(20 Oct 2012) SHOTLIST
++QUALITY AS INCOMING++
++NIGHT SHOTS++
1. Various of Port of Ashdod
2. Various of 'Estelle' ship entering port, escorted by Israeli boats
STORYLINE:
Israeli troops on Saturday commandeered a Gaza-bound ship that tried to break through Israel's blockade of the Hamas-ruled seaside strip, the military said.
European lawmakers and other pro-Palestinian activists aboard did not resist, and the Finnish-flagged vessel was diverted to the Israeli Port of Ashdod.
The trip by the ship, Estelle, marked the latest challenge to the air, land and sea embargo of Gaza that Israel imposed after the Islamic militant Hamas group seized the territory in 2007.
Israeli officials say they need to enforce the blockade to prevent weapons smuggling.
Hamas called for more attempts to break the sea blockade.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement praising the military for enforcing the blockade, said there "is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza" and accused the activists of trying to "to provoke and slander Israel's name."
Six Israeli naval vessels stopped the Estelle when it was about 30 nautical miles (55 kilometres) from Gaza, and masked soldiers boarder the ship and ordered it to sail to Israel's Ashdod port, said a spokeswoman for the activists.
The boat arrived at the port on Saturday night and will be inspected to see what is on board, the Israeli military said.
The activists will be questioned by immigration officials and then deported to their home countries within 72 hours, said Sabine Hadad, spokeswoman for Israel's Interior Ministry.
The Swedish-owned Estelle left Naples, Italy, on 7 October with about 30 people from eight countries, including lawmakers from Norway, Sweden, Greece and Spain, as well as Israeli activists and a 79-year-old former legislator from Canada.
Over the past decade, Gaza militants have fired thousands of rockets and mortar rounds towards Israeli border towns.
Although Hamas and Israel have maintained an unwritten truce for more than two years, violence occasionally flares in the area.
Most recently, an Israeli strike on a prominent al-Qaida-inspired jihadi prompted two days of tit-for-tat rocket fire and strikes last week.
Israel continues to block sea access to Gaza and severely restricts its ability to export goods and import raw materials.
Activists say the blockade amounts to collective punishment of Gaza's 1.6 (m) million residents, denying them the chance to trade and travel freely.
The blockade has deepened the hardships in Gaza, where three in four residents rely on food aid from the United Nations to get by, according to UN figures.
Find out more about AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
Twitter: [ Ссылка ]
Facebook: [ Ссылка ]
Instagram: [ Ссылка ]
You can license this story through AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
