Third Peace Boat Set to Arrive in Gaza

Source: Alalam.ir, 4-9-2008
GAZA--A boat carrying pro-Palestinian peace activists is scheduled to arrive in Gaza later this month, one of the organizers said Thursday.
The boat will arrive in Gaza on September 22, Jamal al-Khodari, head of the Popular Committee to Challenge the ["Israeli"] Siege, said.
The vessel will carry members of the European parliament, doctors and members of the media.
That is the third such boat to arrive in Gaza in recent weeks. On August 23, two boats carrying 44 foreign peace activists as well as Palestinians broke the Zionist regime's blockage on Gaza after sailing from Cyprus.
"Israel" had initially warned the activists to stay away from Gaza's coastal waters but later allowed them to pass, hours after the crew said their communications systems had been jammed as they sailed through stormy waters.
The boats set sail on Friday carrying activists from 16 countries who hoped to draw attention to the blockade of Gaza which has been controlled by Hamas movement since June 2007.
The two boats returned to Cyprus after a few days but left nine activists behind, including the sister-in-law of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Lauren Booth.
Egypt and the Zionist regime refused on Wednesday to allow Booth, the other eight foreign activists and several Palestinian patients to cross their borders with the Gaza Strip.
"Israel" has blocked access to the Gaza Strip since Hamas took power there in June last year.