ISTANBUL, (PIC)
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) has announced a plan to sail again to challenge Israel’s unlawful and deadly siege of Gaza.
FFC made the announcement at a news conference held on Saturday at the IHH headquarters in Istanbul.
In the coming weeks, a flotilla will set sail carrying thousands of tons of urgently needed humanitarian aid that will be delivered directly to Palestinians in Gaza.
FFC is a consortium of international civil society organizations and activists, including the Turkish humanitarian relief foundation, IHH.
“After 17 years of a brutal blockade and 4 months of genocidal assault, including weaponizing basic necessities, Palestinians in Gaza are facing an unprecedented and catastrophic humanitarian crisis,” according to a press release issued by FFC.
“On January 26, 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered provisional measures to protect the Palestinians in Gaza from the plausible risk of genocide. Amongst six strongly worded measures, the ICJ ordered Israel to ‘take immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance to address the adverse conditions of life faced by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.’ This decision followed UN Security Council resolutions in November and December 2023 which called for urgent steps to immediately allow ‘safe, unhindered, and expanded’ humanitarian access to Gaza.”
“Israel’s blatant noncompliance with these orders, and the failure of other governments to pressure the occupying power to comply, motivate us as civil society organizations to take action,” the FFC underlined.
“It is incumbent upon us to ensure that Palestinians in Gaza receive humanitarian aid,” Ismail Moola of Palestine Solidarity Alliance in South Africa said. “We expect that the Security Council will enforce the ICJ ruling, but due to the dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza we need to act immediately.”
“Plans for our ‘Save Gaza Campaign’ are ongoing, and the FFC calls on the government of Egypt to facilitate the delivery of life-sustaining aid through Rafah into Gaza. FFC’s mission, ‘For the Children of Gaza,’ led by our boat Handala, will again set sail from Northern Europe to Gaza May 2024.”
FFC said it gathered in Istanbul to plan its campaigns with representatives from the following organizations: Canadian Boat to Gaza (Canada), US Boat to Gaza (USA), Kia Ora Gaza (Aotearoa, New Zealand), Free Gaza Australia (Australia), Ship to Gaza (Norway), MyCARE (Malaysia), Ship to Gaza (Sweden), Palestine Solidarity Alliance (South Africa), IHH (Turkiye), Rumbo a Gaza (Spanish State), Mavi Marmara Association (Turkiye) and the International Committee for Breaking the Siege of Gaza.
“Where our governments fail, we sail” Karen DeVito of Canadian Boat to Gaza said. “We are charting a course to the conscience of humanity, in solidarity with the Palestinian people.”
“We call on civil society organizations from around the world who share our values and goals to support and join us,” FFC added.
