Israel will hold ships seized from blockade-busting flotilla at least until raid inquiry ends

Israel keeping flotilla ships until inquiry ends

JERUSALEM — Israel says it will hold on to the six ships that sought to break an Israeli blockade of Gaza at least until it completes its investigation into a deadly raid on one of the vessels.

Israel towed the six boats to port days after naval commandos stormed the ships in May, killing nine Turkish activists on board the lead vessel. The bloodshed provoked an international outcry against Israel and forced it to ease its blockade.

Israel has rebuffed pressure for an international inquiry. Instead, it formed its own commission to investigate. Its deliberations are expected to take months.

Defense Ministry spokesman Shlomo Dror said Wednesday that “nothing will be done with these ships” until after the inquiry because commission members might want to inspect them.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — The militant Hamas group launched a campaign to arrest suspected collaborators with Israel in the Gaza Strip, detaining five in overnight raids, a Hamas security official said Wednesday.

The raids began after a two-month amnesty for collaborators expired and just three months after two collaborators were executed.

Collaboration is viewed as an especially egregious offense in Palestinian society.

The Hamas official said suspects would go to trial, adding, “We are not going to show any mercy to those involved in spying on our people.”

He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the arrests.

Israel’s domestic Shin Bet security service maintains a network of informers in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem. Collaborators are often recruited through blackmail, payment or the promise of entry and work permits to Israel.

In April, Hamas executed two accused collaborators, dumping their bullet-riddled bodies outside a Gaza hospital. It was the first time the Hamas government carried out the death penalty since the Islamic militant group violently seized power in Gaza three years ago.

The killings drew condemnations from human rights groups that have criticized the Hamas military tribunals, saying they often rely on confessions obtained through torture.

Amnesty International and other human rights organizations have also accused Hamas gunmen of killing suspected collaborators during the chaos surrounding Israel’s Gaza offensive in the winter of 2008-2009.