The 36 crew members of the latest Free Gaza movement envoy have insisted that they will set sail from Cyprus to Gaza despite warnings from Cypriot, Israeli and US authorities.The voyage will be the eighth such trip organized by the Free Gaza movement and the first attempt since January of this year when the boat was forced to turn back by the Israeli navy. The previous journey, in December of 2008, was canceled when the Israeli navy rammed and severely damaged the Dignity, which was carrying emergency medical supplies as well as three surgeons to volunteer at Gaza’s hospitals.
The two boats on this latest mission, the Free Gaza and the Spirit of Humanity, were refused permission to sail by the Cypriot authorities on Thursday. They want the boats to undergo inspection even though they had been allowed to sail in the past. The US embassy in Nicosia also contacted the organization to pass on the following message from the Israeli Foreign Ministry:
"[T]he Israeli Foreign Ministry informed US officials at the American Embassy in Tel Aviv that Israel still considers Gaza an area of conflict and that any Free Gaza boats attempting to sail to the Gaza Strip will 'not be permitted' to reach its destination."However, former member of Congress Cynthia McKinney, who is on the boat, responded by saying that the US should not be repeating Israeli policy to the Free Gaza crew, but instead be pressuring Israel to ease the siege and allow in urgently needed building and medical supplies as per White House policy.
The members of the crew have all signed waivers absolving the Cypriot authorities of responsibility for their safety and well-being, and are hoping for permission to sail shortly.
According to organizer Huwaida Arraf, the volunteers are taking such a risk because they believe it is important to challenge the 3 year siege. “People in Gaza are being made to live in subhuman conditions. Children are dying, and governments are silent. It is important to continue sending boats to Gaza to challenge the criminal blockade enforced by the Israeli military,” she said.
The Free Gaza organization was founded in 2006 in response to Israel’s total blockade of Gaza following Hamas’ election victory in Palestinian parliamentary elections. According to the organization, the volunteers wanted to directly challenge the siege and the complicity of other governments by sailing into Gaza. On 23rd of August, 2008 the group sailed the first boat into Gaza City’s port for 41 years.
Although Free Gaza’s means are limited and the small amount of supplies carried on the boats does little to alleviate the urgent needs of the people in the besieged Strip, the voyages are a challenge to the Israeli government's embargo on Gaza.
Such acts by civilian groups can weaken sanctions regimes. During the US-enforced UN sanctions on Iraq, humanitarian groups carried out similar activities to call attention to the humanitarian plight in the country, which slowly gave way to greater opposition by other governments.
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