Boats with pro-Palestinian activists dock in GazaGroup defying blockade gets joyous greeting
JERUSALEM - The two boats, named Free Gaza and Liberty, chugged into Gaza City yesterday with quite an escort: a mini-flotilla of fishing boats, sailboats, skiffs, and even swimmers - one carrying a Palestinian flag.
Arriving to a boisterous reception, the international activists aboard the boats said they hope their symbolic breaking of the Israeli blockade on the territory is just the beginning.
"We will surely try to bring the boats back again," said Huwaida Arraf, one of 44 passengers who overcame rough seas and communications problems after setting out Friday from Cyprus. "The goal is to open a route between Cyprus and Gaza.
"People here are just ecstatic to see that someone cares," Arraf said.
About 2,000 people turned out to welcome the activists. When the two boats were first spotted off the Gaza coast, five Palestinian boats rushed out to sea to meet them, while dozens of smaller crafts waited closer to shore.
A boy scout band sat in one boat banging drums and blowing horns, while another carried Gazan activists waving Palestinian flags.
"They are very brave, they are very strong; I am proud of them," said Samira Ayash, a 65-year-old retired schoolteacher who came to watch.
Activist Tom Nelson, a 64-year-old lawyer from Zigzag, Ore., said he hoped the group's mission would draw attention in the West to the difficult conditions caused by the blockade.
"It was a tough time, almost 36 hours. It was very hard for many of us," Nelson said. "But the Gaza people are amazing."
Israel, with US backing and Egyptian assistance, virtually sealed the Gaza border last summer after the militant Islamic group Hamas took over in Gaza. Israel has allowed little more than basic humanitarian supplies into the strip, causing widespread shortages of fuel, electricity, and basic goods.
Hamas, which advocates the destruction of Israel, has kept Gaza afloat with a small amount of humanitarian aid allowed in by Israel and a steady stream of goods smuggled through tunnels from Egypt.
Yesterday's sea landing was a deliberate attempt to alter that equation.
The 70-foot Free Gaza and 60-foot Liberty left Cyprus with 46 activists from 14 countries. Among the activists who made the trip were an 81-year-old Catholic nun from the United States and Lauren Booth, the sister-in-law of Tony Blair, the former prime minister of Britain who now serves as a Middle East Peace envoy.
The flotilla ran into trouble almost as soon as the boats left Cyprus. The navigation and communications systems on both boats failed; and some activists accused Israel of jamming their systems. Israel denied the allegation.
But their biggest concern never happened: a confrontation with the Israeli Navy, which patrols the Gaza shores.
Israel's Foreign Ministry initially had requested that the activists deliver their load of hearing aids through official Israeli-controlled checkpoints. Refusal to do so, according to a ministry letter, "proves that your goal is political and constitutes the legitimization of a terrorist organization."
Yesterday, Israel announced that it would allow the boats to land unhindered.
"We knew they were looking for a media provocation on the high seas," said Arye Mekel, a spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry. "So we decided not to let them have the confrontation they wanted."
Organizers plan to set sail back to Cyprus in a few days. But they will be leaving something behind: Several of the activists plan to stay in Gaza for a few months, volunteering with local nongovernmental organizations.
The boats will return to their new home port in Cyprus; organizers promised more trips and hope to rally support for other international activists to follow suit.
Mekel warned that future attempts might receive a different reception. "I don't know if others will want to do this," he said, "but this is not a precedent."
Gaza's Hamas prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh, welcomed the activists. "We call for more activities to break the unfair siege imposed on our people," Haniyeh said.
Under a June truce deal that halted a deadly cycle of bruising Palestinian rocket attacks and deadly Israel air strikes, Israel has pledged to ease the blockade. But Palestinians say the flow of goods into Gaza remains insufficient and there has been little improvement in the quality of life.
Israel has periodically closed the cargo crossings in response to sporadic Palestinian rocket fire that violated the truce.
Israel withdrew its troops and settlers from the Gaza Strip in 2005 but tightened restrictions on the territory since Hamas seized control last year.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is scheduled to visit Israel and the Palestinian territories today.
Source:
http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2008/08/24/boats_with_pro_palestinian_activists_dock_in_gaza/---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A "famous" member on board of this ships was Muzzie's sweetie Lauren Both, who is related to Tony Blair. See the first picture.
She is very self-hating, pro-Muzz and leftist.This article, in which she describes why she hates her mother, is great: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-540153/Lauren-Booth-reveals-HATES-mother-wants-again.htmlHere I have found, that she lives actually with her two daughters in South France. The location in this country with the highest Muzzie contamination: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lauren_Booth Let us hope that the Muzzies there will appreciate her treason enough. Otherwise it could be dangerous there for her daughters. We all know the nature of the quranimal. 
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