Amid Israeli Threats, New Flotilla “Headed Toward Gaza”

“The Israeli Navy has completed the necessary preparations to prevent the ships from reaching the (Gaza) Strip,” said Lt.-Col. Avital Leibovich, an
Israeli army spokeswoman.

She added, ” Our forces will strictly stop this flotilla from continuing in
its goal, and we will not permit them to breach our blockade”.

These Israeli statements come as the new flotilla has become in the
international waters and it is expected to reach Gaza by Friday.

Amjad Al-shawa _Coordinator of the Palestinian Campaign to End the
Siege on Gaza_ said, ” The Canadian Tahrir and the Irish Saoirse ships are
expected to reach Gaza’s harbor on Friday noon carrying 27 activists from nine countries and a symbolic cargo of $30,000 in medication”.

Al-shawa considered the Israeli threats to prevent the flotilla from
reaching Gaza as an attempt to bully, subordinate and maintain a stranglehold on the people of Gaza.

He added “The campaign sent a message to the Secretary-General of
the United Nations “Ban Ki Moon” and to many Human Rights Institutions
around the world to ask them to put pressure on the Israeli Occupation in order to prevent it from doing any thing stupid to stop these two ships from reaching the Gaza Strip”.

Al-shawa called the international community to stop being silent toward
the Israeli violations against the Palestinians. It should work to guarantee the arrival of the freedom flotilla to the Gaza and to defy the Israeli occupation siege which made the Gaza Strip a big prison.

The 27 activists on board the Canadian and Irish ships came from
Australia, Canada, Ireland and the United States, and included Palestinians and at least one Israeli Arab citizen, according to organizers. Turkey has affirmed that the ships were not Turkish-flagged and had no Turkish passengers.

It’s worth mentioning that In May 2010, The first Gaza flotilla ended
in violence. Nine Turkish activists were killed in an Israeli raid on a similar convoy named “Mavi Marmara” which was carrying 700 solidarity activists from 40 countries and materials for Gaza Strip.