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The aid ship commissioned by a Libyan state charity prepares to set sail to Gaza on July 9, 2010. Photo by AP.

Israeli Arab MK: Libyan aid ship won't change course, headed for Gaza

A Libyan aid ship will head to Gaza''''s port and will not be diverted, Palestinian Legislative Council member Jamal Al-Khudari and Israeli Arab MK Ahmed Tibi told the Palestinian news agency Ma''''an on Saturday.Al-Khudari, head of the Popular Committee Against the Siege, told Ma''''an that he had been in constant contact with the organizers of the ship, who are expected to bring 2,000 tons of humanitarian aid to Gaza despite an Israeli naval blockade on the Hamas-ruled territory.
Earlier Saturday, Israel''''s Foreign Ministry said that the Moldavian-flagged ship would not dock in Gaza, but would instead dock in Egypt''''s el-Arish on the coast of the Sinai Peninsula. According to the ministry, the change in destination was agreed to by the ship''s captain. It reportedly followed talks between Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and his Greek and Moldavian counterparts. A spokesman at the Greek Foreign Ministry said the ship would head for El Arish. An official from ACA Shipping, which owns the ship, told Reuters ahead of the ship''s departure that "the ship will leave in a few minutes for Gaza. If they don''t let us reach there [Gaza] we will head to El Arish harbor in Egypt." The ship - named the "Amalthia" - was set to depart Saturday from the Greek port of Lavrio with 12 crew and 15 activists and supporters on board, and about 2,000 tons of humanitarian aid supplied by the Gadhafi International Charity and Development Association, headed by Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi, the second-born son of the Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi.
Tibi, of Israel''s Ra''am Ta''al party, confirmed that the ship had set sail and would arrive in Gaza some 40 hours after the departure. The Israeli Arab MK had told Israel Radio earlier that "sailing to Gaza is a political and humane act. I don''t know what Israel will do, because it has vowed to stop the ship, but Gaza remains the destination."
"Sailing [the aid ship] is a form of passive resistance, which is preferable to any other form of resistance," Tibi added.
Tibi had assisted the ship''s Libyan organizers, providing them with a list of items needed by residents of the Gaza Strip.
In an interview with Army Radio, Tibi confirmed a report in the Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper that the list included medicines, generators for hospitals and a type of children''s milk not available in Gaza.
On Friday, Israel launched a diplomatic move at the United Nations in efforts to enlist the international community to help prevent the Libyan aid ship from sailing to Gaza.
In an official letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Israeli ambassador to the UN Gabriela Shalev wrote that "Israel calls upon the international community to exert its influence on the government of Libya to demonstrate responsibility and prevent the ship from departing to the Gaza Strip."
Shalev''s letter to Ban went on to clarify that "Israel reserves the right under international law to prevent this ship from violating the existing naval blockade on the Gaza Strip."
Israel imposed the blockade on Gaza in 2007 following a bloody Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip. Israel recently eased the terms of the land blockade on the territory, following a deadly raid of a Turkish aid ship, but the naval blockade has so far remained in place.
In the letter, Shalev further urged the international community "to discourage their nationals from taking part in such action," adding that Israel "expects the international community to ensure that this ship does not sail."
"The declared intentions of this mission are even more questionable and provocative given the recent measures taken by Israel to ensure the increase of humanitarian aid flowing into the Gaza Strip," the letter went on to say, adding that Israel has taken upon itself the responsibility of ensuring the transfer of humanitarian aid into the Palestinian territory.
Copies of the letter were also submitted to the current president of the UN Security Council as well as the president of the General Assembly, a Libyan national who previously served as Libya''s foreign minister.

By Barak Ravid and Shlomo Shamir

Haaretz.com