In defiance of an Israeli blockade, a group of international activists are sending a yacht filled with medical supplies to Gaza from Cyprus.
Free Gaza Group spokeswoman Caoimhe Butterly said their 20-meter yacht Dignity would leave Larnaca port around 5 p.m. (1400GMT) Monday with 3.5 tons of donated supplies.
She said the yacht would carry 16 passengers, including former US Congresswoman Cynthia Mckinney, Cypriot lawmaker and doctor Eleni Theocharous and activists from Britain, Australia, Ireland and Tunisia.
I think humanitarian efforts are always nice, but where was this bunch when Hamas was targeting civilians in Israel, and gloating about it?:
Hat tip: Weasel Zippers
UPDATE:
Wiserbud informs me that the Israelis had different plans for our heroes:
A boat carrying international peace activists and medical supplies to the embattled Gaza Strip sailed into a Lebanese port on Tuesday — after being turned back and damaged by the Israeli navy, organizers of the trip said.
Oh dear.
A small crowd on the docks in the southern Lebanese port city of Tyre, including fishermen, cheered welcoming the vessel, called SS Dignity, and some flashed the victory sign.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said the boat had ignored an Israeli radio order to turn back early Tuesday.
Palmor says the boat tried to outmaneuver an Israeli navy ship and crashed into it, lightly damaging both vessels. The navy then escorted the boat out into the territorial waters of Cyprus.
Cynthia McKinney’s account deviates significantly from the Israeli Navy’s:
“We were prevented from entering Gaza … by Israeli patrol boats that tracked us for about 30 minutes. They shone their spotlight on us and then all of a sudden they rammed us approximately three times, twice in the front and once in the side,” said former U.S. Representative Cynthia McKinney who was aboard the boat.
“Communications from the Israelis indicated that we were involved in terrorist activities … I presume that’s why they rammed our boat,” she added.
Hmmmmm.
CNN Video:
Yesssss. By all means, President Elect Obama: Say something…do something.
Nice Deb 