PALESTINIAN INTIFADA YOUTHS TO BREAK GAZA SIEGE

Gaza, 21 Muharram 1435/25 November 2013 (MINA) – More than 200 Palestinian youths from Intifada Youth Coalition plan to break Gaza sea blockade starting from Gaza port.

The participants, including foreign activists and journalists, prepare to break the barrier of the six miles nautical on the coming Friday on 29th November 2013 which corresponded to the international day of solidarity with the Palestinian people, Alray reported as quoted by Mi’raj News Agency (MINA).

The youths will board on 17 boats to send strong and impressive message to the whole world that the Palestinians are cling to their rights to live a normal life.

The coalition called for a humanitarian intifada to lift the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip through sending more supporting conveys.

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Last October, the coalition held such action to stop the ongoing Israeli blockade on Gaza Strip, as imposing six nautical miles limit, in case if the Gazan fishermen break the limit, they will got shot.

On that action, some of the potential participants were on board the first ship sailed to the Gaza Strip and others on board the aid vessel Mavi Marmara which were raided by Israeli commandos in May 2010 having 11 Turkish citizens killed.

The blockade of the Gaza Strip refers to a land, air, and sea blockade on the Gaza Strip by Egypt and Israel since 2007 up to now. Israel claimed that she relatively eased the blockade for non-military goods in June 2010, a claim that was debunked by UN figures.

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Egypt reopened the Rafah border crossing in 2011 for persons and goods. In 2006 Hamas won the Palestinian legislative election, triggering the 2006-2007 economic sanctions against the Palestinian National Authority by Israel and the Quartet on the Middle East.

In March 2007, Hamas and Fatah formed a Palestinian authority national unity government headed by Ismail Haniya. Shortly after, in June, Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip in the course of the Battle of Gaza, seizing government institutions and replacing Fatah and other government officials with its own.

Following the takeover, Egypt and Israel largely sealed their border crossings with Gaza, on the grounds that Fatah had fled and was no longer providing security on the Palestinian side.

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Israel maintains that the blockade is necessary to limit Palestinian rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip on its cities and to prevent Hamas from obtaining other weapons. Prior to its 2011 opening of the Rafah crossing, Egypt maintained that it could not fully open its side of the border since completely opening the border would represent Egyptian recognition of the Hamas control of Gaza, undermine the legitimacy of the Palestinian National Authority and consecrate the split between Gaza and the West Bank. (T/P03/P04).

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)