JERUSALEM // Israel yesterday threatened to deny journalists entry into the country for a decade if they participated in a flotilla of pro-Palestinian activists attempting to sail into the Gaza Strip.
The government press office released a statement that called the seaborne attempt to break Israel's five-year blockade on the Palestinian territory a "a dangerous provocation" and an "international violation of Israeli law".
Journalists who join the flotilla, expected to depart from Greece any day now, could be "denied entry into the state of Israel for 10 years", the statement said.
Israel's Foreign Press Association, which coordinates the activities of journalists operating in the country, criticised the move, calling it "a chilling message to the international media and raises serious questions about Israel's commitment to freedom of the press".
"Journalists covering a legitimate news event should be allowed to do their jobs without threats and intimidation," the organisation said in a statement, urging Israel to "reverse its decision immediately".
Freedom Flotilla II, an umbrella group of organisations consisting of Israelis, Americans and nationals from a host of European and Asian nations, has come under increasing pressure to halt its Gaza flotilla.
The US State Department last Monday warned American citizens that participation in the event could result in fines or imprisonment because it would violate "US civil and criminal statues". The United States and European Union, along with Israel, consider Gaza's Hamas rulers a terrorist organisation.
Several prominent intellectuals are thought to be participating, including novelist Alice Walker, a US citizen and Pulitzer Prize winner who has said she would not heed her government's warnings.
The Humanitarian Relief Foundation, or IHH, announced earlier this month that it would pull out of the event. The Turkish charity group cited "technical problems" with its ship, the Mavi Marmara, which sustained damage last year during a similar attempt to break the Gaza siege. Israeli commandos stormed the vessel in international waters, killing nine activists on board in a raid that brought international outcry and severely damaged relations between Ankara and Tel Aviv.
Israel has reportedly been increasing diplomatic efforts to thwart the flotilla. It submitted a letter last week to the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, calling the fleet of activists a provocation "designed only to serve an extremist political agenda".
The Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth quoted anonymous Israeli officials yesterday as saying the diplomatic effort had succeeded in roughly halving the number of boats and participants, to 10 and 500, respectively.
The newspaper also reported flotilla organisers confirming that at least one American vessel had been ordered to stay behind by Greece, the staging point, because of US diplomatic pressure.
"We have no doubt that Israel and the US are in cahoots here, and that the Greek government, which is weak, is capitulating to pressure," Dror Fyler, an Israeli organiser was quoted as saying.
