Israeli occupation navy forces kidnap Scottish national and ten Palestinians at sea, warships surround two additional boats of international activists

Date: 18 / 11 / 2008 Time: 11:06
Gaza – Ma’an –

The Israeli occupation government navy forces conducted a large military operation aimed at Gaza fishermen and international solidarity activists in Gaza on Tuesday morning, surrounding several fishing boats and kidnapping ten Palestinians and one Scottish national.

An Irish activist with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) reported that Andrew Muncie and ten Palestinians were surrounded by Israeli warships off the Gaza coast and ordered to strip naked and swim to meet the ships.

The group boarded the Israeli occupation forces vessel and has been detained. It is not clear whether Muncie has been arrested, in which case he will be taken to the immigration police in Ashkelon.

Two other boats with ISM activists have been surrounded by a fleet of Israeli naval ships and have been prevented from returning to shore.

The Israeli occupation navy regularly uses water cannons and live ammunition to drive Gazan fishermen away from open waters where they go to catch fish in the Mediterranean.

Fishermen have been reporting a larger than usual naval presence in coastal waters Tuesday morning, and see the move as a sizeable military operation targeting the international activists.

The activists came into the Gaza Strip three weeks ago on the Free Gaza ship and remained in the area to monitor Israeli violations of their unilateral withdrawal from the area in 2005.

The seizure of international activists, who have been accompanying Gazan fishermen since August when the first Free Gaza ship arrived in the area, comes as Israel imposes a media blackout on Gaza.

Journalists have been denied entry to Gaza since at least 9 November, and several have been encouraged to leave the area. International news services have called the move “unprecedented” and the Federation of Journalists has condemned the action as a violation of freedom of expression and freedom of the press.

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