On Board the Mavi Marmara: Six hours after the Freedom Flotilla departure, three Israeli missile boats left their naval base in the northern coastal city of Haifa on a mission to intercept the flotilla, reporters on board one of the vessels said before being told to turn off their phones.
In Gaza, anti-siege activists called on the international community to ensure the protection of the "Freedom Flotilla" which had been aiming to arrive on Saturday but was repeatedly delayed.
Israel has extended the military zone it has designated off Gaza from 20 nautical miles to 68 miles, one of the organisers of the Freedom Flotilla said Sunday.
Professor Norman Baech, a German international law expert and former member of the German parliament who is on the Mavi Marmara, said that states that feel threatened often extend naval military zones up to 68 miles beyond their coasts.
Israel's jurisdiction over Gaza's territorial waters are however disputed. Gaza is considered occupied by the international community but not by Israel, which does now allow Israel to justify its practices under its own laws.
It is believed that the military zone has been extended to pursue the flotilla in international waters, and away from the coast of Gaza. While Israel has in the past pursued such aid boats in international waters in the past, the move could be an attempt to have a legal cover.
The flotilla consists of six vessels that are attempting to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza in defiance of Israel's naval blockade of the territory.
Beach said that such moves are only justifiable if states feel threatened. "We are no threat to Israel. We are only carrying humanitarian aid".
The Mavi Marmara, the largest passenger ship in the flotilla is carrying more than 550 passengers including two German members of the Bundestag, the parliament, and one Swedish member of parliament, who were transferred to the ship from the Challenger I.
The Challenger I was barred by the authorities in south Cyprus from leaving its ports to join the flotilla. Only after the intervention of the German and Turkish government were its passengers allowed to exit from the Turkish controlled North Cyprus.
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link to gulfnews.com]
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