"After the damage caused to the Mavi Marmara (during the raid), we are
not in a position to go to sea," said Bulent Yildirim, the president of
the Islamic charity IHH which owns the ship and is spearheading the mission.
Israeli
commandos killed nine Turkish activists when they boarded the Mavi Marmara
during a mission in May last year to break the Israeli-imposed blockade of
Gaza.
Around 10 ships from several countries are expected to join a new flotilla
which is scheduled to set sail at the end of June to break the
Israeli-imposed blockade of Gaza.
"Our destination is Gaza and our aim is non-violent," said Dror
Feiler, a Swedish-Israeli musician speaking for the organisers. "Our
goal is to force a permanent end to the illegal Israeli blockade of Gaza."
The raid last year ignited a diplomatic row between Israel and Turkey, two
countries that once had good relations.
Israel has strongly urged Turkey to block the flotilla from leaving this time,
warning that its forces will again take action to prevent activists from
arriving in Gaza.
Egypt has reopened its Rafah border crossing with Gaza, allowing more material
to flow into the territory and effectively weakening Israel's blockade of
the coastal territory.
Earlier this month, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu called on
activists to rethink the forthcoming mission after the Rafah opening.
He suggested that aid could now be delivered without provoking Israel or
risking the lives of citizens.
Israel imposed a blockade on the Gaza Strip in 2006, after Israeli soldier
Gilad Shalit was snatched by a group of Gaza-based militants. It tightened
the restrictions a year later, when the radical Palestinian Hamas movement
took control of the enclave.
