US group says it plans to send plane to Gaza
Published today (updated) 05/09/2010 21:16
www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=313409

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- A pro-Palestinian group based in the US will send a
plane loaded with aid to the Gaza Strip in defiance of Israel's air and sea
blockade, an official said Sunday.

"We intend to send an aircraft to Gaza in much the same way boats were
used -- without going through Israeli or Egyptian airspace," said Paul
Larudee, an organizer with the California-based Free Palestine Movement
sponsoring the flight.

Authorities in Gaza are supportive of the initiative and are working to
locate a landing site, Larudee said. Gaza's now-defunct Yasser Arafat
International Airport is not being considered, he said.

In the meantime, Free Palestine Movement officials will look for a plane
designed for rough landings and takeoffs such as those used in Alaska and
other locales lacking proper aviation facilities, Larudee said. The plan is
to send a light aircraft equipped with material sometime in the spring of
2011, after the next sea voyage.

"Breaking the blockade by air may be even more feasible than by sea. An
aircraft cannot be boarded while in flight, and the right aircraft can land
almost anywhere in Gaza," a statement on the group's website says.

In May, Israeli navy commandos raided a six-boat flotilla loaded with
humanitarian aid in international waters off the coast of Gaza. Nine Turkish
citizens including a dual US national were killed in the operation. Israel
says its soldiers came under fire from the activists, a claim Free Gaza
Movement officials deny.

The years-long military blockade against Gaza is enforced by Egypt and
Israel. Israel says the siege prevents weapons from entering the coastal
enclave, but Palestinians as well as the UN and human rights groups say it
amounts to collective punishment against the civilian population in addition
to Hamas.