A pro-Palestinian group in the United States has announced plans to Israel's sea blockade of Gaza by flying a planeload of aid into the Hamas-controlled coastal strip. The California-based Free Palestine Movement said on its website that it would "raise the ante and challenge the Israeli blockade of Gaza by air." Gaza airspace can be entered without overflying Israeli or Egyptian territory, the website announcement said.
"Breaking the blockade by air may be even more feasible than by sea. An aircraft cannot be boarded while in flight, and the right aircraft can land almost anywhere in Gaza," the website said in an apparent reference to Israel's interception of the organization's Gaza-bound flotilla at the end of May. Nine passengers were killed during violence that erupted when Israeli commandos raided a Turkish ship.
The group reportedly has been raising funds in order to charter a plane that can land without a runway. Israel's 'Channel 2' television has identified the 'aid' as consisting of communications equipment.
