Israeli warning as Libyan aid boat eyes Gaza landing

Israel yesterday 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 Amalthea set sail from the Greek port of Lavrio, south of Athens.

Allowing vessels 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 yesterday - with organisers saying it was staying the course for Gaza, despite diplomatic reassurances from Greece that it was headed for the Egyptian port of El-Arish.

"We are heading for Gaza. We will not change direction," Mashallah Zwei, a representative of the Kadhafi Foundation, a Libyan charity, said by satellite phone from on board the Amalthea.

He insisted the foundation was not seeking "a confrontation or a provocation," when asked about the risks of a repeat of an Israeli naval raid on an aid flotilla on May 31 that killed nine Turks.

Mr Zwei said the ship was currently "close to Crete" and would likely reach Gaza in about two days.

Israel's Defence Minister Ehud Barak said the attempt to reach Gaza, which has been subjected to an Israeli naval blockade for the past four years, was an "unnecessary provocation."

"The goods can be transferred to the Gaza Strip through Ashdod port after being checked," a statement from his office said late 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 is sails directly to the port of El-Arish" in Egypt.