Ahlul Bayt News Agency, A pro-Palestinian group based in the US will send a plane loaded with aid to the Gaza Strip in a bid to break Israel's air and sea blockade on Gaza, MAAN reported Sunday.
"We intend to send an aircraft to Gaza in much the same way boats were used -- without going through Israeli or Egyptian airspace," said Paul Larudee, an organizer with the California-based Free Palestine Movement sponsoring the flight.
Authorities in Gaza are supportive of the initiative and are working to locate a landing site, Larudee said. Gaza's international airport is not being considered as it is already destroyed by Israel, he said.
In the meantime, Free Palestine Movement officials will look for a plane designed for rough landings and takeoffs such as those used in Alaska and other locales lacking proper aviation facilities, Larudee said. The plan is to send a light aircraft equipped with material sometime in the spring of 2011, after the next sea voyage.
"Breaking the blockade by air may be even more feasible than by sea. An aircraft cannot be boarded while in flight, and the right aircraft can land almost anywhere in Gaza," a statement on the group's website says.
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