Where did the Freedom Flotilla's preparations reach before setting off for Gaza?

The number of participants in the Freedom Flotilla ships may reach 1,200 people from more than 50 countries (Freedom Flotilla)

London -

The International Freedom Flotilla Project Alliance is putting the final touches on launching a number of projects that aim to break the siege on the Gaza Strip by sea, after the past months demonstrated the difficulty of aid reaching the Strip through roads and land crossings.

It is expected that a ship loaded with humanitarian and medical aid and shelter supplies will depart from the Libyan port of Misrata towards the coast of the Gaza Strip, as the coalition, which includes 12 countries in addition to the International Committee to Break the Siege on Gaza, which represents the Arab countries, has prepared to launch the ship after a campaign to collect donations and aid. It was a success, and now the operation reaches its most sensitive stage, which is the launch, after which it seeks to reach the Gaza Strip.

Al Jazeera Net spoke with the head of the International Committee for Breaking the Siege of Gaza, Zaher Al-Birawi, about this new convoy, which he said will not be the last, but rather is part of an integrated project in order to seek to break the naval siege of the Gaza Strip.

Zaher Al-Birawi confirmed that ships to break the siege will depart after the month of Ramadan from several ports (Palestinian Information Center)

Initiatives to break the siege

The International Freedom Flotilla Alliance succeeded in launching 3 initiatives, the first of which is the convoy initiative to break the siege on Gaza, which is expected to set off from the Libyan coast in the coming days, and there is another ship that will set off before the end of the month of Ramadan from the port of Tripoli, both of which are rescue ships.

Then there is the initiative of the “Handala” ship, which launched from Norway and toured 12 European ports, to introduce the suffering of the people of Gaza due to this siege. The ship is expected to continue its tour during the summer in a number of European ports, before heading in July to the Gaza Strip. .

The coalition approved the third project, last February, when it stressed the need for naval ships to move to break the blockade, to confirm its illegality, saying, “What prompted us to this decision is the amount of unprecedented failure and complicity, and also to close the door to suspicious plans to control the way aid and relief arrive.” "For Gaza."

Al-Birawi revealed that the mechanism of movement of these ships is the gathering of a number of them, including a large aid ship, and small ships carrying hundreds of activists from many countries of the world, and political figures with political weight, which will have an impact if these ships are intercepted.

Al-Birawi says, “After the outbreak of the war on Gaza, we in the coalition thought about launching emergency and urgent work to serve our people in the Gaza Strip, and we decided to implement a campaign called the International Campaign to Save Gaza, in which the work focused mainly on the need for relief through humanitarian aid, and this effort resulted in collecting aid.” In-kind medical supplies and shelter purposes.

He added, "There are ships to break the siege that will launch after the month of Ramadan, and it is likely that in the middle of next April. They will launch from several ports, and the number of participants will exceed 1,200 people, from more than 50 countries, and there are large numbers registered on the registration platforms. Registration will remain open until the end of this month.

He said, "Then the names of the participants will be determined by a central committee in the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, whose mission is to verify the identities of the participants, and those who will be accepted will sign a document clarifying that this action is legal, humanitarian, peaceful, and non-violent, in order to remove the pretext from the occupation in distorting the goals of this campaign."

As part of the “Freedom Flotilla to Support the Children of Gaza” event... the “Handala” boat arrives at the port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands pic.twitter.com/YxBg5tIrtF

- Al Jazeera Live (@ajmubasher) July 25, 2023

hard mission

Al-Birawi acknowledges the difficulty of the task of breaking the siege on the Gaza Strip, “because the siege is a Western-backed political decision, imposed by America alongside Israel, but we must not stop, and no matter how great the obstacles we will face, they will not be more than what our people in Gaza face.”

He explained that they in the coalition studied all possible scenarios for dealing with this ship, and said, “Because we know the level of criminality of the Israeli occupation and what it could commit against those who stand in solidarity, among these scenarios we strongly expect is for the occupation to attack the ships, as well as the activists, but that is not the case.” "It means that we will surrender to the Israeli will."

To confront any incitement or smear campaign against the convoy, Al-Birwai stressed “the peaceful nature of this convoy,” as they are preparing those who will be present on these ships for all scenarios and possibilities, and specialized committees are also training participants on how to deal with the scenario of occupation violence, and there are legal committees. A human rights activist works to give momentum to this event, and to invest it in the interest of the people of Gaza and in the interest of the Palestinian cause.

Al-Birawi also spoke about the financial challenge, because the participating ships are ships owned by the coalition, and their costs are very high, in addition to the challenge of having ports of departure. He says, “Our estimate is that the success factors for this project are great, especially given the large participation of international figures in this convoy.”

Source: Al Jazeera