Two more ships that are part of the so-called Gaza Freedom Flotilla are maintaining their plan to sail for the Gaza coast.
One of the ships is an Irish vessel named the Rachel Corrie, for the activist from the United States who was killed in 2003 in Gaza while protesting in front of an Israeli bulldozer. It reportedly left a port in Malta on May 31 carrying 15 activists and was expected to reach international waters off the coast of Gaza on the night of Friday, June 4, or the following morning, the Israeli daily Ha’aretz reported.
In addition, a pro-Gaza organization says it has received funding for three new ships that will attempt to break Israel’s maritime blockade of the Gaza Strip. The European Campaign to End Siege on Gaza announced on its website June 2 that it will name the new flotilla Fleet of Freedom 2, and that it would leave for Gaza “in the coming weeks.”
Dr. Arafat Madi, president of the campaign, said in a statement on the website that he received calls from around the world requesting the launching of a new flotilla with more ships. — jta