Alwaght - The new Freedom Flotilla III with
pro-Palestinian activists on board is headed for the Gaza Strip aiming to break
the Israeli regime embargo on the impoverished coastal enclave.
One of the ships, named
Marianne of Gothenburg, has left the Italian city of Palermo heading
towards the Gaza strip after previously setting off from Sweden at the end of
May.
The Swedish Gaza-bound flotilla will be joined by other boats on
its way. The vessels, carrying small
amounts of medical supplies and aids such as solar panels, hope to reach the
besieged enclave by the end of June.
On board the Marianne of Gothenburg are activists from
Sweden, Canada, Norway, and Spanish European Parliament member Ana Maria
Miranda Paza.
“Our
aim is to end the siege of Gaza. We want the Palestinians to know that we
haven’t forgotten about them. There are many crises in the world, but the
situation in Gaza is also really bad, and we do remember them,” said activist
Kalle Ohlsson.
They
say they are seeking to open Gaza’s port and allow freedom of movement and
trade.
Basel Ghattas, an Arab lawmaker
in the Israeli regime, has announced that he would join the activists.
He wrote a letter to Israeli regime Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu and the minister of military affairs, Moshe Yaalon, on Sunday urging
them to let the boats reach Gaza safely.
The “Flotilla of Peace” seeks to
break the siege of Gaza and turn the world’s attention to the 1.8 million
Palestinians who are living in “prison conditions,” he added.
Ghattas called the Israeli regime blockade of Gaza “a
flagrant violation of humanitarian law”, and stressed that there is no reason
to prevent delivering humanitarian aid to enclave.
Meanwhile, a Zionist military spokesman said the military “will
not allow any vessel to reach Gaza and to cross the maritime border of Israel.”
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman, Emmanuel Nachshon,
said that the ministry is following the third flotilla updates
through the media.
“They announced their intention
to go to Gaza, but we will not allow this because Gaza is under a naval
blockade approved by international law,” Nachshon said.
On the other hand, one of the organizers of Freedom Flotilla III
trip, Dror Feiler, said that the trip organizers will work on getting
international arrest orders against Israeli soldiers if they attempt to stop
the boat.
To its part, the Palestinian NGO
network said Israeli regime will be responsible for the lives of activists on
board. The network also denounced Israeli regime threats to the peaceful
activists who are trying to reach Gaza, in solidarity with 1.8 million people.
The PNGO confirmed that
all international bodies, headed by the United Nations, must immediately move
to protect the boat and prevent any harm that could be done to it by Zionist
forces.
The Freedom Flotilla III
ships are currently between Italy and Greece, and is said to set sail from
Greece towards Gaza this week.
Since 2007, Israeli regime
has imposed a blockade on Gaza, which has caused a serious decline in the
standard of living, unprecedented levels of unemployment, and unrelenting
poverty.
On May 31, 2010, Zionist commandos attacked the
Turkish-flagged MV Mavi Marmara that was part of a six-ship convoy named the
Freedom Flotilla in the Mediterranean Sea, killing nine Turkish citizens and
injuring about 50 others. A 10th died recently after four years in a coma.
The flotilla was also attempting to break the Israeli regime
naval blockade of the Gaza Strip by carrying aid to the Palestinians in the
impoverished enclave.
