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Sat, June 05, 2010 | JPost

The Rachel Corrie

Navy ships have intercepted the boat Rachel Corrie approximately 55 kilometers from the Gaza Strip, and are calling on it to divert to Ashdod, activists on board the boat said Saturday morning.

Earlier reports had suggested that the Rachel Corrie had been boarded, but the army and the boat’s passenger’s later said this was not true.

“They are being followed,” said Greta Berlin of the Free Gaza, which is one of the groups behind the effort to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza.

Earlier in the night, boat co-sponsor ‘Perdana Global Peace Organization,’ a Malaysian NGO, stated on its website that the ship’s passengers had agreed to let international inspectors search the ship before it proceeded to Gaza. The statement said that the activists “welcome a UN inspection to examine our cargo, which is solely construction and educational materials and medical supplies, but we believe this can be done at sea or in Gaza.”

Irish Foreign Minister Dr. Michael Martin had earlier reached an agreement with Israel, whereby the Rachel Corrie would proceed to Ashdod where its contents would be checked, unloaded and then shipped to Gaza under observation of representatives of the activists, the UN and the Irish government. The activists rejected this offer, insisting on breaking the Israeli blockade. They did however give assurances that they would not resist the IDF, should it decide to board the ship. The White House later expressed support for the agreement and called on the ship to dock at Ashdod.

Jenny Graham, who is on board the ship, told the “Free Gaza movement” that “We will have no part in a deal that involves us legitimizing the siege of Gaza. We intend to continue on our mission to deliver our cargo of aid and supplies to the people of Gaza. This has always been our intention.”

As the navy prepared to intercept the ship, Netanyahu instructed it not to harm the activists.

The Foreign Ministry said it hoped the activists on board would reconsider their position.

Greta Berlin, a co-founder of the Free Gaza movement, said those on board the ship had no intention of ceding to Israel’s request. Nor, she said, were they impressed by Netanyahu’s statements Thursday to UN Middle East envoy Tony Blair, in which he promised to increase the amount and variety of goods which could enter Gaza by land.

“We do not trust Israel anymore,” said Berlin.

“Our mission is to break the blockade of Gaza,” she told The Jerusalem Post. Unlike the six ship flotilla which had close to 700 people, the Rachel Corrie, she said, had only 20 people on board. These people are all non-violent, she added.

Hassan Nassrallah, the secretary general of Hezbullah, called for a new flotilla to sail to Gaza on Friday night.

Speaking through a video link, Nassrallah praised the flotilla for damaging Israeli-Turkish relations, and called on the people of Lebanon to participate in a new flotilla.