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Greta Thunberg, other activists set sail to Gaza on Freedom Flotilla ship
[IsraelTimes] Climate campaigner Greta Thunberg and other activists set sail from Sicily to Gaza on a ship aimed at protesting Israel’s war in the territory.
Hope the bitch can float. Or not
The trip is organized by the Freedom Flotilla
…a project of Turkey’s IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation, a semi-official "charity" branch of the Erdogan government that links the government, the Turkish branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, and pet jihadi groups like ISIS in Syria, or in this case Hamas. IHH puts together a Freedom Flotilla every few years, hoping for publicity like the Mavi Mara incident from the first one in 2010.
coalition, which for more than a decade has sent ships to the coastal enclave in declared opposition to Israeli blockades there.

Rima Hassan, a European Parliament member taking part in the new trip, said Friday the operation had “several aims: to condemn the humanitarian blockade and ongoing genocide, the impunity granted to the state of Israel and raise international awareness.”

Another Freedom Flotilla ship was blocked in Turkey in April after Guinea-Bisseau withdrew its flag, and the vessel was later struck by armed drones, according to its organizers.

In May 2010, another, much-remembered “Gaza Freedom Flotilla” organized by the same coalition was intercepted by the Israeli Navy. After the convoy refused orders to reroute to Ashdod, Israeli commandos boarded one of the ships, the Mavi Marmara, which was carrying over 600 passengers. After being met with violent resistance, the commandos opened fire, killing 10 Turkish activists. Ten Israeli soldiers were wounded during the attack.
An international flotilla carrying humanitarian aid and activists, including climate campaigner Greta "Pippi" Thunberg
...an autistic sixteen year old Swedish expert on climate change, though I guess she's older now...
 and "Game of Thrones" actor Liam Cunningham, set sail Sunday from the southern Italian port of Catania, aiming to reach the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response...
 Strip by sea in defiance of Israel’s naval blockade.

The boat, named Madleen, is operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), a nonprofit group that has long sought to challenge Israeli control of maritime access to Gaza. Organizers say the mission is "not charity," but a form of nonviolent mostly peaceful protest against what they described as "Israel’s illegal siege and escalating war crimes."

Thunberg, who rose to global prominence as a teenage environmental activist, broke down in tears during a presser ahead of the departure.

"We are doing this because no matter what odds we are against, we have to keep trying, because the moment we stop trying is when we lose our humanity," she said. "No matter how dangerous this mission is, it is nowhere near as dangerous as the silence of the entire world in the face of the lives being genocized [sic]."

Israel strongly denies accusations of "genocide," calling them a modern-day blood libel and part of a broader campaign to delegitimize the Jewish state. Officials maintain that the naval blockade, in place since 2007, is a necessary security measure to prevent weapons smuggling to Hamas
..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",...
, the terror group that rules Gaza.

The latest voyage comes after a failed flotilla attempt in June, when another FFC vessel, the Conscience, was struck by two drones in international waters near Malta. While the group accused Israel of being behind the attack, Jerusalem has not publicly commented on the incident.

The Madleen is carrying what FFC described as "limited... though symbolic" barrels of aid.
So this is just theater, another temper tantrum by attention-seeking idiots who don’t actually care if they drive the changes their screeching demands, so long as people pay attention to them screeching. What a bore.
Among the dozen international volunteers aboard are French-Paleostinian European Parliament member Rima Hassan, who has been barred from entering Israel, and Brazilian activist Thiago Avila.

The activists estimate the journey will take about a week, unless intercepted. Israel has previously halted similar flotillas attempting to breach its naval blockade.

Speaking Sunday, Avila framed the flotilla as part of a larger international push to pressure Israel.

"We are breaking the siege of Gaza by sea, but that’s part of a broader strategy of mobilizations that will also attempt to break the siege by land," he said, referencing the upcoming "Global March to Gaza," a protest initiative set to reach the Rafah crossing from Egypt in mid-June.

As of Sunday evening, Israeli officials had not publicly addressed the latest flotilla’s departure.


Posted by: trailing wife 2025-06-02
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=763360