Norway has asked Israel to explain the legal grounds for detaining a Norwegian-flagged fishing boat on which activists were trying to sail with aid to the Gaza Strip, Norway's Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.
The ministry said its diplomats in Israel were providing consular assistance to five Norwegians who were among the 22 passengers and crew detained on the Kaarstein on Monday. Two Israelis on board were quickly released.
The boat was one of three in a flotilla that left Palermo, Sicily, on July 21, with the aim of breaching the maritime blockade on Gaza. One of the smaller ships had to turn back early due to mechanical failure.
On Monday, Israeli Navy commandos seized control of the Kaarstein and of the lead vessel, the Awda ("Return" in Arabic), after they ignored several calls to stop and turn around.
The IDF said the flotilla was apprehended "in accordance with international law."
A spokesman for the Norwegian Foreign Ministry said, "We have asked the Israeli authorities to clarify the circumstances around the seizure of the vessel and the legal basis for the intervention."
A spokesman for Israel's Foreign Ministry declined to comment.
Torstein Dahle, head of the group Ship to Gaza Norway, which organized the flotilla, said this was the first Norwegian aid vessel to attempt to breach the blockade of Gaza.
Dahle claimed that the captain of the Kaarstein had been struck on the head by Israeli soldiers, who ordered him to sail for Israel, but he said no one was seriously hurt.
"This is a peaceful boat; it's impossible that it can threaten Israel's security," he said.
Israel imposed a maritime blockade on the Gaza Strip after the Islamist terrorist group Hamas seized control of the enclave in a military coup in 2007. Israel maintains the measure is necessary to prevent Hamas from smuggling weapons and terrorists into Gaza. Egypt also maintains a maritime blockade on the Gaza Strip.
Audun Lysbakken, leader of Norway's opposition Socialist Left party, called on the Foreign Ministry to protest what he described as Israel's "hijacking" of the Norwegian boat in international waters.
Among those detained Monday was Mikkel Gruner, a Danish citizen who lives in Norway and is the Socialist Left representative in the city of Bergen's municipal council. Lysbakken said the activists had legal rights to protest against Israel's blockade and demanded the release of Gruner and the others.
