Tripoli, Lebanon: Organisers of a Lebanese women-only aid ship which plans to break the Gaza blockade announced they will sail to Cyprus on the first leg of their journey this weekend.
"The ship Mariam will leave for Cyprus on Sunday at 10 pm [1900 GMT] from the port of Tripoli" in north Lebanon, organiser Samar Al Haj told reporters outside the port.
The Mariam, a Bolivian-flagged cargo ship originally named the Junia Star, plans to carry aid to Gaza in an bid to break the four-year siege of Gaza with 50 Lebanese and foreign women activists on board, including a local pop star.
Israel came under international censure over its May 31 seizure of a six-ship aid fleet bound for the Palestinian enclave when nine Turkish peace activists were shot dead by Israeli commandos in clashes on the lead boat.
Activists determined
The Mariam, renamed in honour of the Virgin Mary, would need Cypriot authorisation to depart for Gaza from its shores but officials in Cyprus have said the island was keeping in place a ban on ships departing for Gaza.
"The Cypriot ambassador to Lebanon tried to convince us not to go and reiterated that his country would not grant us authorisation to sail to Gaza," Al Hajj said. "But we are adamant," she added. "We have no arms and we will go to Gaza."
The ‘Naji Al Ali', another Lebanese boat organised by journalists and originally named Julia, has also announced it would sail to Gaza via Cyprus but has not yet received clearance from Lebanese authorities.
