Israel accused of ramming Gaza aid ship
- guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 30 December 2008 11.07 GMT
- Article history
Activists trying to bring aid to Gaza today claimed their boat had been rammed by Israeli gunboats in a "criminal attack" in international waters.
The Free Gaza Movement said its vessel, the Dignity, was intercepted by several Israeli vessels as it was heading to the Gaza Strip, which has been under Israeli aerial bombardment since Saturday.
One gunboat rammed the Dignity on the port bow side, causing heavy damage, although no one was hurt, the group said.
"[The Dignity] is taking on water and appears to have engine problems," the movement said on its website. "When attacked, the Dignity was clearly in international waters, 90 miles off the coast of Gaza.
"The gunboats also fired their machine guns into the water in an attempt to stop the mercy ship from getting to Gaza.
"Israel thumbs its nose in the face of maritime law by attacking a human rights boat in international waters and has put all of these human rights observers at risk.
"At no time was the Dignity ever close to Israeli waters. They clearly identified themselves and the Israeli attack was willful and criminal."
The group said the attack took place as the Dignity carried three tonnes of medical supplies at the request of doctors in Gaza.
The crew and passengers were hoping to treat some of those injured in four days of the Israeli air strikes, with hospitals in the territory overwhelmed.
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