PROTESTERS on a boat bound for the Gaza Strip were escorted back to shore yesterday as Greece announced it was banning vessels heading to Gaza from leaving its ports.

Protesters on a boat bound for the Gaza Strip were escorted back to shore today as Greece announced it was banning vessels heading to Gaza from leaving Greek ports.

An Irish ship has dropped out of the pro-Palestinian flotilla planning to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza, citing sabotage, and a US ship declared it may set sail from a Greek port for Gaza without permission, activists said.

Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Eamon Gilmore has backed calls for an investigation into damage caused to a Gaza-bound Irish ship.