Sky News hit with 1200 Ofcom complaints over presenter's controversial remark
Sky News has been hit with a whopping 1,270 Ofcom complaints over a presenter's comments about a vessel delivering aid to Gaza. On Today with Samantha Washington on June 7th, there was coverage of the Madleen vessel.
The Madleen vessel was stopped before landing in Israel, with activist Greta Thunberg claiming she was "kidnapped" and calling on the Swedish government to help. The news of the vessel delivering aid was covered on Sky News over the weekend.
Ofcom have now revealed that they received 1,270 complainants from viewers who alleged that a comment by the presenter misrepresented the peaceful nature of the mission. The comments were made on Today with Samantha Washington, which aired on Sky News on Saturday June 7th from 10.30am.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), the organisation which was responsible for the yacht, said it was carrying humanitarian aid and said the vessel was "prepared for the possibility of an Israeli attack" and they claimed that it was "forcibly intercepted" by Israeli officials. The vessel was stopped at approximately 160 nautical miles from the Gaza coast.
Defence minister Israel Katz had said that the state would "act against any attempt to break the blockade or assist terrorist organisations". It had been intercepted at 5.30am local time near the Egyptian coast.
Greta Thunberg said that the team was "intercepted and kidnapped in international waters" by "forces that support Israel" and urged her loved ones to "put pressure on the Swedish government" for a response. She said: "I urge all my friends, family and comrades to put pressure on the Swedish government to release me and the others as soon as possible."
Israel Katz, Israel's Minister of Defence, said on social media that it was a "hate flotilla". He said: "I have instructed the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] to act to prevent the 'Madeleine' hate flotilla from reaching the shores of Gaza - and to take whatever measures are necessary to that end." He sensationally then claimed that members of the crew were "anti-Semitic".
He wrote: "To the anti-Semitic Greta and her fellow Hamas propaganda spokespeople, I say clearly: You should turn back - because you will not reach Gaza. Israel will act against any attempt to break the blockade or assist terrorist organisations – at sea, in the air, and on land." The Palestinian defence ministry said that the activists' actions were "noble" and said it "salutes the international solidarity activists aboard the ship attempting to break the siege on the Gaza Strip".
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