Gaza-bound aid ship heading to Egypt
Source: Agencies |
July 15, 2010, Thursday
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A LIBYAN-CHARTERED ship carrying aid for Palestinians set a new course for Egypt yesterday after Israel's navy warned it away from the blockaded Gaza Strip, an Israeli official said.
The Moldovan-flagged Amalthea was heading to Egypt's El Arish port, trailed by warships, the official said. In Tripoli, the charity behind the mission had no comment. But al-Jazeera satellite channel said the ship had not ruled out reaching Gaza.
A satellite-guided map on MarineTraffic.com showed the Amalthea on a southeasterly approach to El Arish, 52 kilometers away, at speeds from 1.5 to 7.5 knots. Its course also brought it indirectly closer to Gaza, 32 km further east. The ship had earlier been absent from the map, suggesting that its GPS tracker was temporarily obstructed or turned off.
Israel vowed to turn away or seize the Amalthea - renamed "Hope" by activists - rather than let it access Gaza, whose Islamist Hamas rulers the Jewish state wants isolated.
Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh urged the activists not to let their cargo ship be diverted from Gaza's shore and called in a speech for more pro-Palestinian "freedom flotillas."
"The sea and land convoys must continue," he said. "We hope we can depend on Islamic nations to help us lift the blockade."
The Israelis are mindful of international censure simmering since their commandos killed nine Turks while boarding another Gaza-bound aid ship in Mediterranean high seas on May 31. Outcry at the bloodshed aboard the Turkish-flagged Mavi Marmara prompted Israel to ease overland trade with Gaza. But it kept the sea blockade, citing a risk of arms shipments to Hamas.
Egypt said late on Tuesday that the Amalthea had requested and been granted permission to dock in El Arish, and that authorities planned to transfer its declared haul of 2,000 tonnes of food and medicine overland to neighboring Gaza.
The Moldovan-flagged Amalthea was heading to Egypt's El Arish port, trailed by warships, the official said. In Tripoli, the charity behind the mission had no comment. But al-Jazeera satellite channel said the ship had not ruled out reaching Gaza.
A satellite-guided map on MarineTraffic.com showed the Amalthea on a southeasterly approach to El Arish, 52 kilometers away, at speeds from 1.5 to 7.5 knots. Its course also brought it indirectly closer to Gaza, 32 km further east. The ship had earlier been absent from the map, suggesting that its GPS tracker was temporarily obstructed or turned off.
Israel vowed to turn away or seize the Amalthea - renamed "Hope" by activists - rather than let it access Gaza, whose Islamist Hamas rulers the Jewish state wants isolated.
Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh urged the activists not to let their cargo ship be diverted from Gaza's shore and called in a speech for more pro-Palestinian "freedom flotillas."
"The sea and land convoys must continue," he said. "We hope we can depend on Islamic nations to help us lift the blockade."
The Israelis are mindful of international censure simmering since their commandos killed nine Turks while boarding another Gaza-bound aid ship in Mediterranean high seas on May 31. Outcry at the bloodshed aboard the Turkish-flagged Mavi Marmara prompted Israel to ease overland trade with Gaza. But it kept the sea blockade, citing a risk of arms shipments to Hamas.
Egypt said late on Tuesday that the Amalthea had requested and been granted permission to dock in El Arish, and that authorities planned to transfer its declared haul of 2,000 tonnes of food and medicine overland to neighboring Gaza.
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