinavian fishing boat, traveled from Sweden through the waters of Norway, Germany, France, Spain and Portugal before reaching Messina, Italy, last week. The boat was making its way to Crete, Greece, on Sunday, before attempting to breach the blockade and reach Gaza. Along the way it was to meet up with at least two other boats that make up the flotilla.

The activists say the vessels are carrying a cargo of solar panels and medical supplies for Gaza residents, who are still recovering from last summer’s conflict, and expect to reach the Strip by the end of the month, unless they are intercepted.

An Israeli-Arab Knesset member caused an uproar in parliament Sunday when he announced intentions to join the flotilla. Politicians from both the left and right condemned MK Basel Ghattas of the Joint (Arab) List, who sent a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon telling them of his plan.

Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely (Likud) criticized Ghattas for abusing the immunity he enjoys as a member of the Israeli parliament.

“It indicates he is serving the enemy under parliamentary immunity,” she said. “In contrast to the picture that the Palestinians are trying to paint, Israel allows goods, food, and construction materials into Gaza. The flotilla is the fruit of the efforts of provocateurs who only want to blacken Israel’s name.”

The Zionist Union party slammed Ghattas for disguising a political statement as a relief effort.

Ghattas urged Israeli leaders to let the boats reach the Palestinian coastal enclave — or face international backlash. Read the full story here.

IDF has been instructed to stop the pro-Palestinian flotilla, which has sailed out and is now between Italy and Greece, headed towards Gaza.

— Israel News Feed (@IsraelHatzolah) June 22, 2015

New Gaza Flotilla Threat on the Horizon for end of the Month.

New Gaza Flotilla Threat on the Horizon for end of the Month. (INN).

Showdown to take place final week of June and include senior international figures - will it end in violence and global condemnation again?

"Freedom Flotilla 3," a maritime challenge to Israel's legal naval blockade on the coastal enclave of Gaza which is controlled by the Hamas terrorist organization, is preparing to embark in the final week of June and threatens to potentially cause a flare-up like the infamous 2010 Mavi Marmara.

Mazen Kahil, head of the European Campaign to Break the Siege on Gaza, told the Hamas journal Palestine on Saturday that the flotilla ships are currently in the Mediterranean Sea.

The ships are waiting to join the Swedish ship Marianne, which recently anchored in Italy, on the open sea and from there continue as a unified group towards Gaza, where they intend to confront the Israeli Navy - potentially with lethal force as was seen in the Marmara.

Kahil detailed that senior public figures, including former Tunisian President Muncef Marzouki, members of the European Parliament, journalists, athletes, artists, as well as radical leftist Israelis will be on board.

He claimed that symbolic humanitarian materials will be loaded on board the ships to demand Gaza's naval entry be opened - despite the fact that Israel is allowing hundreds of truckloads of humanitarian and construction materials to enter Gaza border crossings every day, even as Hamas rebuilds its terror tunnels for the next round of fighting.

The equipment to be loaded on the ships include solar receptors, children's medicines and medical equipment.

Leaders of the flotilla estimate that Israel will once again block the naval breach and defend its maritime blockade, but they expressed optimism that they would be able to eventually reach Gaza and open a water route for Hamas that Israel has warned would serve as a port for Iran on the Mediterranean. Read the full story here.

Former Tunisian president To Sail With Latest Gaza Flotilla.

Former Tunisian president To Sail With Latest Gaza Flotilla. (GMBW).

Reuters is reporting that the former Tunisian president Moncef Marzouki will take part in the latest Gaza “Freedom Flotilla” that is scheduled to set sail for Gaza this coming summer. According to the report:

Former Tunisian president Moncef Marzouki will take part in the ‘Freedom Flotilla’ that is scheduled to set sail for Gaza this coming summer, according to one of the flotilla’s organizers, Ziad Aloul.

Aloul told the Ma’an News Agency that the flotilla would include ‘political, religious, and business figures, and we are now making the final preparations to leave for Gaza.’

The flotilla, which aims to challenge Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip which has been in place since 2007, was announced in Athens in December and will sail under the title, ‘Open Gaza Port.’

Upon announcing the new flotilla in December, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition said that the new flotilla would consist of at least three ships.

‘The humanitarian situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate. Israel is not being held accountable for the damage it caused during its assault on the strip nor for the commitments it made as a part of the Egyptian brokered agreement to end hostilities,’ the group said. Read the rest here.

Ziad Aloul is known to be the Chairman of the Palestinian Forum in Britain, a part of the UK Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas support infrastructure. 

In January 2014, the GMBDW reported that Mr. Aloul was part of a protest held by 500 “activists” outside the Israeli Embassy on the 5th anniversary of the 2008-2009 conflict in Gaza. As we noted, Baroness Jenny Tong and British Member of Parliament Andy Slaughter also participated in that demonstration.    
In May 2014 we reported that Mr. Aloul spoke at the 12 annual Palestinians in Europe Conference held in Paris. The Palestinian Return Centre (PRC), the main sponsor of the conference, has many ties to the Global Muslim Brotherhood/Hamas and past Palestinians in Europe conferences have featured other leaders of the Global Muslim Brotherhood and/or Hamas.

In 2011, the GMBDW Editor published a report titled “Turkey, the Global Muslim Brotherhood, and the Gaza Flotilla” which demonstrated that the Global Muslim Brotherhood, including at that time its Turkish components, was deeply involved in the planning and preparation leading up to the first Gaza flotilla that was involved in the violent altercation with Israeli naval forces. 

"And they're off again" Hamas Announces Yet Another 'Turkish' Flotilla For 2015

"And they're off again" Hamas Announces Yet Another Flotilla For 2015; Last Flotilla Ship Exploded in 2014. (GMBR).

The military wing of Hamas has reported that the European Campaign to End the Siege on Gaza (ECESG) has announced that together with another Hamas front group known as the  Euro-Mid Observer, it intends to launch another “Freedom Flotilla” to the Gaza Strip at the end of May 2015. 

December 7, 2014 The European Campaign to End the Siege on Gaza announced intents to dispatch the Freedom Flotilla II to the Gaza Strip by the end of May 2015 to mark the 5th anniversary of the notorious Israeli attack on the 2010 flotilla. 

Activist in the campaign said, during a meeting held Saturday, the flotilla is to set sail to Gaza in the last week of May with a wider international participation, the local SAFA News Agency quoted Chairman of the campaign, Mazen Kahil, as stating. 

Kahil said the projected multinational fleet comes as a reaction to Israeli and Egyptian attempts to tighten the noose around Gazans’ necks, adding that a roadmap was devised to that end. 

The Turkish Relief Organization said activists from 100 states will partake in the planned flotilla in an act of defiance to the blockade enforced on Gaza since 2007. 

The move is intended to replicate the May 2010 flotilla, which failed to reach Gaza but led to a significant propaganda victory for the anti-Israel movement after Israeli commandos killed ten Turkish activists during a violent attack on board one of the ships. 

SAFA said, quoting reliable sources, that a comprehensive plan has been delineated for the voyage and enhanced by the Euro-mid Observatory for Human Rights to push for the launch of a waterway into Gaza.”

The report casts doubt on the ability of Hamas to count since by our count, the May 2015 flotilla should properly be designated #4. In May 2014, we reported that a ship intended to be the part of the  third Gaza flotilla was hit by an unidentified explosion in the Gaza port. Hmmm....It's the season of Giving? Read the full story here.

'Mysterious' blast hits Europe-bound ‘Gaza’s Ark’.

'Mysterious' blast hits Europe-bound ‘Gaza’s Ark’. (TOI).Ht: BlazingCatFur.

A Gaza boat designed to break Israel’s blockade en route to Europe was damaged in an explosion early Tuesday morning, with organizers alleging sabotage.

According to multiple sources, Gaza’s Ark, currently being rehabilitated for a symbolic journey to Europe, was rocked by a pre-dawn blast and is now partially sunk in Gaza port, the Palestinian News Network reported.

The boat was meant to symbolically break Israel’s naval blockade on the Gaza Strip, which has been in effect since 2007, when Hamas took control of the coastal enclave. Fishing boats are allowed to operate in a restricted area off the coast.

The project is sponsored by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, the Palestinian Sailing Federation and the Fisherman’s Solidarity Campaign,

A member of the Gaza fishermen’s union told the Palestinian Al-Quds news outlet that the man guarding the boat received a call around 3:45 a.m. warning him to abandon the boat because it was going to be targeted in an attack.

The guard left, but returned after several minutes, just before an explosion went off.

While the guard was not injured, the boat was partially sunk in the harbor.

“Gaza’s Ark and all our partners in the Freedom Flotilla Coalition are considering our next move in response to this cowardly act of terrorism, but our position remains clear: Neither this nor any other attack will stop our efforts to challenge the blockade of Gaza until it ends,” David Heap of Gaza’s Ark Steering Committee said.

The boat was planned to sail later this spring and bring cargo from Europe to Gaza in a symbolic protest against the blockade.Hmmm.....Now we will get financial help from all over the World, build a better and bigger one.Read the full story here.