An AFP correspondent saw the disembarkation of dozens of activists on an aid flotilla headed for Gaza that was stopped by Israeli military in international waters off the Greek island of Crete on Friday.
About 175 activists were transported in four busses to a town whose name was withheld by the government, escorted by Greek coast guards.
About 175 activists were removed from more than 20 boats on Thursday, according to prior reports from Israel’s foreign ministry. The number, according to flotilla organizers, is 211.
“In coordination with the Greek government, the individuals transferred from the flotilla vessels to the Israeli vessel will be disembarked on a Greek beach in the coming hours,” Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar wrote on X late Thursday, thanking Greece “for its willingness to receive the flotilla participants”.
Several European governments with nationals among those arrested have called on Israel to free the activists and called its action a flagrant contravention of international law.
But the United States backed Israeli authorities, calling the flotilla a “stunt”.
“The United States expects all our allies…to take decisive action against this meaningless political stunt by denying port access, docking, departure and refueling to vessels participating in the flotilla,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said.
The flotilla’s initial goal, according to its organizers, was to break the blockade of Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territory, which is still largely inaccessible despite a precarious ceasefire between Israel and the Islamist organization Hamas that has been in effect since October. The flotilla was initially composed of more than fifty boats.
*
Email *
Website
