Viva Palestina ("Long live Palestine") is a British-based organisation formerly registered as a charity.<ref name="3rd sector">David Ainsworth "Commission removes Galloway's Viva Palestina from the charities register", Third Sector", 5 November 2013</ref> The body came into being in January 2009 with the initial intention of running a convoy of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. Its aims are the "provision from the UK of food, medicine and essential goods and services needed by the civilian population" [of the occupied Palestinian Territories] and "highlighting the causes and results of wars with a view to achieving peace."
Background
Viva Palestina was established during the Gaza War in January 2009 by a group including British politician George Galloway.
First convoy (early 2009)
On 14 February 2009, after raising over £1 million-worth of humanitarian aid in under four weeks, hundreds of volunteers launched the first convoy comprising approximately 110 vehicles intended for use in Gaza. Among these were a fire engine donated by the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), twelve ambulances, a boat and trucks full of medicines, tools, clothes, blankets and gifts for children. The 5,000-mile route passed through Belgium, France, Spain, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt.
On 20 February, Galloway condemned Lancashire Police after they arrested nine of the volunteers under the Terrorism Act a day before the convoy's launch. He said: "The arrests were clearly deliberately timed for the eve of the departure of the convoy. Photographs of the high-profile snatch on the M65 were immediately fed to the press to maximise the newsworthiness of the smear that was being perpetrated on the convoy." Viva Palestina reported an 80% drop in donations following the BBC's broadcast of the arrests and allegations. All those arrested were subsequently released without charge.
Iranian television news channel Press TV travelled with the convoy via embedded reporters, while Hassan Ghani and Yvonne Ridley made a documentary about it.
The convoy arrived in Gaza via the Rafah crossing on 9 March 2009, accompanied by approximately 180 extra trucks of aid donated by Libya's Gaddafi Foundation and the International Organization for Peace, Care and Relief (IOPCR). These trucks were not allowed to cross with the British convoy and were re-directed through Israel. Not all of the British aid was delivered. At Al-Arish the Egyptian authorities searched all vehicles taking any aid it did not deem to be medical. All vehicles, however, did make it across with the exception of the fire engine and boat which were also blocked by the Egyptian government. The boat is to be delivered later in a flotilla of craft which Viva Palestina intends to take into Gaza harbour. The convoy was led overall by Kevin Ovenden. On its return home, it was welcomed by supporters.
United States airborne "convoy" (mid 2009)
A delegation from the US, in addition to UK-based organisers, was flown to Egypt. Israel then allowed a "convoy of 200 U.S. activists ... to cross into the Gaza Strip via Egypt on" 17 July 2009. Much of their aid (including 33 small Chinese-built Geeley 1.6-litre petrol-engined sedan cars) was refused entry. The operation was figure-headed by George Galloway and Vietnam War veteran Ron Kovic.
The Anti-Defamation League expressed concerns that the convoy would aid Hamas and requested the US Justice Department to investigate. To allay fears that the US volunteers would encounter legal difficulties upon their return home, Hamas agreed to allow the aid to be delivered directly to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) rather than through their government.
Third convoy (late 2009)
On 6 December 2009, the third Viva Palestina Convoy departed from London. This convoy, the second to leave the UK by road, was made up of volunteers from several countries. It collected additional support in Istanbul and Damascus), and travelled via France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Syria, Jordan, back through Syria again, and finally Egypt before entering Gaza via Rafah. The intended date of entry was 27 December 2009, the one-year anniversary of the 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict, but actual entry took place on 7 January 2010.