Less than a month ago, Israeli navy commandos found themselves being beaten by Turkish civilians when they stormed an aid ship bound for Gaza. Now they face the prospect of tackling a new shipload of women armed only with faith.
No departure date has been set for the new blockade runners but there are fears that ships from Lebanon and Iran could trigger a dangerous sharpening of tensions. The bloodbath that ensued when Israeli commandos pulled their guns on the Turkish ferry Mavi Marmara has already sunk a strategic alliance between the Jewish state and Turkey.
The deaths of nine passengers prompted an international outcry against Israel’s three-year blockade of the Hamas-held Gaza Strip, forcing Israel to agree to ease the siege and allow a freer flow of goods into the territory. It has refused to end the naval blockade, and a new confrontation at sea seems inevitable.
In Beirut organisers of the latest attempt claim to have 400 female volunteers from across the world to crew the ship Mariam, named in honour of the Virgin Mary. The crew are said to include a Lebanese pop singer, nuns and peace activists from Europe, America and India.
The organisers told The Times that the women “all represent themselves”, are without political affiliations and include adherents to all the world’s big religions, including Judaism.
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Semir El-Hajj, a spokeswoman, said: “Be sure we will never give Israel such a gift as to fight them or to have Hezbollah with us or to have any political party with us. We have diapers, a lot of diapers, we have milk, we have treatments for cancer in children and medical supplies and clothes. If they fight we will not defend ourselves.”
Israeli officials insist that the blockade cannot be totally relaxed because of fears that Iran will try to send weapons to Hamas.
Israel has said that it will stop any ships breaking the blockade. It was reported in the Israeli press that Lebanon might respond to pressure from the Israeli Government to prevent the boats from sailing.
Iran has announced that it is sending two aid ships to Gaza, although it is unclear when they will arrive or whether they will offload their cargo in Egypt for overland delivery. Tehran has quietly dropped public threats to send Revolutionary Guard troops to escort aid ships.
Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, accused activists behind the aid ships of having double standards. “I call on all human rights activists in the world — go to Tehran, that’s where there is a human rights violation,” he said. “After we lifted the civilian blockade of Gaza there is no reason or justification for further flotillas.”
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The women preparing to sail deny allegations that the organisers are connected to Hezbollah, the Lebanese militia linked to Iran. “Our only weapons are faith in the Virgin Mary and in humanity,” Rima Farah said.