31 July 2023; MEMO: Handala, the Freedom Flotilla boat which hopes to break the siege of Gaza, yesterday left the Netherlands city of Rotterdam heading for Hamburg in Germany, a statement said.
Head of the International Committee for Breaking the Siege on Gaza, Zaher Birawi, said: "This stage of Handala's journey is core in the creation of a state of international solidarity with Palestine."
It "is turning the eyes of the Europeans towards the suffering of the Gaza Strip and the suffering of the Palestinians due to the Israeli siege that has been imposed on Gaza for more than 16 years," he continued
In his statement, Birawi said: "The Israeli siege imposed on Gaza amounts to a violation of international laws and is a flagrant violation of the basic rights of the Palestinians."
Birawi said that Freedom Flotilla is to evaluate the first stage of its tour and then announce its new destination, "to put more pressure on the EU governments" to carry out "their duty towards ending the siege."
