Occupied Jerusalem - The Israeli regime’s navy seized a Swedish-flagged sailboat attempting to breach a blockade of the Palestinian Gaza Strip on Saturday, the occupation military said.
The 12 passengers are mostly from Sweden but also from Germany, Britain, Spain, France and Canada. They are in custody and will be put on flights home, a spokeswoman for the Israeli Immigration Authority said.
The SY Freedom for Gaza was carrying mainly medical supplies and two of its passengers were journalists, said an organiser from a group named Ship to Gaza which organised the trip.
“Ship to Gaza demands that those who have been taken prisoner and the ship and its cargo are returned to the location where the ship was boarded and are allowed to continue their journey in international and Palestinian waters unmolested, in accordance with international law,” the group said in a statement.
More than two million Palestinians are packed into the Gaza Strip, which suffers deep economic hardship.
UN and Egyptian-led efforts are under way to mediate a long-term ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
Hamas officials had no immediate comment on the ship’s seizure. Similar attempts by activists to challenge the Israeli regime’s naval blockade of Gaza have been foiled before.
The most serious such incident was in 2010, when Israeli occupation troops raided a Turkish ship, the Mavi Marmara, that was leading a flotilla to Gaza. Ten activists aboard were killed, leading to a major diplomatic crisis between Israel and Turkey.
