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Passengers and crew of Irish Gaza-bound ship agree to be deported

Arab-Israel Relations Materials 6 June 2010 05:33 (UTC +04:00)
All 19 people from the Irish Gaza-bound aid ship, intercepted on Saturday, agreed to be deported to their home countries, the Jerusalem Post reported on Sunday.
Passengers and crew of Irish Gaza-bound ship agree to be deported

All 19 people from the Irish Gaza-bound aid ship, intercepted on Saturday, agreed to be deported to their home countries, the Jerusalem Post reported on Sunday.

The deportation costs for passengers and crew will be paid for by the Israeli government, the paper said citing the Israeli radio.

The Rachel Corrie bulk carrier, named after the U.S. woman, who was killed by an Israeli bulldozer in Gaza in 2003, was intercepted near to the Gaza's shore without any resistance, RIA Novosti reported.

Israeli military said earlier in the day there were no casualties among both the military and the crew as no force was needed and no weapons were used.

"Today it was much easier. People were much more polite and did not attempt any violent provocations," an immigration official told the Ynet news portal. "Some of them, like the Filipinos who were part of the crew, didn't really understand why they're here."

"They came off the boat and arrived to us in a civilized manner, did not riot, and did not swear at our inspectors or looked at them with hatred in their eyes," Yossi Edelstein said. "Compared to the previous people they were very calm."

Five days ago Israeli commandos stormed the six-ship Freedom Flotilla off the Gaza coast as it carried some 10,000 tons of aid and up to 700 human rights activists to the Palestinian enclave.

Official Israeli reports said nine people were killed in the operation, which took place in neutral waters in the Mediterranean Sea, however, Arab media reports put the death toll at close to 20.

AFP said the pro-Palestinian activists from the Rachel Corrie have already been transferred to the Ben Gurion international airport in Tel-Aviv.

The expulsion was delayed as some of them refused to sign a "waiver of an appeal against such a measure before Israeli courts," an Israeli immigration service spokeswoman said.

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