'Reverse' Gaza Flotilla Passes Without Confrontation
Footage from Monday's "reverse" Gaza flotilla. Photo: Israel Hayom video screenshot.
JNS.org – A "reverse flotilla" that left Gaza on Monday returned without confronting the Israeli Navy, Israel Hayom reported. About 150 Palestinian and European activists set out on 19 boats traveling from the Gaza shore toward Israeli Navy vessels in an effort to break Israel's blockade on Gaza.
Hamas personnel escorted the flotilla, which was organized by a group called Shabaab al-Intifada, to prevent an altercation between activists and the navy. The Israel Defense Forces' naval blockade is enforced at a six-mile distance from the Gaza shoreline, and prior to last year's IDF Operation Pillar of Defense, the blockade had been set at three miles from the shore. The activists approached the five-mile line, and from there they threw plastic bottles with protest letters into the water.