ISTANBUL — Pro-Palestinian activists said Tuesday they are in the final stages of organizing a sea convoy to the Gaza Strip, likely to be much bigger than a similar flotilla that was raided a year ago by Israeli forces, leaving nine people dead.The campaign sets up the possibility of another showdown with Israel, which eased its land blockade of Gaza following the international furor over the raid, but is gearing up to thwart any attempt to breach its blockade off the Gaza coast.
Huseyin Oruc, a spokesman for IHH — an Islamic aid group that operates the Mavi Marmara — said this time an international coalition of 22 non-governmental groups hopes to send 15 vessels with up to 1,500 people. Last year, six ships and about half that number participated.
The target date for departure of the new flotilla is the first anniversary of the raid, but it could be delayed, partly because it clashes with Turkish election campaigning. Organizers say the new effort includes activists from Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Latin America, Canada and the United States.
“Everybody is getting ready,” Oruc said in an interview with The Associated Press at the Istanbul office. He predicted that Israel, mindful of negative fallout from last year’s raid, would not try a similar operation this year.
IHH is a Turkish acronym that means Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief, and many of its regional missions are aimed at helping Palestinian refugees. Israel has accused the group of terrorist links, though it is not on a U.S. list of terrorist organizations.