Crew of the Estelle, October 19, 2012. (Photo: ShiptoGazaSE/Facebook)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the IDF on Saturday for its takeover of a Gaza-bound ship carrying pro-Palestinian activists. He said the Estelle ship’s passengers aimed only to provoke, and to slander Israel.
The IDF found no humanitarian equipment onboard, despite activists’ claims that they were delivering needed materials to the Strip.
In a televised statement, the prime minister hailed the military’s “efforts in safeguarding the naval blockade of the Gaza Strip in accordance with international law.”
Netanyahu said that the people on the ship, among them three Israelis along with activists from the US, Sweden and Norway, “know that there is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and their only goal is to create a provocation and to slander Israel’s name.”
He added that if human rights were indeed important to the activists, 25 in total, they would have sailed to Syria.
We should have allowed them in to Gaza. They’d have fun explaining why they were not carrying any aid, although I guess they’d claim Israel confiscated the so-called aid.
A law school graduate, David Lange transitioned from work in the oil and hi-tech industries into fulltime Israel advocacy. He is a respected commentator and Middle East analyst who has often been cited by the mainstream media
A law school graduate, David Lange transitioned from work in the oil and hi-tech industries into fulltime Israel advocacy. He is a respected commentator and Middle East analyst who has often been cited by the mainstream media
