BICOM

Greek forces yesterday stopped the Canadian ‘Tahrir’ vessel bound for Gaza from leaving port without authorisation. It was the second incident where Greek forces intercepted a ship that was bound for Gaza. The Greek Coast Guard yesterday afternoon intercepted the Tahrir ship fifteen minutes after it set sail. No violence was reported during the takeover of the ship.

On Sunday, organisers of the flotilla announced that the ships anchored in Greek ports would set sail to Gaza on Monday despite the Greek authorities banning ships departing its ports to Gaza. Meanwhile, the Greek government proposed a compromise to deliver the humanitarian aid on Greek ships to Gaza under UN supervision.

The Quartet issued a statement on Saturday saying that the situation in Gaza had improved in the last year and calling on aid organisations to transfer aid through recognised channels, rather than trying to breach the maritime restrictions.

Further reading:

Gaza Flotilla Information Centre