Updated on
Summary Pro-Palestinian activists from a Gaza-bound boat have accused Israeli troops of tasering them.
The Israeli army immediately denied the claim.They used electric shocker devices to the extent of what we call electro torture on some of the activists, lawyer Gaby Lasky told AFP, adding that at least one of them is an MP.It was not immediately clear how many of the 30 activists and crew on board the Estelle were shot with the stun guns, which use an electrical charge to incapacitate a person.But Israeli army spokeswoman Avital Leibovich denied that the soldiers had used violence.No force was used when taking over the ship, she told AFP.There were five parliamentarians from Europe on board: Ricardo Sixto Iglesias from Spain, Sven Britton from Sweden, Aksel Hagen of Norway, and Vangelis Diamandopoulos and Dimitris Kodelas, both from Greece.Former Canadian lawmaker Jim Manly, who is in his late 70s, was also on board.Saturdays takeover ended the latest attempt by pro-Palestinian activists to breach Israels tight maritime embargo on Gaza which prohibits all naval traffic in and out of the coastal territory.In May 2010, pro-Palestinian activists tried to reach the Gaza Strip in a six-ship flotilla which was stormed by Israeli troops in a botched pre-dawn operation which left nine Turkish nationals dead, sparking a diplomatic crisis with Ankara.Since then, there have been several other attempts to reach Gaza by boat, all of which have been stopped by Israel, although there has been no repeat of the bloodshed.Israel says its blockade is necessary to prevent weapons from entering the coastal territory, which is run by the Islamist Hamas movement.
