Malaysia Condemns Israeli Interception Of 'Freedom Flotilla' Vessel

KUALA LUMPUR, July 30 (Bernama) -- Malaysia today strongly condemned Sunday’s Israeli navy interception of a ship of the Freedom Flotilla group for allegedly trying to break the Gaza blockade. Deputy Prime Minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said the Al-Awda vessel was sailing on a humanitarian mission to Gaza, Palestine, with 22 activists from around the globe, including a Malaysian, Prof Dr Mohd Afandi Salleh. She urged the international community to stand together with Malaysia in condemning this action and called for the lifting of the Gaza blockade. “The deteriorating humanitarian condition in the Palestinian enclave in Gaza deserves immediate attention and preventing aid from reaching the Palestinians is against basic standards of human rights and social justice,” she said in a Twitter post. Dr Wan Azizah, who is also Women, Family and Community Development Minister, said that as such the blockade of Gaza should come to an end and the freedom of movement for all Palestinians must be restored. Humanitarian Care Malaysia (MyCare) chief executive officer Kamarul Zaman Shaharul Anwar, in a statement on Sunday night, said the vessel Al-Awda had lost communication with the Freedom Flotilla coalition’s media contacts. In the last report received from the ship’s radio, the ship’s commanding officer said four Israeli warships were seen approaching the vessel. “We lost contact with the ship at 7.15 pm Malaysian time (1.15 pm Gaza time) when the ship was less than 49 nautical miles from Gaza,” he said. -- BERNAMA