The Haifa naval court ruled that in accordance with the British Naval Prize Act of 1864, which applies in Israeli law, the state may confiscate the Swedish-registered Marianne, a ship which blatantly broke the law when it attempted to breach the internationally recognized blockade of Hamas-ruled Gaza.

Haifa Naval Court judge Ron Sokol approved Sunday the state’s request to confiscate the ship “Marianne,” which was stopped by the Israeli navy in June 2015 when it attempted to break Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip.

The fishing trawler, Marianne of Gothenburg – Google photos

The state filed the request to order the confiscation of the ship in accordance with the British Naval Prize Act of 1864, which applies in Israeli law.

The Swedish-registered Marianne of Gothenbur was boarded and captured without injury and towed to the port in Ashdod. The crew was questioned by the IDF before being expelled from Israeli territory.

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The state said in its request that the crew knew of the existence of the blockade and that ships were banned from entering the Gaza Strip.

The ship was sold for scraps due to its dilapidated condition. The hearing was to determine who owns the 66,000 Euros (about $70,000), which was the value of the ship at the time of sale.

Judge Sokol ruled that Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza is legal, and therefore the state had the right to impound the ship and that the state had properly exercised its power in this case.

“In these circumstances, in which the purpose of the ship’s voyage was merely to protest, and where it can be shown that the ship was on its way to break the blockade, the State of Israel has the authority to impound it, and there are grounds to order the confiscation of the ship.”

View original Arutz Sheva publication at:
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/220572