Another Ship Heads to Gaza, Israel Again Vows to Protect Blockade

By Seth Freed Wessler Jun 04, 2010

A new ship is headed to Gaza today, and the Israeli government has once again vowed to stop the vessel. The boat, which flies the Irish flag, is named the Rachel Corrie, after the young American student crushed to death in 2003 by an Israeli army bulldozer as she attempted to block the demolition of a house in Gaza. Israel has said it will prevent the boat to arrive in Gaza, saying that such an allowance would end the breach the country’s blockage on Gaza. The AP reports,"The Rachel Corrie’s cargo of concrete is also a problem, because Israel considers that to have military uses." Concrete is necessary to rebuild Gaza, which was largely flattened a year and half ago when Israel bombed the tiny 1.5 million-person area. As international condemnation continues over the Monday killing of nine international civilians aboard a previous flotilla of aid ships, the United States has remained relatively muted, asking for an international investigation into what transpired that day but refusing to outright condemn Israeli actions. While new reports arose yesterday that the U.S. tried to dissuade Israel from acting with force against the flotilla, President Obama has not joined international calls to end the blockade on Gaza. Read my Colorlines essay on Gaza and how the U.S. conversation about Israeli violence is still bound by false equivalencies and feigned victimhood. Click here.

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