South Korea says Israel’s detention of flotilla activists ‘way out of line’ |
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said Israel detained South Korean nationals in international waters, calling the action “way out of line,” in an apparent reference to participants in the flotilla to Gaza.
The Foreign Ministry announced Tuesday that the latest activist flotilla, consisting of 50 boats, aiming to break Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza, had “come to an end,” with more than 400 activists taken to Israel.
During a cabinet meeting, Lee said South Korean citizens had been detained for reasons not valid under international law, questioning whether such actions could be allowed to pass without protest.
Lee also said he believes many European countries are willing to arrest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu under International Criminal Court warrants, but that Seoul must make its own judgment on the matter.
Israeli authorities began detaining the activists seized from the Gaza-bound flotilla at the southern Israeli port of Ashdod on Wednesday, the Adalah rights group said.
The authorities said 430 activists aboard the flotilla were en route to Israel, while Adalah said some had already arrived at Ashdod port and were being held there.
“Having set sail toward Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid and challenge the unlawful blockade, these civilian participants were forcefully abducted from international waters and taken into Israeli territory entirely against their will,” Adalah said.
“These acts are a direct extension of Israel’s policies of........