Occupied Jerusalem: Israel on Sunday vowed to prevent a Libyan aid ship from running the Gaza blockade after it appeared to be heading for the besieged enclave despite a flurry of diplomatic efforts to divert it to Egypt.
"Israel will not let the boat reach Gaza," Minister without Portfolio Yossi Peled told Israel's public radio a day after the 92-metre freighter set sail from the Greek port of Lavrio, south of Athens. Allowing boats to reach the Hamas-run Gaza Strip without being checked would have "very serious consequences" for Israel's security, he said.
There was confusion over the ship's destination on Sunday, with organisers saying it was staying the course for Gaza, despite diplomatic reassurances from Greece that it was headed for the Egyptian port of Al Arish.
In focus: Gaza flotilla
Israel's Defence Minister Ehud Barak said the attempt to reach Gaza, which has been subjected to an Israeli naval blockade for the last four years, was an "unnecessary provocation".
"The goods can be transferred to the Gaza Strip through Ashdod port after being checked," according to a statement from his office released on Saturday.
"However, we will not allow the entry of arms, weapons or anything which will support fighting, into Gaza. We recommend that the organisers either let the ship be escorted by navy vessels to Ashdod port [in southern Israel] or that it sails directly to the port of Al Arish in Egypt".
Barak's office earlier said that the Defence Minister had spoken with Egyptian Intelligence Chief Omar Suleiman and asked, "if Egypt would agree to accept the boat at the port of Al Arish."
It was not immediately clear if Egypt had acceded to Barak's request, but the ship's agent and the Greek foreign ministry had on Saturday assured Israel that the Moldova-flagged vessel, chartered by a charity linked to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, was heading for Al Arish.
The Gaddafi Foundation, headed by Saif Al Islam Gaddafi, the son of the Libyan leader, insisted however that the ship, loaded with 2,000 tonnes of foodstuff and medications and a crew of six Libyans, a Moroccan, a Nigerian and an Algerian, had not changed its course.
"The ship is heading toward Gaza as planned," Executive Director Yousuf Sawan said by telephone from Tripoli, adding that the mission was "purely humane." His comments were confirmed by Arab Israeli parliamentarian Ahmad Tibi.
"The ship is heading into Gaza as originally planned," said the MP who is in touch with the charity. "The foundation confirmed to me that the boat will try to reach Gaza's port to unload its cargo" in a bid to break the blockade, he said.
Over the last few days, Israel's top diplomat Avigdor Lieberman has been talking with his counterparts in Greece and Moldova in a bid to encourage the ship to call off its mission, a statement from his office said.
"The foreign ministry believes that due to these talks, the ship will not reach Gaza," it said.
