Attempt to defy Israel’s blockade

GAZA: A Palestinian boat set off this week from Gaza City’s seaport to Cyprus to defy Israel’s 11-year sea and ground blockade imposed on the Hamas-ruled territory.

The boat, which carried 10 people, including seven patients and three crew members, sailed off through the Mediterranean, where Israel bans the Palestinians from sailing beyond six nautical miles.

This is the second sea journey organised by the Palestinian National Commission for the Great March of Return and Defying the Siege. The commission said the journey was organised to challenge the blockade Israel has imposed on Gaza since 2007, when the Islamic Hamas movement violently seized the enclave after routing Palestinian security forces. On May 29, a Palestinian flotilla set off from Gaza in a similar attempt to challenge Israel’s blockade.