Israeli naval forces boarded and seized control of the protest vessel Handala late Saturday night as it attempted to approach the coast of the Gaza Strip in an effort to break the Israeli naval blockade.
The activists on board reported that Israeli Navy vessels began closing in on the ship earlier in the evening, triggering warning sirens aboard. Video footage released by the activists showed them donning life vests in preparation for a possible boarding by Shayetet 13, the Israeli Navy’s elite commando unit.
Israeli Navy seizes Gaza-bound protest ship Handala in Mediterranean
Around 11:40 p.m. (Israel time), Israeli forces boarded the ship and took control. Activists were seen sitting on the deck with their hands raised as armed commandos climbed aboard. The boarding was broadcast live on YouTube by the activists themselves.
The Handala set sail from Italy last Sunday, roughly six weeks after Israeli forces seized a previous flotilla vessel, the Madleen, which also attempted to breach the blockade. Israeli officials had said earlier in the day that if the vessel did not turn back voluntarily, it would be intercepted.
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.