THIRTEEN parliamentarians from the international community will be joining peace activists on a third voyage to Gaza this Friday.
The SS Dignity will be leaving Larnaca at 5pm for Gaza with 13 members of parliament from Britain, Ireland, Italy, Turkey, Wales, Switzerland and Scotland on board.
According to a Free Gaza Movement (FGM) press release, the FGM and European Campaign to End the Siege have organised this voyage because Egypt refused entry to 53 international parliamentarians who are holding a conference in Gaza from November 8 to 11. Now, several of them have made alternative travel arrangements, using the new sea corridor set up by the FGM using any boats it can its hands on. The 13 parliamentarians are going to meet with their counterparts and assess the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Human rights organisations argue Israel’s lock down of Gaza following the election of Hamas is tantamount to “collective punishment” of 1.5 million Palestinians, inviting a humanitarian crisis to the Strip.
This will be the third sea voyage organised by the FGM to Gaza, following one in August and one last week.
“Our dream two years ago was to bring people to Gaza to witness what Israel is doing. This time, we are honoured to have Parliamentarians from the world community coming with us,” said Mary Hughes Thompson, one of the original FGM organisers.
“Egypt did not allow us to enter Gaza via the Rafah terminal, but this will not stop us from visiting the area,” said Lord Nazir Ahmad, head of the European delegates.
British MP Clare Short berated Egypt for its stance on access to Gaza: “The Egyptian refusal to grant us access through Rafah Crossing is insulting to all of us, and Egypt should open the crossing now.”
Short was a member of Tony Blair’s cabinet until her resignation following Britain’s involvement in the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
The parliamentarians hope to visit hospitals and deliver a ton of medical supplies brought over by the Dignity.
FGM organiser Greta Berlin said the group of parliamentarians also hope to meet “many of the 700 students who have been denied the right to leave Gaza and study at universities that have already admitted them”.
Dr. Arafat Shoukri of the European Campaign to End the Siege added, “We intend to deliver the medical supplies to the most vulnerable of the stricken population in the territory. This journey will send a strong message to the world and is a direct challenge to the Israeli siege on Gaza.”
