Israel fires warning shots at aid ship

Israeli naval forces have fired warning shots at a Malaysian aid ship headed to the Gaza Strip as it was approaching the shore.

The ship’s Malaysian organizer said the Israeli forces made them withdraw to Egyptian waters, AFP reported Monday.

“The MV Finch, carrying sewage pipes to Gaza, had warning shots fired at it by Israeli forces in the Palestinian security zone this morning at 0654 Jordan time (0354 GMT),” said Shamsul Azhar, a member of the Perdana Global Peace Foundation.

“Currently the ship has been forced to anchor in Egyptian waters, 30 nautical miles from Gaza,” he further explained.

The Free Gaza Movement, a coalition of human rights activists and pro-Palestinian groups, announced early April that a flotilla, comprising about 15 ships with activists from 25 countries on board, would set sail to Gaza in May on the first anniversary of the Israeli attack on a Gaza-bound Turkish ship.

The Israeli military attacked the Freedom Flotilla in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea on May 31, 2010, killing lots of Turkish nationals aboard the Turkish-flagged MV Mavi Marmara, and injuring about 50 other people who were part of the team on the six-ship convoy.

Around 1.5 million people in the Gaza Strip are being denied their basic rights, including the freedom of movement, and the rights to appropriate living conditions, work, health and education.