Al Barghouti: Freedom Flotilla II succeeded in attracting global attention to siege on Gaza

The Secretary General of the Palestinian National Initiative, Dr Mustafa Al Barghouthi, has said that despite being prevented from setting sail from Greece, Freedom Flotilla II managed to achieve several goals including attracting extensive international attention to the siege on Gaza.
 
In a press conference held on Tuesday July 5 in Ramallah, Barghouthi said, “The international flotilla of ships has revealed the nature of the Israeli Occupation to the world, and increased the momentum of international solidarity with the Palestinian people.”

He stressed that the Israeli government was pursuing “a dangerous terrorist act by trying to export the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip to European ports.” He called on the relevant parties not to give in to Israel’s pressures and its ‘evident economic blackmail’ levelled on European governments.

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In a related context, Barghouthi said that the international activists taking part in the Freedom Flotilla mission are determined to reach the Palestinian territories, either through the Gaza Strip, the West Bank or Jerusalem, in solidarity with the Palestinian people and in defiance of Israeli policies.
 
He added that in the coming days, Palestinians would notice a significant solidarity movement in support of the Palestinian cause. A series of popular protests will be organized on July 9, in front of the Qalandia checkpoint (in the north of Occupied Jerusalem) to commemorate the seventh anniversary of the International Court of Justice declaring the illegality of the Separation Wall.