by David Rovics

This announcement is also available at

http://www.freegaza.org/we-are-sailing-again-join-us in Arabic,

Spanish, Italian, French, German, Swedish, Malasian, Portuguese,

Turkish and Catalan.



This spring, the Free Gaza Movement is sending at least six boats to

Gaza to break Israel’s illegal blockade on 1.5 million Palestinians.

This blockade constitutes an act of collective punishment, a crime

prohibited under international humanitarian law. Gaza's man-made and

internationally perpetuated crisis is set to deepen as Egypt builds an

Iron wall 30 meters deep   on the southern Rafah border, closing off

the final route for Palestinians to get basic supplies.



The urgency of breaking the blockade grows by the day, as Palestinians

living in this prison are denied their most basic rights.

Yesterday Haiti suffered a massive earthquake, which registered a 7.3 on the Richter scale, just outside the capital city of Port-au-Prince. Initial reports are beginning to pour in on the devastation to both people and property. Grassroots International has set up an “Earthquake Relief Fund for Haiti” to support our partners and meet the urgent needs of the population

“We are in the process of reaching our partners on the ground,” said Grassroots International’s Executive Director Nikhil Aziz. “Clearly everyone is deeply affected, and the full extent of the loss may not be known for some time. As in the past, Grassroots and our network of supporters are poised to respond as quickly as we can to address the immediate and long-term needs of our partners.”

'We're
Sailing Again – Join Us!'

This spring,
the Free Gaza Movement is sending at least six boats to Gaza to break Israel’s
illegal blockade on 1.5 million Palestinians. This blockade constitutes an act
of collective punishment, a crime prohibited under international humanitarian
law. Gaza's man-made and internationally perpetuated crisis is set to deepen as
Egypt builds an Iron wall 30 meters deep and 20 meters high on the southern
Rafah border, closing off the final route for Palestinians to get basic
supplies.

We, international delegates meeting in Cairo during the Gaza Freedom March 2009 in collective response to an initiative from the South African delegation, state:
In view of:

Here's why we're demonstrating today!
From VP:
To all friends of
Palestine

Our situation is now at a crisis point! Riot has broken out in
the port of Al- Arish.

This late afternoon we were negotiating with a
senior official from Cairo who left negotiations some two hours ago and did not
return. Our negotiations with the official was regarding taking our aid vehicles
into Gaza.

He left two hours ago and did not come back. Egyptian
authorities called over 2,000 riot police who then moved towards our camp at the
port.

We have now blocked the entrance to the port and we are now faced
with riot police and water cannons and are determined to defend our vehicles and
aid.

The Egyptian authorities have by their stubbornness and hostility
towards the convoy, brought us to a crisis point.

We are now calling upon
all friends of palestine to mount protests in person where possible, but by any

After
three days of vigils and demonstrations in downtown Cairo, Suzanne
Mubarak’s offer to allow just 100 of 1,300 delegates to enter Gaza was
rejected by the Gaza Freedom March Coordinating Committee as well as
many of the larger contingents – including those from France, Scotland,
Canada, South Africa, Sweden and New York State (U.S.).

“We
flatly reject Egypt’s offer of a token gesture. We refuse to whitewash
the siege of Gaza. Our group will continue working to get all 1362
marchers into Gaza as one step towards the ultimate goal for the
complete end of the siege and the liberation of Palestine” said Ziyaad
Lunat a member of the march Coordinating Committee.

What: Egyptian security forces detain internationals in el-Arish, break up memorial actions in Cairo



When: Sunday, December 27, noon: the Egyptian security forces detained a group of 30 internationals in their hotel in el-Arish and another group of 8 at the bus station. They also broke up a memorial action commemorating the Cast Lead massacre at the Kasr al Nil Bridge

Sunday December 27th marks the anniversary of the attack on Gaza by Israel, which left over 1,400 people dead, and over 5,000 injured in 22 days.

At 11 35 am, the time of the first attack, a group of humanitarians on the “Viva Palestina Convoy” will embark on an International Hunger Strike in the main square in Aqaba, Jordan.



The International Hunger Strike will aim to highlight the ongoing illegal siege imposed on Gaza, and to remember the victims of the attacks who died during the 22 day bombardment by Israel.



This International Hunger Strike will also highlight the refusal by Egypt, under Israeli pressure, to allow the humanitarian aid to reach the people in Gaza.