{"id":60013,"date":"2015-06-22T12:00:59","date_gmt":"2015-06-22T11:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=60013"},"modified":"2015-06-22T00:49:29","modified_gmt":"2015-06-21T23:49:29","slug":"freedom-flotilla-set-to-sail-to-gaza-amid-safety-concerns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2015\/06\/freedom-flotilla-set-to-sail-to-gaza-amid-safety-concerns\/","title":{"rendered":"Freedom Flotilla Set to Sail to Gaza amid Safety Concerns"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Activists say that they aim to end the blockade on Gaza, but they fear an Israeli violent response to their attempt.<\/em><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_60014\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/gaza_flotilla_2015_crop1434683517573.jpg_1718483346-palestine-israel.jpg\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-60014\" class=\"size-full wp-image-60014\" src=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/gaza_flotilla_2015_crop1434683517573.jpg_1718483346-palestine-israel.jpg\" alt=\"Members of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition aboard the Marianne of Gothenburg which is hoping to sail to Gaza. | Photo: Ship for Gaza\" width=\"600\" height=\"340\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/gaza_flotilla_2015_crop1434683517573.jpg_1718483346-palestine-israel.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/gaza_flotilla_2015_crop1434683517573.jpg_1718483346-palestine-israel-300x170.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-60014\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Members of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition aboard the Marianne of Gothenburg which is hoping to sail to Gaza. | Photo: Ship for Gaza<\/p><\/div>\n<p><em>18 Jun 2015 &#8211; <\/em>The <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.telesurtv.net\/english\/news\/International-Flotilla-to-Sail-For-Gaza-20140813-0002.html\" >Freedom Flotilla III<\/a> is preparing to set sail to the Gaza Strip in an attempt to break the Israeli illegal siege of the strip. At least three pro-Palestinian ships waving Swedish flags, which are part of the pro-Gaza Norwegian and Swedish group Freedom Flotilla coalition, are now in the south of Italy in Sicily. The activists said Thursday [18 Jun] that they aimed to reach Gaza by the end of June.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur aim is to end the siege of Gaza. We want the Palestinians to know that we haven\u2019t forgotten about them,\u201d activist Kalle Ohlsson told Al-Jazeera. \u201cThere are many crises in the world, but the situation in Gaza is also really bad, and we do remember them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/twitter.com\/anamirandapaz\/status\/611583713646911489\/photo\/1<\/p>\n<p>She added that the flotilla&#8217;s main objective was not to bring aid, but to open Gaza&#8217;s port to the outside world.<\/p>\n<p>This marks the third attempt to break the Israeli blockade on Gaza by the Swedish Ship to Gaza group, which owns the ships. The first flotilla in 2010 was boarded by Israeli troops who killed nine unarmed people, including seven Turkish citizens.<\/p>\n<p>The second attempt was turned back by the Israeli navy in October 2012.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">&quot;We had hope that our embroideries would be exported on <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GazaArk?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" >@GazaArk<\/a>. The coming <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/FreedomFlotilla?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" >#FreedomFlotilla<\/a> has given us new hope&quot; <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/t.co\/EHfgQ7UGEU\" >http:\/\/t.co\/EHfgQ7UGEU<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Michael Coleman (@thedarkcorners_) <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/thedarkcorners_\/status\/611707610870386689?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" >June 19, 2015<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The group <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.telesurtv.net\/english\/news\/Humanitarian-Freedom-Flotilla-Sails-to-Israeli-Blockaded-Gaza-20150512-0010.html\" >said in May<\/a> that one of the ships would be carrying modest medical materials and solar banners that they hoped to deliver to the fuel-poor population in Gaza.<\/p>\n<p>In a press release on Wednesday, the Swedish group said that the ships&#8217; crew would undergo a non-violence training amid concerns about the Israeli reaction to their attempt to break the Gaza blockade.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re very concerned about safety. We have a strict non-violence policy. We\u2019re hoping Israel won&#8217;t use violence against us,\u201d Ohlsson said.<\/p>\n<p>Organizers also said that the final departure point and information on the reset of the boats involved in the mission are being kept secret in order to avoid sabotage.<\/p>\n<p>Activists also argued that Israel had no logical reason for stopping their peaceful boats that are carrying medical supplies.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m hoping that the Israelis actually understand that it would create a lot of more goodwill for them if they actually let the boats through, because there\u2019s no reason for them not to do that. It\u2019s counter-productive in the end. I think they\u2019ve totally lost common sense here, because really it\u2019s not a threat to bring in medical equipment, to bring in medicine, to bring in solar panels,\u201d said Swedish journalist and writer Kajsa Ekis Ekman, who will be on board one of the flotilla&#8217;s ships, the Marianne, sailing to Gaza.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Video: Robert Lovelace &#8211; Why I am going to <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Gaza?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" >#Gaza<\/a> with <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/FreedomFlotilla?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" >#FreedomFlotilla<\/a> III <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/t.co\/UEMDELNmUn\" >http:\/\/t.co\/UEMDELNmUn<\/a> <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/EndGazaBlockade?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" >#EndGazaBlockade<\/a> <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/t.co\/o0EvkRAWIb\" >pic.twitter.com\/o0EvkRAWIb<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Canada Boat to Gaza (@CanadaBoatGaza) <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CanadaBoatGaza\/status\/611548969815007233?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" >June 18, 2015<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.telesurtv.net\/english\/news\/Freedom-Flotilla-Set-to-Sail-to-Gaza-amid-Safety-Concerns-20150618-0052.html\" >Go to Original \u2013 telesurtv.net<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Activists say that they aim to end the blockade on Gaza, but they fear an Israeli violent response to their attempt.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-60013","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-palestine-israel-gaza-genocide"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60013","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60013"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60013\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60013"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60013"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60013"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}