Active preparations continue for the dispatch of the next “solidarity flotilla” from Turkey to the Gaza Strip. Pro-Palestinian activists from different countries of the world (75 people in total) are represented by intellectuals, journalists, former politicians, doctors, former military officers, lawyers, among the passengers of the flotilla are citizens of Turkey, Cuba, South Africa, the USA, Great Britain, Egypt, Malaysia, Australia, Ireland, Spain , Canada, Algeria and other countries.
One of the organizers of the flotilla is 77-year-old Anne Wright; the “big names” of the participants include the daughter of the Argentine revolutionary Ernesto Che Guevara, 63-year-old Aleida Guevara, a pediatrician and political activist and the 49-year-old grandson of the South African revolutionary Nelson Mandela Zvevelilili “Mandla” Mandela, who participated in the very first Free Gaza flotilla in 2010.
The flotilla’s launch has been delayed several times, and while the flotilla’s three ships are anchored in Turkish ports, Israel is negotiating with Ankara through mediators in an attempt to prevent the flotilla’s arrival. Its participants are carrying, in their own words, “a huge load of humanitarian aid” – 5,500 tons, which is equivalent to 100 trucks. Let us remind you that 250-300 trucks of humanitarian aid are transported to the Gaza Strip every day, but UNRWA cannot cope with unloading and distributing aid to those in need.
At this stage, a plan is being discussed according to which a ship with a cargo of humanitarian aid will arrive at the port of El-Arish in Egypt, where the humanitarian aid will be unloaded from the deck and delivered after inspection to the Gaza Strip, like all other humanitarian aid.
The flotilla includes three ships – a cargo ship with humanitarian aid and two passenger ships, which can carry 1,000-2,000 people. Members of the flotilla are awaiting departure and are rehearsing their actions in case of a possible interception of the flotilla: as stated on the website Pearls and irritations in an article by one of the flotilla participants Medea Benjamin, pro-Palestinian activists are preparing for various scenarios.
The first option is that the flotilla will not be allowed to sail from Turkey. The second option is that “the Israelis will illegally seize us in international waters, confiscate our ships and cargo, arrest us, imprison us and ultimately deport us,” as Benjamin writes. Pro-Palestinian activists are practicing various actions for such a scenario.