NICOSIA/RAMALLAH: Middle East envoy Tony Blair’s sister-in-law and more than 40 other activists sailed from Cyprus yesterday in a bid to challenge an Israeli sea blockade of 1.4 million Palestinians in Gaza.
Setting out in two wooden boats, the “Free Gaza” activists expect to arrive off Gaza, whose shores are patrolled by the Israeli navy, today after a 240-nautical-mile journey.
Among the 44 activists highlighting poor living conditions of Palestinians in Gaza, is Lauren Booth, whose brother-in-law Blair is the former British prime minister and now the international community’s Middle East peace envoy. “I would tell him to come on board and visit the people of Gaza as he should have done many many times by now and see the situation himself, then act upon what he sees,” Booth told Reuters, referring to Blair.
A senior adviser to Abbas welcomed the initiative by the group. Nimer Hammad, Abbas’ political and media adviser, said in a press statement that this “Free Gaza” initiative is part of “efforts by Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and its offices abroad to further promote the international, popular and official solidarity with the Palestinians’ just rights, mainly to live in freedom and dignity in an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital.”
Hammad called on Israel “not to hinder the activists’ initiative and to obstruct them from carrying their peaceful activities which express their rejection of Israeli oppressive siege.”
The Palestinians will today meet the ships offshore since Israel threatened to ban them from making their voyage to the besieged coastal strip, said Jamal Al-Khodary, Member of Palestinian Legislative Council. Khodary added that 20 Palestinians boats will receive the two ships offshore and accompany the international campaigners in their move to challenge the Israeli gunboats “and proceed their way to Gaza.”
— With input from Mohammed Mar’i
