jerusalem, June 06: Israeli forces seized a Gaza-bound aid vessel peacefully and without meeting resistance yesterday, just five days after they stormed aboard a Turkish vessel in an assault that left nine dead and six people still missing.
The Israeli navy took control of the MV Rachel Corrie in international waters 20 miles from the Gazan coast without a shot being fired. Footage provided by the Israeli military showed three small navy vessels pulling up to the cargo boat. In a second segment, footage from an Israeli aircraft hovering above the Rachel Corrie showed activists sitting down in the middle of the top deck. Commandos then clambered on to the boat by sea, instead of descending from helicopters as occurred last Monday.
Communications to the Rachel Corrie had been cut earlier in the day, and Israeli warships had tailed the boat since early morning. Greta Berlin, a spokeswoman for the Free Gaza group that organised the trip and has renounced violence, described the takeover as “another outrage to add to the nine murdered”, and denied Israeli claims that troops had been invited aboard. Ms Berlin, who spoke from the group’s Cyprus office, said her organisation would send more ships to Gaza and that it has been contacted by four captains volunteering for the next mission.
–Agencies