Defiant aid flotilla set for final leg to Gaza

An aid flotilla bound for Gaza in defiance of an Israeli embargo was poised to set sail on Saturday, after a delay caused by technical snags and fears Israel might seize one of the ships, organizers said.

Hundreds of activists waiting in international waters off Cyprus were bracing for the final leg of their attempt to bust the Gaza Strip embargo -- a bid Israel has vowed to thwart.

Cypriot authorities prevented activists from leaving the island on Friday to join the flotilla.

"Anything related to the trip to Gaza is not permitted," said Cyprus police spokesman Michalis Katsounotos.

"We are bitterly disappointed with the Cypriot government," said Greta Berlin, a spokeswoman for Free Gaza Movement, the group spearheading the effort.

But organizers were still trying to haggle with the Cypriot authorities before midday on Saturday to try to arrange the transfer to the flotilla of a group of 25 multi-national parliamentarians waiting on the island.

"We are currently sailing to the limits of Cypriot waters to try and negotiate with authorities," Thomas Sommer-Houdeville, a French pro-Palestinian activist on board one of the vessels, said.

The Cyprus authorities "last night (Friday) detained the captains of boats that were trying to take the MPs on board," he told AFP by telephone, adding that the mariners were released shortly afterwards.

Organizers have accused the Cyprus government of reneging on an earlier agreement to let the flotilla sail from Cyprus waters, alleging Israeli pressure which Nicosia has denied.

Anything related to the trip to Gaza is not permitted

Spokesman Michalis Katsounotos

Boats still going

The flotilla had originally been due to sail on Friday.

"We won't begin leaving until Saturday but the boats are still going," Audrey Bomse from Free Gaza told AFP on Friday.

"We've changed the coordinates twice because reportedly Israel has threatened to capture the Turkish ship so we decided to delay getting all the boats together," she added.

"This has delayed everything by a day because changing coordinates takes time... There were also technical difficulties with one of the boats so we had to move passengers from it on to the Turkish one," Bomse said.

Two cargo ships and five smaller boats loaded with thousands of tons of supplies and hundreds of passengers are planning the blockade-busting run for the Palestinian territory.

Organizers said an eighth ship, the Rachel Corrie en route from Ireland, was lagging behind and would travel towards Gaza separately.

Israel has said it "issued warrants that prohibit the entrance of the vessels to Gaza" and that the flotilla would be breaking international law.

It intends to intercept the boats and detain those on board in the port of Ashdod before deporting them.

Israel imposed a crippling blockade on Gaza in 2007 after Hamas -- an Islamist movement committed to the destruction of Israel -- seized power in the impoverished and overcrowded Palestinian territory.

Because of the blockade, only limited reconstruction has been possible in the wake of a devastating 22-day offensive Israel launched on Dec. 27, 2008.

Activists have landed in Gaza five times, with another three attempts unsuccessful since their first such sea voyage in August 2008, all of them from Cyprus.

To date, the aid has been largely symbolic, but organizers say the flotilla now under way is laden with 10,000 tons of aid, ranging from pre-fabricated homes to pencils.

We've changed the coordinates twice because reportedly Israel has threatened to capture the Turkish ship so we decided to delay getting all the boats together,"

Audrey Bomse