[Peace-discuss] cynthia captured by Israeli Navy.

[E. Wayne Johnson]

Cynthia McKinney Demands Immediate Release After Her Gaza-Bound Boat is 
Seized by Israeli Navy
Former U.S. lawmaker and Green Party leader Cynthia McKinney, a longtime 
activist for the Palestinians, says her boat, the Spirit of Humanity, 
was carrying medical supplies, cement, olive trees and children's toys 
to Gaza when it was seized by an Israeli navy ship.

FOXNews.com

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Former U.S. lawmaker and Green Party presidential candidate Cynthia 
McKinney, whose relief boat was seized by an Israeli naval ship Tuesday 
for the second time in a year, is demanding the immediate release of her 
and 20 other activists.

McKinney, a longtime supporter of Palestinians, said her Greek-flagged 
boat, the Spirit of Humanity, was carrying medical supplies, cement, 
olive trees and children's toys to Gaza when it was boarded by the 
Israeli navy.

"This is an outrageous violation of international law against us," said 
McKinney. "Our boat was not in Israeli waters and we were on a human 
rights mission to the Gaza Strip. President Obama just told Israel to 
let in humanitarian and reconstruction supplies, and that's exactly what 
we tried to do. We're asking the international community to demand our 
release so we can resume our journey."

The Israeli military issued a statement Tuesday saying that the boat had 
attempted to break a blockade of Gaza and was forced to sail to an 
Israeli port after ignoring a radio message to stay out of Gaza waters.

The statement said navy personnel boarded the freighter Arion without 
any shots being fired, and those on board were to be handed over to 
immigration authorities. Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor 
said Israel was planning to free the crew and passengers.

"Nobody wants to keep them here," he said. "They will be released as 
soon as they are checked."

The humanitarian cargo was also to be trucked into the Gaza Strip after 
a security check.

In a statement released by the Green Party, McKinney said she had sent 
appeals to Obama and the State Department for assurances of protection 
for the relief mission. She said the boat was sailing in international 
waters when it was seized.

The White House nor the State Department was immediately available for 
comment.

This isn't the first time a boat carrying McKinney has clashed with an 
Israeli navy ship. In December, McKinney was among 16 people aboard a 
medical supply boat that collided with an Israeli naval ship as it tried 
to enter coastal waters around Gaza.

At the time, the group claimed the Israeli military fired machine guns 
into the water in an attempt to the stop the boat's progress. But a 
spokesman for Israel's foreign ministry said "physical contact" was made 
only after the aid boat failed to respond to radio contact and he denied 
any gunfire had occurred.

Israel launched an offensive in December against Gaza in an attempt to 
halt years of Palestinian rocket attacks on southern Israel. The two 
sides reached a cease-fire in January.