Activists defy Israel, to send Gaza cement

NICOSIA (Reuters) - Activists campaigning for an end to Gaza's blockade by Israel will sail to the enclave from Cyprus in defiance of the Israeli navy, they said Thursday.

Two boats, including one carrying cement and building supplies -- materials not permitted by Israel -- will sail from Cyprus on June 25, the multi-national Free Gaza Movement said.

"We are taking 15 tons of cement, which is just a token of how much the Palestinians need, because the Israelis won't allow building supplies into Gaza," said Greta Berlin, a representative of the group.

The group started regular shuttles to Gaza from Cyprus in August 2008, but was turned back by the Israeli navy on its last journey in mid-January of this year.

Israel tightened a blockade on Gaza in 2007 after the Islamist Hamas took control of the enclave, a sliver of territory that is home to 1.5 million people.

Israeli forces bombed and then invaded Gaza in late December 2008 in a bid to rout out militants lobbing rockets into Israel, devastating its already battered infrastructure.

Since then, Israel has blocked imports of steel, cement and other goods to the Gazan population, saying Hamas could use many items for military purposes.

(Writing by Michele Kambas, editing by Richard Williams)