Gaza Latest: Mariam to Sail to Gaza?, Israel Sends Ships to Turkey and More Flotillas on the Way?

Another Friction between Israel and Lebanon?: Mariam, the Lebanese ship that was to set sail towards Gaza several weeks ago, was expected to start its mission last weekend. What makes this ship different from other flotillas is that it is full of women.

"They are nuns, doctors, lawyers, journalists, Christians and Muslims," said Mona, one of the participants who, along with the other women, has adopted the ship's name, Mariam.

The co-ordinator of the voyage, Samar al-Haj, told The Guardian this week the Lebanese government had given permission for the boats to leave for Cyprus, the first leg of the journey.

However, we haven't heard about the Mariam since Sunday.

More Flotillas on the Way to Gaza?: Having Israel sent three ships including the Mavi Marmara to Turkey, it is reported that the same ships may sail to Gaza again.

Huseyin Oruc, a board member at the Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Aid (IHH), which owns the ships, told Reuters TV that if the blockade on Gaza continued, the boats may take part in another mission. He continued:

If the problem is not solved, many flotillas ... will sail to Gaza. If necessary, these boats can also be used for this.

We have purchased these three boats for Palestinian needs. If it is necessary, we can use easily use them. These boats are humanitarian boats.

Oruc also said that the ships had been painted and repaired to hide evidences. He continued:

Thousands of bullets hit the boat, and it was damaged everywhere. When they captured the boats, the Israelis hid all of this proof on the outside of the boat. They have been repaired and were painted.

A New Convoy to Gaza: A convoy of hundreds of vehicles and flotilla of ships are expected to leave from London in September. In the website of the group, they said:

The London expedition will merge with two other land convoys, from Casablanca in Morocco and Doha in the Gulf, in a 500-vehicle convoy through Egypt into Gaza’s Rafah crossing. Simultaneously, a sea flotilla carrying aid will approach the shoreline of Gaza.

Comments

[Catherine]

While waiting to see if Our Lady of Blockade Busting actually sets sail, here's the truth behind the Iranian bluster about sending their own ship with humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Tehran Finds Neat Way Out on Gaza Shipment
Hard-liners wanted to send aid ship as deliberate provocation to Israel, but pragmatism won the day.

"Hard-liners in the government and in the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, IRGC, wanted to run the risk of conflict with Israel. Some mid-ranking IRGC commanders from the 1980s war with Iraq, as well as more junior commanders, believed it was a good opportunity to take on the Israelis. They argued that Iran would score a lot of points in the Muslim world and would subsequently win over other regional governments by confronting them with a fait accompli.

They also reasoned that a military confrontation of limited scope would benefit the regime domestically, by letting off some of the steam built up by the post-election unrest in Iran. The hawks included Ali Shirazi, who represents Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the IRGC naval forces, and whose brother heads the military affairs section of the Supreme Leader’s office."

More: http://mianeh.net/article/tehran-finds-neat-way-out-gaza-shipment" rel="nofollow">http://mianeh.net/article/tehran-finds-neat-way...

[Cassius Corodes]

Wasn't it reported that mariam wasn't going ahead because of Israel's new policy to confiscate ships used to run the blockade - and as a result nobody would rent their ship to the group?

"Thousands of bullets hit the boat..." Sure - this guy seems legit.