A day after Israelis raided the Gaza Strip, even ramming the boat occupied by former Georgia Democrat Cynthia McKinney, the African Union Israel’s actions, calling on the United Nations Security Council to force the Jewish state to back down. “The (AU) Commission strongly condemns the ongoing air raids on the Gaza Strip by Israel since 27 December,” the union said in a statement. “This massive and disproportionate attack constitutes a clear violation of international humanitarian law and will further aggravate the suffering of the civilian population, which, as a result of the siege imposed by Israel, has been faced by shortages of food, medicine and fuel.” The African Union urged the Security Council and members of the Middle East diplomatic Quartet “to fully assume their responsibilities toward the civilians in the Gaza Strip by compelling Israel to an immediate ceasefire.” It also pleaded with the nations of the world to increase medical and humanitarian aid to victims of the attacks. On Monday, McKinney, the 2008 Green Party candidate and the first African-American woman elected to Congress from the state of Georgia, joined more than a dozen high-profile leaders who headed to the region aboard a medical supply ship on a humanitarian mission. The yacht, owned by the U.S.-based Free Gaza Movement, collided with an Israeli gunboat, which had fired machine guns into the water to stop the vessel’s progress, FOX News reported. At least 360 Palestinians, including more than 50 civilians, have been killed in the raids, according to officials.

TAGS: African Union, attacks, AU, Cynthia McKinney, gaza, Israel, israeli

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