Throughout the day on Monday, journalists, solidarity activists, and right-wing demonstrators gathered at Givat Yona, a hill overlooking the Ashdod port in southern Israel, in anticipation of the arrival of the Madleen. The ship, which carried 11 activists, a journalist, and a shipment of humanitarian aid, had been stopped by the Israeli navy on its way to Gaza.
Israeli officers had boarded and took control of the ship — illegally, while it was still in international waters — around 3 a.m., and it arrived at the port, escorted by navy vessels, only about 20 hours later. By sunset, the ship was visible from the shore, but it seems the navy decided to wait until nightfall to bring it into the port, likely in order to prevent the media outlets waiting on the beach from documenting and covering the event.
Since contact with the ship was cut off in the early morning, apart from a few videos filmed by the activists before their arrest and a brief video released by the military, there was little left for the Israeli media to cover. Therefore, they decided to focus on the “PR operation,” as described by the highly popular outlet Ynet. …..more
