An international organization accused Malta on Sunday of impeding access to a Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about
oppressionand
disproportionate response...
-bound humanitarian aid
ship that it says was bombed by two drones two days before, and Malta denied the claim, saying the crew had refused assistance.The Freedom Flotilla Coalition said Israel, which has blockaded Gaza in its war against the Hamas
..always the voice of sweet reason...terror group, was to blame for the incident. Israel has not responded to requests for comment.
The ship Conscience, operated by the coalition, suffered damage to its front section, including a loss of power, when it was hit just outside Maltese territorial waters in the southern Mediterranean, the organization said.
It had been waiting to take on board some 30 activists from around the world before trying to sail to Gaza at the eastern end of the Mediterranean to deliver food and medicines.
Malta, Greece, and
...the decaying remnant of the Ottoman Empire...
are said to have denied the ship entry and threatened to confiscate it.
The organization said volunteers from 13 countries who tried to reach the ship from Malta on Friday and Saturday were intercepted by the Maltese military, which had forced them back to Malta under threat of arrest.
The Saudi Al Arabiya news channel, citing a Western security source, reported Friday that the aid ship had been arranged by Hamas and that those onboard planned to engage with IDF troops as they approached the Gaza shore.
"The humanitarian ship Conscience has been blocked in international waters since it was attacked by two drones in the early morning of May 2," the coalition said in a statement.
It said Maltese authorities had also prevented the ship from putting into port to repair the damage and get help for four people aboard who it said suffered cuts and burns in the drone attack. It was the first mention of any injuries.
Prime Minister Robert Abela said Malta was continuing to offer assistance to the ship, but that Malta’s security needed to be safeguarded. He said the ship’s captain was continuing to refuse to allow a surveyor and Malta police on board.
Probably they don’t want their weapons seen by outside police — that might call into question their claim to be peaceful…
Once it was verified that the ship’s cargo was solely humanitarian, Malta would facilitate repairs so that it could continue its voyage to Gaza, Abela said.Malta has had a consistent policy of supporting Paleostinian causes and last month admitted a number of injured Gaza children for medical treatment.
Hamas issued a statement about the incident off Malta, accusing Israel of "piracy" and "state terrorism
... any action taken by a non-Moslem state that constrains the violent impulses of Moslems or their allies ...
The Maltese government said on Friday that the vessel and its crew were assisted in the early hours of the morning, when the attack was reported, with a nearby tug helping put out fires.
| An interesting story from the Times of Israel Saturday: |
An Israeli Air Force plane was flying near Malta several hours before a reportedly Hamas-affiliated Gaza-bound humanitarian aid ship was allegedly attacked by drones in international waters in the area.
Data from flight tracking websites shows that a KC-130 transport plane, flown by the IAF’s 131st Squadron, departed from the Nevatim Airbase in southern Israel on Thursday afternoon and hovered near Malta for a number of hours, at an altitude of 5,000 feet. The plane headed back to Nevatim and landed there in the evening hours.
Several hours after the plane returned to Israel, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition — an international non-governmental organization which is campaigning to end Israel’s blockade of Gaza — claimed that the their ship, Conscience, had been struck twice by armed drones 17 nautical miles (31.5 kilometers) east of Malta, “causing a fire and a substantial breach in the hull.” The group blamed Israel for the attack.
The MaltaToday outlet reports that the plane did not enter Maltese airspace at any point during its flight near the island country, citing official flight tracking information. The Maltese government also said that “no aircraft or vessel currently mentioned in local and foreign media in relation to the case of the vessel Conscience” had entered the country’s airspace or territorial waters.