Activists diverted to Crete after Gaza flotilla intercept

More than 100 pro-Palestinian activists aboard aid ships bound for Gaza were taken to the Greek island of Crete on Friday after Israeli forces seized their vessels in international waters near Greece, flotilla organisers said.

The activists were part of a second Global Sumud flotilla, launched in recent months in an attempt to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza by delivering humanitarian assistance. The ships set sail from the Spanish port of Barcelona on April 12.

On Friday, an Israeli army ship transferred 168 members of the flotilla crew to Greek boats, which then took them to shore where buses and an ambulance waited for them, organisers said and Reuters footage showed.

Israel's foreign ministry called the flotilla organisers "professional provocateurs".

TWO ACTIVISTS HELD

The organisers said two activists remained with Israeli authorities.

Spain's foreign minister, Jose Manuel Albares, said 30 Spaniards had arrived in Crete but one Spanish national, Saif Abu Keshek, had been "illegally" arrested and was being taken to Israel.

"We demand his immediate release," he said.

Israel's foreign ministry said Abu Keshek was suspected of affiliation with a terrorist organisation and, along with a second activist suspected of illegal activity, would be taken to Israel for questioning.

"Israel will not allow the breach of the lawful naval blockade on Gaza," the foreign ministry said.

Germany and Italy's foreign ministries issued a joint statement saying they were following developments with "deep concern".

A source who asked not to be identified said that while 22 boats had been intercepted by Israel, 47 others were still sailing off southern Crete and planned to anchor there at some point before continuing onwards to Gaza. Each ship is carrying about a ton of food, medical and other equipment, the source said.

The 22 vessels were seized by Israel late on Wednesday in international waters off Greece's Peloponnese peninsula, which is hundreds of miles from Gaza, the flotilla's organisers said.

In a statement on Thursday, the U.S. State Department threatened "to impose consequences" against those who support the flotilla, which it cast as pro-Hamas.

Pro-Palestinian activists say Israel and the U.S. wrongly conflate their advocacy for Palestinian rights as support for Hamas extremists.

Last October Israel's military halted a previous flotilla assembled by the same organisation, arresting Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and more than 450 participants. That followed other seaborne attempts to reach blockaded Gaza.

Palestinians and international aid bodies say supplies reaching Gaza are still insufficient, despite a ceasefire reached in October that included guarantees of increased aid.

Most of Gaza's more than 2 million people have been displaced, many now living in bombed-out homes and makeshift tents pitched on open ground, roadsides, or atop the ruins of destroyed buildings.

Israel, which controls all access to the Gaza Strip, denies withholding supplies for its residents.