Monday 8 June 2015
français >
The blockade needs to be ended.
A message from Freedom Flotilla Coalition.
The Blockade denies the Palestinians in the Gaza strip their basic human rights, in contradiction to international law. It severly obtructs their possibility to import and export merchandise and to travel in and out of their country. It denies them admittance to their agricultural land and fishing grounds. Added up, the Blockade is a form of collective punishment which deprive the inhabitants the possibility to support themselves, security of food supplies, medical care, education, drinkable water and cultural exchange.
The blockade needs to be ended, not eased.
The blockade of Gaza has been ongoing for almost four years, despite protests from all around the world. Following our initial attempt to break the blockade there have only been minor easings of the blockade—commodities such as spices which Israel had previously classified as "luxury goods" are now allowed into Gaza.There is still an acute shortage of medicine, medical supplies and building materials. Organizations such as the UN are continuously issuing reports on the emergency situation in Gaza.
The international community failed to act in the past four years, choosing insted to issue statements and what we call "quiet diplomacy". As human beings, we cannot stand by silently while witnessing what the blockade is doing to the people of Gaza; therefore we will act. During our first attempt we were stopped and nine people were killed, but that will not stop us from trying again.
The only thing we can do is to load our ships again with materials that are urgently needed by the people of Gaza. The only thing we can do is to send more ships with many more people. Once again, we will bear witness to how the blockade is impacting Gaza and show our solidarity with the people of Gaza.
We need your help.
We need your help to break the blockade once and for all, and to ensure that the human rights and human dignity of the people of Gaza are respected. New groups are being formed all over the world in support of Gaza—our coalition is growing.
”Our voyage is a natural, brotherly action; our objective is humanitarian; our basis lies in international law; and our method is non-violence."
