By BILL RODGERS Tribune Chronicle

POSTED: July 6, 2009

Two local peace activists were attempting to get medical supplies into Gaza this weekend, just days after a similar mission resulted in 21 people being detained by the Israeli military.

Werner Lange, of Newton Falls, left Saturday for Cairo, where he planned to join a convoy of about 100 trucks organized by the British-based activist group "Viva Palestina." Joining him will be Raed Khatib of Youngstown, a member of the Arab-American Community Center and whose family has roots in Palestine.

The group claims the blockade Israel has on Gaza is inhumane, making things like food, bandages, antibiotics and over-the-counter medication necessary for the survival of some of the 1.3 million people in the region. The Jerusalem Post reported Sunday that if the mission is successful it will be the largest group of U.S. activists to enter the strip since the borders were sealed in 2007. The $1 million in aid was mostly cleared by the Egyptian government, but it was unclear whether the private medical aid would be allowed.

"As a Christian, I am morally outraged with righteous anger the same way as if it were any other ethnic group. ... This is David and Goliath and right now Goliath is smashing David," Lange said at his home last week.

Lange said he and Khatib will meet with about 150 others in Cairo. They will attempt to get in through the Rafah border crossing, which according to the Jerusalem Post, Egypt reopened in late June to allow about 5,000 Palestinians to cross over - some of whom were waiting for medical treatment.

Khatib - whose parents once lived in Gaza- said in a telephone interview that he planned to spend the July 4th holiday with his children.

"It has sentimental background to me. I'm getting excited and emotional just attempting to go there. ... I can't speak about it enough. No one should be subjected to that. I'm looking at it from a humanitarian standpoint," Khatib said.

According to The Associated Press, humanitarian missions have tried to skirt the blockade Israel imposed in June 2007 when the militant group Hamas took control of the territory from its rival Fatah. The most recent article in the AP states that the Defense Ministry in Israel has recommended a slight easing of the blockade as a show of goodwill and as a way to start talks toward freeing a captive soldier. The AP quotes an unsourced report on an Israeli news site that Israel may increase supplies of meat, fish, coffee, tea, soups and canned goods.

The most recent war in Gaza killed 13 Israelis including three Israeli civilians from militant rocket attacks. More than 1,400 Palestinians died after the fighting, which included 900 civilians, according to the AP. Amnesty International said the war killed 300 Palestinian children and hundreds of other unarmed civilians in Gaza. The Amnesty report accused both Israel and Palestinian militants of war crimes, findings which both sides rejected as biased.

Israel has used its military to reject aid missions like the one Lange and Khatib are attempting. According to the AP, a group called the Free Gaza Movement sent a Greek ship dubbed the "Spirit of Humanity" to the region on June 30 to deliver food, medical supplies and olive trees. The Israeli navy, after reportedly warning the vessel, boarded the ship with armed soldiers and detained all 21 activists, who as of Sunday were still in jail. Those detained included activists, journalists, former U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mairead Corrigan Maguire, who according to the BBC was recognized in 1976 for her work to bring peace in Northern Ireland.

A foreign ministry spokesman for Israel said the activists could all be deported as early as Saturday, but the most recent reports from Saturday stated that some of the activists were still being held. No one has been harmed in any of the aid missions the country turned away since the blockade began.

Neither Khatib, nor Lange appeared to be dissuaded by the news last week. Khatib said he doubted their trip would be as dramatic because they were coming through Egypt and the two governments would have the chance to communicate. Lange, a former local minister, said he would lean on his religion throughout the trip.

"I put my destiny and faith in the one who created us and watches over us," Lange said.

Khatib said he wants to see the dispute de-politicized.

"They need to forget religion, racial and political things and look at it as a humanitarian issue," Khatib said.

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