A coalition of Malaysian civil society organisations has announced an ambitious campaign to launch a “Thousand Ship Flotilla” to break Israel’s 17-year blockade of the Gaza Strip, in what is being described as the largest maritime mobilisation of its kind.
The initiative, led by the Malaysian Consultative Council of Islamic Organisations (MAPIM), aims to send vessels from across the globe carrying humanitarian aid to the besieged Palestinian enclave, in defiance of Israel’s naval embargo. Organisers say the flotilla will be “larger and more organised” than the 2010 Freedom Flotilla, which ended with the killing of ten activists by Israeli forces aboard the Mavi Marmara.
Speaking at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday, MAPIM president Azmi Abdul Hamid said the campaign was a direct response to Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. “We cannot remain silent while entire families are being wiped out and starvation is used as a weapon,” he said, adding that “the global community must act when international institutions fail.”
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