Palestinians await ship attempting to break Gaza siege

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GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Civil society leaders and NGO representatives gathered at Gaza City's port on Wednesday to show solidarity with the Estelle ship as it heads toward Gaza.

Amjad al-Shawwa, director of the Gaza network of NGOs, said the boat was facing incitement campaigns and that Israel was pressuring governments of the activists' countries to stop them reaching Gaza.

The group gathered near a memorial for the Mavi Marmara, a 2010 flotilla that was raided by Israeli forces who killed nine passengers. Several small boats sailed off the coast as a symbolic reception for the Estelle, which is due to arrive Saturday.

An Israeli military source told The Jerusalem Post that the navy was preparing to intercept the boat. A foreign ministry spokeswoman told the newspaper Israel would not allow the vessel to reach Gaza.

Al-Shawwa said solidarity activists on board the Estelle, a Swedish boat flying a Finnish flag, would ignore Israeli threats and sail to Gaza to break the blockade. more

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