NOVANEWS
By: Zeeshan
A pro-Palestine Greek activist has censured the Tel Aviv regime’s militia-like interception of a humanitarian aid ship attempting to break the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip.
“The balaclava-clad commandos from the Israeli marine carrying heavy weapons came aboard the boat and acted like a militia,” said Vaguelis Diamantopoulos, a Greek lawmaker who was aboard the Finnish-flagged Estelle ship, on Tuesday.
Israeli forces intercepted Estelle on October 20 and escorted the vessel to the port of Ashdod. The Tel Aviv regime forces also detained the passengers, but released ten activists on Tuesday.
Five European lawmakers and a former Canadian parliamentarian were also among the 27 passengers of the ship.
The released activists screened footage which displayed Israeli inflatable boats each carrying 10 to 15 armed commandos and patrolling naval boats.
The Israeli regime denies about 1.7 million people in Gaza their basic rights, such as freedom of movement, jobs that pay proper wages, and adequate healthcare and education.
The Estelle was the latest of more than a dozen ships that had tried to break the blockade since 2010.
On May 31, 2010, Israeli forces attacked the Gaza-bound humanitarian Freedom Flotilla in international waters in the
Mediterranean Sea, killing nine Turkish nationals aboard Turkey’s Mavi Marmara and injuring about 50 other activists who were part of the six-ship convoy.
Also in November 2011, a Canadian and an Irish yacht were prevented by Israeli forces in international waters to transport pro-Palestinian activists and medical supplies to Gaza.
