We brave death to break the Gaza siege

Press TV producer and presenter Yvonne Ridley talks to George Galloway from a gulf in Greek waters. Yvonne and her fellow peace activists are sailing to Gaza to break the Israeli blockade of the coastal strip and deliver humanitarian aid to Palestinians.

George Galloway: Why is she in a Greek gulf? Is she sheltering from a storm to come? However, she cannot shelter from the storms still to come because they are to sail all the way to Gaza.

May God go with them and certainly, they have the highest hopes of all good people from all around the world. Here, we have Yvonne Ridley as the first caller on Comment this evening. Hello Yvonne Ridley welcome to Comment on Press TV. You are sheltering from a storm was it a typhoon or what?

Yvonne Ridley: No, we have got two boats: the Free Gaza and the Liberty that are sailing towards Cyprus and the trip has been delayed because of high winds, and so I, myself flew to a secret destination to link up with the boats to film the whole voyage for Press TV. Everything is shrouded in secrecy because of course Israel has a history of trying to scupper these little ventures. So that's why I am secretive at the moment about our exact location, as my mother used to say, "Loose lips sink ships".

George Galloway: Yes exactly, now you have a secret weapon on board and that is the sister-in-law of Tony Blair, the former British prime minister, Lauren Booth. She is of course a great supporter of the Palestinian people. That's quiet an achievement to get her on board.

Yvonne Ridley: Yes, she is a great fan. She is like you George. She shoots from her lips, and she speaks the truth and she's actually thrown the challenge to Tony Blair, because of course he tried to get into Gaza and backed off when the intelligent services in Israel told him that he could be a target. She said to him come onboard the ship, have the guts to sail with us to break the siege of Gaza.

George Galloway: Well, Yvonne you have, as I say, the best wishes of everyone watching this, all your friends around the world. It is a very brave thing that you are doing. What are the chances of you steaming into the harbor in Gaza? It would be such a lift to the people there.

Yvonne Ridley: It would be terrific. Nearly 40 activists from nearly 20 countries around the world including an 83-year-old Holocaust survivor, Hedy Epstein, have joined us. We are all determined that we are not going to be stopped. They can try every trick in the book. They are trying international diplomacy. They are trying to bully different governments. They are trying also to stop us from going ahead. We are determined through hell and high waters to sail into Gaza. There are tens of thousands of people expected to come on the beaches to greet us. In short, George unless the Israelis are trying to blow us up on the waters, we are not going to stop. Both skippers on these boats are Irish because we know the determination of Irish. So I think we have got a good chance of doing it

George Galloway: well it seems that you have got the winds in your sails. You have the prayer of the good people of the world. May God go with you! We look forward to seeing you touching the sands of Gaza, lifting the hearts and the spirits of the besieged people there. Thank you very much Yvonne Ridley of Press TV!

Gaza siege, security concerns or collective punishment?

Among the peace activists who are to break the Gaza siege are Lauren Booth, British journalist and the sister-in-law of former UK PM Tony Blair.

The following is Lauren's interview with Press TV:

Q: Any chance the Israeli authorities are going to let you through so that you can break the blockade of Gaza?

A: Well interestingly yesterday on the BBC, one of the diplomats from Israel said under no circumstances will any of these ships be allowed to arrive in Gaza. And really, that was a mistake, a diplomatic error on his part of Israel because it shows that security questions are not the reason they are blockading the sea and the lands and the air around Gaza.

It appears to be a collective punishment for the 1.5 million civilians living there and to say that you won't let any boats in even when all security measures have been met, which they have been, and will be - that was a mistake.

Q: At the moment, the reports I have say the Israeli foreign ministry is following developments. So, as far as you are hearing they are saying no at the moment?

A: The people here, the organizers believe that it is very likely that there will be an interception at sea by the Israeli navy. But everybody on this boat, the journalists included, sincerely hope that we will get through because let's remember that 80 percent of Gazans have been forced into poverty and rely on aid. They need this source open and they need the world to start taking their human rights seriously.

Q: Are you getting full support from the Cypriot government?

A: The Cypriot government has agreed because the ships have passed customs checks, so they have agreed that they should be allowed to sail.

Q: You are getting quite a lot of the attention being the sister of Nora, the wife of the former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Did you ask, in fact, whether the present envoy of the Quartet would come along on your attempt to break the blockade of Gaza?

A: You know it's a really good idea, and I'd like to take this chance and invite Tony Blair as the Middle East envoy to come onto the boat or to sail alongside us and come and see Gaza for himself because I've been there and sadly recently he has not. And if he were to go, he'd see that for shops, of course, Israel only allows nine basic materials instead of the 200 needed to maintain the society. It's his job to be going, not mine. Why isn't he there?

Q: Describe who else is on board with you.

A: There are some fantastic people here. There is Hedy Epstein. She is an 82-year-old Holocaust survivor. She is a human rights activist full of energy, very keen to see justice in Palestine.

We have Sister Ann Montgomery, Catholic nun, 81.

There are campaigners who are 22 years old, mothers, parents, attorneys, doctors, all from around the world. I am very proud to be spending time with these people.