Israeli forces stopped and seized a Palestinian protest boat Tuesday, the army said, as those aboard sought to demonstrate against the Jewish state's blockade of Gaza. The incident occurred amid high tensions in the Gaza Strip after militants fired some 28 mortars in the direction of Israel, whose military retaliated by hitting dozens of targets.
The boat, carrying sick Gazans and those unable to find work, was stopped by Israeli forces several miles out at sea. "The Israeli Navy apprehended a Palestinian boat with approximately 17 Palestinians that attempted to breach the legal naval blockade," the army said in a statement, saying the incident took place "without exceptional events".
The boat will be searched and taken to the Israeli port of Ashdod, it added. Those on board will be questioned and then returned to Gaza, the army added. Protest spokesman Adham abu Salmiya estimated the boat was several miles beyond the nautical blockade imposed on Gaza when it was intercepted. "This is the first Palestinian ship to reach this distance since the Oslo Accords," he said.
Under the Oslo Accords of the early 1990s, fishermen are supposed to be allowed to fish up to 20 nautical miles off the coast. But Israel has restricted that to a maximum of nine miles (14.5 kilometres) in recent years, citing the threat of Gaza's Islamist rules Hamas.
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