Why are a bunch of Indian activists pooling in funds and time, travelling by bus, ship and on foot to put their lives on line for a Palestinian cause? The 26/11 attacks have brought India closer to the Israel-Palestine conflict, and two months from now, we'll see an act of direct participation
Why are a bunch of Indian activists pooling in funds and time, travelling by bus, ship and on foot to put their lives on line for a Palestinian cause? The 26/11 attacks have brought India closer to the Israel-Palestine conflict, and two months from now, we'll see an act of direct participation
This december, India will build a lifeline to Gaza, a sliver of land on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, bordering Egypt on the south-west and Israel on the south, east and north, and a hotbed of the Israel-Palestine conflict. The 'lifeline' is what a group of Indian activists, several from Mumbai, call a land caravan they plan to take to the disputed territory this December, to coerce the Israeli government to break its seige.u00a0
India finds itself inexorably drawn into the vortex of the Israel-Palestine problem, especially post Mumbai's 26/11 terror attacks, watching helplessly as Pakistan-backed jihadis massacred Jews at Nariman (Chabad) House in South Mumbai.
Prince Michael of Kent (centre) with rabbi Avraham Berkowitz (left) on a visit to Chabad House, one of the locations that was under siege during Mumbai's 26/11 terror attacks. Pic/ Shadab Khan
The December mission is called: 'The India Lifeline to Gaza', and activists are planning to reach Gaza by approximately the end of the month. The website for the mission (www.AsiaToGaza.net) states, "The India Lifeline to Gazau00a0-- Campaign to End the Siege of Gaza is an initiative of diverse social movements, trade unions, students' associations, human rights/civil liberty groups and others who share their support and concern on the Palestinian issue."
Activist Rakhi Sehgal, who calls herself a "leftist, not a Maoist" adds, "This is a land caravan that will leave from Delhi. The caravan comprises a series of buses that will take us from one post to the next. From India, we go to the Wagah border by bus and then cross over on foot. After that, Pakistan arranges a bus to the next leg. The land caravan will then reach Turkey before we take a ship to Gaza."
Sehgal is aware, like the rest of her comrades, that they may have to contend with the Israel Defence Forces (IDF). "There will be a confrontation. Our Turkish friends, some who were on the Mavi Marmara (Israeli commandos had killed nine activists on the ship sailing to Gaza on a similar mission. Israel claims the activists attacked the commandos with knives) have been talking to us. We know what to expect," she says matter-of-factly.
Would the Indian government intervene if Israel detains the group? Firoze Mithiborwala from the Asian People's Solidarity for Palestine Asian Co-ordination Committee, says, "Should a situation arise where governmental intervention is needed, it should intervene since it is expected to protect its citizens. We have resolved to stage a peaceful resistance and participants are willing to go to prison for it."
Orna Sagiv from the Consulate General of Israel, Mumbai, says she has read a report about a land caravan that's supposed to be headed to Gaza in a newspaper, but has no details. "Today, if somebody wants to send humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, there is an organised way to do this. Land caravans may be a provocation. The Gaza Strip is being controlled by a terrorist organisation called Hamas, which is harming innocent Israeli citizens. Israel is a sovereign nation with a right to defend itself."
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