The Global Sumud Flotilla, which set sail yesterday for the Gaza Strip, returned to the port of Barcelona late last night due to the storm affecting the Catalan coast. Members of the humanitarian mission are considering setting sail again this afternoon for Palestine after what they call a"technical stop."
The expedition, aboard around 20 vessels, is made up of around 300 activists from around 50 countries. Participants include Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and former Barcelona mayor Ada Colau.
The organizers explained that, taking advantage of the storm, they decided to return to make"final adjustments that were not possible yesterday." Some boats, the smaller ones, will ultimately remain in Barcelona after realizing they were not prepared for such a long journey. One of them is the Bribón, which King Emeritus Juan Carlos I competed in sailing regattas several years ago and which was to be captained by Esquerra Republicana councilor at Barcelona City Hall Jordi Coronas.
On the other hand, the crew has taken advantage of the change of plans to load more provisions and stamp the passports, a procedure that, although initially planned to be done in Barcelona, had been decided to postpone until reaching the Balearic Islands due to lack of time.
The international flotilla set off at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, expecting to make the journey within one to two weeks. Asked if there was a backup plan if Israel were to block the boats from reaching Gaza, Thunberg replied:"Our Plan B is to go back and be more, it's that simple."
The Swedish activist was, in fact, arrested in June by Israel in another attempt by the Freedom Flotilla to transportfood, water and medicine to Palestine for the population and to open a humanitarian aid corridor.
"We have seen that Israel can enter international waters, intercept aid ships and kidnap non-violent activists, acting like a pirate, and we wonder if it will do it again," said Saif Abukeshek, spokesman for the Global Sumud Flotilla, in Barcelona yesterday.
