Ship from Sweden set to break siege on Gaza

Ship to Gaza, a Swedish-registered NGO, has bought a new boat measuring nine metres in order to sail to Gaza and break the Israeli siege on the coastal enclave, Anadolu reported yesterday.

Jeanette Escanilla, spokeswoman of the NGO, said that a fundraising campaign has been launched called “Armada For Gaza, armed with Peace and Solidarity” in Sweden to pay for the new ship and to buy others, which are going to sail to Gaza in 2018.

Ship to Gaza’s first campaign boat, Mairead, is seen in Sweden’s ports. . Photo: Gudrun Romeborn

Escanilla noted that the boat they already bought has been named after the prominent Irish activist Mairead Maguire from Northern Ireland, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1976.

Maguire took part in several voyages aimed at breaking the siege; she was on board the Mavi Marmara in 2010 when Israeli commandos boarded the ship and killed nine Turks.

The Gaza Strip has been under a strict Israeli siege for 11 consecutive years backed by Egypt and the international community. Israel justifies the blockade by claiming it is part of efforts to fight Palestinian terrorism.

Read: Gazans mark the anniversary of the Mavi Marmara incident