For immediate release, Thursday April 25.
The Freedom Flotilla is ready to sail. All the required paperwork has been submitted to the port authority, and the cargo has been loaded and prepared for the trip to Gaza.
However, today we received word of an administrative roadblock initiated by Israel in an attempt to prevent our departure. Israel is pressuring the Republic of Guinea Bissau to withdraw its flag from our lead ship—Akdeniz (“Mediterranean”). This triggered a request for an additional inspection, this one by the flag state, that delays our April 26 planned departure.
This is another example of Israel obstructing the delivery of life-saving aid to the people in Gaza who face a deliberately created famine. How many more children will die of malnutrition and dehydration because of this delay and an ongoing siege which must be broken?
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. Israel will not break our resolve to reach the Palestinians of Gaza.