Freedom Flotilla activists target the Gaza blockade

Activists from several countries set out on a converted trawler to bypass an Israeli blockade and deliver humanitarian aid to the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

“The purpose of this mission is to send the message that civil society does not agree with what is happening in Gaza,” said Fellipe Lopes, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition's Portuguese media coordinator aboard the ship Handala during a stopover in Malta.

“We expect to face resistance throughout our mission,” said Australian activist Michael Coleman.

“Our activities are in no way illegal. The International Court of Justice has ordered them to allow humanitarian aid unhindered access to Gaza and I implore them to let us and other humanitarian aid pass immediately,” he said.

The Handala was visited in Malta by 78-year-old retired US colonel and diplomat Ann Wright, who was on board another coalition ship that was boarded by Israeli forces in 2010, killing nine activists.

On board the colorful Handala are activists from Italy, France, Norway, Australia, the Netherlands, Syria and a number of Palestinians. The ship has called at several ports in Scandinavia and the Mediterranean to draw attention to the situation in Gaza.

The journey through the eastern Mediterranean to Gaza will take a week, but organizers said they may stop at another port along the way.

(Reporting by Christopher Scicluna; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)