An Irish and Canadian ship with cargoes of humanitarian aid for Gaza residents will arrive on the shores of the Palestinian enclave on Friday in a bid to break Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip, Amjad al-Shawa, a Gaza-based organizer said on Thursday.
The Canadian boat Tahrir (Liberation) and the Irish boat Saoirse (Freedom), carrying 27 foreign activists, left the port of Fethiye in southwest Turkey on Wednesday.
Journalists from the Al Jazeera TV channel and representatives of Canadian and Israeli media are among the passengers of ships.
Al-Shawa said that contrary to Israeli threats, they continue their mission of solidarity with the Palestinian people, who are part of the peaceful struggle against the policy of collective punishment and blockades which have continued for over five years.
Israel, in turn, announced on Wednesday that it will “meet” these ships and humanitarian aid can be delivered to the Gaza Strip through land border crossings controlled by the Israeli authorities.
Israel attacked a Gaza-bound humanitarian aid flotilla in international waters off the Gaza coast in May 2010, which resulted in the deaths of nine Turkish activists on board the Mavi Marmara ship. Each side blamed the other for the fatalities.
