WASHINGTON: The United States has warned her citizens against going ahead with plans to join a flotilla seeking to breach Israel’s naval blockade of the Gaza Strip.
Several American Jews intend to board a US boat that will join in a flotilla of about 10 ships heading later this month to Gaza to protest the longstanding Israeli blockade on the Palestinian territory.
The State Department warned “US citizens of the risks of traveling to Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip, and about threats to themselves and to US interests in those locations.” Updating an earlier warning from August last year, it warned in particular “against participation in any attempt to reach Gaza by sea.” On May 31, 2010, eight Turks and a US national of Turkish origin were shot dead in an Israeli raid on Gaza-bound aid ships.
State Department officials told AFP that the wording of the latest travel advice was aimed at dissuading Americans from joining the protest flotilla.
