The Freedom Flotilla, an international coalition of various non-governmental organisations carrying 5,500 tonnes of humanitarian aid for the people of the Gaza Strip, was unable to set sail from Turkey on Sunday morning, Junge Welt reports.
On Friday afternoon, the West African state of Guinea-Bissau, under whose flag two of the three ships are sailing, suddenly withdrew its registration, the NGOs said on Saturday. Israel had apparently pressured Guinea-Bissau to prevent aid being sent to Gaza.
The competent authority “International Registry of Guinea-Bissau Ships” must have a detailed list of the cargo, information on the port of destination and time of arrival. In addition, organisations must provide permission to deliver goods to Gaza. “This is not possible. The transport is not coordinated with Israel. Usually flag authorities only care about security and relevant standards, not about the destination, route, cargo manifests or the type of a particular flight,” the initiators wondered. Some 280 non-violent activists from some 30 countries are in Istanbul ready to board.
Guinea-Bissau “has made itself complicit in Israel’s deliberate starvation, illegal siege and genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. Israel is showing the world that it is willing to deny the Palestinians the aid they need to survive. This is in direct contravention of international humanitarian law, UN Security Council resolutions and two rulings of the International Court of Justice,” the organisation added.
Meanwhile, the United States’ construction of a temporary port in Gaza appears to be progressing slowly. However, there are serious concerns about the safety of the aid agencies involved, AP reported on Friday. Talks are currently underway with Israel about this. However, exactly when food deliveries through the port may begin is completely unclear.
On Saturday, Britain’s BBC learnt from unnamed sources that London is considering stationing troops in Gaza who could help with the delivery of supplies by sea. Officially, there has been no comment on the matter from either the British or Israeli side. On the other hand, the US has already said it will not send soldiers ashore. On Sunday, the Marxist-Leninist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) said this would make British and other foreign troops “legitimate objects of resistance” and they would be treated as “occupation forces” if they set foot on Palestinian territory.
Meanwhile, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz hinted on Saturday that he would postpone an attack on the refugee-crowded town of Rafah if Hamas agreed to release the hostages, dpa reported. The radical Islamic organisation, according to its own reports, is currently studying a corresponding Israeli proposal. However, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas expects an Israeli offensive on Rafah in the next few days.
“America is the only country that can stop Israel from committing this crime,” Abbas said on Sunday at a special session of the World Economic Forum in the Saudi capital Riyadh, Reuters reported. Otherwise there will be “the greatest catastrophe in the history of the Palestinian people”, he added.
