A Gaza-bound activist flotilla will be delayed in its planned Friday departure after the flag state that the lead vessel was registered under requested additional inspections, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition said in a Thursday statement.
The coalition said that the Republic of Guinea Bissau requested an additional inspection for the Akdeniz, a passenger ship currently docked at a Turkish port in the Marmara Sea according to automatic identification system tracking services.
The activists asserted that the administrative roadblock was "initiated by Israel in an attempt to prevent our departure. Israel is pressuring the Republic of Guinea Bissau to withdraw its flag."
"This is another example of Israel obstructing the delivery of life-saving aid to the people in Gaza who face a deliberately created famine," said the coalition. "This is not the first time that Israel has used these kinds of tactics to stop our ships from sailing. We have overcome them before and are diligently working to overcome this latest attempt. Our vessels have already passed all required inspections, and we are confident that the Akdeniz will pass this inspection, provided there is no political interference. We expect this to be no more than a few days delay."
Additional ships expected in the flotilla
Besides the Akdeniz, another passenger ship and cargo ship are expected in the flotilla, according to the coalition. The coalition has not said where the ships will depart from on its facts page, listing only "ports in the Mediterranean."
Several hundred activists from at least 19 different countries will be passengers on the flotilla ships, including South African MP Mandla Mandela.
The coalition said that it will refuse to allow Israel to inspect the ships and aid that it intends to bring to Gaza, insisting they "will have third parties inspect the ships and participants to ensure no weapons are brought on board."
"Israel has denied entry of humanitarian aid it deems 'dual use; to the point of disallowing scissors, anesthetics, obstetrical surgery kits, etc," explained the coalition. "Israel continues to impede thousands of aid trucks from entering Gaza – we, therefore, refuse to allow the party that has caused the devastating famine and continues its genocidal actions to be the one to impose a similar restriction on this aid."
The flotilla follows in the wake of the 2010 flotilla that attempted to run the Israeli blockade of Gaza. The flotilla refused calls to dock in Ashdod and were intercepted by the Israeli Navy. When Shayetet 13 commandos boarded the ships, they were attacked on the Mavi Marmara with bludgeons and other weapons. In the fight, 10 flotilla members were killed, and ten Israeli commandos were injured.