MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Breaking the Ice.

In an attempt to highlight peace efforts for the Middle East four Israelis and four Palestinians will be sailing January first for an Antarctic cruise in a twenty meters vessel, an operation that has been symbolically labelled “breaking the ice”.

The six men and two women are expected to spend 35 days in the expedition that will be equipped with satellite telephones and carry video for daily filming and video conferences linked with the internet site, www.breaking-the-ice.de . On conclusion of the cruise a film for television will be made.

"We don't expect an immediate response from politicians but we do want to transmit hope to our peoples. For everyone to ask him o herself how can I contribute to peace in the Middle East", revealed Heskel Nathaniel, a financial advisor and architect of the joint cruise idea.

The idea cropped up in Berlin at the beginning of the year when Mr. Nathaniel was about to make one of his regular trips to Israel, "where things look worse every time I visit". Mr. Nathaniel has been living away from Israel for the last twenty years. The cruise is expected to leave from Puerto Williams in Chile the first day of 2004 and head for Antarctica where the group will climb a mountain and leave an Israeli and Palestinian flags.

The group is under the command of Doron Erel, a professional climber and former member of the Israeli Army elite units. The Palestinians include a member of Al Fatah, Naser Quass who has been jailed for attacking Israel security forces and Doctor Mohamad Awni Qasem who works with victims of the daily violence.

The two women are Yarden Fanta, an Israeli from Ethiopia and Olfat Haider a well known Palestinian athlete.

The project has been financed with donations from US Secretary General Kofi Annan, Yasser Arafat, Mijail Gorbachov, Shimon Peres, Vatican and even Dalai Lama, claims Mr. Nathaniel.

The cruise will be over by next February, but "we expect ample coverage during the whole expedition".