Activists en route to Gaza: We won't resist IDF if boats seized
Pro-Palestinian activists aboard one of vessels headed for Strip to 'break Israeli blockade' say if seized they will not put up a fight, explain to soldiers that they are violating international law. 'Jewish state was not established to impose blockades,' one activist says
Pro-Palestinian activists aboard one of the ships that will head for Gaza's shore as part of the efforts to "break the Israeli blockade," practiced a possible takeover by IDF naval forces at the port in Piraeus, Greece.
"We will not resist the Israeli forces. We'll explain to the soldiers that they are committing an offense," one of the organizers said.
Another organizer, a former Israeli who has been living in Sweden for the past few decades said, "We are preparing for the journey. We've loaded the equipment onto the vessels, which are manned by Greeks and Swedes. They are being briefed on how to conduct themselves should the IDF decide to seize the boat."
Amid reports that the Israeli navy will prevent any attempt to break the blockade, Dror Feiler told Ynet Sunday that the crew will not resist, but rather "try to explain to the soldiers that our intentions are humane and that by boarding the vessel they are violating international law."
Feiler, who served in the Israeli army in the 1970s, said he was aware that the journey will end once the soldiers board the vessel. "I know how this works. I was a soldier for three years and refused to serve in the territories, but I hope the Israeli government will come to its senses and refrain from attacking a convoy of 500 citizens. It won’t look good," he said.
Henry Asher, a Jewish-Swedish physician, said the sail to Gaza, which is backed by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, "is important to the residents of the Strip and to the State of Israel. The Jewish state was not established to impose blockades. It is against Jewish tradition," he told Ynet.
"How are Gaza's children at fault for what is happening? This sort of collective punishment is forbidden by law," he added.
On Saturday some 30 Israeli ships set sail "to counter the Turkish flotilla." Posters comparing Erdogan to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad were displayed aboard the vessels.
Guy Bechor, who organized the Israeli sail, said it was an "appropriate response to a few rickety boats that are being presented as a threat to Israel."
