CAIRO: A surprising quest to challenge Israeli blockade of Gaza was launched on Wednesday, taking both international press and authorities by surprise. Two international ships left the Turkish harbor and have now reached international waters, sailing towards Gaza. The event was kept a secret from press until the ships had reached international waters. Activists told BikyMasr.com that they had kept a low profile to avoid subjecting the event to sanctions or sabotage prior to setting sail. A number of ships are still at shore in Turkey waiting to take off, but two ships have successfully reached international waters: The Irish Saoirse (Freedom) and the Canadian Tahrir (Liberation). The ships are bringing considerable amounts of medicine to the isolated coastal enclave, the future use of which has been closely coordinated with medics and clinics in Gaza. On board these ships are 27 activists from 9 countries, including America, Canada, Denmark, Belgium, Germany and Australia and Palestine. “By reaching Palestinians through their own port, the flotilla defies the dehumanization of a whole population and supports the continuing efforts of the people of Gaza to assert their dignity. The Palestinians will accept nothing less than a total end to the illegal Israeli blockade of Gaza and all forms of violence and discrimination against them,” organizer Huweida Arraf explained on Wednesday. ‘Freedom Waves for Gaza' is the 11th attempt by international activists to deliver humanitarian aid through the Israeli blockade of Gaza since 2008. The last attempt, dubbed “Marmera Massacre”, resulted in a bloody clampdown by the Israeli government, and fighting erupted between activists and Israeli naval forces. In this attempt, six ships of the “Gaza Freedom Flotilla”, organized by the Free Gaza Movement and the Turkish Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief (İHH), sailed out to Gaza carrying humanitarian aid and construction materials. The boats were subsequently raided by Israeli naval commandos on May 31, 2010, and nine activists were killed. Though these new ships also boarded Wednesday from Fethiye, Turkey, organizers stress that the event has no connection to the Turkish government. Organizer Huwaida Arraf, chair of the Free Gaza movement, said that “because Freedom Flotilla 1 was mostly an international effort, and because with the Mavi Marmara Turkish people were killed, it became mainly a Turkish thing … which detracted from the fact that it really was an international effort. So this time we want to show that it's not just Turkey, it's an international effort.” This time around no Turkish citizens are on the ships. As the ships hit international waters, Palestinian youth activists were planning to parade a large wooden model of the aid boats through the streets of Ramallah. They plan to have a demonstration outside of the UN office in Ramallah on Thursday, demanding that the UN end its compliance with the Israeli blockade and protect the humanitarian mission. The Israeli Navy tracked the two ships on Wednesday night and estimated that the ships would dock in Gaza between Thursday night and early Friday morning. A senior defense official said Wednesday that “in any case, we will not let them (the ships, red.) reach Gaza. The naval blockade is legal and was even recently approved by the Palmer committee. This is an incident that is intended mainly to draw media attention,” he said. “The Israeli Navy has completed the necessary preparations in order to prevent them from reaching the (Gaza) Strip,” said Lt.-Col. Avital Leibovich, an Israeli army spokeswoman, on Twitter. Authorities are “fully prepared to guard the safety of Israel and its maritime border,” she added. The Israeli Navy will offer the ships to dock and unload equipment at the port in Ashdod or in an Egyptian port. BM
