The pop music and peace messages broadcast by Abie Nathan’s peace ship were silent today. The vessel, anchored outside Israel’s 12-mile limit, had generator trouble which cut off its electricity supply. Technicians summoned from Tel Aviv were unable to repair the generator. An urgent call was put through to the American manufacturer who promised to dispatch a technician forthwith.
Israeli authorities meanwhile have informed Nathan that his international crew will no longer be able to enter or leave Israel without undergoing the usual procedures that apply to crewmen of foreign vessels. Up to now, the formalities had been dispensed with. The authorities said crew members who shuttle to and from the peace ship by motor launch can land only at Haifa or Ashdod where customs officers are on duty.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.