50 boats to join the next Gaza aid flotilla and Iran is set to sail two boats to Gaza, these stores are coming up, stay tuned.
t

Yasser Qashlaq, the head of the Free Palestine Movement, announced Thursday that Freedom Flotilla 2 could include up to 50 ships.

Qashlaq said that a ship organized by Journalists Without Borders will depart from Lebanon to Gaza within a week. There will be journalists, members of the Free Palestine Movement, and other peace activists aboard the ship.

In the meantime, two Iranian boats are expected to set sail to Gaza soon. Abdul-Raouf Adeeb Zada, head of the the Iranian Red Crescent's International Relations department , announced Wednesday that two Iranian ships carrying humanitarian supplies will be sailing to Gaza by the end of this week.

Zada stated that the Red crescent decided to send the two ships after Israel's deadly assault on the Freedom Flotilla, which claimed that lives of 9 passengers. He also said that the first ship carries humanitarian supplies, while the second carries relief supplies to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society.

The Rafah Border terminal between Gaza and Egypt will remain open in order to enable the transfer of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, Dr. Mofeed Shihab, an Egyptian official announced.

Shihab stated that these are the orders of Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak, and added that Egypt will not abandon the Palestinian people until they achieve their legitimate demand of an independent state. He also said that the Palestinians will be allowed to leave Gaza and return to it through the terminal.

US President Barack Obama announced that his administration had decided to give 400 million dollars to the Gaza Strip in order to build schools and provide housing. The statement came shortly after Obama's meeting with the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Washington.

Obama said that his administration believes in improving the living conditions of the Palestinian people, and added that the current situation in Gaza cannot continue as more positive stances are needed.

Thank you for joining us from occupied Bethlehem, you have been listening to Palestine Today from the International Middle East Media Center, for constant updates, please visit our website at at www.imemc.org, this report has been brought to you by George Rishmawi.