Israel has freed six of 27 passengers and crew who were aboard two ships intercepted by its navy while trying to run the Jewish state’s blockade on the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, an official said on Saturday.
Commandos boarded the Irish-flagged Saoirse (Freedom) and the Canadian ship Tahrir (Arabic for Liberation) in international waters off Gaza on Friday before the navy escorted them to the port of Ashdod, the military said. Interior Ministry spokeswoman Sabine Hadad said the six released included an Israeli Arab, two Greek crewmen and three journalists — from Egypt, Spain and the United States.
She said the remaining 21 people were still being held at a detention facility in Ramla near Tel Aviv, after questioning by immigration authorities. Asked when the 21 activists were expected to be freed, Hadad explained the deportation process requires them to see a judge, a process that would take at least 72 hours.
At the end of the process, Israel would fly the activists back to their homelands, she said. Fourteen of the activists held by Israel were Irish, the rest are from Canada, Scotland, Australia and the US. Israel has blockaded Gaza since the Islamist group Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007, saying its blockade is necessary to prevent weapons from entering the coastal territory, which is run by the Islamist Hamas movement.
A UN report on Israel’s interception of the Turkish aid ship said the blockade was a “legitimate security measure”, but added that Israel had used unreasonable force in its raid on the ship. Turkey expelled Israel’s envoy and froze military cooperation with Israel over the Jewish state’s refusal to apologise for the killings. Pro-Palestinian groups behind the latest attempt to reach Gaza by sea condemn the blockade as illegal and inhumane.
A spokeswoman for the Irish Ship to Gaza group said on Friday they would continue to send boats until the blockade is lifted.
