MID: Israeli patrol boat rams aid ship off Gaza
30 Dec 2008 6:40 PM
JERUSALEM, Dec 30 AFP - The Israeli navy has rammed a boat loaded with medical supplies that was trying to break its blockade of the Gaza Strip, the pro-Palestinian charity operating the vessel says.
No one was injured in the collision between the patrol boat and the 20-metre Dignity, which was trying to take three tonnes of medical supplies into Gaza on day four of Israeli air strikes on the Palestinian territory.
Israeli army radio said the boat -- operated by the Free Gaza Movement -- ignored both orders to turn around and warning shots across its bow before it was rammed on Tuesday.
The Free Gaza Movement, which has ran the blockade six times since August to take humanitarian supplies into Gaza, said the vessel could still sail after the ramming.
Paul Laurdee, one of the group's founders, told AFP the Dignity had been "surrounded" in international waters about 70km off the Israeli coast and 135km from Gaza.
"It was surrounded by 11 Israeli naval vessels," he said.
"They ordered the boat to stop, and we didn't. They began firing over our boat and into the waters next to the boat. When the boat wouldn't turn back, one of the naval vessels rammed the boat, but not enough to disable the boat."
On its website, the Free Gaza Movement said the Dignity was on a "mission of mercy" carrying three tonnes of medical supplies "donated by the people of Cyprus," from where it set off on Monday.
"Our people are communicating with the Israelis as to what's next," Laurdee told AFP.
"We will try to dock in Egypt or in Lebanon, or all the way back to Cyprus. But there is doubt about fuel on board and whether they can make it all the way back to Cyprus as normally we refuel in Gaza."
