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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Cyprus says will not allow Gaza-bound aid ship |
| 2010-08-21 |
| Cyprus will not allow a ship carrying women activists and aid for the blockaded Palestinian territory of Gaza to sail from its ports, the island's police said on Friday. Women activists said they planned to take aid to Gaza next week and their vessel, the Mariam, would set sail from Lebanon for Cyprus on Sunday. Israel has said it will not allow ships to reach Gaza, controlled by the militant Palestinian group Hamas since 2007. "Our position is clear. The arrival and departure of vessels to or from Gaza via Cyprus ports is prohibited and we will implement that decision," Cypriot police spokesman Michalis Katsounotos told Reuters. Cyprus was used as a launch pad for activists to reach Gaza by sea from 2008 until mid-2009. Authorities introduced a ban last year, citing the island's national interests. Yasser Qashlaq, an organiser of the Mariam expedition, was undeterred, saying the vessel would still leave Lebanon's northern port of Tripoli on Sunday evening. Qashlaq said Cyprus had no right to stop ships sailing to Gaza and would need to explain any ban in writing. He said on Thursday that Lebanese authorities had given permission for the Mariam to sail to Cyprus. Lebanon does not authorise ships to sail directly to Gaza because it is in a formal state of war with Israel, which controls Gaza waters. Israel eased its Gaza blockade after an angry international backlash to its lethal seizure of the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara in May. It has said it has the right to use "all necessary means" to bar ships from reaching Gaza. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 Cyprus will not allow a ship carrying women activists and aid for the blockaded Palestinian territory of Gaza to sail from its ports, FINALLY, SOMEONE WITH BRAINS. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2010-08-21 11:35 |
| #1 "women activists" Prohibited by Islam™ since 610AD |
| Posted by: Black Charlie 2010-08-21 09:55 |