Israel is desperately weighing its options as the Freedom Flotilla of international activists prepares to leave for Gaza's shores after unexpected delays.
The departure date of the flotilla that was scheduled to leave yesterday has been pushed back by two days due to the late arrivals of some ships sailing from Europe.
Israel has been considering making counter offers for delivery of aid to the impoverished Gaza Strip, but the organisers of the Freedom Flotilla have rejected such moves.
Twitter campaign
Israel's foreign ministry is also presenting its own stand on the Gaza issue on social networking sites such as Twitter. The ministry has been posting 20 to 30 tweets an hour almost exclusively on the Freedom Flotilla.
Tel Aviv's offer to let the ships dock in Israeli ports on the assurance that the aid will be delivered to Gaza was swiftly rejected.
"We know how they [Israelis] have behaved in the past. Why would we believe them?" said Bulent Yildirim, president of Turkish charity IHH. Another proposal for Hamas to release Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in exchange for permission to enter has also been dismissed as a bogus offer.
Meanwhile, Israeli media reported authorities saying that the ships comprising the Freedom Flotilla would be boarded before they could reach Gaza. Any activists on board face arrest.
"Ships that make their own way to Gaza don't do anything to help the people there," said Yigal Palmor, a spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry.
At a press conference yesterday, Haneen Zoubi, an Arab member of the Israeli Knesset, said the time had come to confront Israel's policies.
Former archbishop of occupied Jerusalem Hilario Capucci, who is also going to Gaza, said: "This is the path to restoring our honour as Arabs and Palestinians."
