Israeli Navy Boards Finnish Ship & Tasers Passengers

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ISRAELI naval forces used stun guns when they boarded a Finnish ship which was attempting to break the sea blockade of Gaza on Saturday, the Israeli press has reported.

They intercepted the ship after all attempts to prevent its entry to Gaza were exhausted, and brought it to the Israeli port of Ashdod, a military statement said.

‘The Estelle’ was carrying 30 activists from Europe, Canada and Israel, humanitarian cargo such as cement and goodwill items such as children’s books, a mission spokesman said.

Organisers said their website was hacked on Saturday, rendering it inaccessible during the raid. The group is considering a police complaint.

An Israeli military’s statement said the navy forces carried out the Israeli government directives ‘after all attempts to prevent the vessel from reaching the Gaza Strip were made, both via direct contact and through diplomatic channels, but to no avail.

‘The boarding was carried out only after numerous calls to the passengers onboard; as a result of their unwillingness to cooperate and after ignoring calls to change course, the decision was made to board the vessel and lead it to the port of Ashdod,’ the statement said.

The military claimed its forces took measures to ensure the safety of the passengers and maintained that it did not use force. The passengers ‘were attended to and offered food and beverages.’

In his last communication with the group, on-board activist Dror Feiler described being surrounded by five to six military vessels as masked Israeli soldiers attempted to board the ship.

‘Then the connection was cut.’

‘The Estelle’ set sail in June around Europe, and left Naples on October 6th heading for Gaza.

European MPs and international activists, including Israeli nationals, were on board.

The boat’s cargo, listed on the flotilla’s website, includes cement, wheel chairs, crutches, toys, musical instruments and 300 footballs.

Activists have mounted several attempts to break the blockade by sea. Most were stopped by Israel, including the one in May 2010 when marines killed nine activists.

Meanwhile, a Muslim-Christian group on Sunday condemned an Israeli government plan to build a military academy in occupied East Jerusalem.

Peace Now settlement watch director, Hagit Ofran, said on Sunday that notices were hung around the Mount of Olives giving the public 60 days to file objections to the building of the eight-story military college.

The Islamic-Christian Commission said the plan is part of the Israeli authorities’ efforts to erase the Palestinian identity of East Jerusalem.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem in the 1967 war and later illegally annexed the city, a move never recognised by the international community. Palestinians insist East Jerusalem is the capital of their state.

Israel approved some 800 new housing units in the illegal settlement of Gilo near Jerusalem earlier this week, drawing condemnation from the European Union.

l Meanwhile last Sunday, Iran denied a report in a US newspaper that it has plans for direct talks with the United States over its disputed nuclear programme.

The New York Times, citing Obama administration officials, reported that the US and Iran had agreed, in principle, to one-on-one negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programme, though the White House quickly denied the report.

‘We don’t have any discussions or negotiations with America,’ Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said in a news conference on Sunday.

‘The nuclear talks are ongoing with the P5+1 group of nations. Other than that, we have no discussions with the United States.’

Several rounds of talks this year between Iran and world powers, dubbed the P5+1, have failed to yield a breakthrough.

The Israeli vice premier had said on Sunday that he would welcome direct talks between the United States and Iran if they were aimed at halting what Israel sees as plans by the Islamic Republic to build a nuclear weapon.

But Moshe Yaalon also said that he believed the White House denial of the New York Times report that Washington and Tehran had agreed in principle to hold bilateral negotiations.

Israel has threatened it could use military force to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power, and it has had differences with Washington over when Tehran would actually cross the ‘red line’ to atomic weapons capability.

Regarding the prospect of talks, Yaalon said: ‘Israel doesn’t oppose this . . . If Iran stops its military nuclear project as a result of direct contacts with the United States, we will be the first to welcome this.’

But he said that as far as Israel was aware, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, opposes direct talks with Washington. ‘I believe the White House denial,’ Yaalon added.

A spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu declined to comment on the report, which was published just two days before President Barack Obama is due to hold a debate with Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney focused on foreign policy.

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, speaking on Army Radio, said he hoped the newspaper report was wrong.

‘The Iranians have lied time after time, to the Security Council, the P5+1 and to international negotiators,’ Lieberman added, referring to the United States and the four other permanent members of the United Nations Security Council – Britain, China, France and Russia, plus Germany.

Lieberman heads an ultranationalist party in the governing coalition and often takes a more hawkish line than Netanyahu. Yaalon is a member of Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party.

The United States and other Western powers have claimed that Iran’s nuclear programme is aimed at developing nuclear weapons. Tehran says it is enriching uranium only for peaceful purposes.

Netanyahu told the UN last month that Tehran would arrive at that point only next spring or summer, in what appeared to be an Israeli signal that any military action could wait.

Last week, Netanyahu praised the European Union for ramping up sanctions against Iran, saying such measures were having a strong impact on the Iranian economy.

Lieberman said Iran’s only aim in pursuing any direct talks would be to roll back sanctions. ‘But if we see that sanctions are working, why reduce them?’ he asked.

The New York Times said Iran had insisted that talks with Washington would not begin until after the November 6th election determines whether Obama will serve a second term or if Romney will succeed him.