THE SMALL boat carrying doctors, human rights activists and three tonnes of medical supplies from Cyprus to Gaza was rammed by the Israeli navy in international waters yesterday, forcing the damaged boat to dock in southern Lebanon instead.
The government expressed regret that Israel had prevented a boat carrying humanitarian aid from reaching Gaza, where the death toll continued to rise.
All 16 passengers on board the Dignity arrived unharmed in the Lebanese port of Tyre at around 3pm. The boat, however, was severely damaged and unfit to sail either to Gaza or back to Larnaca port.
The three Cypriots, representing the Cyprus branch of “Volunteer Doctors”, DISY deputy Dr Eleni Theocharous, CNA photographer Katia Christodoulou and human rights activist Martha Paisi, were due to arrive at Larnaca Airport last night.
The remaining 13 passengers, representing 11 countries, were put up by the mayor of Tyre in a hotel for the night. They are doctors, journalists and activists from the Free Gaza Movement (FGM), which has organised five previous voyages to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza.
Conflicting reports emerged yesterday as to what exactly happened between the Gibraltar-flagged Dignity and the Israeli navy. Those on board the Dignity said they were rammed twice in the dark and without warning by the Israeli navy. The latter insisted they were the victims of a media stunt and not the other way round.
According to an Israel navy spokesperson, Israeli navy vessels approached the SS Dignity to inform it that the Gaza Strip was a closed military zone.
The Dignity allegedly ignored Israeli calls, making a sharp turn, which forced the Israeli vessel “to execute emergency manoeuvres” to avoid the small boat. This proved impossible and the volunteer boat ended up hitting the Israeli vessel, said the spokesperson.
“The fact that journalists were among those aboard the Dignity indicates that the purpose and behaviour of the ship was primarily to create a media event,” said the spokesperson.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor described allegations that the vessel was rammed deliberately as “absurd”. He was quoted by CNN saying there was “no intention on the part of the Israeli navy to ram anybody”.
He also rejected claims that the Israelis fired live ammunition around the boat before ramming it.
But speaking by phone from Lebanon, Theocharous told the Cyprus Mail: “Nothing could be further from the truth. It’s like saying a Mini car tried to destroy a truck.”
The doctor said between two and six Israeli navy vessels circled the Dignity, blinding them with spotlights. Then at around 5.30am, they switched the lights off and hit the Dignity twice, on the port side and the bow, creating a massive hole.
“We didn’t see them coming, everyone was shocked. Around 20 minutes later, they got in touch saying we were involved in terrorist activity,” she said.
According to Theocharous, the Israeli vessels insisted the boat return to Larnaca, despite the shortage of fuel and poor condition of the damaged boat, which had started taking in water. Eventually, the Israeli navy allowed the boat to sail to the nearest port in Tyre, where it was met by Lebanese and UN vessels and a cheering local crowd.
“I expected them to try and cut us off 20m from Gaza but not 73m out in international waters,” said Theocharous, adding, “This is state terrorism. They are committing terrorist actions, not us.”
CNN journalist Karl Penhaul, who was also on board the Dignity, said the boat was “very severely rammed by Israeli patrol boats in international waters”. He repeated the view that the collision came without warning.
English captain David Halpin told Reuters the wheelhouse glass of the boat was smashed and the rail ripped almost all the way from bow to stern. He also said an Israeli vessel rammed the boat after he had refused to stop the boat’s course to Gaza.
“There was the most almighty three bangs with the sound of splintering wood. The bow of the boat was rammed and it went down for a second or two,” he told Reuters.
“I thought I was going to die. I’m 68. None of us had life jackets on. We are appalled at this barbaric act,” he said.
Another activist said the group were determined to look for another boat and try again. “The Cypriot government gave us this medicine to deliver, and we will deliver it,” said Derek Graham.
The boat also had former US Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney on board and Al-Jazeera reporter Sami al-Haj, a former detainee at Guantanamo Bay.
Cypriot Foreign Minister Marcos Kyprianou expressed regret that the team of volunteers had been prevented from approaching Gaza to deliver urgent humanitarian and medical aid to the Palestinian population.
Kyprianou told the state broadcaster he was surprised that the boat was hit, given that it was known who was on board and what they were carrying. He also said the government would seek explanations from Israel over the incident.
It may not have been a Cypriot-flagged vessel, but it left from Cyprus and had Cypriot citizens on board, and the government had the right to be informed and to protest, he said.
A British High Commission official told the paper yesterday that a Gibraltar-flagged vessel was the responsibility of the UK and would be treated like any UK-flagged vessel. He said the Foreign Office was monitoring the situation closely.
