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Israeli naval vessel on patrol
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| By Israel Insider staff August 4, 2008 |
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| The would-be destination: Gaza port (Free Gaza Movement) |
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While the government is keeping mum about an imminent anti-Israel activists' voyage to "break the siege of Gaza" with a protest boat, diplomatic efforts are underway with the Cypriot government to prevent the boat from leaving port. If the vessel does manage to sail and then approach the Gaza shore, the navy is likely to engage the craft and prevent it from entering Gaza.
The Free Gaza Movement -- a group of American, European and Israeli left-wing activists -- plans to "introduce its international team" for the voyage at a press conference in Nicosia today (Monday). The government has not disclosed how it intends to respond. "We are prepared for every scenario," said Yossi Levi, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry. Avital Leibovitz of the IDF Spokesman's Office told the Jerusalem Post that the military doesn't discuss the Gaza blockade.
According to the Free Gaza Movement's Web site, the activists will include a Holocaust survivor, a survivor of the Palestinian Nakba, as Palestinians call Israel's creation in 1948, and other members of the Palestinian diaspora, in addition to the European parliamentarians.
According to the Web site, the plan is for the boat to enter Gaza's territorial waters - and, more specifically, the "special security zone" that the Israel Navy has declared off-limits to all boats. The organizers thereby hope to provoke a clash with the navy that will end with them being forcibly arrested.
An Israeli government source said that Israel still has little information about the plan, and it is not clear whether it will ever come off. A year ago, he noted, Israel received reports of a similar plan, but due to logistical difficulties, that initiative never got off the ground.
Haaretz reports that "In conversations with their Israeli counterparts, Cypriot officials have expressed concern about the boat departing from their shores, but say they can do nothing to prevent it."
Haaretz also said that "one option that has been raised in official discussions is to simply allow the ship to reach Gaza, thereby foiling the organizers' apparent desire for a clash" but other analyst say that this option is unlikely, especially given the recent dents in Israel's deterrent posture.
Ya'acov Bar-Siman-Tov, director of the Swiss Center for Conflict Research Management and Resolution at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, said there would likely be some kind of action if the ship continued after a warning, although there would be "no need to fire at them."
Bar-Siman-Tov added that in the past Israel had shot in the air at ships trying to pass, but no boats had yet tried to breach the Gaza blockade.
Maj.-Gen. (ret.) Ya'acov Amidror said that the decision concerning the ship would be a political one, not a military one, and that the response would be diplomatic, rather than based on military policy.
But Yarden Vatikay, a spokesman in the Prime Minister's Office, evaded questions about the subject, saying only "we're assessing the situation." Pressed further, Vatikay said he did not believe the Free Gaza movement's publicity over the last few weeks would materialize into an actual voyage.
Osama Azzaz of the Free Gaza movement has said the government had not attempted to contact his group to discourage it. However, the movement stated in a press release at the weekend that it was not seeking "permission from Israeli authorities" and would not sail "through Israeli territory."
The Free Gaza group said "any attempt to damage the project will be considered an act of aggression against a nonviolent international human rights mission."
The group's list of "endorsers" reads like a rogue's gallery of anti-Israeli individuals and organizations, including "progressive" Israeli and Jewish entities: Americans for a Palestinian State, American Muslims for Palestine, Noam Chomsky, Desmund Tutu, Code Pink, the International Solidarity Movement, Rachel Corrie Foundation, Cindy Sheehan, Women in Black.
Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, director of the Israel Law Center in Tel Aviv, said that the boat should be suspected of carrying weapons for Hamas. Her organization has sent a letter to the United States Attorney-General's office claiming that US citizens on the trip are violating the US Neutrality Act, which says that military expeditions invading the waters of US allies are illegal. Americans violating the agreement are subject to a fine and up to three years in prison.
Professor Alexander Bligh of the Ariel University Center said Israel would try to avoid any negative press. The planned blockade breach was a publicity stunt, and said the government should use it as one as well, he said. "This is the time to say 'enough is enough'. I think once and for all we should stop all groups and activity that question our homeland." |
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