North peace activist breaches Gaza blockade to give aid

Aug 24 2008 Sunday Sun

A NORTH peace activist has taken on the might of the Israeli navy and won to become one of the first people in four decades to sail into Gaza.

Former Sunday Sun assistant editor Yvonne Ridley was among a group of activists which brought aid to Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip last night.

Ships haven’t been able to enter Gaza port for the last 41 years as part of an Israeli naval blockade.

And, for the last 18 months, people living in the volatile territory have been subjected to an Israeli-led land and air blockade.

Speaking exclusively to the Sunday Sun last night, Yvonne said: “It is fantastic that we have made it through.

“The Israelis did everything they could to try and make us turn back but, when it came to the prospect of having a stand-off on the high seas, they decided against the bad publicity it would bring them.”

Israel has led an international boycott of the Gaza Strip since the militant Muslim group Hamas seized power in the territory in June 2007. The Jewish state closed its trade crossings with the coastal territory, while neighbouring Egypt sealed its passenger crossing, confining Gaza’s 1.4 million residents.

Israel has allowed little more than basic humanitarian supplies into Gaza, causing widespread shortages of fuel, electricity and basic goods.

In June, Israel pledged to ease the blockade, but Palestinians say the flow of goods into Gaza remains insufficient and there has been little improvement in the quality of life.

Israel’s navy keeps tight control of the waters off Gaza, and residents are only allowed to enter a narrow strip of sea off the shore.

The peace group reported that Israeli boats had been jamming their communication devices.

Journalist Yvonne — who hit the headlines when she was captured by the Taliban while covering the invasion of Afghanistan — has been travelling with 45 other members of the American-based Free Gaza group.

Two ships, the Free Gaza and the Liberty, made up the aid convoy. Yvonne, 50, was on the Liberty, which was the first of the two vessels to dock. Lauren Booth — the half-sister of Middle East envoy Tony Blair’s wife, Cherie — was on board the other vessel.

Among the aid the ships were carrying were 200 hearing aids intended for children.

Yvonne, of Stanley, County Durham, who worked at the Sunday Sun in the 1990s, said: “We are the first but we hope that this will show it is possible for ships to travel to Gaza. We would like to see a commercial service set up between Cyprus and Gaza so that it no longer has to remain cut off from the world.

“We had politicians warning us not to do this but I think we have proved that a group of determined people using non-violent methods can take on the military might of Israel and win because we were in the right.”

Yvonne hadn’t even told her 81-year-old mother Joyce, of Annfield Plain, County Durham, that she was taking part in the trip.

Joyce said: “I don’t approve of everything that Yvonne does but I am very proud of what she has achieved.”