Israel plans to sell four boats seized while sailing towards the besieged Gaza Strip and distribute the funds among two settlers families.
Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported yesterday that the move came in response to the Israeli Central Court’s decision following a request filed by the families.
Israel has in recent weeks confiscated four boats coming from Europe in an effort to break the Israeli navy blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip.
According to the paper, the court has heard the opinion of senior navy and intelligence officials who said the boats’ ownership would have been transferred to Hamas if it had reached Gaza.
The Israeli army announced that it is holding the boats in the port of Ashdod in central Israel.
One of the two families, the Gavish family says three of its members were killed in a 2002 attack while they were in a house in the illegal settlement of Elon Moreh in the northern West Bank while the Feinstein family says one of its members was killed in an attack in Jerusalem in 2001.
The Israeli paper said the court found a direct link between the attacks and Hamas, adding that the money obtained from the sale of the boats will probably not exceed several thousand shekels, but the two families see the decision as important in principle.
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