Libyan aid ship asks to dock in Egypt, not Gaza
JERUSALEM/CAIRO (Reuters) - A Libyan ship carrying aid for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip has asked to dock in Egypt, an Egyptian official said Tuesday, but the Libyan organizers said the ship was still on course for Gaza.
Israel has threatened to enforce its naval blockade of Gaza by turning away or seizing the Moldovan-flagged Amalthea -- renamed "Hope" by the activists. Six weeks ago Israel drew world outrage by killing nine Turks in the botched boarding of another ship that tried to reach the Palestinian territory.
The Egyptian official said the ship had been given permission to sail to El Arish port, where authorities planned to unload its declared cargo of 2,000 tonnes of food and medicine and transfer it by land to Gaza.
But he added: "There is no coordination at the moment with the ship and we do not know where its final destination is."
The ship sailed from Greece Saturday, and an Israeli military spokeswoman said it was about 100 miles from the Gaza coast earlier Tuesday.
The Libyan organizers said it would not obey an Israeli order to leave the area Tuesday night.
"The ship is still heading to Gaza and there has been no decision to change course," Youssef Sawani, Executive Director of the Gaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation, which organized the aid ship, told Reuters by telephone from Tripoli.
"The ship has received an ultimatum from the Israelis that we have to leave the area by tonight. We are not going to do that. Any other news (about the ship changing course) is part of an attempt to distort information and trying to impose a scenario that suits the Israelis," he said.
The Libyan foundation is a charity chaired by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi.
ISRAEL MAINTAINS SEA BLOCKADE
After the May 31 boarding of the Turkish-flagged Mavi Marmara, Israel eased overland trade with Gaza but maintained the naval blockade in what it called a precaution against arms reaching Hamas Islamists with whom it fought a war last year.
On June 5, the navy commandeered the Irish-owned aid ship Rachel Corrie after it refused orders to turn back or dock in Israel for its cargo to be vetted for possible transfer to Gaza.
International criticism of Israel, led by its Muslim former ally Turkey, has focussed on the continued hardship inflicted on Gaza's 1.5 million Palestinians, many of whom depend on U.N. aid handouts.
There has also been rancour over the limited powers and mandate of two internal Israeli investigations into the killings aboard the Mavi Marmara by marine commandos who said they opened fire after being set upon by passengers wielding clubs, knives and a gun. Activists aboard the ship disputed that account.
The first inquiry, by a military panel under a retired general, concluded there had been faults in planning the high seas interception but that lethal force was warranted.
Organisers said the Amalthea, with 12 crew and up to 10 activists on board, complied with international regulations.
(Writing by Dan Williams, reporting by Allyn Fisher-Ilan and Ari Rabinovitch in Jerusalem and Lamine Ghanmi in Rabat, additional reporting by Christian Lowe in Algiers, editing by Tim Pearce)