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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Israel Forces Malaysian Aid Ship to Withdraw, Fires Warning Shots |
| 2011-05-17 |
| [An Nahar] Israeli naval forces fired warning shots Monday at a ship carrying aid to Gazoo as it approached the shore, forcing it to withdraw to Egyptian waters, the vessel's Malaysian organizer told Agence La Belle France Presse. "The MV Finch, carrying sewage pipes to Gazoo, had warning shots fired at it by Israeli forces in the Paleostinian security zone this morning at 0654 Jordan time (0354 GMT)," said Shamsul Azhar from the Perdana Global Peace Foundation. "The vessel was in the Paleostinian security zone, about 400 meters from the Gazoo shoreline, when they were intercepted by Israeli naval forces," he told AFP, adding it was now anchored 30 nautical miles away in Egyptian territory. The Perdana Foundation is helmed by former Malaysian premier Mahathir Mohamad, an 85-year-old firebrand who was a strident critic of the West and Israel over the Paleostinian issue during his two decades in power. The organization was also involved in the first "Freedom Flotilla", a 2010 attempt to break the Israeli embargo on Gazoo which ended in disaster when naval commandos raided the aid ships, killing nine Turks on board one of them. Perdana Foundation officials said the MV Finch left the Port of Piraeus in Greece on May 11 for Gazoo, carrying plastic pipes to help restore the "devastated" sewage system in Gazoo. Alang Bendahara, a Malaysian journalist on board, told AFP that in a dramatic encounter, Israeli naval ships stopped the vessel with a volley of gunfire as it approached the shore. "The Israeli naval vessel fired a warning shot at us upon approaching and asked us to leave the waters but the ship's captain refused and the Israelis fired again, circling the MV Finch before firing twice more," he said. "At that point they threatened the ship's captain that they would board the vessel and we were forced to turn back, it was lucky that no one was injured," he added. Alang said the ship's propellers then got stuck in fishing nets but that it managed to move away shortly after. "Two Egyptian naval vessels were monitoring us and they escorted us once we were in Egyptian waters," he said. "They have now boarded our vessel and are inspecting our cargo to make sure there is nothing illegal onboard. They will be escorting us to the port of al-Arish because they say they will detain the ship." The journalist said there were 12 people on board the vessel -- seven Malaysians, two Irish, two Indians and a Canadian -- including anti-war activists and journalists. Foundation officials said the MV Finch is not part of an international aid flotilla which plans to set sail for the Gazoo Strip in June. Last month, Israeli Foreign Minister Avidgor Lieberman condemned the new convoy, dubbed "Freedom Flotilla II," as aimed solely at harming his country. Since the 2010 flotilla incident, Israel has loosened some of the restrictions on imports into Gazoo and exports from the coastal enclave, but aid vessels are routinely diverted to Ashdod in Israel or Egyptian ports. The Perdana Foundation sent volunteers on the first aid flotilla operation, and also sponsored part of the cost of the mission. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #7 #6 Glad to, Besoeker, after my nap. Only first, what do CONOP and VOCO mean? Posted by: trailing wife 2011-05-17 15:07 CONOP = CONtingency OPerations VOCO = Verbal Orders of the COmmander Israel should help Gaza install all that sewer pipe. Dig the trenches extra deep, and make sure two Hamass members hold both ends from underneath while you fill the trench in. It would make life so much better in Gaza... |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2011-05-17 20:38 |
| #6 Glad to, Besoeker, after my nap. Only first, what do CONOP and VOCO mean? |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2011-05-17 15:07 |
| #5 And how many acres could have been irrigated by these rockets? How many cess pool tsunamis could have been avoided? Swords over plowshares, reap the harvest. And its not luck nobody was injured, its called skill and restraint. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2011-05-17 10:46 |
| #4 Not just any sewage pipes for the great Gazoo, but Malaysian sewage pipes!! LOL |
| Posted by: anon1 2011-05-17 08:12 |
| #3 Sewage pipes LOL |
| Posted by: phil_b 2011-05-17 05:34 |
| #2 Unless Directed Otherwise.... we are going with AP's neighborhood "poo pond" recommendation. Dozens of up-armored D-9 CAT's will obviously be required. I'll work with TW on the CONOP, we should be able to start digging within a few days, or this evening if Fred provides the VOCO. Please advise. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2011-05-17 02:20 |
| #1 The last load of 100 mm dia sewage pipes grew fins and were shot into Sderot. Paleos need no sewer pipes, just some honeybucket tanker trucks and a bunch of sand bermed sewage holding ponds. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2011-05-17 01:41 |