A Gaza-bound flotilla left Turkey on Wednesday and is currently on its way to Israel in yet another attempt to break Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip. The flotilla consists of the 25-meter long "Al-Tahrir" and a smaller yacht. More than 20 activists are participating in the voyage. Most of the activists are foreign although a few Arab-Israelis and journalists are also on board. The ships' representatives managed to gain clearance for their journey by telling Turkish authorities they were setting sail for Rhodes before changing course for Gaza, according to Israeli reports. Get the Israel Hayom newsletter sent to your mailbox! An IDF spokesperson on Wednesday call the newest flotilla an act of provocation against Israel. "The IDF and Israel Navy are prepared to meet the boats, which according to reports are planning to attempt to breach the legal blockade on the Gaza Strip in the coming days," the statement said. The IDF stressed that the international community has recognized the naval blockade as legal, an acknowledgment which was reiterated in the U.N.'s recently released Palmer report. If the flotilla stays its course, it is likely to reach the Israeli shoreline on Thursday or Friday. Irish-Palestinian and Canadian solidarity groups are among its organizers and backers. "Any organization or state which wishes to transfer humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip can do so via the existing land crossings and in coordination with the Israeli authorities," the IDF statement said. Currently there is no intelligence pointing to planned violence on the part of the activists. "The blockade policy has not changed, and is more necessary than ever as rocket fire in Gaza persists. This attempt to breach the blockade, whose legality has been proved by the U.N., is an insult to all the innocent civilians who are forced to live under the threat of rocket bombardment," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Over the past two years, pro-Palestinian activists have increased their efforts to sail into the Gaza Strip and break Israel's imposed blockade. In 2010, a raid on the Mavi Marmara, part of one of the first Gaza-bound flotillas, turned violent and left nine Turkish citizens dead, setting the stage for a series of Turkish diplomatic censures against Israel. The ensuing media backlash at Israel and the ensuing chill in Turkish-Israel relations prompted activists to attempt a similar flotilla in August, but it was averted thanks to intense Israeli diplomatic efforts.
Like our newsletter? 'Like' our Facebook page!
