Israel turns back Gaza aid ship
« Thread Started on Dec 1, 2008, 11:38am »

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Israel turns back Gaza aid ship
Posted: 06:17 AM ET
JERUSALEM (CNN) - Israeli naval vessels intercepted a Libyan ship
carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza on Monday, Palestinian and Israeli officials
said.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry said the ship was stopped and ordered to turn
back because it was not authorized to dock in the Palestinian territory of Gaza
which is under an Israeli blockade.

After receiving the message by radio contact, the Libyan ship turned
back, a ministry spokesman said.

Israel maintains that rocket attacks and security threats from militant
groups in Gaza forced it to close its border crossings with Gaza. The blockade
also applies to ships coming into Gaza. Israel controls the waters off the
coast of the Palestinian territory.

Human rights groups have expressed concern about the Israeli blockade on
Gaza, which has restricted the delivery of emergency aid and fuel supplies.

The United Nations’ Relief and Works Agency successfully delivered 12
trucks of aid through the Kerem Shalom border crossing last week.

The U.N. has launched a humanitarian appeal for Gaza because of what the
regional U.N. humanitarian coordinator Maxwell Gaylard called “an assault on
human dignity.”