Mark McLaughlin
Edinburgh Evening News
July 4, 2009
AN AID worker has told of the dramatic moment when her boat was seized by Israeli commandos while sailing in disputed waters off the coast of Gaza.
Theresa McDermott, 42, a postal worker from Pilrig, was among 21 people detained when their boat, Spirit of Humanity, was boarded by Israeli special forces while on an aid mission to the blockaded Palastinian territory.
Miss McDermott, speaking to the Evening News from Givon jail, in Ramla, claims the Israelis jammed their radar and GPS signals on the boat on Monday night, endangering the ship and making it difficult to navigate.
The following day Israeli commandos seized the boat and arrested its occupants.
Miss McDermott
said: "They had been circling us for days as we made our way through international waters along the Israeli coast, and by the time we came further down towards Gazan waters there were about eight gunships tailing us.
"As we approached Gaza, about 20 miles from the coast, lots of Zodiac boats were released and they boarded our ship."
"We were taken into Israel at gunpoint and held in a detention centre in Ben Gurion airport, which was filthy and looked like it hadn't been cleaned in months."
She now has to spend up to 17 hours a day in a small ten feet square cell, sharing with six people. However, she said they are being well fed and have not been mistreated.
Their detention has sparked an international row as British diplomats seek to ascertain whether the boat was sailing in international waters at the time.
A Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokeswoman said the dispute surrounded conflicting interpretations of International Humanitarian Law and the Law of the Sea.
She said: "International waters normally begin 12 miles off the coast but in this situation that may not be the case.
"The Israeli government contends that International Humanitarian Law contradicts this, and we are currently working to get an agreed and recognised solution."
Peter Hinchcliffe, honorary fellow at Edinburgh University specialising in international relations and diplomacy in the Middle East, said Israel's argument centred around its right to defend itself from terrorist attack.
He said: "The Israelis would say they have international law on their side. The Israelis are afraid of terrorists bringing weapons into Gaza by the sea, so they have their own security blockade in Gazan waters. They say they can do this under the UN charter as an act of self defence."
However, Miss McDermott says she is willing to spend as long as it takes in Israeli detention, and may resist attempts to deport her and the rest of her party.
"They've not interrogated us as we're technically being held as illegal immigrants.
"They say we tried to enter Israel illegally, but our argument is that we were kidnapped and forcibly brought into Israel while sailing in international waters."
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