Israel seizes Gaza aid ship from Lebanon
It pledged to deliver the supplies over land. Lebanon and Syria criticized the interception.
JERUSALEM - The Israeli navy intercepted a ship carrying humanitarian supplies from Lebanon to the Gaza Strip and towed it into port yesterday, foiling a new attempt by international activists to break Israel's blockade of the Palestinian territory.
It was the first time Israeli forces seized an aid ship, after the navy let some boats in and turned others around.
The interception was condemned by Lebanon and Syria, adding to regional tensions after last month's Israeli offensive against the Islamic extremists of Hamas who control Gaza.
Talks in Egypt to cement a long-term cease-fire in Gaza ran into obstacles yesterday. Hamas delegates left Cairo without agreeing to a deal.
Egyptian officials reported that security officers frisked the delegation returning to Gaza and confiscated $9.5 million to $11.5 million in dollars and euros. The cash was deposited in an account in Egypt, and the delegation was allowed to return to Gaza, a security official said. It was not clear what would happen to the money.
The Gaza fighting ended Jan. 18 when Israel and Hamas declared separate cease-fires. Some violent incidents have marred the informal truce, but Egyptian efforts to stabilize the situation appeared to be making progress.
It was unclear whether Hamas' exit yesterday marked a crisis or a last-gasp push for more concessions. Further talks were expected next week.
In violence late yesterday, the military said troops fatally shot a Palestinian who threw a grenade near the Gaza-Israel border. It said soldiers entered Gaza briefly to search the area.
Hamas and Israel refuse to deal directly with each other. Israel, along with the United States and the international community, considers Hamas, which has sent dozens of suicide bombers into Israel, a terror organization. Many Hamas leaders stick to the group's ideology calling for destruction of the Jewish state, but some say they would accept a Palestinian state next to Israel.
After cementing a cease-fire, the talks' main issues are border crossings and smuggling.
Israel insists on arrangements to end Hamas weapons-smuggling. It contends that the dozens of Grad rockets fired at Israeli cities during the fighting were supplied by Iran and smuggled into Gaza through the tunnels under the Egyptian border. Hamas demands that Gaza's border crossings be reopened.
The long blockade and ensuing hardships for Gazans have spawned an effort by pro-Palestinian activists to sail ships into Gaza with supplies in the last few months.
After letting several ships from Cyprus sail into Gaza, the Israelis drew the line yesterday, banning the vessel from Lebanon. Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said that Lebanon does not have relations with Israel and that there was no way of knowing who or what was aboard.
The navy said that no gunshots were fired aboard the ship but that Israeli sailors had to overcome some resistance aboard the vessel. The navy towed the ship to the Israeli port of Ashdod.
Israel pledged to deliver the aid supplies to Gaza over land. Palmor said the ship would be sent home.
Lebanon's prime minister, Fuad Saniora, condemned the seizure as a "blatant attack," and the Syrian Foreign Ministry criticized what it called Israel's act of "maritime piracy."
The organizers of the ship's voyage, Lebanese political and human-rights activists, said the cargo included medicine, food, toys and basic humanitarian supplies such as mattresses and blankets.
