One of the ships with an aid flotilla headed toward the besieged Gaza Strip was “sabotaged” before leaving for the Israeli-blockaded Palestinian coastal sliver, an activist says.
An activist aboard one of the aid ships said on Thursday that the vessel had been sabotaged by “professionals” overnight south of Crete in the Mediterranean and would have sunk if it had gone unnoticed.
“Somebody went underneath the ship at night and sabotaged its propellers, just like they sabotaged the same ship in 2011,” Swedish activist Dror Feiler said, referring to the damage done to a ship which had taken part in a previous flotilla.
The Israeli-born activist, who boarded the Swedish Marianne of Gothenburg with 18 other activists nearly two months ago, added that the remainder of the ships would continue their mission despite the incident.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), the third flotilla attempting to break the Israeli siege against Palestinians in Gaza, is expected to arrive at its destination within three days.
The vessels are said to be carrying small amounts of medical supplies and aid, including solar panels.
The activists aim to open Gaza’s port and allow freedom of movement and trade there.
