Women's Boat to Gaza

The Women's Boat to Gaza (WBG) was an initiative by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition in 2016 to challenge the Israeli naval blockade of the Gaza Strip. ^{[1] [2]} The WBG consisted of an entirely female crew and one ship, Zaytouna-Oliva. It started from Barcelona on 14 September 2016 and visited Ajaccio, Corsica and Messina, Sicily along the way. ^[3] On 5 October 2016, the Israeli Navy intercepted the Women's Boat to Gaza some 14 miles outside the 20-mile "Security Zone" off the Palestinian coast, ^[4] and detained its crew members, who were taken to the Israeli port of Ashdod. The activists were subsequently deported to their home countries. ^{[5] [6] [7] [4]}

Goals and objectives

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition launched the Women's Boat to Gaza to raise awareness of the role of women in advancing the Palestinian struggle in the Palestinian Territories and diaspora. The Women's Boat to Gaza also supported the goals of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign:

1. Ending its occupation and colonization of all Arab lands and dismantling the Wall;
2. Recognizing the fundamental rights of the Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel to full equality; and
3. Respecting, protecting and promoting the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN Resolution 194. ^[3]

Participants

The Women's Boat to Gaza had a total of 26 participants. The voyage was divided into three legs: Barcelona to Ajaccio, Ajaccio to Messina, and Messina to Gaza. Each leg was crewed by thirteen volunteers with several members alternating at different legs of the voyage. ^{[8] [9] [10] [4]}

State	Personality	Status
Sweden	Malin Björk	Member of the European Parliament of the Swedish Left Party.
Israel	Yehudit Barbara Ilany	Photographer, freelancer.
Chile	Paulina de los Reyes	Academic, Stockholm University.
Malaysia	Dr. Fauziah Hasan	Physician.
Australia	Madeleine Habib	Activist and seafarer.
Spain	Rosana Pastor	Actress, director/activist, and politician.
United States	Ann Wright	Boat leader, retired United States Army colonel and diplomat.
Spain	Lucia Muñoz Lucena	Telesur journalist.
Spain	Jaldia Abubakra	Activist.
Canada	Wendy Goldsmith	Social worker and boat leader.
Norway	Synne Sofie Reksten	Student and crew.
Sweden	Emma Rinqvist	Music teacher and crew.
United States	Kitt Kittredge	Peace activist.
United States	LisaGay Hamilton	Actress.
Algeria	Khadija Benguenna	Al Jazeera journalist.
Tunisia	Latifa Habachi	Tunisian lawyer, politician, and Member of the Assembly of the Representatives of the People.
Egypt	Hayat Al Yamani	Al Jazeera Mubasher Al-‘Amma journalist.
Malaysia	Norsham Binti Abubakr	Support Services Manager at An-Nur Specialist Hospital.
United Kingdom (Northern Ireland)	Mairead Maguire	Peace activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
New Zealand	Marama Davidson	Green Member of Parliament, environmentalist, and human rights activist.
Sweden	Jeannette Escanilla	Swedish Left Party Member of Parliament.
Algeria	Samira Douaifia	Member of the Algerian People's National Assembly.
South Africa	Leigh-Ann Naidoo	Beach volleyball player.
Russia	Hoda Rakhme	Al Jazeera camerawoman and editor.
United Kingdom (England)	Mina Harballou	Al Jazeera journalist.
Spain	Sandra Barrilaro	Photographer.

Ships

The Zaytouna-Oliva was the sole ship in the Women's Boat to Gaza expedition. The Oliva was named after a civil protection boat that the Italian journalist Vittorio Arrigoni sailed in prior to his murder by a Palestinian militant group in Gaza in 2011. A second ship called the Amal-Hope was originally due to participate but pulled out subsequently. ^[3]

Organization partners

Organizations and campaigns participating in the Women's Boat to Gaza have included Sweden Ship to Gaza, Norway Ship to Gaza, Canadian Boat to Gaza, the Italian Freedom Flotilla, the South African Palestine Solidarity Alliance, the Spanish Rumbo a Gaza, International Committee to Break the Siege of Gaza, US Boat to Gaza, the New Zealand-based Kia Ora Gaza, and Free Gaza Australia. ^[3]

See also

• 2010 Gaza Freedom Flotilla
• 2010 Gaza flotilla raid
• Freedom Flotilla II (2011)
• Freedom Flotilla III (2015)
• 2024 Gaza freedom flotilla
• Gaza Freedom Flotilla incident (2025)
• June 2025 Gaza Freedom Flotilla
• Welcome to Palestine

Notes and references

1. "Women's Boat to Gaza: A message of hope and solidarity". Freedom Flotilla Coalition. January 8, 2016. Archived from the original on September 24, 2020. Retrieved April 28, 2024.
2. "The Women's Boat to Gaza will arrive Gaza on October the 1st". Women's Boat to Gaza. 7 March 2016. Archived from the original on 21 April 2021. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
3. "Frequently Asked Questions". Women's Boat to Gaza. Freedom Flotilla Coalition. 6 February 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
4. "Gaza Freedom Flotillas-Ships, Passengers & Lawsuits Against the Israeli government". Legal Cases Against Israeli Attacks on Civilian Boats to Break the Illegal Israeli Blockade of Gaza. 3 June 2017. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
5. Sanchez, Raf (5 October 2016). "Israeli navy intercepts all-female flotilla protesting against Gaza blockade". The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved 24 October 2018.
6. "No violence as Israel intercepts women's boat to Gaza". The Times of Israel . 5 October 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
7. Booth, William; Eglash, Ruth (5 October 2016). "Israel sends female naval cadets to stop women's boat headed to Gaza". The Washington Post . Retrieved 24 October 2018.
8. "Participants on Board: Barcelona to Ajaccio". Women's Boat to Gaza. Freedom Flotilla Coalition. 13 September 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
9. "Participants on Board: Ajaccio to Messina". Women's Boat to Gaza. Freedom Flotilla Coalition. 8 September 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
10. "Participants on Board: Messina to Gaza". Women's Boat to Gaza. Freedom Flotilla Coalition. 25 September 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2018.

External links

Official website