EU Lawmakers to Take Part in New Flotilla to Break Gaza Siege

Local Editor

The organizers of a new Gaza flotilla on Tuesday vowed to carry out their plan to break an "Israeli" naval blockade and deliver aid to the Gaza Strip, in what an "Israeli" official claimed would be a "political provocation."

The flotilla is expected to reach the waters off Gaza in the third week of June, Greek organizer Vangelis Pissias said at a press conference hosted by European Union parliamentarians in Strasbourg.

The attempt would come one year after "Israeli" commandos boarded a similar flotilla on the high seas and clashed with those aboard the main Turkish ship, resulting in the martyrdom of nine Turkish activists.

Several EU lawmakers have pledged to take part in the new flotilla, with organizers saying that their status will help protect others on board.

The ships will carry school materials, medical equipment and possibly construction equipment for Gaza citizens, according to organizer Manuel Tapial. "Civil society has a responsibility, a responsibility when the political class is hesitant," the Spanish activist said. "I feel that this is the case here."

"This will go beyond tangible humanitarian assistance ... Together, we call for the world to be a better place and justice for all, rights for all," a third organizer, Claude Leostic of France, added, arguing that the Israeli blockade on Gaza is illegal.