A SHIP commissioned by a charity chaired by the son of Libyan leader Col Muammar Gadafy is poised to set sail for Gaza from a port southeast of Athens.
The Gadafy International Charity and Development Association announced that the Moldovan-flagged vessel, dubbed Hope, is loaded with 2,000 tonnes of humanitarian aid, made up of food and medical supplies.
Fifteen activists will also be on board to express solidarity with the Palestinian people, who are contending with the siege and blockade Israel has imposed on Gaza.
The organisation is headed by Saif al-Islam Gadafy, who is widely seen as his father’s heir.
Adburaufel Jaziri, leader of the activists, said they will not resist an Israeli takeover. He said Israel was welcome to check the cargo and verify the ship was not carrying weapons.
“If we cannot deliver the aid, we will let [Israel] deliver it,” he said.
Although it has agreed to allow commercial goods into Gaza, Israel remains determined to maintain control of imports by land and to prevent efforts to open sea routes to the besieged Strip.
Since the Free Gaza movement made its first successful voyage to Gaza in August 2008, several cargo boats carrying supplies have tried and failed to reach Gaza.
Last week, Tehran called off a mission by two ships laden with goods for the Strip’s 1.5 million Palestinians, 80 per cent of whom depend on foreign food aid.
The Libyan attempt will be the first since June 6th, when Israeli troops commandeered the Irish-owned Rachel Corrieen route to Gaza and compelled the cargo ship to redirect to the Israeli port of Ashdod.
Five Irish passengers, including Nobel peace prize laureate Mairéad Maguire and former UN assistant secretary-general Denis Halliday, were held and deported.
On May 31st, Israeli naval commandos stormed aboard a Turkish cruise ship, killing nine activists who resisted the assault.
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