NAZARETH -- Israel is preparing for what is being described by its army as the “mother of all flotillas,” which could include up to 20 different ships planning to set sail for the Gaza Strip in the coming months, Jerusalem Post reported on Tuesday.
Ahlul Bayt News Agency, NAZARETH -- Israel is preparing for what is being described by its army as the “mother of all flotillas,” which could include up to 20 different ships planning to set sail for the Gaza Strip in the coming months, Jerusalem Post reported on Tuesday..
The English language newspaper said that the army is closely tracking the planned flotilla, preparing for wide-range of scenarios including the possibility that due the large number of ships, it will need to stop the flotilla far from regional shores.
Anwar Gharbi, a member of the European campaign to end the siege on Gaza which is one of the founders of the freedom flotilla, said that hundreds of NGOs were backing the Freedom Flotilla 2.
He told Quds Press that alliances were made in various European countries, which include tens of human rights groups, to support the fleet.
“We hope to have a broad coalition from European countries, and also maybe the United States,” Dror Feiler, an Israeli-Swedish musician and artist who lives in Stockholm – and one of the organizers behind the flotilla – told The Jerusalem Post on Monday. “We would like it to be double the size of the last flotilla, with at least a dozen ships and more than thousand people.”
Organizers of the fleet decided to delay its sail until the end of year in view of the expanding number of institutions and individuals wishing to participate in it.
The Israeli navy violently intercepted the first Freedom Flotilla last May and killed nine Turkish activists and wounded dozens others.
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Banner of flotilla stopped in May 
Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) throughout Europe and the United States are currently assembling a flotilla of up to 20 ships, which will set sail for the Gaza strip in the coming months in an attempt break the Israeli blockade of the Palestinian territory. Israeli-Swedish activist Dror Feiler said that the goal of the new flotilla is to double the size of the previous one, and for it to include more than a thousand people. "The Israeli Army can stop 12 to 50 ships if it wants," Feiler said. "Nonetheless there are so many ships since so many people want to get together to stop the siege, which is a collective punishment on the people of Gaza and is unacceptable."

The Israel Defense Force is monitoring the actions of the planned flotilla, according to a report in the '''' on Tuesday. The Israeli army is calling this new fleet of ships "the mother of all flotillas." A wide range of scenarios is being prepared for which include the possibility that due to the larger number of ships reported to be part of the flotilla, the Israeli navy may need to intercept it before the ships get close to Israel's shoreline. Officials say that Israel will warn ship operators that their crew may be detained and the vessel held until impound fees are paid, claiming the backing of international maritime treaties.

"The legal approach proved effective as a deterrent, and we're prepared to see it through as a punishment. If we are to pay a price for defending the blockade, the other side will pay a price for challenging it," a senior Israeli government official. The official declined to be named.

A European campaigner against the blockade, Anwar Ghabi, told Arabic news agency Quds Press that the new flotilla will be backed by hundreds of NGOs, including several human rights groups.

The first flotilla to challenge the blockade was stopped by Israeli naval commandos in May this year. Nine activists were killed, and several dozen activists and seven Israeli commandos were wounded after Israeli troops clashed with activists. Harsh international and domestic criticism followed. Subsequent aid ships were seized or diverted to Egypt.