The international media watched from a distance as the ' Rachel Corrie' sailed in, writes MICHAEL JANSENin Ashdod
THE GLOBAL media assembled on Saturday for the second time in a week on a hilltop with a view of the southern entrance to the sprawling port of Ashdod city.
Television cameras occupied forward positions on roofs of houses and a restaurant. Radio and newspaper journalists milled round on the flanks, waiting from hour to hour for the arrival of the MV Rachel Corrie, the Irish-owned cargo ship bound for besieged and blockaded Gaza, commandeered after dawn in international waters by Israeli naval commandos.
Israeli army spokeswoman Lt Col Avital Leibowitz kept pushing back the time of arrival. Asked whether the media would get access to those on board the vessel, she gave a flat “No”.
Her response was echoed by Shahar Arieli, deputy spokesman of the foreign ministry. He pointed out that the press did not get access to detainees in any other country. Once in front of the media, the Free Gaza activists “could cause a riot”, he said.
The activists, who permitted the Israeli commandos to board peacefully, had rejected the deal reached by the Irish and Israeli governments, he said.
If the activists had agreed to land at Ashdod and offload the cargo of cement and medical supplies, it could have been transferred in its entirety to Gaza through Israeli-controlled crossings under the supervision of Irish Aid and in the presence of Free Gaza personnel, and the ship could have departed with passengers and crew.
Since the deal was rejected, Arieli said, the five Irish passengers and six Malaysians would be deported.
He warned there could be problems with transferring all the goods if they were “dual use, if they could be used for military purposes”, such as cement. As for the rest, Israel would have to see who would receive them before making the transfer.
Meanwhile, a large group of right-wing Israelis gathered near the Arab television encampment, shouting slogans.
One man in a wheelchair sped round brandishing a large blue and white Israeli flag, calling for the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, held in Gaza since 2006.
Al-Jazeera correspondent Jacky Roland was harassed by a bulky middle-aged Israeli who objected to her coverage of last Monday’s Israeli naval raid on a Turkish aid ship which left nine Turks dead and three score wounded.
Chris Gunness, spokesman for the UN agency that cares for Palestinian refugees, who was giving interviews on conditions in Gaza, had to be extricated by Israeli troops from a mob shouting “Nazi”.
Once the Rachel Corriedocked far from the eyes of the international press, the Israeli authorities released a video of Mairéad Corrigan-Maguire being offered a gentlemanly hand by a masked commando as she stepped on to a narrow gangway to leave the Rachel Corrie. The film also showed the activists' bags whipped from their hands when they reached the quay.