Road to Hope
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Blockade of the Gaza Strip |
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Crossings |
2004 |
Philadelphi Accord |
2006 |
Economic sanctions |
2007 |
Fatah–Hamas battle |
2008 |
2009 |
Viva Palestina "Lifeline 3" |
2010 |
2011 |
2015 |
Freedom Flotilla III |
2016 |
Women's Boat to Gaza |
2023 |
Israeli "total blockade" |
2024 |
2024 Gaza freedom flotilla |
Road to Hope is the name of a humanitarian aid convoy from the United Kingdom to Gaza, and of the charitable organisation which arranged that convoy.
Evolution
Shortly after the
Three days after the Road to Hope announcement, at a pro-
Convoy
The Road to Hope convoy departed the UK on 10 October 2010 ("10-10-10"), taking with it several volunteers from the Gaza flotilla raid – including seven survivors of the Mavi Marmara – plus other international solidarity organisations. It travelled via France, Spain, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya, before falling victim to internal Libyan political issues together with what was claimed and reported to be the work of a confidence trickster who, they said, told them they would be granted passage through the Egyptian border (normally not possible under Egyptian compliance with the blockade of Gaza) because they would be travelling together with the official Libyan quasi government-run Al Quds 5 convoy — which, as a government-backed enterprise, had exceptional permission to cross Egypt. As a result of the deceit and confusion, Road to Hope became stalled in Libya, where it remained into November 2010.[3]
Strofades IV kidnapping incident
On 11 November 2010, while boarding the M.V. Strofades IV, a ferry chartered to transport the convoy to
Second ship
Eventually, with help from a second bout of UK fundraising together with large donations from Libyan individuals, a second ship was secured.[3] This transported the vehicles and a monitoring delegation of three convoy members, while the other convoy members chartered a flight to Al Arish in Egypt.
The convoy reached Rafah and crossed into Gaza on 26 November 2010. Three of the kidnapped members had been able to rejoin by that point. A total of twelve convoy members were denied access to Egypt (and thus through passage to Gaza) for no stated reason — as has happened to previous Viva Palestina convoy members.[3][8]
References
- ^ Britain Gaza link meeting about Road to Hope
- ^ Viva Palestina news
- ^ a b c Brighton and Hove Palestine Campaign local news: Road to Hope convoy to Gaza
- ^ Guardian newspaper 12 November 2010 "Gaza aid convoy Britons held on Greek captain's ship"
- ^ CNN report 13 November 2010 "Gaza-bound ship in limbo in Greece"
- ^ Liverpool Echo newspaper 13 November 2010 "British Aid worker Kieran Turner free after being taken hostage by Greek ship captain"
- ^ "Greece arrests captain who held aid ship". Canada: Windsor Star (from Agence France-Presse). Retrieved 2011-11-13.
- ^ Road to Hope: Mission accomplished