Protest ship escorted to Israeli port

Australia Broadcast Center

5 hours ago

Isabella Higgins: A civilian ship seized by Israeli forces in the Mediterranean has arrived at an Israeli port almost 18 hours after it was intercepted off the coast of Egypt. The Madleen has been trying to deliver aid to Gaza and lawyers for the crew argue it was illegally targeted by Israeli authorities. Middle East correspondent Matthew Doran is in Jerusalem. Matthew, what's the latest on the ship?
Matthew Doran: Isabella, good morning. The ship has docked at Ashdod port, which is about halfway between Gaza and Tel Aviv. It's a major cargo terminal, but it is also a naval base. And it's from there that the 12 crew, including the Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, will be taken to a detention facility and then to a court to arrange for their deportation. It was a very slow voyage today, considering that the ship was intercepted off the coast of Egypt in the early hours of the morning. And the distance from that point to the port really isn't that large. It's fueling speculation as to Israel wanting to bring the ship into dock under the cover of darkness to try to control what can be seen of the Madleen and the crew. Must also be pointed out that while Israeli authorities continue to describe the crew as simply seeking selfies here, it is releasing its own photos of the crew as they are now on land in Israel, trying to control that narrative. Now, the ship was in international waters when Israeli forces intercepted it before its final approach towards Gaza, carrying a symbolic amount of aid. And it's because of that that the crew's lawyers argue they shouldn't have been stopped, insisting Israel didn't actually have the authority to intercept them and arrest them, bringing the campaigners to Israel for deportation. Here's one of their lawyers, Hadeel Abu Salih, speaking at the Ashdod port earlier.
Hadeel Abu Salih: We're basically talking about people who were sailing in international waters and then Israel basically captured them and abducted them into Israel. And even the legal procedure they are willing to take is not, it does not apply to them.
Matthew Doran: That's Hadeel Abu Salih speaking there. Now, not everyone shares that concern, though. We've spoken to a former senior Israel Defence Forces lawyer, Dr. Eran Shamir-Borer, who's told us that Israel can operate in this way, partly because it's had a naval blockade of Gaza in place since 2009. He says that even a UN inquiry backed the validity of that back in 2011, following an incident when Israeli forces stormed a Turkish ship and nine people were killed. Now, this is a point which will likely be debated again and again as a result of this current incident. And even though the outcome is quite different to that 2010 incident with the Turkish ship, Dr. Eran Shamir-Borer insists that the legal authority is there.
Eran Shamir-Borer: So once a naval blockade has been imposed, there is a right, even an obligation, to enforce it. Enforcing could be done not just with respect to actual breach of such a blockade, but also if there is an attempted breach.
Isabella Higgins: Dr. Eran Shamir-Borer from the Israel Democracy Institute there. Matthew, has there been any global reaction to this?
Matthew Doran: Isabella, we've heard from the Turkish government, which is labelled a heinous crime by the Netanyahu government. And French authorities say that they have told the Israeli government that consular assistance must be offered to the six French crew who are on board, including one who is actually a member of the European Parliament. Outside of governments, we've heard from the UN special rapporteur for the Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese. She is saying that other ships should try to make the same voyage following up from the Madleen. And it really does show that while this is an outcome which was certainly expected, it certainly highlights the restrictions Israel is placing on Gaza, something which is particularly heightened during this current intense humanitarian crisis. Isabella?
Isabella Higgins: Matthew Doran in Jerusalem.