New siege-breaking boat to sail on 22 September

Date: 04 / 09 / 2008  Time:  17:20
Gaza – Ma’an –

International human rights advocates plan to stage another siege-breaking voyage to the Gaza Strip on 22 September after two boats challenged an Israeli military blockade in August.

Palestinian lawmaker Jamal Al-Khudari, head of the Popular Campaign Against the Israeli siege of Gaza, announced on Thursday that the activists will set sail from Cyprus, and that the new boat will have on board members of the European Parliament and doctors.

The Boat will also pick up nine international activists who are stranded in Gaza following the first voyage of the Free Gaza Movement. Among the stranded foreigners is British journalist Lauren Booth, the sister-in-law of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

The Free Gaza movement also announced on Thursday that it would deliver mail to Palestinians in Gaza.

New “Break the Siege” ship to sail to Gaza

Thursday September 04, 2008 22:24 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

Legislator Jamal Al-Khudary, head of the Popular Committee Against the Siege, stated on Thursday that a new Break the Siege ship which includes European legislators, physicians, reporters and international figures will sail to Gaza from Cyprus on September 22.

Al-Khodary added that physicians on board will remain in Gaza to perform surgeries and relief work for sick and injured Palestinians residents.

He added that on its way back to Cyprus, the ship will carry nine internationals who remained in Gaza after arriving on board the first ship in addition to nine Palestinians who could not leave after visiting the coastal region.

The nine internationals, including the sister of Tony Blair’s wife, arrived on board the SS Liberty and Free Gaza ships on August 23 and delivered aid and essential supplies to the residents.  

The ships were filled with humanitarian supplies and carried 60 international activists.

Nine international activists refused to leave the Gaza Strip while the rest left and vowed to come back soon in bigger ships and additional activists.

Khudari: Searching for a firm to run a ferry service between Cyprus and Gaza

[ 04/09/2008 - 01:38 PM ]

BRUSSELS, (PIC)--

MP Jamal Al-Khudari, the head of the popular committee against the siege, said that the committee and the Free Gaza activists are making efforts to find a company that could run a regular ferry service between Cyprus and the Gaza Strip.

MP Khudari said that the aim of this idea is to break the Israeli siege on Gaza through establishing a sea route connecting Palestine and Cyprus, stressing that Israeli intimidation will not stop the anti-siege trips from continuing or the Gaza people from communicating with the world.

The lawmaker noted that a number of activists are due to board three boats for Gaza, one of them will be larger, adding that the boats will be also loaded with humanitarian aid.

Khudari had also announced days ago that an agreement was reached with foreign sympathizers to coordinate all acts within a legal framework, and added that Palestinian territorial waters would be exploited for the higher interest of the Palestinian people.

Report: Gaza beach polluted as a result of the Israeli siege

[ 04/09/2008 - 09:49 AM ]

GAZA, (PIC)--

Palestinian ecologists have warned on Wednesday that the Gaza beach was exposed to various contamination factors as a result of the Israeli economic siege on the Gaza Strip, in addition to wrong practices of some Palestinian citizens.

They also recommended strengthening the system of monitoring potable waters in order to ensure that the 1.5 million Palestinian individuals living in the Gaza Strip were drinking clean water.

They attributed the problem to a number of factors, asserting it was mainly because of the Israeli economic sanctions against the Gaza Strip, and the closure of the Gaza crossing points.

Amal Sarsour, the head of the health division in Gaza governorate, opined that frequent and long blackouts, the high temperature, the lack of fuel, and the increase of Palestinian population in the tiny Strip had all contributed to such contamination.

She also described the deteriorated health condition in the Gaza Strip as "collective extermination", urging all concerned Palestinian, Arab, and foreign environmental organizations to immediately intervene to stop the Israeli crimes against the environment and the beach of Gaza.