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SAN FRANCISCO --
Tensions soared at City Hall on Tuesday over a nonbinding resolution
calling for the condemnation of the Israeli military's deadly raid on a
flotilla headed for Gaza.

At least nine people were killed by Israeli naval commandos during
the May 31 raid on ships carrying aid for the isolated Gaza region,
which is under an Israeli blockade.

The legislation, sponsored by Supervisors John Avalos and Sophie
Maxwell, has more than two dozen "whereas" clauses.

It attempts to localize the attack that took place a half-a-world
away by noting San Francisco's "recognition and understanding of our
population's unique relationship to international struggles and the
overall principle that human life, whether here or abroad, has value and
dignity."

After more than four hours of public testimony that lasted until
nearly midnight, the Board of Supervisors didn't vote on the resolution.
Instead, the supervisors sent it to committee, where critics hoped it
would die.

Although the legislation carries no legal weight, it took on an
importance in the world of public relations, providing a forum for the
contentious Israeli-Palestinian debate to be heard. Both sides flooded
the supervisors with e-mails, phone calls and personal visits.

Avalos acknowledged that there are "so many different realities, so >>>