Daily Times

A new flotilla, with pro-Palestinian activists on board, is headed for the Gaza Strip in a bid to break the Israeli-imposed blockade on the impoverished coastal enclave. One of the ships, named Marianne of Gothenburg, left the Italian city of Palermo on June 21, 2015. The flotilla set off from Sweden earlier this month and it is collecting food and medicine from various cities. The Swedish Gaza-bound flotilla will also be joined by other boats on its way to its destination. The vessels, carrying small amounts of medical supplies and aid, hope to reach the besieged enclave by the end of June or the first week of July.
Activists from Sweden, Canada, Norway, and a Spanish European Parliament member, Ana Maria Miranda Paza, are on board the Marianne of Gothenburg. Interestingly, an Israeli-Arab lawmaker, Basel Ghattas, has announced that he will also join the activists. Moreover, he wrote an open letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the minister of military affairs, Moshe Yaalon, on June 21, 2015, urging them to let the flotilla reach Gaza. The ‘Flotilla of Peace’ seeks to break the siege of Gaza and turn the world’s attention to the 1.8 million Palestinians who are living in “prison conditions”.
Gaza has a strong potential for exports because it is situated in a prime location near the Suez Canal and in between three continents. However, for the first four years of the siege, Israel completely banned all exports from the Gaza Strip, devastating the economy. According to The Majella magazine, prior to the blockade, the textile industry employed 37,000 workers and by 2011, that number had dropped to 1,500. Similarly, the furniture sector employed 12,000 people before 2007, whereas in 2011 there were only 2,500 employees. Palestinians living in Gaza have had no direct access to international air transport since the Gaza International Airport, located in the south of the Strip and near the border with Egypt, was bombed and destroyed by Israel in 2000.
Israel’s latest assault on Gaza caused extensive damage to the Strip’s electricity network, estimated at around $42.5 million. Amidst the many hardships that Palestinians endure, blackouts are now amongst the most pervasive, virtually affecting every aspect of daily life. Power outages of up to 18 hours a day continue in most areas across Gaza. In Gaza, every aspect of life is affected by the Israeli siege. Food security, water, sanitation services, healthcare and education are all threatened by the daily interruptions of electricity. In recent years, the capacity of Gaza’s only power plant had been limited because of fuel shortages but, after being bombed in July 2014, the plant is now inoperable.
On May 31, 2010, Israeli commandos attacked the Turkish-flagged MV Mavi Marmara, which was part of a convoy of six ships called the ‘Freedom Flotilla’, in the Mediterranean Sea, killing nine Turkish citizens and injuring about 50 others. The second ‘Freedom Flotilla’ had planned to break the siege of Gaza by sailing to the Strip on July 5, 2011. However, it was faced with opposition from the United States and a number of other countries and it failed to carry out its mission. This series of freedom flotillas is an attempt to break the Israeli naval blockade of the Gaza Strip by carrying aid to the Palestinians in the impoverished enclave. A number of vessels from various western countries, including Canada, Greece, Italy, Norway, South Africa, Spain, Sweden and Turkey are aiming to carry pro-Palestinian activists to the besieged Gaza Strip in the first week of July.
Organisations and individuals in Australia, North America and Europe have purchased over $ 24,000 worth of Palestinian export goods via Gaza’s Ark and new orders are still being placed, showing the confidence people have in the need for a Palestinian economy. They have bought goods from the West Bank artisans as samples for potential distributors of their products in the UK and Europe. As the humanitarian situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate, Israel is not being held accountable for the damage caused by its assault on the Strip or for the commitments it made in an agreement brokered by Egypt to end hostilities. The aid of the Flotilla of Peace will be a breath of fresh air in the stagnant security environment.

The writer is a freelance columnist and works at the IPRI