Italian journalist Alessandro Mantovani, a member of the Global Sumud Flotilla heading to Gaza, said he joined the mission because he believes Europeans should support efforts to end the siege of Gaza.

Speaking to Anatolia aboard the ship Kasr-i Sadabad, which left Turkey as part of the flotilla, Mantovani, a correspondent for the Italian newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano, said he was one of three European Union citizens on the ship trying to reach Gaza.

“The reason why I joined the flotilla, as a messenger from Europe, is that I believe we should support this mission, which aims to end the war in Gaza,” Mantovani said.

He spoke before the Israeli attack on the humanitarian flotilla, which was carrying activists from 39 countries, in the international waters of the Sea Mediterranean.

The flotilla, consisting of 54 ships, left Thursday from the Turkish Mediterranean city of Marmaris in a new attempt to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza, which has been in force since the summer of 2007.

The Italian journalist noted that Gaza is no longer discussed in the Italian media and recalled that Israeli naval forces interfered with the flotilla’s ships in international waters near the island. Greek of Crete in the eastern Mediterranean at the end of April.

“I am here because I think that as information, as a news operator, we should support this mission to break the siege in Gaza and also to break the wall of silence that we see in Europe about Gaza,” said Mantovani.

“The response of European governments, starting with the Italian government, has been very weak,” he said, adding that such an attitude encourages Israel towards further escalation.

Mantovani described the atmosphere of sailing to Gaza aboard the flotilla as “like a public demonstration in the middle of the sea”.

“The morale of the participants is good. We lost a lot of time due to various technical problems. But I think the movement is good,” he said, adding that while he is on a ship leaving from Turkey, those who left from Barcelona and Sicily were more tired due to longer voyages.

After the Israeli attack, the global aid flotilla Sumud demanded “safe passage” for its humanitarian mission to the Gaza Strip, accusing Israel of committing “illegal acts of piracy”.

In a statement, the flotilla said Israeli forces attacked the first of its ships “in broad daylight” in international waters, while military vessels suspended fleet.

“We seek safe passage for our legal and non-violent humanitarian mission,” the statement added.

Source: prizrenpost