Bethlehem - Ma'an - The second ship to join the Freedom Flotilla en route to Gaza left Istanbul Saturday afternoon, joining eight other boats from three countries carrying 10,000 tons of aid for Gaza's residents, supplies embargoed by Israel.
A statement issued by the Freedom Flotilla's organizers said the latest ship to set sail is sponsored by the Turkish humanitarian organization, Insani Yardim Vakfi (IHH), and will carry 600 passengers to Gaza as part of the "blockade busting" flotilla.
Boats will meet in the Mediterranean, then turn toward Gaza to arrive at its beseiged slice of beachfront by the end of May. Free Gaza Movement’s MV Rachel Corrie is already en route from Ireland and is presently off the coast of Portugal loaded with cement, paper and supplies for school children and medical equipment, the statement said.
John Ging, Head of United Nation's Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in the Gaza Strip, said, “We recommend the world send ships to the shores of Gaza, and we believe that Israel would not stop these vessels because the sea is open, and many human rights organizations have been successful in previous similar steps, and proved that breaking the siege on Gaza is possible.”
Earlier Saturday morning, a convoy of Israel boats set sail off the Herziliya coast near Tel Aviv, launching an opposing flotilla displaying large banners of Iran and Turkey and photos of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with equals signs between them. Other posters say Hamas with bloody handprints on them, the street journalism news site Demotix reported.
River to Sea
Uprooted Palestinian
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