The boat docked in the Ashdod port, with 8 crew members and 11 passengers aboard. Israel's Commando 13 force boarded the boat, facing no opposition.
Prior to that, in the morning hours, the Navy called upon the boat four different times to change course for Ashdod and unload whatever humanitarian supplies it has for Gaza there. The Israeli message was that the goods would be checked under international supervision and, if found to be of a humanitarian nature, would be sent to Gaza. The Navy further explained that a blockade was in force on Gaza, in accordance with international law, and that the ship would therefore not be allowed in.
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All four calls were ignored, and the Navy finally boarded the ship, took it over peacefully, and sailed it to Ashdod.
The army announced that the passengers and crew would undergo processing by the Interior Ministry. Passengers on the other flotilla ships were given one-way plane tickets to the country of their choice.
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The IDF Spokesman emphasized that "any body or country that wishes to send humanitarian aid to Gaza may do so in an organized manner at any time via the land crossings and in coordination with the Israeli authorities."
An IDF spokesman said Saturday that Israeli special forces soldiers used boats to board the ship, and were not air-dropped as in the nighttime takeover of the Mavi Marmara on Monday.
The spokesman said the soldiers had boarded after receiving full consent and cooperation from the Free Gaza activists on the ship. The activists dropped a ladder in order to help the soldiers board the ship, the IDF said.
The group of IDF soldiers that boarded the ship included several female soldiers to handle the female passengers on board.
The IDF said earlier that the "Rachel Corrie" had ignored an invitation to unload its cargo at an Israeli port and chose to continue its trip toward Gaza.
According to the army, the organizers "chose to ignore the invitation to dock at the Ashdod port where the cargo could be unloaded and transferred to the Gaza Strip upon inspection."
The Cyprus-based Free Gaza group used micro-blogging website Twitter to announce that troops from three three Israeli naval boats, which had been tailing the ship, had boarded peacefully at 5:50 A.M. Israel time, with no struggle or injuries.
The activists' latest attempt to crack the blockade was seen as a test of Israel's resolve in the face of international conmdenation over the takeover of the Mavi Marmara.
Diplomatic fallout and protests across Europe and the Muslim world have increased pressure to end the embargo Israel imposed after the Islamic militant Hamas group seized power in Gaza three years ago.
American Vice President Joe Biden said Wednesday that Israel had been right to prevent the Mavi Marmara from reaching Gaza. He said that Israel had given the boat the option of unloading its cargo in Ashdod for delivery to Gaza, that Israel "has a right to know whether or not arms are being smuggled in" to the strip.
Shortly after 5 A.M. Israel time on Saturday morning, Greta Berlin of the Free Gaza movement that sent the 1,200-ton Rachel Corrie said the vessel was 35 miles from Gaza's shores.
"There were two warships in the back of them ... and a smaller boat was approaching," Berlin said from the movement's headquarters in Cyprus, citing a passenger on board.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his Cabinet on Thursday the Irish boat would not be allowed to reach Gaza. On Friday, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said the policy had not changed.
"We have made it clear to the Irish and others, no ship will reach Gaza without a security inspection," Lieberman told Channel 1 TV.
This latest attempt to breach the blockade differs significantly from the flotilla the Israeli troops intercepted on Monday, killing eight Turks and a Turkish American after being set upon by a group of activists.
Nearly 700 activists had joined that operation, most of them aboard the lead boat from Turkey that was the scene of the violence. The Mavi Marmara was sponsored by an Islamic aid group from Turkey, the Foundation for Human Rights and Freedom and Humanitarian Relief. Israel outlawed the group, known by its Turkish acronym IHH, in 2008 because of alleged ties to Hamas.
By contrast, the Rachel Corrie was carrying just 11 passengers, whose effort was mainly sponsored by the Free Gaza movement, a Cyprus-based group that has renounced violence.
Irish Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mairead Corrigan told The Associated Press from the ship Friday that the group would offer no resistance if Israeli forces came aboard.
"We will sit down," she said in a telephone interview. "They will probably arrest us ... But there will be no resistance."
Netanyahu instructed the Israeli military to avoid harming the passengers on board the Irish boat, a participant at Thursday night's Cabinet meeting said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting was closed.
In this audio recording of the radio transmission between the Israeli Navy and the 7th flotilla ship, the Israeli Navy offers to transfer all humanitarian supplies on board to Gaza through land crossings in coordination with a third party (including a number of independent aid organizations), so that the Navy would not have to board the ship. Additionally, the Israeli Navy offers that if the ship redirects to dock at Ashdod Port, the cement on board will be transferred into Gaza in coordination with an aid organization to ensure that it is used for civilian purposes.
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pU5HPudACE
The following is a transcript of the radio transmission recording:
Israeli Navy: I’d like to propose something else. First I’d like to make clear it is not our desire, I repeat, it is not our desire, to board your boat. My proposal is as follows: We escort you to Ashdod Port. At the Port of Ashdod you’ll undergo standard inspections, standard of all incoming vessels, and we’ll take it from there in terms of expediting your loading of cargo trucks at the port.
7th Flotilla Ship: How about this for a suggestion…you stop, have a cup of tea, and we’ll continue on to Gaza. We cannot go into Ashdod and off load. I have explained already for circumstances we’ve already gone through that we cannot off load in Ashdod, over.
Israeli Navy: I’ve just been informed I may have not been clear in detailing our previous offer, so I’d like to go over another detail in case you feel I was not clear. Should you agree to come with us to Ashdod and off load your cargo, your cargo would not be delivered to the people of Gaza by the State of Israel. We could do it through an intermediary under the U.N. or an NGO, we have several available willing to help. If you weren’t aware of this issue, it is possible, and we would like to bring this to your attention.
7th Flotilla Ship: The Irish government, I think, had been in talks with the Israeli government seeking safe passage for this ship into Gaza and I think that the best compromise that they could come to was to send this aid to Ashdod. We are further asking to let this ship go to Gaza, over.
Israeli Navy: I’m still hoping we can take this a step ahead and reach a solution.
7th Flotilla Ship: I do too, over.
Israeli Navy: It has been brought to my attention that should it result in the way I proposed, of you coming into Ashdod under escort and offloading the cargo in Ashdod Port, the cement that you said is the bulk of your cargo will be transferred to Gaza. That’s the assurance I have just been given by my superiors. To the best of my knowledge that would be precedent setting. It would something you could take back to your supporters, to your fellow passengers, to the people you say you want to support, and to the government you say you are rebuking for not doing more for Gaza
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