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SS Rachel Corrie enters port after Israeli takeover
[Al Arabiya Latest] The Rachel Corrie aid ship arrived at an Israeli port on Saturday after being prevented from reaching Gaza, but there was no repetition of the bloody violence that erupted when commandos stormed an aid boat earlier in the week.The Irish-owned 1,200-tonne vessel was escorted into the southern port of Ashdod by two small naval launches some five hours after being commandeered by Israeli forces when it ignored orders not to head to Gaza. Israel hailed the peaceful end to the operation which the military said was carried out without any injuries while the pro-Palestinian organizers lashed out at the Jewish state, accusing it of "hijacking" the ship. The Israeli military said its forces boarded the vessel "with the full compliance" of the crew and passengers and that there was no violence involved at all. "Our forces boarded the boat and took control without meeting any resistance from the crew or the passengers. Everything took place without violence," the spokeswoman told AFP. The move came after the Rachel Corrie refused to respond to four requests from the navy to head for the southern Israeli port of Ashdod, and stayed its course for the Gaza Strip, which is under an Israeli naval blockade. Activists on board the ship had previously indicated they would not heed Israeli calls to change course, and would continue to head for their destination, although they were prepared to let their cargo be inspected. The ship was intercepted by the Israeli navy in international waters shortly after dawn but the troops held back from boarding the vessel for several hours. The apparently peaceful ending to the standoff comes just five days after the Israeli naval commandos raided another aid ship heading for Gaza in a bungled operation which left nine foreign activists dead and scores wounded, among them seven Israeli soldiers. Posted by: Fred 2010-06-06 |
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