Greece halts boats heading to Gaza

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.

The secretive attempt by the American activists to head out to sea ended in failure after authorities in inflatable speedboats raced after them after their vessel tried to sail without permission from the port of Perama near the Greek capital, Athens.

“We shall overcome,” the activists sang as security personnel watched from their boat just 10 metres away, according to updates protesters posted on the internet during a brief stand-off.

Greek officials appealed to them to turn around, arguing that it was not safe to continue, but activists responded that it was not safe in port because of fears of alleged sabotage of their vessels, organisers said.

Yesterday an Irish ship, the MV Saoirse, said it had to abandon plans to set sail from the Turkish town of Gocek because of what it called Israeli sabotage.

Earlier this week, activists said the propeller of a Swedish ship in a Greek port was sabotaged. Israel has not commented on the reports.

The Greek government action delivered a major blow to a flotilla of nine Greek and foreign-flagged vessels and several hundred activists who had said they want to break Israel’s sea blockade and deliver aid to the Palestinian territory.

The setback followed a week of administrative delays that organisers attributed to Israeli pressure on Greece, which is mired in an economic crisis and has grown closer to Israel as it seeks more foreign investment.

Israel says its sea blockade stops weapons from reaching Iran-backed Hamas militants who control Gaza, and had warned it would stop any attempt to circumvent its restrictions. A year ago, nine activists on a Turkish boat died in an Israeli raid on a similar flotilla, with each side accusing the other of starting the violence.

In Jerusalem today, Israeli military spokeswoman Lt. Col. Avital Leibovich claimed that according to intelligence information a son-in-law of Hamas leader Khaled Mashal, Hamoud Tareq, was among the organisers of the flotilla.

She said that Tareq is active in the Islamic militant Hamas movement and other terror groups.

The US, EU and Israel shun Hamas as a terror group.

Greece’s Civil Protection Ministry said coast guard authorities were ordered to take “all appropriate measures” to implement the ban. It also said the “broader maritime area of the eastern Mediterranean will be continuously monitored by electronic means for tracking, where applicable, the movements of the ships allegedly participating” in the flotilla.

Greece as well as the United States had previously urged activists not to proceed with the flotilla, saying it could lead to confrontation and noting that there were other means of aid delivery. The protesters, however, rejected the option of funnelling aid through Israeli channels and described the sea blockade as a form of incarceration for the Palestinians.

Flotilla organiser Vangelis Pissias condemned the Greek ban today and argued the government had no legal grounds to block private vessels that were heading to international waters from its ports.

“The efforts to sail will continue,” he said.

The American vessel, dubbed The Audacity of Hope after the title of a book by President Barack Obama, was intercepted about two miles out at sea, vessel spokeswoman Jane Hirschmann told reporters in Athens.

She said they prepared a pasta meal at one point during the stand-off with the Greek coast guard.

The American protesters posted an audio clip on Twitter in which they could be heard shouting at the Greek vessels: “We are unarmed civilians... We want to be able to go on our mission to Gaza.”