BARCELONA (PIC)– A new flotilla of international female activists left for the Gaza Strip from the Spanish city of Barcelona on Wednesday evening hoping to break a nearly decade-long Israeli blockade.
Two sailing boats Amal and Zaytouna with 30 women from different nationalities onboard put out to sea on way to the blockaded Gaza Strip carrying food and medicine that will hopefully be distributed to civilians upon arrival.
Sailing under the banner “Women’s Boat to Gaza” the activists aim to carry a message of hope and solidarity to Gazans.
The International Committee to Break the Gaza Siege released live snapshots of hundreds of supporters as they bid farewell to the activists onboard the flotilla.
Spanish MP Benet Salias from the Unidad Popular Party dubbed Israel “a theocratic racist and illegitimate entity.”
Spokeswoman for the Gaza flotillas campaign Sundus Farawna said in a press statement that the campaign is peaceful and aims at breaking the illegitimate siege on Gaza.
She added that Nobel Peace Prize laureates are onboard.
Member of the United Left of Spain party Khalidiya Abu Bakra who has Gazan origins also said: “Regardless of whether we will reach Gaza or not the flotilla will be held on an annual basis. Activism and popular support will keep going in every corner of the globe in solidarity with Gaza and the Palestinians.”
The boats are expected to be moored in Ajaccio (Corsica France) a few days later and will depart again for their last port of call before heading for Gaza.
The list of passengers include Tunisian MP Latifa Habashi; al-Jazeera’s renowned Algerian journalist Khadija Benguenna; Malin Björk a Member of European Parliament from Sweden; Ann Wright a retired U.S. Army Colonel and former U.S. diplomat who resigned in 2003 in opposition to the invasion of Iraq; and Dr. Fauziah Modh Hasan a Malaysian physician who has participated in many humanitarian missions with the Malaysian Medical Relief Society.
The Women’s Boat to Gaza declared that the illegal blockade of Gaza must end so that every person can live with freedom and dignity.
The women participants who differ for each leg of the journey represent over 15 countries across six continents.
While they come from very different cultural and professional backgrounds they all share a common bond and find the blockade of Gaza and the occupation of Palestine absolutely unacceptable.
The Women’s Boat to Gaza is an initiative of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition composed of civil society organizations and campaigns from more than a dozen countries.
