Pro-Arabs say Israel didn't stop them at Gaza
Pro-Arabs say Israel didn't stop them at GazaFlash 90

An overnight change in Israeli policy allowed pro-Arab activists to land on the Gaza shore early Wednesday morning despite previous threats they would be stopped. Foreign Ministry spokesman Yossi Levy said, "A change in our policy based on new information during the night" was behind the 180-degree reversal. The ministry had stated as recently as Tuesday that the Navy would not permit the boat to anchor.

The ministry had stated as recently as Tuesday that the Navy would not permit the boat to anchor.

 

Levy refused to detail why the policy was changed but added that it did not represent a precedent. The ministry made a similar statement after the first two boats landed in August. The Foreign Ministry said at the time that it preferred to ignore the activists instead of allowing them to create a public relations coup by being arrested or kept at sea.  

 

Pro-Arab activists boasted that their landing in pouring rain in Gaza on Wednesday "demonstrated that the might of the Israeli Navy is no match for a small boat of human rights activists." The activists' spokeswoman, Greta Berlin, said, "The SS Dignity, carrying 27 crew and passengers arrived in Gaza at 8:10 a.m. Gaza time, in spite of Israeli threats to stop them."

 

The 27 activists on the boat, including an Arab Knesset Member and one Israeli Jew, said they were prepared for the Navy to "harm our boat, arrest us and tow us if we entered Israeli waters." They claim that Israel has no legal sovereignty over the Gaza coastal water.

 

The boat that arrived Wednesday was supposed to be carrying medical supplies that activists have claimed are not reaching Gaza because of the alleged "siege" imposed by Israel. However, the government has allowed humanitarian shipments on a daily basis following a near-halt of Kassam rockets on Israel.

 

Activists are planning to establish a regular ferry service between Gaza and Cyprus.

 

The only Jew aboard, 73-year-old Gidon Spiro, said he was expecting the government to stop the boat as a display of strength to voters prior to the general elections this winter.

 

Also aboard were International Solitary Movement activists and Al Jazeera journalist Amir Mohammed Sidig.