Israel intercepts boat seeking to break Gaza blockade

Israel on Oct. 5 intercepted a boat carrying women activists seeking to break the country's decade-long blockade of the Gaza Strip, saying it was boarded without incident and taken ashore.

The navy said it had redirected the sailboat in order to prevent a "breach of the lawful maritime blockade" of the Palestinian enclave "in accordance with government directives and after exhausting all diplomatic channels." 

The Zaytouna-Oliva set sail from Barcelona in September with 13 women of various nationalities aboard, including 1976 Nobel Peace Prize winner Mairead Maguire of Northern Ireland.

Dubbed "Women's Boat to Gaza," it is part of the wider Freedom Flotilla Coalition that consists of pro-Palestinian boats that regularly seek to go to Gaza to try to break the blockade.

One such operation turned to tragedy in 2010 when Israeli commandos killed 10 Turkish activists in a raid on a flotilla.

In the Oct.5 operation, the Israeli navy said it intercepted the sailboat after advising it "numerous times to change course prior to the action." 

It said its forces had boarded and searched the sailboat, describing the operation as "uneventful." 

On the same day, the United States sharply criticized Israel over plans to build a new Jewish settlement in the West Bank that it said would damage prospects for peace with the Palestinians and contradicted assurances made to Washington. 

The White House and State Department "strongly condemned" Israel's decision to advance a plan that they said would create a new settlement "deep in the West Bank" and undermine a two-state solution. 

In unusually harsh words for its Middle Eastern ally, Washington also accused Israel of going back on its word. 

"We...