Northwest Africa activists to send aid to Gaza

Civil society and human rights groups in Northwest African countries say they will send aid convoys to Gaza in defiance of Israel’s blockade of the Palestinian territory, Press TV reports.

The Maghreb Forum for International Cooperation has launched a pro-Palestine project in Tunisia, Libya, Morocco, Algeria, and Mauritania to defy Israel by sending aid convoys to Gaza in September .

“Our initiative aims to support Palestine and to end all forms of normalization with Israel. The regional regimes that normalize ties with Tel Aviv must pay. We also call for boycotting Israeli products and any companies that finance Zionists,” Mohamed Adel, from the forum, told Press TV.

“Sending relief and medical convoys from all over the world and the Arab Maghreb to Gaza Strip will embarrass Israel and show the truth on what’s happening in Gaza,” said human rights activist Ilhem Najar.

The Association of Parliamentarians for al-Quds, which gathers Tunisian MPs and foreign lawmakers, is also preparing a war crimes case against Israel over the massacre in Gaza.

“A number of lawyers and MPs are going to sue Israel at European and other international courts to hold it responsible for its horrible crimes. Israel is committing atrocities. It is worse than Nazi genocide. It is the worst in modern history,” said lawmaker Faraj Ben Amor.

More than 1,960 Palestinians, including 470 children, have so far been killed and over 10,100 others injured in the Israeli military aggression against Gaza, which began on July 8.

Gaza has also been under Israel’s blockade since June 2007, a situation that has caused a decline in the standards of living and poverty. The Rafah border crossing, linking Gaza to Egypt, is the only escape route that does not lead into Israel and can be used for the delivery of food and medical stuff to the besieged Palestinian territory; however, Egypt has kept the crossing closed despite international calls to open it.