Canadian Aid Ship Seized

A Canadian ship attempting to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza was seized Monday night by the Greek Coast Guard. The ship, the Tahrir, had at least 30 Canadian activists on board.

The Tahrir was part of a flotilla of aid intended to penetrate the Gaza sea blockade and bring help to people in Gaza. Last week Greece banned all boats in the flotilla from leaving port, fearing that an incident similar to last year when a different aid mission ended in tragedy after nine Turkish activists were killed by Israeli forces, could happen again.

15 minutes after leaving the port, the ship was boarded by two armed Coast Guard officers said an activist on the ship. He also said the officers drew their weapons as they seized control of the ship.

The Canadian government has criticized the flotilla but the activists aboard still hope they will receive support against what they say is an unlawful act by the Greek government.

The Gaza Strip sea blockade has been in place since 2007. The Israel government says it is to stop weapons reaching Hamas.