Egyptian Source Denies Madleen Had Entered its Regional Waters

Asharq Al-Awsat

18 hours ago

An Egyptian source denied on Monday claims that the Madleen Gaza-bound aid boat had sailed through Egyptian regional waters before heading to Israel.
The activist group on board the vessel departed Italy on June 1 carrying food and supplies for Gaza, whose entire population the UN has warned is at risk of famine.
Israeli forces intercepted the boat in international waters on Monday and towed it to the port of Ashdod.
The Egyptian source said the vessel had not approached the country's regional waters, "otherwise it would have come under the protection of the Egyptian navy and awaited a decision by the country's authorities over what to do with it."
The authorities were not contacted by anyone onboard the Madleen, it stressed.
The regional waters are protected by the military and entering them demands permission and coordination, "and this did not happen," it explained.
Moreover, Egyptian forces cannot allow the entry of the forces of another country into its waters, it added.
Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg and other activists detained aboard the Madleen have been taken to a Tel Aviv airport for deportation, Israel said Tuesday, after their vessel was intercepted by naval forces.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, the activist group operating the vessel, said all 12 campaigners were "being processed and transferred into the custody of Israeli authorities".