CBC NEWS
Bestselling Swedish crime writer Henning Mankell, who was held in Israel for participating in the Gaza-bound aid flotilla in 2010, plans to be aboard a new Gaza aid convoy to sail this June.
Organizers say the convoy will be double the size of last year’s effort, which was stopped by Israeli commandos.
Mankell, 63, is among 20 other Swedes expected to take part. Other participants will come from Europe, Canada and the U.S.
Mankell’s Kurt Wallander crime novels have made him one of Sweden’s best-known authors, with the books translated into 40 languages. Earlier this year, he won Spain’s Arcebispo San Clemente Prize for his novel The Man from Beijing.
The Gaza-bound flotilla will attempt to breach the Israeli blockade of Gaza and deliver food, medicine and other supplies to the Palestinian territory.
Nine activists were killed in last year’s efforts after Israeli commandos boarded the ships.
