Special report: Palestine-Israel Relations

    GAZA, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- Muslim lawmakers are preparing to sail into Gaza Strip to defy Israeli blockade following three successful attempts by Western activists, a Palestinian anti-siege activist said on Thursday.

    Jamal al-Khodary, head of Gaza-based Popular Committee against the Siege, said Kuwaiti members of the International Forum of Muslim Parliamentarians told him that they and other members of the forum will sail into Gaza Strip from Cyprus in the coming few weeks.

    "The forum has formed a committee to prepare for the voyage which will be the first Islamic one," al-Khodary said.

    In August and October, the U.S.-based Free Gaza Movement, which promotes against the Israeli blockade on Gaza Strip, ferried three missions of journalists, human rights and peace activists to the territory, which is ruled by Islamic Hamas movement.

    Israel allowed the boats to enter Gaza territorial waters. Moreover, an Israeli navy ship guided the last mission, which comprised European Union lawmakers, to the Gaza fishing port.

    Israel, which sealed off the Gaza Strip after Hamas seized the territory in June 2007, did not want to intercept the boats in order not to give them the publicity they needed, according to earlier statements by Israeli foreign ministry officials.

    Israel says the closure of Gaza intends to isolate Hamas but human rights groups and UN bodies that work in Gaza say the ordinary civilians pay the price.