Rory Byrne, a spokesman for the European Campaign to End the
Siege of Gaza, says his group and others in the Freedom Flotilla Coalition have
six ships and many activists who want to go to Gaza for an operation he hopes
will be larger than the one that ended in bloodshed last month.
The coalition includes a Turkish Islamic aid group, the Foundation
for Human Rights and Freedom and Humanitarian Relief or IHH, which Israel has
outlawed and accuses of ties with Palestinian militant group Hamas.
The IHH sponsored the lead boat in a six-ship, Gaza-bound aid
flotilla that Israeli commandos raided May 31, killing nine people and sparking
an international outcry. Nearly 700 activists had joined that operation.
The IHH said Thursday it has not been directly involved in the
planning of the second flotilla, though the coalition says the IHH is free to
join in.
Byrne says the six ships should be ready to set sail within
the next few weeks, but gave no departure date or itinerary. He would not say
where the ships came from, but said the operation was being funded by
individual donations.
The Israeli commando raid heightened demands that Israel end
the blockade of Gaza, imposed when Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007. Hamas
calls for Israel's destruction.
Israel announced plans Thursday to ease the land blockade, but
is maintaining its naval blockade intended to keep weapons shipments out of the
hands of Hamas.
Byrne called that a “a sleight of hand.” He said the European
coalition wants to “keep the pressure up” for Israel to reopen Gaza's borders
completely, at sea as well as on land, and to all legal goods.
A high official in the Israeli army said all future foreign
flotillas would be stopped. He said Israel would do everything possible to
avoid violence, but said “the only way to stop them is to board them.” Asked
whether the Israelis would use different tactics the next time, he said each
situation would be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. The official spoke on
condition of anonymity under military guidelines.
Byrne shrugged off the warning, saying “there should be no
danger from any military operation.” Representatives of the flotilla coalition
laid out their plans to European Parliament members in Strasbourg on Wednesday.
The Parliament adopted a resolution calling for an international inquiry into
the Israeli raid last month and an immediate end to the blockade.
The resolution also proposes reactivating European Union border
monitoring missions in Gaza, and calls on Hamas to “stop all attacks against
Israel immediately.”
