Israeli navy seizes Lebanese ship

For all the noised and rhetoric, both Lebabnon and Palestine can do nothing against Israeli aggression.

“They are opening fire towards the vessel...there are Israeli soldiers who have actually boarded the vessel,” said correspondent Salam Khoder. “Three of them are pointing their weapons at us...They are beating those on the vessel, they are beating and kicking us.”

Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora condemned the action.

“Those who commit massacres against innocent civilians in Lebanon and Gaza will not stop themselves from assaulting, in front of the world, a ship carrying humanitarian supplies,” he said. “I express my utmost condemnation for this blatant attack.”

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=271271&version=1&template_id=57&parent_id=56

Yeh the Ba*****s blocked the aid again

ALLAH HU AKBAR - GOD IS GREAT

We ended up wit the fact that the "aid" ship did not get through!

so where did we end up with this news.

Thanks for taking the time and stressing the point that the media can sway readers in different directions.

To get the "real" story, it is necessary to read several sources before coming to any conclusions. Good job.

duties, Israel is not going to extend Jazeera's staff visa, reason Qatar has severed trade ties

Being a soldier and not a marine, you probably dn't realise that ships often sail "under flags of convenience"..

Having said that, thanks for highlighting the way different media can portray the same news..

What strikes me the most are the following news statements:

1-Also on board were eight activists and journalists, as well as the former Greek-Catholic archbishop of Jerusalem, Monsignor Hilarion Capucci, who had served time in an Israeli jail in the 1970s for his membership of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO).

2-Qatar-based Al Jazeera television quoted a correspondent aboard the vessel as saying an Israeli navy ship had fired shots and then sailors boarded the Tali and beat passengers and crew.

Why would you trust one news resource all the time, such as Al jazeera news?

It would be very informative to understand the real facts. Why some of those crews aboard the ship, had to be abuse slightly?

I'm thinking of the names 'activist' and one former PLO member, all of them resisting the boarding and apprehension, Could it be the proper answer?

3-A statement from the Israeli military said: the boat, sailing under the flag of Togo, left Tripoli, in northern Lebanon.

NOT UNDER THE Lebanese flag like someone claims.

Israel seizes Gaza freighter; no arms aboard

Thu Feb 5, 2009 5:39pm EST

By Amir Cohen

ASHDOD, Israel (Reuters) - The Israeli navy boarded a freighter trying to break the blockade of the Gaza Strip on Thursday and escorted it to the port of Ashdod where 20 passengers were being questioned, the military said.

It was the first apparent attempt by a foreign ship carrying aid to reach the Palestinian coastal enclave since Israel ended its 22-day offensive in the Gaza Strip two weeks ago.

A military official said humanitarian aid found on the ship would be transferred to the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. Video footage released by the army showed boxes piled up in one corner of the ship and no weapons were found.

Israel Radio said those aboard the Tali, a cargo vessel flying the flag of the West African state of Togo, would be returned by land to Lebanon, from where the ship sailed. The military official said the ship's 20 passengers, including 10 journalists, were being questioned.

"Once the questioning is completed we will make a decision on their fate," a military spokesman said.

A military source said the passengers also included a veteran Palestinian rights campaigner, Syrian-born Archbishop Hilarion Capucci of the Melkite Church of the Eastern Rite.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said the navy had initially allowed the ship to sail to Egypt but its captain made a sudden U-turn toward Gaza's shore after which the navy boarded the vessel and ordered it to sail to Ashdod.

Qatar-based Al Jazeera television quoted a correspondent aboard the vessel as saying an Israeli navy ship had fired shots and then sailors boarded the Tali and beat passengers and crew.

"They are opening fire toward the vessel...there are Israeli soldiers who have actually boarded the vessel," said correspondent Salam Khoder. "Three of them are pointing their weapons at us...They are beating those on the vessel, they are beating and kicking us."

Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora condemned the action.

"Those who commit massacres against innocent civilians in Lebanon and Gaza will not stop themselves from assaulting, in front of the world, a ship carrying humanitarian supplies," he said. "I express my utmost condemnation for this blatant attack."

'ACT OF PIRACY'

At the United Nations, Lebanese envoy Caroline Ziade called on the Security Council for international action to press Israel to release the ship immediately. Arab League Ambassador Yahya Mahmassani condemned the "act of piracy" and said he had received assurances of U.N. efforts to get the ship returned.

The army said no gunfire was used in taking control of the vessel and most of the 20 passengers aboard were from media organizations. But it said warning shots were fired in the air when the ship tried to sail toward the Gaza Strip.

Al Jazeera said the ship, dubbed Brotherhood by activists, was carrying humanitarian aid from Lebanese and Arab charities for those made homeless by Israel's devastating offensive.

It was sent by the Palestinian National Committee Against the Siege in cooperation with the U.S.-based Free Gaza Movement, and the cargo included about 60 tonnes of medicine, food and toys, plus 10,000 units of human blood plasma which requires constant refrigeration.

Israel maintains tight control of Gaza's access to the outside world, insisting it will not permit shipment of cash, steel or other materials that could be used by Hamas Islamists, who control the enclave, to make weapons.

Sympathizers of Gaza's 1.5 million Palestinians have tried several times in past months to break the Israeli blockade. Some boats with peace activists were allowed to dock, others were warned off.

(Additional reporting by Allyn Fisher-Ilan, Joseph Nasr and Ori Lewis in Jerusalem; Nadim Ladki in Beirut and Inal Ersan in Dubai; Writing by Douglas Hamilton; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

© Thomson Reuters 2008. All rights reserved. Users may download and print extracts of content from this website for their own personal and non-commercial use only. Republication or redistribution of Thomson Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters. Thomson Reuters and its logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of the Thomson Reuters group of companies around the world.

February 6, 2009

Israel Diverts Ship Bound for Gaza

By ETHAN BRONNER

JERUSALEM — The Israeli navy intercepted a cargo ship headed for Gaza on Thursday, diverting it to an Israeli port where the people aboard were to be questioned, the military announced.

The boat, called The Brotherhood Ship, was carrying what its organizers said was humanitarian aid: food, medicine and toys.

A statement from the Israeli military said the boat, sailing under the flag of Togo, left Tripoli, in northern Lebanon, a few days ago, made a stop in Cyprus, and then tried to enter Gazan waters against Israeli orders. The military said that when the ship’s crew was instructed on Wednesday not to try to reach Gaza, the crew replied that the vessel would go instead to El Arish in Egypt but it then changed course.

“During today’s morning hours, the cargo ship changed its bearing, and began heading toward the Gaza Strip, contrary to the claims made by the boat crew last evening,” the military statement said. “Disregarding all warnings made, the cargo boat entered Gazan coastal waters.”

The statement added that Israel worried the boat could “threaten security concerns” or be used to smuggle banned equipment, like weapons, “into or out of the Gaza Strip.” The Israeli military said humanitarian goods found on the boat would be sent into Gaza.

Among the nine people aboard was the former archbishop of Jerusalem, Msgr. Hilarion Capucci, who was convicted of smuggling guns from Lebanon to Israel in 1975 and spent two years in an Israeli prison.

A reporter for Al Jazeera who was also on board spoke by telephone to television viewers, saying that the Israelis who took over the boat had pointed weapons and assaulted some of those on the ship. The connection to his telephone was then cut.

Israel has maintained a strict blockade of Gaza since Hamas took power there in a brief civil war with its secular rival, Fatah, in June 2007. In late December, Israel mounted a three-week military assault in Gaza that left more than 1,300 Palestinians dead. Thirteen Israelis, including three civilians, also died during the offensive.

A number of boats run by activists have challenged Israel’s control of Gaza’s waters. Israel has let a few boats in and turned others back. The incident Thursday was the first since the war ended last month.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7871874.stm

Israel seizes Gaza-bound aid ship

A Lebanese ship carrying aid for Gaza has been stopped by the Israeli navy and taken under escort to the Israeli port of Ashdod, Israeli officials say.

Earlier, officials in Lebanon said Israeli gunboats had fired on the ship before soldiers boarded it, although Israel denied this.

Lebanese PM Fouad Siniora has called on the international community to persuade Israel to allow the shipment through.

In the West Bank, Israeli troops have killed a Palestinian militant.

The Israeli military said Ala a-Din Abu Rop was a local commander of the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad group.

There have been sporadic incidents of violence since Hamas and Israel declared separate ceasefires on 18 January, following Israel's three-week attack on the Gaza Strip.

Activists aboard

The Togo-flagged Tali aid ship was reported to have set off from the Lebanese port of Tripoli on Tuesday carrying 50 tonnes of medical supplies, food, clothing and toys for Gaza.

Also on board were eight activists and journalists, as well as the former Greek-Catholic archbishop of Jerusalem, Monsignor Hilarion Capucci, who had served time in an Israeli jail in the 1970s for his membership of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO).

An organiser of the shipment, Maen Bashur, said the ship had been confronted by an Israeli military boat 32km (19 miles) off the Gazan coast late on Wednesday.

"We were informed by the crew that the Israeli forces boarded the ship after firing shots at it," he told the AFP news agency. "We have lost contact with them."

He said the ship was asked to turn back as "two Israeli military helicopters flew over the area and fired flares".

The Israeli military denied troops had fired at the ship. "No gunshots were fired on board during the boarding and capture of the cargo boat," it said.

Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said the Israeli navy had requested the ship head towards Egypt, and only boarded it after it headed back towards Gaza.

"At first the ship understood we were prohibiting it from heading to Gaza and steered towards El-Arish [in Egypt]," he said.

"From Egyptian territorial waters it tried to slip into Gaza waters. That is when the Israeli navy boarded it."

The army said the crew of the ship would be questioned by police, while all humanitarian goods found on board would be transferred to Gaza by land

Search

Ala a-Din Abu Rop was shot dead by Israeli troops during a raid on his home near Jenin, in the West Bank, on Thursday.

An Israeli military spokesman said the 21-year-old was suspected of involvement in attacks on Israelis.

He was fully armed when troops stormed his home, and weapons and ammunition were found during the search, the military said.

Ala a-Din Abu Rop's father said his son had been sleeping, alongside his brothers, when soldiers broke into the house before dawn.