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Freedom Flotilla

On Board The ‘Handala’: A Little Ship To Gaza

September 23, 2024 John Soos, Mondoweiss. , , , , ,
In April of this year, I joined the crew of the Handala for the first leg of her voyage as she set sail from Oslo, Norway. The Handala is an 18-meter former fishing vessel from Norway. It is part of the International Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) that has been sailing ships to challenge Israel’s illegal and inhuman blockade of Gaza with successive voyages since 2010. As Handala began sailing For the Children of Gaza in April 2023, this is the second year of this campaign. The aims of our present voyage were two-fold. The intended final destination was the besieged and occupied Gaza Strip – presently under near-constant bombardment as Israel continues its barbaric, genocidal atrocities against a captive civilian population.

The Freedom Flotilla Ship Handala Makes Waves

September 4, 2024 Elizabeth Murray, WRMEA. , , ,
During a two-week midsummer port call at the Tino Rossi Harbor in Corsica’s capital city Ajaccio, the Norwegian-flagged Handala—an international solidarity ship sailing toward Gaza—generated considerable attention and interest, with the help and strong support of local organizations. Carrying 17 international passengers and crew from New Zealand, Spain, Canada, the United States, Ireland, Denmark, Norway, Palestine, Finland, Brazil and Sweden, among others, Handala embarked from Oslo, Norway on May 1, 2024 and has stopped at more than 25 ports along the European and Mediterranean coastlines all summer to raise awareness of the plight of Gaza’s besieged citizens, who have been under constant bombardment since Oct. 7, 2023 and under siege for 17 years (see www.freedomflotilla.org).

Break The Siege Ship Prevented From Sailing

August 3, 2024 Freedom Flotilla Coalition. , , ,
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition believes in fundamental rights for all, including Palestinians. Unfortunately, these values are not shared by many of the world’s governments. Our Break the Siege mission ships and crew in Istanbul have been prepared to sail for some time now, but we have been waiting for a required document from the Turkish Port Authority, granting us permission to depart from Istanbul. Without this document our vessels would be stopped and potentially detained if we attempt to leave port. After weeks of discussions with the Port Authority, it is now clear to us that such permission will not be forthcoming from the Turkish government.

Ann Wright On The Gaza Freedom Flotilla And Upcoming NATO Protests

May 13, 2024 Margaret Flowers, Clearing the FOG. , , , , ,
This week, Clearing the FOG speaks with Ann Wright, a retired Colonel, former State Department official and prominent peace activist. Wright, who resigned in protest of the Iraq War from the State Department in 2003, speaks about recent resignations over the genocide in Gaza and the Biden administration's new report on Palestine. She also discusses the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, which is ready to sail but is being prevented from doing so, and the protests and activities being planned for this July when the NATO leaders meet in Washington, DC around the 75th anniversary of its founding.

Under Israeli Pressure, Guinea Bissau Moves To Withdraw Flotilla Flags

April 29, 2024 Gaza Freedom Flotilla. , , , , ,
Istanbul, Turkiye: On Thursday afternoon, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition was contacted by the Guinea Bissau International Ships Registry (GBISR), requesting an inspection of our lead ship – Akdenez. This was a highly unusual request as our ship had already passed all required inspections; nevertheless, we agreed. The inspector arrived on Thursday evening. On Friday afternoon, before the inspection was completed, the GBISR, in a blatantly political move, informed the Freedom Flotilla Coalition that it had withdrawn the Guinea Bissau flag from two of the Freedom Flotilla’s ships.

Underhanded Israeli Tactic Delays Freedom Flotilla Departure

April 26, 2024 Freedom Flotilla Coalition. , , ,
The Freedom Flotilla is ready to sail. All the required paperwork has been submitted to the port authority, and the cargo has been loaded and prepared for the trip to Gaza. However, today we received word of an administrative roadblock initiated by Israel in an attempt to prevent our departure. Israel is pressuring the Republic of Guinea Bissau to withdraw its flag from our lead ship—Akdeniz (“Mediterranean”). This triggered a request for an additional inspection, this one by the flag state, that delays our April 26 planned departure.

Gaza Flotilla Sails While Blinken Attempts To Take Focus Off Genocide

April 25, 2024 Colonel Ann Wright, Popular Resistance. , , , , , ,
While I am in Istanbul, Turkiye with hundreds of international participants from 40 countries who are attempting to sail in the Gaza Freedom Flotilla to break the illegal Israeli naval blockade of Gaza and bring food and medicine to starving Palestinians in Gaza, the survivors of the Israeli/US genocide of Gaza, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is brazeningly attempting to divert world attention from U.S. complicity in the genocide of Gaza to China's human rights issues. Hundreds of thousands of university students in the United States are defying the Biden administration’s blatant attempt to divert eyes away from Gaza by their remarkable stand for Palestine in their camps on college campuses across the country.

Will The Freedom Flotilla Sail To Gaza?

April 23, 2024 Medea Benjamin, Antiwar.com. , , , ,
The non-violence training to join the Freedom Flotilla Coalition’s ships to Gaza has been intense. As hundreds of us from 32 countries gathered in Istanbul, we were briefed about what we might encounter on this voyage. “We have to be ready for every possibility,” our trainers insisted. The best scenario, they said, is that our three ships–one carrying 5,500 tons of humanitarian aid and two carrying the passengers – will reach Gaza and accomplish our mission. Another scenario would be that the Turkish government might cave to pressure from Israel, the United States and Germany, and prevent the boats from even leaving Istanbul.

Despite Distractions, Israel Is Still Killing Palestinians Daily

April 22, 2024 Freedom Flotilla Coalition. , , , , , ,
Friday April 19, Istanbul, Turkiye - Hours ago, the media reported that Israel has attacked Iran. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition stands here to remind the world that with all the escalation between Israel and Iran, the killing is occurring in Gaza. While those two countries go back and forth, we cannot let Israel distract the world from what is causing far more death, disease, and destruction: Israel’s policies of starving and continued bombardment of unarmed Palestinians in Gaza, mostly women and children. On Friday, hundreds of civilians from dozens of countries are meeting in Istanbul to prepare to sail very soon for Gaza, carrying thousands of tons of life-saving food and medicine.

Aid Flotilla Heading To Gaza To Break Siege

April 10, 2024 Consortium News. , , , , , ,
Hundreds of human rights activists with the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, including CODEPINK’s Ann Wright and Medea Benjamin, are due to set sail on multiple vessels in mid-April to carry 5,500 tons of aid for Gaza. Their mission, aside from delivering the much-needed humanitarian aid, is to challenge Israel’s illegal blockade of Gaza amid dire conditions, including widespread hunger and lack of medical attention intentionally caused by Israeli policies. Time is running out for many in Gaza as Israel threatens an all-out attack on Rafah and experts warn hunger and disease could soon surpass casualties from bombings.

International Civilian Aid Flotilla To Break The Siege Of Gaza

April 6, 2024 Freedom Flotilla Coalition, Popular Resistance. , , , , , ,
The international Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) will sail in mid April with multiple vessels, carrying 5500 tons of humanitarian aid and hundreds of international human rights observers to challenge the ongoing illegal Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip. This is an emergency mission as the situation in Gaza is dire, with famine setting in in northern Gaza, and catastrophic hunger present throughout the Gaza Strip as the result of a deliberate policy by the Israeli government to starve the Palestinian people. Time is critical as experts predict that hunger and disease could claim more lives than have been killed in the bombing.

International Campaign To Send Ships With Relief Assistance For Gaza

November 26, 2023 Colonel (Ret) Ann Wright, Popular Resistance. , , ,
The horrific 49-day Israeli attack on the civilian population of Gaza continues with over 15,000 Palestinians dead, including over 6,150 children and more than 36,000 wounded in the Gaza Strip. Virtually all of the 2.3 million residents of Gaza have been forced into the southern half of the tiny enclave. 226 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. Israeli attacks have put 27 of 35 hospitals across Gaza out of operation, according to the World Health Organization. Bakeries, grain mills, agricultural land, water and sanitation facilities have been destroyed by Israeli attacks.

The 2023 Gaza Freedom Flotilla And Global Movement For Palestinians

August 23, 2023 Dimitri Lascaris, The Real News Network. , , , , , ,
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition’s flagship vessel, The Handala, concluded the first stage of the 2023 Gaza Freedom Flotilla voyage this past week when it arrived in Oslo, Norway. According to the Coalition, The Handala has visited 12 ports in a number of European countries over the past two months carrying the Palestinian flag and raising awareness of its mission to end the illegal Israeli blockade of Gaza. On board The Handala, TRNN contributor, lawyer, and freelance journalist Dimitri Lascaris speaks about the Flotilla and the global movement for Palestinian liberation with fellow passengers Hege Bae Nyholt, a member of the Norwegian Parliament, representing The Red Party of Norway, and Aram Zaheri, Deputy Leader of the Red Party of Norway (Oslo section).

Israeli Naval ‘Piracy’ Won’t Stop Freedom Flotilla Voyage To Gaza

August 22, 2023 Dimitri Lascaris, The Real News Network. , , , ,
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, a grassroots people-to-people solidarity movement working to end the illegal Israeli blockade of Gaza, has launched numerous Freedom Flotilla voyages since 2008. Joel Opperdoes has served as captain for multiple Flotilla voyages, including in 2012, when his vessel was descended upon and boarded by Israeli naval forces and he and his crew were detained. TRNN contributor, lawyer, and freelance journalist Dimitri Lascaris speaks with Opperdoes aboard The Handala, the flagship vessel of the 2023 Gaza Freedom Flotilla, en route to Oslo, Norway.

Gaza Freedom Flotilla To Sail In 2023

November 16, 2022 Ann Wright, Popular Resistance. , , ,
After a pause due to the global pandemic, the Gaza Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) is set to resume its sailing to challenge the illegal, immoral and inhuman Israeli blockade of Gaza.  The last sailing of the flotilla was in 2018. The 2020 sail was postponed due to the COVID pandemic that closed many European ports. Members of the 10 national and international organization campaign coalition met in London November 4-6, 2022,  and made the decision to resume sailing in 2023.  Representatives of member campaigns from Norway, Malaysia, US, Sweden, Canada, France, New Zealand, Turkey and the International Committee for Breaking the Siege of Gaza) met in-person and by zoom.  Other members of the coalition are from South Africa and Australia.
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