US VP defends Israeli atrocity

US VP defends Israeli atrocity
Thu, 03 Jun 2010 00:42:17 GMT


US Vice President Joe Biden
US Vice President Joe Biden says Israel had an "absolute right" to attack peace activists on the Gaza-bound Freedom Flotilla.

"Israel has an absolute right to deal with its security interest," Biden said in an interview on PBS's "Charlie Rose" show on Wednesday.
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Biden said the US supported an Israeli investigation of the incident with international involvement, similar to South Korea's recent probe into the sinking of one of its warships.

He also played down any suggestion of a rift between Israel and the United States.

No US administration in history "has been as up-front and supportive of Israel's security as this administration," Reuters quoted Biden as saying on Wednesday.

Biden made the expression of support for Israel despite the fact that the attack on the Freedom Flotilla has been strongly condemned across the globe.

The Israeli military attacked the Freedom Flotilla in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea early on May 31, killing at least 19 people on board the six ships, mostly Turkish nationals, and injuring about 50 others.

Israel also arrested nearly 700 activists from 42 countries on board the Freedom Flotilla, which was attempting to break the siege of Gaza in order to deliver humanitarian assistance to the long-suffering people of the territory.

MGH/HGL