Late last night, the community of Ajaccio, France welcomed the participants on board Zaytouna-Oliva as they arrived following their voyage from Barcelona, Spain. The sailing boat will leave Ajaccio on Tuesday morning and then continue its journey to Messina, Italy, the final departure point before sailing to the shores of Gaza in late September.
We are attempting to find a replacement boat for Amal-Hope, which has had to return to the harbour in Barcelona with mechanical difficulties. A crowdfunding campaign has been initiated to raise the additional funds that this requires.
Claude Léostic, a Freedom Flotilla Coalition spokesperson in France noted that “today is a sad day for Palestinians because of the anniversary of the Sabra and Shatila massacres. So we hope that the arrival of these women in Gaza in a few weeks time will let them know that they are not alone. “That internationally, the peoples of the world share their hopes and stand in solidarity with the women of Gaza and all of Palestine.”