Ya'alon: Flotilla participants will try to harm soldiers
Strategic affairs minister is convinced there are "violent elements" in the flotilla, participants plan to attack IDF solders.
By JPOST.COM STAFFyaalon begin pic 311(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Ya'alon said reports from army sources that participants in the flotilla to Gaza plan on attacking IDF soldiers with lethal force are accurate, according to an interview Wednesday with Israel Radio.Ya'alon said that he is convinced that participants are planning to attack IDF soldiers that will try to stop the boats.RELATIVE:IDF: Some flotilla activists planning to kill soldiersThe minister had no doubt the evidence was reliable, saying "we received the information in the last few days, and according to this intel there are elements that will be violent. The IDF should be aware of this possibility."He dismissed the flotilla organizer's claims that participants were peaceful, saying "before the last flotilla they presented themselves as pensioners and innocents, but our forces encountered fundamentalist Muslim extremists."On the situation in Gaza he added "there is no crisis in Gaza, their economy is flourishing and this month alone two new hotels are scheduled to be opened, with a shopping center set to open next week. The markets are full and no one is dying of thirst or hunger."He also reiterated Israel's offer to let goods and aid through Ashdod port.Click for full Jpost coverage
