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Why Israel Won't Allow Journalists into Gaza
Overnight, the Jerusalem Post carried a story, "Navy Sends Activist Boat Back to Cyprus," which said:
The navy has turned back a boat trying to carry pro-Palestinian protesters to the Gaza Strip, officials said Tuesday
Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said the boat ignored an Israeli radio order to turn back early Tuesday. He said the boat tried to outmaneuver the navy ship and crashed into it, lightly damaging both vessels. The navy then escorted the boat to the territorial waters of Cyprus.
In a report from AFP, Israeli authorities said is was all just a mistake:
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor told AFP that the naval vessel tried to contact the aid boat by radio for identification and to inform it that it could not enter Gaza.
"After the boat did not answer the radio, it sharply veered, and the two vessels collided, causing only light damage," Palmor said.
The Israeli spokesman accused the pro-Palestinian activists of "seeking provocation more than ever."
But this time, a reporter, Karl Penhaul from CNN, was actually on the boat -- and gave the report you see above as the events were happening:
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