To view original article, published by Haaretz on the 26th November, click here
Libya has recently sent a ship carrying 3,000 tons of humanitarian aid to Gaza, Palestinian media outlets reported Wednesday, in an attempt to break the blockade Israel has imposed on the coastal territory.
The Palestine News Network reported on Tuesday that supplies that were official aid from Libya, a state with which Israel has no diplomatic relations.
The network quoted Libyan officials as saying that, “The Palestinians are starving from this attack.
“There is also political isolation and the media is ignoring the situation. This mission was not created to show our messages of solidarity, but to provide concrete assistance.”
The International Middle East Media Center, a Palestinian news organization, quoted a Gaza official as calling on other Arab states to flout the blockade.
According to the organization, Jamal al-Khudary, the head of the Palestinian Popular Anti-Siege Committee protest, also said: “This ship is a practical measure against the siege… it is not for media consumption.”
If the boat reaches Gaza, it will be the fourth to have done so since Israel imposed the blockade on the Hamas-ruled territory in response to cross-border rocket fire.
The boats that have sailed to Gaza until now have been manned by political activists. The reported Libyan voyage would constitute the first such one by a sovereign state.