RAMALLAH, July 10 (JMCC) -
Israel's foreign ministry has reached an agreement with the captain of a Libyan aid ship that will divert the ship and its cargo from the blockaded
Gaza Strip to a port in Egypt, said an Israeli spokesperson Saturday.
We will not allow, under any circumstances, the directing of any vessel by sea to the Gaza Strip, said spokesperson Ophir Gendelman. Ships that want to transfer aid to Gaza should either go to Egypt or to the port of
Ashdod, where the aid will be unloaded and transferred by land to the Gaza Strip.
Gendelman said that Israel had reached the compromise solution, where the ship will be unloaded in el-Arish, through Greek intermediaries.
The Moldavian-flagged ship, set to sail Saturday, was delayed in its voyage until the outcome of the talks.
The ship was organized by the Ghaddafi Development Foundation, and carried thousands of tons of food aid and a number of Libyan activists.
The aid voyage comes one month after Israeli commandos stormed a Turkish-organized
fleet of vessels headed to Gaza, killing nine Turks.
After an international outcry, Israel eased the land blockade of Gaza, allowing in foodstuffs that were previously banned and building materials under international supervision.