I’m not sure where they are setting sail from or when, but if I had to guess it’d be that they are going to time their arrival to when Erdogan is visiting the Gaza Strip next month. That way Erdogan can use not only his voice but the voice of the world to try and put pressure on Netanyahu to ease the blockade:
FREE BEACON – Anti-Israel activists are preparing to launch another flotilla aimed at breaching Israel’s naval blockade of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip three years after a similar endeavor led to a deadly encounter with Israeli soldiers.
An international coalition of pro-Palestinian agitators launched the Gaza’s Ark project to breach what they claim is Israel’s “illegal and inhumane Israeli blockade of Gaza.”
The group, which has ties to Hamas, intends to stock a ship full of Palestinian products and sail out of the Gaza Strip to “export” the goods.
Activists intend to purchase “a run-down boat from a local [Palestinian] fishing family,” according to Michael Coleman, a member of Free Gaza Australia who spoke to the Commentator about the new revamped flotilla initiative.
“The refurbishing will be done by Palestinians in the port of Gaza, and the sailing will be with a mixed crew of Palestinians and internationals,” David Heap, another Gaza’s Ark spokesman, told the Commentator.
Middle East experts criticized the Gaza’s Ark campaign as an intentionally provocative stunt aimed at sparking yet another confrontation with Israeli authorities.
Many of the same organizations that sponsored the 2010 flotilla effort are also backing Gaza’s Ark.
“It’s about publicity,” said Jonathan Schanzer, a Middle East expert and vice president for research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “The first [flotilla] ended in violence and the other ended in legal entanglements. The common theme in each failed attempt was the attempt to generate global awareness”