Neglecting ’’Israeli’’ Threats, ’’Freedom Waves’’ Heads to Gaza
A flotilla carrying medication is bound for the Gaza Strip after quietly departing a Mediterranean port, activists announced on Wednesday as Israel's army said it was "fully prepared" to confront it.
T
he Canadian Tahrir and the Irish Saoirse are carrying 27 people from nine countries, organizers said. The ships are carrying a symbolic cargo of $30,000 in medication.
The 27 activists on board the vessels are drawn from Australia, Canada, Ireland and the United States, included Palestinians.
The "Freedom Waves to Gaza" kept the voyage secret as "Israel" tried to sabotage a previous effort, the activists clarified in their statement.
""Israel's" actions in extending its illegal blockade all the way to shores of Greece required that we organize this new effort quietly," the Canadian Boat to Gaza wrote on its Twitter account.
The ships were in international waters Wednesday and hoping to reach Gaza by Friday. They set sail from Fethiye, Turkey, according to activists on board the two ships.
""Israel" has caged Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, prohibiting physical contact between us. We want to break the siege "Israel" has imposed on our people," said Majd Kayyal, from Haifa.
"The fact that we're in international waters is already a victory for the movement. "Israel's" siege of Gaza is untenable and it's a moral responsibility to put an end to this injustice," he added.
On the Zionist side, "Israeli" enemy threatened to stop the flotilla claiming that it was a provocation.
"The "Israeli" Navy has completed the necessary preparations in order to prevent them from reaching the (Gaza) Strip," said "Israeli" army spokeswoman Lt.-Col. Avital Leibovich.
The boats "will not be allowed to breach the blockade," another "Israeli" official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"The blockade is on, and no exceptions will be made and "Israel" will take whatever measures will be necessary," he said.
In May 2010, "Israeli" naval commandos intercepted a flotilla of activists heading for Gaza, resulting in the deaths of nine Turkish nationals and triggering a diplomatic crisis with Ankara.
An attempt to launch a second flotilla from Greece four months ago was blocked by the Greek government under pressure from "Israel" mentioning that activists' boats had been sabotaged
Source: News Agencies, Edited by moqawama.org
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