ISTANBUL, (PIC)-- Israeli occupation authorities (IOA) said they would not release the Turkish humanitarian aid ship Marmara, or the other seven ships it seized in its deadly May 31 attack, unless Turkey provides written assurance not to participate in convoys sent to break the siege on the Gaza Strip.
The Turkish Hurriyet newspaper said in its Tuesday edition that Israel had previously demanded assurance from the organizers of the first Freedom Flotilla not to participate in further convoys, and that Israel in return would release the ships.
Surprisingly, the paper noted, this time Israel’s demands are addressed to the Turkish government and not the operators of the Marmara ship.
The mayor of Haifa has recommended that the Turkish ship, which was the largest of all the Freedom Flotilla vessels, be converted into a tourist hotel that is permanently anchored at the port in Haifa, a move which raised anger of Arab members of the Israeli Knesset, who said that the demand is “rude, stupid, and has no limit or match.”
There were eight ships which made up the Freedom Flotilla, carrying about 750 activists from over 32 countries, and about ten thousand tons of humanitarian aid, which included medical supplies and construction materials.
River to Sea
Uprooted Palestinian
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