ROME: The Estelle, the latest ship to try to break Israel’s blockade on Gaza as part of the “Freedom Flotilla” movement, will set sail from Naples in southern Italy tomorrow, a spokeswoman for the movement said.
“The Estelle will be leaving in two days time, probably towards sundown. We are ready,” Ann Ighe said by telephone.
“We think it will take around two weeks to get to Gaza, but it will obviously also depend on the weather conditions,”
she added. The Estelle, whose voyage is being organised by an international pro-Palestinian coalition, will be carrying humanitarian goods to the Gaza Strip. There will be 17 activists from around the world on board, including passengers and crew from Canada, Israel, Norway, Sweden and the United States.
Israel says the blockade is necessary to prevent weapons from entering the coastal territory, which is run by the Islamist movement Hamas, and has used force to defend it in the past. The first Freedom Flotilla in May 2010 ended in tragedy when nine Turkish nationals were killed after Israeli commandos boarded the Turkish-flagged Mavi Marmara, the lead ship, as it tried to break through the blockade.
“When people think of flotillas, they think of the Mavi Marmara. But the Estelle is very different, she was chosen to change the perception of the campaign, to show that it’s a non-violent campaign,”
Ighe said. AFP
