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At 1700 hours (local time) the Black Knight took up its position three miles off the coast of Gaza, at a pre-established meeting point in the restrictive zone between the Gaza fishing zone and Israeli waters. The Israeli government has not permitted any boat to moor off Gaza since 1967. The Peace Sailors waited until 1830 for a positive decision on whether they would be able to disembark into Palestinian boats to transfer to Gaza. This meeting point (N 31° 35' 43" E 34° 27' 22" ) was proposed yesterday to the Palestinian Authority. The Peace Cruise organisers are still waiting for a positive reaction from the Cabinet of President Yasser Arafat.
The ship will return again to the same meeting point tomorrow morning between 0800 and 1100 hours, in the hope that the Peace Sailors will be able to leave their ship and join their partner youth organisations in Gaza.
If 1100 hours passes and either a negative response or no response is received from the Palestinian Authority, then the Black Knight will set a course for Limassol (Cyprus). There it will make a brief port of call to refuel and restock, before its scheduled arrival in Antalya on 31 August, to conclude the second Leg of the Peace Cruise.
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