TWO Scots have joined a global movement of activists sailing to Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid.
With the Global Sumud Flotilla currently making its way to the besieged enclave, several other civilian initiatives have also begun to set sail.
One of them, the Omar Al Mokhtar flotilla, launched from Libya several days ago and is carrying two activists from Scotland on board.
Dr Yvonne Ridley, 67, is an award-winning journalist and a founding member of the Alba Party.
Meanwhile, Margaret Pancetta is a 70-year-old grandmother from Glasgow, who has been involved in the pro-Palestine movement for more than two decades.
'I'm just a wee Glaswegian granny'
Speaking to The National, Pancetta said it was an "honour" and a "privilege" to be taking part in the flotilla.
"My experience in the boat has been amazing, the other activists in the boat take such good care of us. We're all a family on this boat," she said.
Pancetta has been involved in the pro-Palestine movement in Glasgow for the last 25 years, helping to run the Glasgow Palestine Human Rights Campaign stall on Buchanan Street every weekend.
She has a lifetime ban from Israel as a result of her activism, and was once shot in the West Bank after Israeli forces opened fire on a crowd with rubber bullets.
Pancetta said: "25 years ago, I went to the West Bank. I was there half a day and I witnessed three children being murdered in a refugee camp by the Israelis.
"They fired tear gas in a school, children ran out. They murdered two five-year-olds and a six-year-old. That changed my life forever."
Pancetta was shot in Bil'lin, a Palestinian village to the west of Ramallah, while attending a demonstration against the construction of an illegal Israeli settlement.
"We were completely surrounded one day, and they just fired randomly. I got shot with a rubber bullet, I was blubbering like a baby," she told The National.
"A Palestinian came up, looked at my back and said, 'Yes, you've been shot, it's a rubber bullet'. Then a five-year-old child came up and said, 'It's only a rubber bullet, no problem', and all the children started laughing at me.
"To them, a rubber bullet is nothing. How sad is that? A five-year-old thinks a rubber bullet's nothing. I felt like such an idiot."
Pancetta said her experience led her to get more involved with pro-Palestine activism back home, ultimately leading her to join the flotilla.
She added that her family had all been incredibly supportive of her decision to get involved, as she also praised the pro-Palestine movement in Scotland.
"There are so many pro-Palestinian supporters in Glasgow and Scotland, they're all with us in spirit," Pancetta said.
"We're all equal – some are in the boat, some are at home, looking out for us, others are doing demonstrations, promoting boycotts. We're working together, every single one of us."
Pancetta added: "I'm just an ordinary wee Glaswegian granny, I'm not anyone famous. That could by my granddaughter that's in Gaza – I'd expect the world to care.
"We need to keep promoting Palestine in any way we can. We need to bring this to an end, we need a ceasefire for the people of Palestine."
'Shame on Keir Starmer's Britain'
Dr Ridley, originally from the north east of England, made headlines in 2001 when she was captured by the Taliban and held for 11 days after entering Afghanistan without a visa.
She has also been involved in previous flotilla missions – from the Dignity flotilla in 2008, to the Conscience flotilla in May, which was subject to an alleged drone strike.
Ridley told The National she was encouraged to join the Omar Al Mokhtar Flotilla after being arrested under Section 13 of the Terrorism Act for wearing a T-shirt which read "Genocide in Palestine – time to take action". Her bail conditions meant she was unable to travel, and it is understood her case has since been postponed.
"I was so angry at being charged with a terrorism offense, it made me realise that I needed to go on this journey," Ridley said.
"Not just for the rights of the Palestinians, but for the rights of all of us back home, and our rights to protest and support the Palestinian people."
Ridley said her experience on the boat so far has been "really positive", adding there is "a great atmosphere and mutual respect" among those on board.
On making the journey alongside Pancetta, Ridley said the pair had brought a small part of Glasgow with them.
"We've bemused everybody by nicking a traffic cone in Tripoli and sticking it on board the ship," she told The National.
"Of course, all Glaswegians will know what that's about. It's a pity we haven't got some aristocrat's head to stick the cone on top of."
Ridley said peaceful activism like the flotilla "is one of the most powerful bits of weaponry that we have".
"The Israelis have put out a lot of disinformation and threats of interception. Many flotillas have sailed, and the Israelis usually have nothing to say. The size of this flotilla is historic and unprecedented, and it's really rattled the Israelis," she said.
Ridley continued: "The ship has turned into a hospital support ship, we've got an ICU unit on board. We just want to show [Palestinians] that they are not alone. We want to put food into hungry mouths.
"If that is a crime in Yvette Cooper and Keir Starmer's Britain, then shame on them."
