Activists to defy Israel and sail to Gaza again

[Nostalgia]

NICOSIA (Reuters) - Foreign activists who broke Israel's sea blockade of Gaza in August will attempt to sail to the Palestinian territory from Cyprus again on Wednesday.

Greta Berlin, a spokeswoman for the U.S.-based "Free Gaza" movement, said 20 to 22 foreign activists including a Nobel peace prize winner planned to take doctors and medical supplies to Gaza.

"We are going back to continue the project we began, to continue to keep a sea link open with Gaza," she said.

In August, 44 activists including Lauren Booth, the sister-in-law of former British prime minister Tony Blair, sailed to Gaza without interception by Israel, which patrols the coastal strip. Ten activists remained there, including Booth, who was unable to leave for almost a month.

Berlin, speaking to Reuters in Cyprus, said the activists would have three or four doctors on board. Cyprus lies some 230 miles (370 km) north of Gaza, and the crossing is likely to take around 30 hours.

Mairead Corrigan-Maguire, a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1976 for her efforts to bring peace to Northern Ireland, will be on the trip, Berlin said.

Israel pulled its troops and settlers out of Gaza in 2005 but still patrols the waters of the territory, home to some 1.5 million Palestinians suffering shortages of food, fuel and basic medical care.

Israel tightened restrictions on the strip after the Islamists of Hamas routed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's security forces to seize control there more than a year ago.

(Writing by Michele Kambas; editing by Kevin Liffey)
http://uk.reuters.com/article/worldN...48M5NY20080923