JERUSALEM (CNN) — The Israeli navy took control of a boat that violated an Israeli blockade and crossed into Gazan waters Tuesday, the Israel Defense Forces said, while a Gaza group said the ship was carrying humanitarian aid, a former U.S. congresswoman and a Nobel laureate.
The boat’s crew included former U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney, according to the Free Gaza Movement, a human rights group that sent the boat it calls “Spirit of Humanity” from Cyprus.
Along with McKinney, who served six terms in the House of Representatives from Georgia and was the Green Party’s presidential nominee in 2008, Israeli authorities took 20 people into custody, the group said.
[…]
IDF said the Israeli navy contacted the boat, which it called the Arion, while it was still at sea and warned the crew they would not be allowed to enter Gazan waters “because of security risks in the area and the existing naval blockade.”
Disregarding all warnings, the boat entered Gazan coastal waters, IDF said. An Israeli navy force intercepted, boarded and took control of the boat, directing it toward Ashdod, Israel, IDF said.
The boat’s crew, the military said, would “be handed over to the proper authorities.”
Without naming individuals on the boat, IDF confirmed the incident it described was the same one detailed by the Free Gaza Movement.
According to the Free Gaza group, McKinney said, “This is an outrageous violation of international law against us. Our boat was not in Israeli waters, and we were on a human rights mission to the Gaza Strip,” before authorities confiscated cell phones.
No shame.
(hattip and thanks to Speranza!)
Update by m (quoting WrathofG-d):
LETS COUNTER THEIR PURPOSE! Call, write, or otherwise contact your elected officials, and encourage them to supports Israel, her right to keep her borders with Gaza closed, and her need to take the steps she did against the “Free Gaza” organization, etc.
Tags: Cynthia McKinney
