THE TWO boats that will carry 40 peace activists to the shores of Gaza arrived yesterday morning at Larnaca port, flying Greek, Palestinian and Cypriot flags.
The SS Free Gaza and SS Liberty arrived at 8.30am from Crete, escorted by the Coast Guard, with 23 passengers on board, including Tony Blair’s sister-in-law Lauren Booth. Another 20 peace activists waiting in Nicosia will board the boats after refuelling and inspection by the Cypriot authorities.
Plans for the mission have been repeatedly delayed by rough seas, but organisers now hope to set sail tonight.
“We are planning that the boats will leave late on Thursday evening as we need to make sure that we arrive in Gaza in the daylight,” said Greta Berlin, one of the activists.
Organisers had previously said it took approximately 20 hours to sail to Gaza from Cyprus by boat, though Berlin said their estimated arrival in Gaza would be early Saturday.
The 40-plus group made up of 17 nationalities plans to sail to Gaza to break Israel’s blockade of the tiny strip of land, home to 1.4 million Palestinians, taking balloons and hearing aids with them. The group includes Israelis, Palestinians, Brits, Americans, Danes and others.
“We’ve been waiting a long time to unify our group, which has been split between Cyprus and Crete. On the way in today, we had the Cypriot authorities escorting us. Now, it’s time for the world to escort us to Gaza,” said Paul Larudee, one of the organisers of the Free Gaza Movement.
“It was exhilarating to watch the boats come in after waiting so patiently over the past two weeks. Seeing the sail on the Free Gaza followed to port by the Liberty has been worth the wait,” said Fathi Jaouadi, one of the peace activists.
Greek member of the crew Panayiotis Politis said the aim of the mission was to “break the Israeli siege on the Gaza Strip port, where a ship has not sailed to since 1967.”
“What we are trying to do is show that the Mediterranean, a sea with a great history, should be accessible by all peoples, including the Palestinians.
The Greek national said reaching Gaza was not just a symbolic act, “but an act that will open a free passage of communication between the Palestinians and other Mediterranean countries.”
“Free access to this region is non-negotiable,” he added.
Politis said it was highly probably they would be arrested by the Israeli authorities.
“I believe that if Israel arrests the members of the mission, it will be a confirmation of the blatant violation of every trace of justice on which the state of Israel rests,” he said.
“It doesn’t matter what happens,” added Berlin. “Even if they blow our boats up and only a few of us are left, we will go there on a raft if we have to.”
The organisers will hold a memorial service before the boats depart today for the 34 sailors aboard the USS Liberty who were killed by Israeli forces in 1967, and the “more than 5,000 Palestinians who have lost their lives since September 2000”.
On arrival at Larnaca port, boat members hung up a large banner quoting from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: “Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world…”
