Two boats carrying seven Palestinian Authority Arabs, including five children, set sail from the Gaza shore Thursday afternoon and headed for Cyprus almost a week after arriving in the coastal waters.

The boats, carrying some 44 foreign and PA Arab left-wing activists, were meant to "break the siege" of Gaza by Israel, but had little effect, inasmuch as the authorities robbed them of a showdown by simply allowing the boats to pass through Gaza waters.  There was no official comment from Israel as the boats left the area.