Israel Seizes Gaza Aid Boat Rachel Corrie
June 5th, 2010Via: Guardian:
Israel risked a fresh wave of international condemnation yesterday as its troops detained a boat carrying humanitarian aid attempting to break the blockade of Gaza and forcibly diverted it to the port of Ashdod.
Five days after the botched assault on a six-boat flotilla ended with Israeli troops shooting dead nine activists, naval commandos boarded the MV Rachel Corrie in international waters about 20 miles from the coast of Gaza.
Yesterday’s operation was mounted despite growing calls for Israel to ease significantly its siege of Gaza. The US, Israel’s staunchest ally, pointedly repeated that the blockade was “unsustainable and must be changed” – a call Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, again rejected. Israel said it had met no resistance in stopping the 1,200-tonne Rachel Corrie.
