International fallout from Israel's bloody boarding of a flotilla offshore Gaza intensified, moving beyond angry denunciation from Israel's foes to protest measures in some Western countries. In Sweden, dockworkers are set to launch a weeklong boycott of Israeli ships and goods, a union spokesman said Saturday according to Associated Press.
Peter Annerback, a spokesman for the Swedish Port Workers Union which has around 1,500 members, said workers are urged to refuse handling of Israeli goods and ships during the June 15-24 boycott.
Norway's military says it has canceled a special operations seminar because the Defense Ministry objected to the inclusion of an Israeli army officer in the program, AP reported.
Military spokeswoman Maj. Heidi Langvik-Hansen says the Defense Ministry was unhappy that the Israeli officer, identified only as Col. Toledano, would be delivering a talk in Oslo only weeks after Israel's deadly commando raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla.
A spokesman for Israel's foreign ministry said a dock action like the one being urged in Sweden was illegal, according to rulings by the European Court of Human Rights. Regarding the Norwegian incident, the spokesman said it was hard to see how barring individuals to international forums "would promote any good cause."
"I'm sure it was a hasty decision that will be quickly regretted," he said.
Nine activists died after Israeli troops intercepted the aid convoy heading for Gaza. Nearly 700 activists had joined that operation, most of them aboard the lead boat from Turkey that was the scene of the violence.
