Swedish pro-Gaza ship activists deported

STOCKHOLM: Seven Swedish activists detained by Israel’s navy for attempting to breach its blockade of Gaza have been deported to Sweden, the organizers of the Ship to Gaza activist flotilla said yesterday. Four of the activists arrived back in the Scandinavian country yesterday, and the three others were expected later in the day, Ship to Gaza Sweden spokesman Dror Feiler told AFP.

The Israeli navy said it intercepted the ship, Freedom for Gaza, late Friday “in accordance with international law”, and took it to the port of Ashdod. The ship was carrying medical supplies and had a total of 12 crew and activists on board, hailing from Sweden, Spain, Canada and Germany and France. All have been deported, Feiler said. Meanwhile, Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom said yesterday Israel’s interception and boarding of the ship, as well as the detention of the activists and crew, violated international law.

“The (Swedish) government has been in contact with Israeli authorities about Ship to Gaza and has insisted that the actions of the Israeli authorities regarding the Swedish-flagged vessel Freedom and the people on board are not backed up by international law,” Wallstrom said in a statement. She said her government had also demanded that the ship and its cargo be released.

‘Break the blockade’

The Gaza Strip has been under Israeli blockade for more than a decade, with Israel saying it is necessary to prevent the Palestinian enclave’s militant Hamas rulers from obtaining weapons. Israel has defended the legality of Friday’s seizure, recalling that a 2011 UN report found its naval blockade on Gaza was legal. Freedom was the second boat of the “Freedom Flotilla” to be intercepted en route to “break the blockade” on Gaza, organisers said. —AFP