A huge land convoy filled with humanitarian aid will be leaving London on Saturday September 18 in conjunction with other convoys from Doha – Qatar, and Casablanca and will be timed to coordinate with more international flotilla aiming to sail to the Gaza Strip at the same time as land convoys attempt to enter Gaza by land. The “Viva Palestina 5 – a global lifeline to Gaza”, is planning to start its trip on Saturday, September 18; the effort is being conducted in cooperation with the International Committee to Break the Siege on Gaza, and several organizations from Europe, Middle East, India, Turkey, South African and several other countries.
The convoy will be headed by former UK legislator, George Galloway, and will start its trip in front of the British parliament.
Convoy spokesperson, Zaher Beetawy, said that six persons representing a number of solidarity organizations in New Zealand has arrived in London to prepare the three aid trucks filled with medical and humanitarian supplies.
Fourteen activists from Australia and Malaysia will also participate in the convoy and will bring trucks filled with aid.
There will be forty trucks leaving from London carrying aid supplies and 80 activists and representatives of charitable and human rights organizations mainly from the Britain, some Common Wealth countries and Malaysia.
After leaving Europe, the convoys will sail to Syria in order to be joined by ships from Arab countries; there will be a total of 150 trucks carrying 380 activists from 20 countries. The trucks will be loaded on ships in order to sail to Al Arish Egyptian Port; if no obstacles occur, the convoys will be at the Gaza Border by October 10.
“Viva Palestina has organized three massive land convoys to Gaza in the last 18 months – all of which have delivered their aid – and participated in the latest flotilla. Over the last few weeks we have been discussing with partner organizations how to coordinate relief efforts by land and sea so as to have the maximum impact”, Viva Palestina reported on its website.
It was also part of the Viva Palestina convoy that was violently attacked by the Israeli army on May 31, 2010; nine activists were killed and several others were wounded.
