'Viva Palestina' aid flotilla set to depart for Gaza
Egypt announces it will allow aid convoy to dock at Al-Arish seaport on route to Gaza, will deny George Galloway entry into country.
By JPOST.COM STAFFLebanon Flotilla 311(photo credit: Associated Press)
A flotilla of ships titled the "Viva Palestina" convoy, hailed by organizers as the largest convoy to break the Gaza embargo, is set to depart this weekend, organizers announced Thursday.The flotilla has been cleared to sail from Syria to the Egyptian port of Al-Arish, from where it will make its way into Gaza.RELATED:Large land convoy on way to Gaza StripBBC’s flotilla film slammed as ‘biased’The Egyptian government announced that it will allow the aid convoy to dock at Al-Arish seaport while en route to Gaza.Hussam Zaki of the Egyptian Foreign Ministry confirmed that the convoy will be allowed access to Gaza however he insisted George Galloway, the British ex-parliamentarian leading the convoy, will not be allowed in the country and will remain as persona non grata.The main ship, carrying 380 activists from 42 countries, 147 vehicles and $5 million in medical aid departed from London September 18 and has been held at the Syrian port of Latakia for the past 10 days.Some of the passengers on board the flotilla include 40 people that were also onboard the Mavi Mamara aid ship which was involved in an IDF interception on May 31.
