Ex-Tunisian president to board Gaza blockade-busting boat

Former Tunisian president Moncef Marzouki will be on board a flotilla leaving for Gaza in the coming days, raising the stakes for Israel as it attempts to block the boats diplomatically and militarily.

Marzouki — who served from 2011 to 2014 as Tunisia’s first elected president following the ouster of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali — arrived in Greece on Sunday to board a Gaza-bound boat, his official Facebook page announced Monday afternoon. The page displayed a photo of Marzouki standing among a group of men donning scarves with the Palestinian flag upon his arrival.

Emanuel Nahshon, a spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry, told The Times of Israel that his office was aware of Marzouki’s presence on the flotilla, and was preparing “diplomatically and militarily” to obstruct it.

Israeli Ambassador to the UN Ron Prosor on Monday called on UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to condemn the “Freedom Flotilla,” amid preparations by the Israeli Navy to block its three boats from reaching Gaza.

Israel imposed a land and sea blockade on Gaza following Hamas’s violent takeover of the Strip in the summer of 2007, in a bid to curb the smuggling of weapons and raw materials used for the manufacturing of rockets launched by Hamas and other local terror groups at Israel.

The Israel Defense Forces has intercepted a number of civilian ships carrying weapons headed for Gaza in recent years. It has also turned away activists attempting to break the blockade. An Israeli commando interception of the Turkish vessel Mavi Marmara on May 31, 2010, led to the death of nine Turkish activists and the injury of a number of Israeli soldiers.

The Marianne of Gothenburg, a Scandinavian fishing boat, traveled from Sweden through the waters of Norway, Germany, France, Spain and Portugal before reaching Messina, Italy, last week. The boat was making its way to Crete, Greece, on Sunday, before attempting to breach the blockade and reach Gaza. Along the way it was to meet up with at least two other boats that make up the flotilla.

The activists say the vessels are carrying a cargo of solar panels and medical supplies for Gaza residents, who are still recovering from last summer’s conflict, and expect to reach the Strip by the end of the month, unless they are intercepted.

Dror Feiler, an Israeli activist aboard the Marianne of Gothenburg, told Israeli news website Walla that the flotilla would include some 60 activists, including Spanish European Parliament member Ana Maria Miranda Paz and journalists from Qatari news channel al-Jazeera.

Meanwhile, the Knesset’s Ethics Committee held a special meeting on Tuesday to discuss the suspension of MK Basel Ghattas of the Joint (Arab) List who also left for Greece to join the flotilla.

On Sunday, Ghattas sent a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon telling them of his plan to be on one of the vessels. He urged them to let the boats reach the Palestinian coastal enclave — or face an international backlash.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.