ISTANBUL: A flotilla of 15 ships will sail in the last week of June, seeking to break the blockade of the Gaza Strip, a year after a deadly Israeli raid on a similar fleet, a Turkish co-organizer NGO said Friday.
"Our vessels will embark in the last week of June. Currently we have 15 ships. We do not want to increase this number, as there will be other fleets in the future," Bulent Yildirim, the head of the Islamist charity IHH said in a press conference.
From over a hundred countries, around 1,500 activists will take part in the convoy, which is organized by 22 different civil society groups, Yildirim said.
Yildirim did not elaborate on further details including the departure port and the Turkish participation in the fleet.
On May 31 last year, Israeli marines swarmed aboard the Mavi Marmara, the flagship of an international aid flotilla bound for Gaza, killing nine Turkish activists in international waters and plunging relations with Ankara into deep crisis.
The Mavi Marmara was chartered by the IHH, which was among the organizers of the first fleet as well.
"We have received so many applications from Jews (to take part in the convoy), but if we had accepted all, we would have no room onboard for Christians and Muslims," Yildirim said, adding that even Isreali MPs wanted to attend.
Yildirim also called Israel to act "with reason" this time.
"If you have a bit of conscience, you have to allow this second fleet. Otherwise everything you do will turn against you," he said.
Following the bloodshed last year, Turkish President Abdullah Gul said ties with Israel would "never be the same again" as Ankara immediately recalled its ambassador from Tel Aviv and is yet to send him back.
Bilateral relations between Israel and Turkey remain stuck in crisis after several fence-mending meetings between the one-time allies over the past year failed to yield results, a Turkish diplomat had told AFP.
