The Spanish ship, the Gernika, part of the Second Freedom Flotilla, that has remained at Port Kolymvari for two weeks, has finally been authorized by Greek Authorities to set sail back to Spain but is not authorized to set sail to Gaza.Spanish activist, Miguel Tapial, on board the Gernika said, the prevention of the Flotilla to set sail to Gaza, “has exposed the complicity between the international community and the illegal policies of Israel; from the Quartet United States, United Nations, Russia and the European Union to the Government of Spain.’
The activists have been at the Spanish Embassy in Athens, Greece since July 5, 2011. Several activists went on hunger strikes in an effort to pressure the Government of Spain to pressure Greek authorities to permit the Gernika to set sail to Israeli Blockaded Gaza.
Despite the Flotilla’s impossibility of reaching Gaza, the flotilla has been deemed a success by it’s supporters by “raising awareness in the international community about the precarious situation faced by the Palestinian population living in the Gaza Strip,” according to the Palestinian News Network.
Activists said the blocking of the Gaza bound ship by Greek authorities is against international law and the Schengen Agreement, an agreement signed by Greece and Spain in 1985.
The ship was carrying 2,000 tons of humanitarian supplies, mostly medical, as well as educational and rebuilding materials to supply to Gaza. The Freedom Flotilla intended to break the Israeli Blockade of the Gaza, which has prevented humanitarian goods from entering Gaza since June 2007.
