Eleven European politicians set sail to Gaza from Cyprus on Friday on a mission aimed at breaching the Israeli siege of the Gaza Strip and assessing the humanitarian crisis in the impoverished territory. Members of parliament from Britain, Ireland, Switzerland and Italy left the tiny Mediterranean island on a boat arranged by peace activists of the U.S.-based Free Gaza Movement.
"This is an historic time as we have European members of parliament going to Gaza to draw international attention to Israel's collective punishment of 1.5 million Palestinians," said Lord Nazir Ahmad, Labor member of Britain's House of Lords and head of the delegation.
British MP Claire Short, a former minister in Tony Blair's government, said: "We want to witness the living conditions of these people, challenge the siege, and challenge the failure of our governments to uphold the Geneva convention."
"The whole of the EU is colluding to what is taking place in Gaza to our shame," she added.
"There is nothing like seeing what's happening on the ground, it's horrifying," British politician Baroness Jennifer Tonge said.
"To see what humiliation Palestinians go through is just incredible and I don't know how they can stand it on a day-to-day basis," Tonge added.