miércoles, 18 de agosto de 2010

Gaza Relief Boat Damaged in Encounter with Israeli Naval Vessel

An Israeli navel vessel rammed a boat carrying medical volunteers, relief supplies and journalists to Gaza early Tuesday as it attempted to intercept the vessel in the Mediterranean Sea. Israel denies intentionally hitting it, although The Dignity's crew insists they did.


The captain of the Dignity told Penhaul he received no priror warning. Only after the collision did the Israelis come on the radio saying they struck the boat because they believed it to be involved in terrorist activities.
The captain and crew said their vessel was struck intentionally, Penhaul said, but Palmor called those allegations "absurd."
"There is no intention on the part of the Israeli navy to ram anybody," Palmor said.

"I would call it ramming. Let's just call it as it is," McKinney said. "Our boat was rammed three times, twice in the front and one on the side. Watch Cynthia McKinney discuss the collision »
"Our mission was a peaceful mission to deliver medical supplies and our mission was thwarted by the Israelis - the aggressiveness of the Israeli military," said McKinney.

The incident occurred in international waters about 90 miles off Gaza. Israel controls the waters off Gaza's coast and routinely blocks ships from coming into the Palestinian territory as part of an ongoing blockade that also applies to the Israel-Gaza border. Human rights groups have expressed concern about the blockade on Gaza, which has restricted the delivery of emergency aid and fuel supplies.

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