A convoy from India and other Asian countries is on its way across Asia to enter Gaza via Egypt in yet another attempt to break Israel’s so-called blockade of Gaza.
Among the some 500 participants are extreme leftist and Islamic activists, joined by self-described "human rights" activists, from 17 Asian countries. The convoy, according to the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, has links to the Free Gaza Movement (FGM), which plays a central role in organizing flotillas to Gaza.
The convoy is said to be land-based, but the Center states that it is expected to set sail from the Syrian portof Latakia for El-Arish, Sinai, from where it will enter the Gaza Strip via the Rafah crossing. However, the Center’s assessment is that the final leg of the trip has not yet been arranged with Egypt, and that that is the reason why the convoy organizers have not announced how they will be reaching Egypt from Syria.
Known as the Asian People’s Solidarity for Palestine convoy, it has spent a number of days in Iran. It arrived in the capital city of Iran on Sunday, and was greeted there by city residents and officials, including Tehran’s Mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf. Its next destinations are Turkey and Syria.
Last week, 200 Iranian lawmakers issued a statement expressing their support for the convoy and showing solidarity with the "Palestinian people." The activists hope to arrive in Gaza on Dec. 27, the 2nd anniversary of Israel’s Cast Lead offensive against Gaza, which largely, though not completely, put a stop to the thousands of missiles and rockets Gaza residents fired at Israeli towns and villages in the year previous.
The convoy’s objectives, as stated at a press conference held in Karachi, Pakistan on November 29, are to "liberate Palestine," "break the siege on the Gaza Strip," "destroy the Israeli system of apartheid," and unite Asian countries in the effort to realize those objectives. The source for this information, as quoted by the Amit Center, is Iran’s Fars News Agency.
Among the participants are those affiliated with the extreme left, including various types of communists and Maoists, and Islamic organizations and activists. They have been joined by human rights and social activists, anti-establishment organizations and activists, and feminist activists. The Amit Center notes wryly that the feminists "have [thus] joined an effort to support the extreme Islamist Hamas administration, which systematically oppresses women and denies them their rights."
Asian People’s Solidarity for Palestine (APSP), the umbrella group organizing the convoy, has stated its commitment to the establishment of a Palestinian state within "historic Palestine" – in other words, in place of Israel. It defines Zionism as a kind of colonialism and apartheid, and is hostile to the United Statesand "imperialism."
The convoy’s organizers are linked to the Free Gaza Movement, which played a key role in previous anti-Israel flotillas. The APSP’s website posts information about FGM and Viva Palestina flotillas and convoys, and calls for broad Asian participation in the international movement "to end the siege [sic] of the Gaza Strip." The organizers and some of its participating organizations and activists are also active in the current international campaign to de-legitimize the State of Israel via boycotts and anti-Israeli propaganda. For example, the convoy’s Facebook page features a call to cancel the appearance of an Israeli music group in India.