The Israeli military is monitoring a blockade-busting flotilla on its way to the Gaza Strip and is preparing to block it if need be, Channel 2 news reported.
The convoy, consisting of several small vessels, was expected to sail from Greece to Gaza in the coming days, carrying humanitarian supplies for the Hamas-controlled enclave.
The Marianne of Gothenburg, which departed on Friday for Greece, is part of Freedom Flotilla III, according to Ship to Gaza Sweden.
The boat, which was purchased jointly by the Ship to Gaza Sweden and Ship to Gaza Norway, is carrying solar panels and medical equipment, according to Ship to Gaza Sweden, along with five crew members and several passengers.
Among the passengers are Israeli-born Swedish citizen Dror Feiler, a musician and spokesman of Ship to Gaza; Kajsa Ekis Ekman, a Swedish journalist, author and social critic; Robert Lovelace, a Canadian scholar and activist; and Ana Maria Miranda Paza, a Spanish member of the European Parliament.
MK Basel Ghattas (Joint Arab List) announced on Sunday that he will be joining a new flotilla bound for the Gaza Strip, as part of a campaign to lift the naval blockade on the coastal enclave.
“If the IDF wants to kill, then shoot!” the Balad Party/Joint List MK said.
Jewish Home leader and Education Minister Naftali Bennett said Sunday night the flotilla was another indication of the failure of the 2005 Israeli pullout from Gaza, saying in a statement: “Ten years after the disengagement rockets are fired at our children from [the evacuated settlements of] Gush Katif, tunnels are dug towards our communities from Gaza and terror flotillas are sent to our shores from Turkey…we evacuated Jews and got flotillas in return.”