Israel Readies Next Blockade Defense

By CHIP CUMMINS in Jerusalem and JOSHUA MITNICK in Tel Aviv

Israel pledged to intercept activists on a ship heading to the Gaza Strip, setting up another test for the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as the Israeli public expressed support for the military—though not always its tactics.

Associated Press

The MV Rachel Corrie in an undated photo provided by FreeGaza.org.

The potential confrontation comes amid international condemnation of the seizure by Israeli commandos of a flotilla carrying aid and activists to the Gaza Strip on Monday.

The U.S. on Friday said the current Gaza blockade was "unsustainable," but urged the aid ship, the Rachel Corrie, to divert to the Israeli port of Ashdod to avoid a confrontation.

Israel on Friday elaborated its account of the operation code-named "Sea Breeze" to intercept the flotilla, and what happened on board the Mavi Marmara, where nine activists died.

 

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Israeli officials said their commando units spent nearly four hours trying to persuade the ship to alter course away from Gaza. The ship maintained a speed of 10 knots, and activists on deck taunted the Israeli military, shouting "Go back to Auschwitz," officials said.

The commandos boarded the ship seeking to avoid casualties, armed with paintball guns and low-velocity pistols, officials said. But they said the soldiers who rappelled onto the ship were immediately attacked and that the third commando was shot with a pistol that the activists had wrested away from one of the commandos.

A fourth commando who was landing on the ship shot and killed an activist after he saw the pistol being aimed at him, said officials, who briefed reporters in Washington Friday.

The Israeli officials said they believed around 70 of the 560 activists on the ship took part in the fighting, largely on the upper deck. They said they believed these activists may have been paid to incite the military.

In searching the ship, Israel found 100 metal rods, 200 knives, 50 wooden clubs and 150 military vests, officials said.

Organizers of the mission said the ships had been searched for weapons before embarking.

Since Monday, homemade signs of support for Israel's soldiers have sprouted along roadsides. About 2,000 protesters descended on the Turkish embassy in Tel Aviv Thursday evening in a noisy protest rally, carrying Israeli flags and signs, one of which read, "Israel has the right to defend itself."

Israel says it must enforce its blockade of Gaza to prevent the transit of fighters and weapons that could be used against Israel.

Israelis expressed frustration at the international community's condemnation of what many here think was a justified, defensive action. "Sometimes we Israelis want to explode when we hear other countries preaching to us," said Alain Azoulay, a retired restaurant owner, sitting at a café in Tel Aviv.

Still, the incident has raised questions for many about the tactical decision to board the ships. According to a poll of Israeli Jews this week in the Maariv newspaper, 63% said the flotilla should have been stopped some other way.

"Israel was stupid," said Nina Cohen, 28, a photography student. The flotilla "was a trap, and they shouldn't have walked into it."

Some 43% in the poll said Defense Minister Ehud Barak bore prime responsibility for the outcome, compared with 21% who said it was the military's fault. A member of Mr. Barak's own party earlier in the week called for him to step down.

The Maariv poll found that almost 75% of respondents said Mr. Barak shouldn't step down. More than 89% said Mr. Netanyahu shouldn't step down. The poll didn't ask whether respondents supported Israel's blockade of Gaza.

The question remained how Israel would stop the Irish vessel, the Rachel Corrie, a 225-foot, 1,200-ton cargo ship that organizers said was carrying about 20 passengers and crew, as well as medical supplies, toys and cement.

A spokesman for Mr. Netanyahu said Israel has offered to allow the ship to dock in the Israeli port of Ashdod. Israel said it would deliver the aid to Gaza, after inspecting it there. "Our offer stands," the spokesman said. But if the ship refuses, "we will intercept," he said.

"We have no desire for a confrontation," Israel's foreign ministry said late Friday. "We have no desire to board the ship."

A spokeswoman for the Israel Defense Force declined to comment.

The Rachel Corrie belongs to the Free Gaza Movement, one of the pro-Palestinian groups that helped organize the earlier flotilla, said Mary Hughes, a co-founder of the group. Passengers included mostly Irish citizens. Northern Ireland Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mairead McGuire was aboard, she said.

The group on Thursday said they had decided to delay the Rachel Corrie's voyage. The ship was originally supposed to be part of the six-ship flotilla intercepted Monday. Mechanical trouble kept it back.

On Friday, organizers changed their minds. "That was yesterday, this is today," Ms. Hughes said. "The status is that the boat is heading to Gaza."

Ms. Hughes said the activists aboard wouldn't try to resist a boarding by Israeli forces, but she said they also hope Israel lets them through to Gaza to deliver their aid—including . She said the boat, if it is allowed to land in Gaza, would likely arrive early Saturday.

Israeli officials said Thursday the government was considering unspecified changes to its Gaza policy in an effort to allow more aid into the territory while maintaining Israeli security. Israel and Egypt enacted a blockade of the territory in 2007, when the militant Palestinian movement Hamas forcibly took over. Critics of the blockade say it amounts to collective punishment of the Palestinians living in Gaza by depriving them of essential items to get their economy back on track.

Peace groups in Israel said they would bring several thousand demonstrators Saturday night to Tel Aviv's Rabin Square for a rally, planned before the raid, to mark the anniversary of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank after the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

Organizers said participants will likely voice criticism of the government's handling of the flotilla.Particularly troubling for some is how the incident, along with other foreign policy and diplomatic blunders of late, appears to be isolating Israel. "We feel that with the current policy, no one is standing alongside the state of Israel, even our friends," said Yariv Oppenheimer, director of Peace Now, the group organizing the rally in Tel Aviv.

—Jay Solomon in Washington contributed to this article.

Write to Chip Cummins at chip.cummins@wsj.com

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