January 8, 2003	Wednesday	Ziqa’ad 4, 1423

LONDON: A retired British doctor, moved by the suffering of malnourished Palestinian children, is planning to sail to them next week with a cargo of milk and honey.

David Halpin, 62, and his eight volunteers will load a fishing trawler with 17 tons of milk powder, honey, flour and medical equipment for poverty-stricken Palestinians.

“Because it’s the worst time for those people living in the Gaza Strip, it’s the best time for this voyage,” Halpin said on Tuesday from his home in western England.

He hopes to distribute the goods — some donated, some paid for with his own money — to families living in the Gaza Strip.

The trawler will sail across the Mediterranean for the Israeli port of Ashdod.

“I’ve heard nothing from the Israeli government and I will deal with that as it comes... We are not worried about visas or checkpoints,” he said.

A UNICEF-backed survey published last summer found nearly half of all Palestinian children were suffering from chronic malnutrition, and a majority of families said finding food was difficult.—Reuters