Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Israeli Navy Attacks Olivia Crew, Damages Boat

GAZA, July 20, 2011 (WAFA) – Israeli navy boats Wednesday attacked international press crews and peace activists on Olivia, an international boat to monitor human rights in Gaza waters, and damaged the boat.

Joe Carton, an international activist on board, said that three Israeli military boats intercepted Olivia and another boat carrying foreign press crews to document the Israeli violations of international law against Palestinian fishermen.

One of the Israeli ships targeted the boats with high-pressure water pumps while a small boat approached Olivia and hit it from the back, stopping the boat and causing severe damage to the engine, added Carton.

The international crews evicted Olivia to other little boats accompanying it and escaped Israeli navy’s arrest attempts, despite the fact that Olivia did not cross the three-nautical-mile fishing grounds defined in international agreements, Carton noted.

This is the fourth Israeli attack on Olivia in less than two weeks after its crews received threats by the Israeli authorities to sink the boat if it set sail again.



WAFA

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