Irish Gaza protesters on board the Rachel Corrie say they will arrive in Gaza waters by Saturday morning.

The ship, currently located between Libya and Cyprus, is sailing towards Gaza, but it will not arrive before Saturday morning.
 
"We are not afraid, despite what happened on the Marmara," Derrick Graham, who is on board with his wife, told Israeli newspaper Ynet.com.

"The violence there was a product of fear, I saw the fear in the eyes of the soldiers. You need to send your veteran soldiers, not the young ones.

 "We don't plan on resisting. In the event that your men are stupid enough to come and arrest us, we will sit down and not resist," he continued.

"It would not be wise for the government of Israel to direct its brutal violence towards us."

Nobel Peace Prize winner Mairead Maguire, who has taken part in previous protests, is also on board.

"I'm not afraid, I think it is important to give Gaza freedom and support it," said the 66-year-old.

"We believe in a peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and believe it can be solved through negotiations," she added.
 
Maguire also said there should be no violence on board the Rachel Corrie.

"I have experience with this. If (the soldiers) come on board, I hope and believe it will be in a peaceful manner," she said.

The Irish vessel is named after an American peace activist killed by an Israeli bulldozer. It  is carrying more than 20 people: made up of  Malaysians and five Irish. 

The ship has eight crew members.

Graham said there were no weapons on board  and said he had taken part in previous flotillas where there was no violence.
 
"There were never such problems on sails to Gaza. We object to violence, which is why before we left we searched the ship to make sure there were no guns or weapons of any kind on board. The crew members were also checked by officials," he said.
 
The activist added that the Israeli Army  had called to ask him similar questions and he had also denied there were weapons on board.