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"IDF Navy forces boarded the Scandinavian Gaza-bound Estelle ship attempting to breach Israel's blockade on the Strip. Control over the ship was seized in Israeli territorial waters, as the IDF maintained its forces acted in accordance with the international law."
Estelle was seized over 30 nautical miles off Gaza's coast. It was forcibly taken to the Israeli port, Ashdod. International law calls it piracy. More on that below.
Passengers were taken against their will to Ashdod's immigration facility. They may or may not be charged with entering Israel illegally. Israel acts lawlessly. Victims get blamed. That's how rogue states operate.
Seizing Estelle, other humanitarian ships, or legitimate commercial ones in Gazan waters make no difference. Gaza is Palestinian, not Israeli, territory. International law prohibits what Israel does routinely. Around a dozen previous vessels were lawlessly interdicted.
Canadian activist David Heap is connected to the movement. He was aboard a 2011 Canadian Boat to Gaza mission. He tasted Israeli brutality firsthand. He was brutally beaten, arrested, detained, and prevented from contacting his family by phone for days.
From Givon Prison, he sent a message through his lawyer, saying:
"Although I was tasered during the assault on the Tahrir, and bruised during forcible removal dockside, I am basically OK." He's "slightly limping," he added.He said he and fellow activist Michael Coleman, an Australian national, were taken to Givon Prison in handcuffs and leg shackles.
"We are neither criminals nor illegal immigrants, but rather political prisoners of the apartheid state of Israel."
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