Antalya: Gaza-bound humanitarian activists will be intercepted and escorted to the Israeli port city of Ashdod, where they will be detained and face deportation or imprisonment, according to the Israeli military.
Three tents have been erected to gather the approximately 750 activists for identification purposes and 40 buses will be on hand to take the activists to Israel's international airport for deportation or to a nearby prison if they refuse to be deported voluntarily.
Supplies set to be seized
Israeli naval commandos have held drills in preparation for boarding and searching the convoy. As for the 15,000 tonnes of aid in tow intended for Gaza residents, it would be confiscated, reports said.
"The occupation's threat to prevent the Freedom Flotilla from arriving in the besieged Gaza Strip is Zionist piracy and a violation of international law," senior Hamas leader Esmail Radwan said in a statement.
Israeli threats have so far been ineffective in intimidating the activists. "We are determined to break Israel's blockade and will not be intimidated," said Fintan Lane, an Irish activist aboard one of the boats. "The suffering that Israel is causing is an outrage and the international community must stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people," he added.
"We will resist non-violently. This will be a PR nightmare for Israel," said Greta Berlin, a movement spokeswoman in Cyprus.
Some of the ships are carrying television crews who plan to broadcast live any confrontation between Israeli forces and the activists. The nine ships, organised by an international group called the Free Gaza Movement plan to reach Gaza over the next two days. Israeli Navy ships have stopped three previous efforts by the Free Gaza Movement, formed in 2008 to deliver aid, to reach the territory by sea.
— Additional inputs from agencies
