ISRAEL’S decision to block a Libyan aid ship from docking in Gaza proves its siege is ‘an act of terror’, the Gaza-based Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said Thursday.
The ship, confirmed to have docked in the Egyptian port of Al-Arish on Wednesday night, was unloading cargo Thursday following a deal reportedly struck between Israel and Egypt allowing the supplies to be transferred into Gaza over land.
‘In front of the international community and on the high seas’, Haniyeh said Israel had shown that it was a terrorist state with no interest in ensuring the freedoms of the people of Gaza.
The Hamas leader said he and his colleagues were closely following the developments of the ship, and praised the Libyan decision to participate in the campaign.
Haniyeh sent a particular thanks to the Gadaffi International Charity and Development Foundation for the group’s ‘insistence on breaking the siege’.
Libyan aid ship patron Saif Al-Islam Gadaffi said on Thursday that a deal with Egypt and Israel would see supplies taken into Gaza by land.
The son of Libyan President Muammar al-Gadaffi said that the ‘affair was successfully concluded’, putting to rest reports alleging The Hope would continue toward the coastal enclave and deliver the supplies directly.
Saif said Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak and Egyptian Intelligence Minister Omar Suleiman worked together on the deal and agreed to allow the ship to transfer tens of millions of dollars worth of supplies to Gaza via the Rafah crossing.
The newspaper reported that supplies were already being unloaded in Al-Arish.
On Wednesday night, Egyptian officials told news agencies that the ship was set to dock in the Al-Arish port, south of Gaza, with organisers quoted as saying the ship would continue on toward Gaza in the coming days.
The Israeli daily Haaretz reported Thursday that the ship docked, noting that, ‘It is not clear what persuaded the ships’ passengers…to agree not to sail to Gaza,’ but quoted an Israel Radio report as saying the decision was reached after mediation by Austrian millionaire Martin Schlaff.
However, Egypt Daily News quoted sources saying the ship ‘resumed its voyage on Wednesday after stalling overnight’, but added that it remained unclear as to whether the ship intended to proceed to Gaza.
Speaking Wednesday at the naming of a Gaza street ‘Martyrs of the Freedom Flotilla Street’, Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh called on the crew of The Hope to continue the mission of those aboard the Turkish-flagged vessel the Mavi Marmara, which was forcibly stopped in international waters where nine passengers were shot in an Israeli mission to commandeer the boat.
‘It’s moving and getting closer to Al-Arish,’ an Israeli military spokesman told Agence France-Presse, without specifying exactly where it was. ‘We are preparing for a scenario in which it tries to redirect and go to Gaza.’
However, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman spoke to Egypt’s intelligence chief on Thursday, thanking him for Cairo’s cooperation in preventing the Libya-sponsored aid ship from breaking the Gaza blockade.
Speaking with the director of General Intelligence Services Omar Suleiman, Lieberman said that the ties between the two countries led to positive results and that the situation was resolved without necessitating the use of force and without any injuries.
According to Israeli daily Ynet, Lieberman also updated Suleiman on Israel’s new policy regarding Gaza, and the two agreed to meet during Suleiman’s next visit to the occupied territories, when Lieberman will present him with new information.
The Ship docked in El-Arish after obtaining guarantees that Israel will allow its cargo of aid into Gaza.
The news ended fears of a new confrontation between activists and the Israeli navy, which had threatened to use force if the ship did not either turn back or head for Egypt.
The Libyan charity which chartered the vessel, the Gadaffi Foundation, said it had obtained guarantees from Cairo and from a ‘European mediator’ that Israel would allow the ship’s cargo of 2,000 tonnes of food and medicine into Gaza.
Libya has also received the green light to ‘spend 50 million dollars towards housing construction in the Gaza Strip by winter’, the charity’s executive director, Yusef Sawan, said, adding that the foundation would also provide 500 prefabricated houses.
Earlier, Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said Cairo had received a request for the Hope to get its cargo of aid to Gaza through Egyptian territory.
‘As soon as the ship arrives in El-Arish, Egyptian authorities will unload its cargo and hand the aid to the Egyptian Red Crescent, which will deliver it to the Palestinian side,’ he said.
Port officials said they expected The Hope to be unloaded on Thursday.
Eight Israeli warships shadowed the freighter through the day, four on either side, to prevent it from heading to the Gaza coast, Sawan said.
‘Out of concern for the security of everybody on board, the foundation decided to head for El-Arish,’ he added.
On May 31, Israeli commandos stormed a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, killing nine Turkish activists and sparking an international outcry.
A senior Israeli military official had told the Maariv daily that the navy was not expecting any problems from those on board the Libyan-chartered vessel but they were prepared to respond if it became necessary.
‘We do not expect any resistance,’ he said. ‘But if our soldiers do encounter problems, they will not hesitate to use force.’
Earlier on Wednesday, Tony Blair, the representative of the Middle East diplomatic Quartet, urged ‘all sides to act with restraint’.
After news of the docking, Richard Miron, spokesman for UN Middle East peace envoy Robert Serry, said: ‘We are pleased that the ship has got to El-Arish so that the cargo can be transferred by established channels.
‘We have sought to avoid any confrontation and we continue to call on those involved to exercise calm and restraint.’
The 92-metre (302-foot) Hope had left Greece on Saturday carrying a crew of 12, the shipping agent said. There were also nine passengers – six Libyans, a Nigerian, a Moroccan and an Algerian.
