UPDATE: here's your
linky-dink
just for you folks who thought I was making it up, or relying on unreliable sources, or whatever. The boat was boarded and has been seized by the Israeli military. Israel says it was in its waters, the FGM says it was in international waters. Israel's gov't is not much of a reliable source, either, ya know, they've been complying so well with the Road Map and all, right?
I have no words to counter all the hatred and coldheartedness in the comments. The people in Gaza are suffering horribly, that isn't a debatable fact. They have no building materials. They've been abandoned by the world, and this ship and its supplies mean so much to them. Go ahead, make glib comments, argue about McKinney, and allow innocents to suffer, why should we care about THEM?
I'm Israeli...I'm a human being, first, though. The people of Gaza are human beings, too. For every atrocity the commenters point to, the Israeli government has committed more. And no one bulldozes their homes.
The Free Gaza Movement's ship Spirit of Humanity (the irony of which is just tragic), en route to Gaza delivering medical and reconstruction aid, was surrounded by Israeli warships and threatened with gunfire if it did not turn back. Former Congresswoman and Green Party Prez candidate Cynthia McKinney is on board the ship. FreeGaza.org has McKinney quoted saying:
"I am extremely angry. We demand that the Israeli government call off their attack dogs. We are unarmed civilians aboard an unarmed boat ... Why in God's name would Israel want to attack us and threaten our safety and welfare? I call on President Obama and the international community to intervene now to prevent this situation from escalating with potentially drastic results to the civilians on board."
The ship, its radar, GPS and navigation jammed despite its location in international waters (which is against international law) is making its way via compass. The situation is reportedly very tense as well as extemely dangerous to those aboard.
Before 1948, when Palestine was part of the British Empire, ships carrying Jewish refugees were turned away in these very waters by the British, leaving barely-living survivors with nowhere to go. Shame on the Israeli government (my government, by the way, I am Israeli). Shame on the media for not covering this. Is there no end to the insanity?