The ship “Madeleine” arrived on Monday evening at the Israeli port, after Israel intercepted it at dawn while trying to reach the Gaza Strip carrying humanitarian aid with 12 supporters supporting the Palestinian cause.
The ship entered the Israeli port around 20:45 local time (17:45 GMT), accompanied by two ships belonging to the Israeli navy.
All the ship’s passengers, including climate activist Gretta Tonberg and other activists, are scheduled to be transferred to a detention center in preparation for their deportation from Israel, according to Israeli officials.
The Israeli forces had arrested the aid ship as they went to the Gaza Strip early on Monday and turned their path into Israel.
Tonberg was among the 12 activists on board the “Madeleine” ship, which sailed from Sicily a week ago. On her way, she stopped on Thursday to save four migrants who jumped from a ship to avoid detention by the Libyan Coast Guard.
Activists, 12 French, peaceful, Brazilian, Turkey, Swedish, Spanish and Dutch, had sailed on June 1 from Italy with the aim of “breaking the Israeli siege” imposed on the Gaza Strip, which is suffering from a catastrophic humanitarian situation after twenty months of the outbreak of the war.
After stopping in Egypt, the ship approached Gaza despite the warnings of Israel, which issued orders to its army to prevent it from reaching the Strip.
During the night, the Freedom Flotator Alliance announced the trip that the Israeli army had intercepted the boat. “Contacting with the ship Madeleine. The Israeli army rose on the ship,” the coalition wrote via Telegram.
The Freedom Flotilla coalition denounced “a clear violation of international laws,” stressing that the objection was made in international waters. For its part, Israel did not specify the place of the ship’s objection.
