An activist ship en route to Gaza is expected to be intercepted by Israeli naval forces Saturday, nearly six weeks after Israeli commandos seized a previous vessel attempting to breach the naval blockade on the coastal enclave.
The ship, named Handala, departed from Italy last Sunday and has been making its way toward Gaza. Activists on board announced they are nearing the point at which the earlier flotilla was stopped, saying they expect to be intercepted soon.
“If they don’t agree to turn around, we’ll take control of the vessel,” an Israeli official told Ynet. Israel is not expected to allow the boat to reach Gaza’s shores, consistent with its handling of the previous flotilla. If the ship complies with Israeli instructions and veers away from the coast, the crew will likely avoid detention. Otherwise, commandos from the Shayetet 13 naval unit are expected to board the vessel, redirect it to the port of Ashdod and deport those on board.
On Friday night, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, which organized the voyage, said it had lost contact with Handala. Hours later, contact was reportedly restored, though activists said drones had been flying overhead.
In interviews with Al Jazeera on Saturday, activists aboard the ship said they anticipated being stopped later in the day. “We’ve decided to go on a hunger strike if we are detained by Israel,” one activist said. “The hunger in Gaza is unacceptable.”
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Huwaida Arraf, an American-Palestinian activist aboard Handala, said the ship was about 100 miles from Gaza and that participants had received messages indicating Israeli forces would intercept them. “We are not afraid,” she said. “The vast majority stands with Palestine and against Israeli barbarity. If we’re attacked, there are more ships coming.”
On Thursday, Israel’s Haifa District Attorney’s Office, on behalf of the state, asked the Haifa Maritime Court to permanently confiscate the Madleen, the ship seized in the earlier flotilla. The state argued the vessel should be forfeited to the state treasury under international maritime law, which allows countries to seize ships attempting to violate a naval blockade.
The Madleen carried anti-Israel activists, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, who said the goal was to “break the blockade and deliver humanitarian aid” to Gaza. The vessel was stopped off Gaza’s coast and redirected to Ashdod nearly 24 hours after the Israeli Navy boarded it. Thunberg’s involvement drew international headlines, unlike the Handala, which has so far attracted far less global attention.