New Arab flotilla heads toward Gaza; this one might be armed and dangero

Pro-Palestinian protestors gathered at an Arab port background — Photo: according to clause 27א

Pro-Palestinian protestors gathered at an Arab port — Photo: according to clause 27א

In the wake of Israeli forces taking control of the "Freedom Flotilla" with Greta Thunberg last night (between Sunday and Monday), Al-Arabiya reports that another, larger flotilla has departed from Algeria and is making its way to the Gaza Strip.

The flotilla, named "The Convoy of Steadfastness," apparently includes several ships to "break the siege on Gaza." Pro-Palestinian activists plan to stop at various ports along the way to gather more "activists" and then sail to the southern Gaza Strip, where they are expected to arrive in about two weeks.

This morning, the flotilla reached the port of Tunis, after apparently gathering some activists there. At this stage, the flotilla is receiving media coverage mainly from Arab media, but this is expected to change as they get closer to Gaza and disseminate materials.

Unlike the "Freedom Flotilla" that departed from European countries and was manned by well-known pro-Palestinian activists, the new flotilla is leaving from an Arab country and is also passing through countries, some of which, like Libya, are suffering from civil war. There is concern that there may be armed terrorists among the activists.

At this stage, there is no official response from Israeli sources.The concern, as noted by the IDF, is that this is a phenomenon that will escalate. Sources we spoke with raised the possibility that the flotilla that was taken over last night and the current flotilla will lead to many additional flotillas that will challenge Israel operationally and especially in terms of public relations.

A military source stated that the issue will be evaluated and if there is indeed an attempt to reach Gaza, "we will operate according to the tools we have and the guidelines of the political echelon." Regarding the possibility that there will be armed activists on the ship, the military source said: "We have a toolkit for every scenario. Currently, this is not a familiar operation, but we will know how to act effectively according to the circumstances on the ground."