Libyan ship ‘will continue to Gaza’

July 12th, 2010 • Action, Awareness, News
Tags: aid, blockade, egypt, el-arish, flotilla, gaza, greece, humanitarian, israel, libya, moldova, ship, siege

AJE reports on a Moldovan registered ship being sent by the Libyans:

Organisers of a Libya-sponsored aid ship have said they will continue their attempt to break the naval blockade of the Gaza Strip, despite Israeli claims that the vessel would instead sail to Egypt.

Yousseuf Sawani, a director of the Gaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation, told Al Jazeera that there were no plans for the Al-Amal to dock at the port El-Arish.

The "Al-Amal" Moldova-flagged cargo ship carrying 2,000 tons aid for Gaza

“This is definitely a part of the campaign against the ship, a campaign of distortion, but we are definitely heading towards Gaza, because that is where aid should be heading to,” he told Al Jazeera.

“This is a purely humane mission, it is neither provocative nor hostile,” he said.

The ship set sail from Greece on Saturday, carrying 2,000 tonnes of humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip, but the Israeli foreign ministry said that it had reached an agreement with Greece and Moldova to have the ship diverted to Egypt.

Israeli request

Israeli authorities also reportedly contacted Omar Suleiman, the Egyptian intelligence chief, to request that the ship be allowed to dock in El-Arish, close to the border with the Gaza Strip.

Read more at Al Jazeera…