Israel navy tails Gaza aid ship

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By bandannie

Israeli war ships are “shadowing” a Malaysian-funded Irish aid ship headed towards Gaza, activists on board have said.

The MV Rachel Corrie’s radar was reportedly jammed as the ship sailed closer to restricted waters off the Gaza Strip early on Saturday, a spokeswoman for the campaign group supporting the ship said.
Activists aboard Rachel Corrie are attempting to break the siege of Gaza imposed by Israel, five days after Israeli troops violently intercepted a flotilla of aid ships carrying humanitarian aid for the territory, killing nine activists.

Mairead Maguire, who is aboard the aid ship told Al Jazeera just before radio contact was lost, that navy vessels were following Rachel Corrie and its radar systems have been jammed. She, however, added the situation on board was calm.

“We are not afraid and we are all advocating non-violence… and we will just sit here and go if they insist on commandeering our boat and forcing us into Ashdod,” she said.

Greta Berlin of the Free Gaza movement that sent the ship, said the vessel was 56km from Gaza’s shores at 5am Israeli time [02:00 GMT].

Deterimined activists

“There were two warships in the back of them … and a smaller boat was approaching,” Berlin said from the movement’s headquarters in Cyprus, citing a passenger on board.
IN DEPTH
The Malaysian-funded ship is carrying 11 activists, including Mairead Corrigan, a Nobel Peace laureate, Denis Halliday, an Irish former senior official at the United Nations, and eight crew members.
The activists say they are determined to continue sailing to Gaza with their cargo of medical and construction supplies.

But Israel says it will not allow the ship into Gaza, and has urged it to sail to the Israeli port of Ashdod.
Those on the ship have said they will offer no resistance if Israeli forces decide to board the vessel.
The Rachel Corrie is funded by Perdana Global Peace Organisation, a Malaysian non-governmental organisation headed by Mahathir Mohamad, the country’s former prime minister.
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