<p>We speak with Mattias Gardell, who is sailing through international waters on board the Estelle, the latest boat to attempt to <a href="http://www.freegaza.org/">break the Israeli blockade on Gaza.</a> The boat is set to reach Israel on Saturday and has been called a &quot;provocation&quot; by Israel&#8217;s ambassador to the United Nations. &quot;What is the provocation is the fact that the current right wing Isreali government has enforced the illegal seize of Gaza,&quot; Gardell tells Democracy Now! producer Renée Feltz. <a href="http://traffic.libsyn.com/democracynow/Mattias_Gardell_Gaza.mp3">Click here to listen to the interview.</a></p>
<p>Organizers say the Finnish foreign department told them their Israeli counterpart has informed them that Israeli authorities intend to board the Estelle in international waters, capture its passengers, and bring them to the Israeli port of Ashdod. The boat is sailing under a Finnish flag with peace activists representing 8 countries, including 6 parliamentarians.</p>
<p>In related news, author and professor Noam Chomsky is currently on his first trip to the Gaza Strip. The <span class="caps">AFP</span> reports that he entered from the Egyptian side of the Rafah Crossing as a member of an academic delegation scheduled to participate in a conference this weekend at the Islamic University.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.democracynow.org/topics/flotilla">Click here to see more Democracy Now! coverage of past Gaza Flotillas.</a></p>