Arabs and anarchists will sail a small fishing vessel from Cyprus to Gaza next week in order to challenge Israeli sovereignty off the Gaza coast. The ship's 60 passengers expect to be arrested after leaving international waters approximately seven miles off the Mediterranean Coast.

The Carter Center, headed by former American President Jimmy Carter, and South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu are sponsoring the trip, designed to create negative publicity against Israel. The Arabs and anarchists claim that Israel has no sovereignty over the Gaza coast because it withdrew from the area three years ago under the Disengagement program. However, Israel specifically said at the time that it will retain control over the air and seas until the Palestinian Authority can prove it can guarantee security.

Organizers of the trip said they will stay on board for at least two weeks as a public protest if Israel naval forces stop it in international waters instead of arresting them when they approach the coast.

One of the passengers is Jewish, Holocaust survivor Hedy Epstein, who said the event is designed to "remind the world that we will not stand by and watch 1.5 million people suffer death by starvation and disease." Gaza's economy was flourishing before the Oslo War broke out in 2000 and worsened three summers ago when Israel forced out of the area more than 9,000 Jews, many of whom had employed Arabs.

The Palestinian Authority (PA), which last year was taken over by Hamas terrorists in Gaza, has blamed Israel for causing poverty by closing crossings into Gaza following thousands of rocket attacks on the western Negev the past eight years.

The aim of the Arab groups participating in the journey is to open up the port in Gaza. Israeli intelligence authorities have said that a large number of terrorists, weapons and explosives have been smuggled into Gaza via the Gaza coast.

Ten of the protestors are from Britain and Ireland.