Free Gaza Boat Challenges Israel's Blockade

198 Palestinians were released from prison in Israel today and returned to Ramallah – half of them were already scheduled for release within the year.  According to the Israeli Prison Authority, some 9,000 Palestinian prisoners remain incarcerated – Palestinian authorities put the number closer to 11,000. In another developing story from the occupied territories, Gaza welcomed the Free Gaza Boats today, a group of 44 internationals, who have made their way there after a two-year-long preparation. The arrival of the boats at Gaza's shores signified a symbolic breaking of the Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip for more than a year now.

Click here for newscast for Monday, August 25, 2008