QUOTE;"Israel will stop the Flotilla of Boats to Gaza At any Price" They are not content in getting rid of Rachel Corrie once, they will now get rid of the "Rachel Corrie" Irish Cargo ship named after her, carrying aid to Gaza from Ireland in the Flotilla.
link Washington - The Israeli Navy is allegedly training to seize the eight-boat "Freedom Flotilla," which is scheduled to reach Gaza shores May 24, Ma'an News Agency reported Wednesday.
The boats will be loaded with prefabricated homes, cement, and medicine and will be accompanied by 600 individuals in a bid to break the siege on Gaza," Ma'an said.
Arabic-language news station Al-Hurra reported:
About half of the Israeli naval forces will participate in an operation that was approved by the cabinet. [Israeli] Defense Minister Ehud Barak will supervise the operation.
Israel will prevent the boats from reaching Gaza "at any price," an Israeli security source told Ma'an.
The largest-ever sea convoy aimed at breaking the Israeli siege of the Gaza Strip will take off for the coastal enclave in three phases, IMEMC reported last week.
Palestinian legislator and Popular Committee Against the Siege chairman Jamal El Khodary said at a press conference last Thursday that the first ship in the convoy will leave Ireland for Greece May 12. Eight ships will sail from Greece to Turkey on May 22, and those ships are set to reach Cyprus May 26. The entire convoy will sail to Gaza May 27.
El Khodary said the Free Gaza Movement "Freedom Flotilla" is determined to sail to Gaza's shore no matter what, and he said the ships will be outfitted with sufficient supplies should they be surrounded by the Israeli Navy.
Free Gaza cofounder Mary Hughes Thompson said of the May voyage:
“Although we were happy with the first trips, it was bitter-sweet, knowing that our small boats and symbolic amounts of relief paled in comparison to what was really needed in Gaza. Now, we finally feel we are helping to organize a powerful action, one with the potential to translate into a sustained campaign of much more effective challenges to Israel's brutal siege.”
The heart of the convoy will be a cargo ship sponsored by donors from Malaysia and outfitted with cargo form Ireland, Scotland and Britain among others countries.
