A BID to send an aid ship to Gaza from the UK has been launched – with Scots urged to "stand on the right side of history".
Global Movement to Gaza UK is hoping to raise £65,000 in order to send an aid ship as part of the next flotilla to Gaza, which is due to set sail in the spring.
The organisation previously sent a delegation of UK activists on the Global Sumud Flotilla, which involved hundreds of activists from more than 40 different countries sailing to Gaza in an attempt to break the Israeli aid blockade – making history as the largest civilian mission of its kind.
READ MORE: What it's been like covering the Global Sumud Flotilla
The activists were intercepted by Israeli forces before they could reach Gaza, and were detained in Israeli prison before eventually being deported.
The next mission is set to be even bigger, with organisers hinting at more than 100 boats taking part.
So far, more than £6000 has been raised to send an aid ship from the UK, with all the funds going towards aid and fleet costs.
Speaking to The National, Sid Khan – one of the members of the Global Movement to Gaza UK steering committee – said the next Global Sumud Flotilla will be bigger "because the need is greater".
Khan, from Renfrewshire, was one of four Scots to take part in the Global Sumud Flotilla last year, but has since decided to take up a role behind the scenes to help the UK delegation in their upcoming efforts.
Khan – who is also vice-chair of the SNP-affiliated Scots Asians for Independence group – said that despite the so-called ceasefire, "the situation in Gaza remains one of the gravest humanitarian catastrophes of our time".
"Humanitarian organisations warn that civilians, including children and aid workers continue to be killed, while the very groups providing life-saving assistance now face new barriers to operating," he said.
READ MORE: I was on the recent flotilla to Gaza – here's why the next one will be even bigger
Khan said the Global Sumud Flotilla is "grounded in international law" and the belief that "ordinary people have both the right and the responsibility to act when governments fail to protect human life".
He said: "Our boats carry medical aid, essential supplies and just as importantly a message that the people of Gaza are not alone and that the blockade cannot silence global conscience.
"For Scotland, with its long tradition of international solidarity and justice, this is a moment to stand on the right side of history.
"We are calling on people to join the flotilla, to donate, and to become part of a peaceful movement that insists on humanitarian access, the protection of civilians and an end to collective punishment."
Khan said the flotilla mission "is about our shared humanity".
He added: "When future generations ask what we did in the face of mass suffering, we must be able to say that we did not look away.
"We organised, we sailed, and we stood for life."
Click here to donate to the fundraiser.
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