Israel has turned the tables on flotilla activists and is conducting a “fly-out” deportation of activists who tried to sail to Gaza Wednesday, less than two weeks after a “fly-in” by activists succeeded in little more than gaining a blub in the media.
One of the pro-Hamas supporters who was on the “fly-in” will participated in the “fly-out” Wednesday after the Interior Ministry completes deportation procedures.
The 15 foreigners aboard the French "Dignity” boat were stopped en route to Gaza by Navy commandos, who overtook the boat without opposition and brought the crew and passengers to the port of Ashdod. One person already has been flown out of the country. Most of the passengers are French, and others came from Canada, Sweden and Greece.
Also on board was Israeli journalist Amira Hess, who writes for the left-wing Ha'aretz newspaper. She was released.
The Dignity was one of an original flotilla of 10 ships scheduled to try to break Israel’s maritime embargo on Hamas-controlled Gaza, where the terrorist organization has smuggled, by land and sea, hundreds of tons of explosives for missiles and suicide bombs, advanced weapons and terrorists.
Greece had placed its own embargo on Gaza-bound ships on the grounds that aiding Hamas, outlawed by the United States and a declared enemy of its ally Israel, is a provocation and a probable violation of international law.
The Dignity's captain and passengers tricked Greek authorities by declaring that their destination was Egypt. After sailing out of Greece's territorial waters, they stated they were changing their destination to Gaza.