Freedom Flotilla to set sail to Gaza in few hours IOF threatens and Hamas warns

Freedom Flotilla to set sail to Gaza in few hours IOF threatens and Hamas warns

by FalastinNews Staff

Israeli army threatens to attack Gaza-bound Freedom Flotilla

An Israeli channel claimed on Sunday that the Israeli army had received orders not to allow the third Freedom Flotilla aid campaign to reach the Gaza Strip.

A military source told channel 2 that the Freedom Flotilla would not arrive in Gaza.

There are orders from the highest political echelons of the Israeli government to intercept the convoy and use force if necessary, the source affirmed.

Hamas warns of attacking Freedom Flotilla III

Member of Hamas political bureau Ezzat al-Resheq hailed the efforts exerted by the participants in Freedom Flotilla III heading to blockaded Gaza Strip for breaking the siege and warned Israel of attacking it.

In a statement to Quds Press, Resheq called on "the free people of the world" to support Flotilla III.

The Hamas senior official warned the Israeli forces of attacking Flotilla III, saying that “the Israeli efforts to obstruct the arrival of Flotilla III to Gaza constitute downright piracy that exposes Israeli criminality and racism”.

Flotilla III officials declared the completeness of all preparations to set sail the Flotilla III toward Gaza with the participation of Arab and European activists along with parliament and political figures most significant: Tunisia’s ex-president Dr. Mohamed al-Moncef al-Marzouki.

In the same context, the spokesman of Hamas Fawzi Barhoum said the Israeli threats to attack the Flotilla is mere intimidation of the activists on board in order to dissuade them from going on such a humanitarian noble action.

Barhoum hailed the people on board and the campaigners of Flotilla III, urging them to insist on reaching Gaza regardless of the Israeli threats.

He said “the people of Gaza cannot wait to receive Flotilla III as they look at it with great hope of breaking the siege and exposing the crimes of Israel”.

Israeli media sources disclosed Sunday evening that the Israeli army received orders to hinder the arrival of Flotilla III in Gaza Strip.

Freedom Flotilla III to set sail to Gaza in few hours

The Freedom Flotilla III heading to blockaded Gaza will set sail within the next few hours despite Israeli threats to obstruct the humanitarian mission, head of the Miles of Smiles convoy, Dr. Issam Youssef,  said Monday.

Youssef said the benevolent activists expressed their commitment to head to the Gaza Strip and work on lifting the siege regardless of the threats and circumstances.

Tunisia’s ex-president Dr. Mohamed al-Moncef al-Marzouki, along with a number of Arab and European activists, arrived in Greece to join the convoy.

Youssef spoke out against Israeli intents to attack the campaigners, calling on the international community to take up its ethical responsibility in protecting the multi-national convoy.

Meanwhile, the European campaign to end the siege on Gaza called, in a press conference held in Gaza Monday, for providing protection to the pro-Palestine volunteers who have joined the Freedom Flotilla III.

It also pushed for taking legal action against Israeli assailants and filing suits with international courts.

Head of the Euro-mid Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdo, called for the need to urgently lift the siege on Gaza and open a waterway from Gaza’s seaport so as to assuage to crises rocking the besieged coastal enclave.

He urged the international community to seriously work on providing the delegation with the needed security shields, pushing for stepping up pressure on the Israeli occupation so as to lighten the noose tightened around Gazans’ necks.