Israeli navy on high alert to storm approaching Libyan aid ship Amal

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM,  The Hebrew radio reported Tuesday morning that the Israeli navy has been put on high alert to storm the Libyan aid ship Amal which resumed sailing on Sunday evening for the besieged Gaza Strip after a short stop off the shores of the Greek island of Crete.

It said that the navy’s commandos and gunboats are now ready to intercept the ship pursuant to the maritime siege imposed on Gaza.

A top naval officer was quoted as saying that the navy would deal with the Libyan ship the same way as it did with the Freedom Flotilla convoy.

He also added that if the ship’s captain violated the naval blockade on Gaza, he would be clearly told that he must unload the cargo in the Israeli port of Ashdod after boarding it for search, and if he resorted to force to reach the shores of Gaza, the naval units, for their part, would use force to stop him.

The website of the Gaddafi international charity and development foundation said the team on board of Amal reported that the journey was going normal so far, and that the ship was sailing in international waters on its route to Gaza after it left the Crete shores.

The foundation’s team on board of the vessel confirmed their morale is high and they are getting ready to reach Gaza on Wednesday. The group also re-emphasized the humanitarian and peaceful nature of the goals of this aid ship, and that it is not intended to arouse excitement or cause provocation.

In another context, the news of Islam agency in Russia reported that the Turkish city of Istanbul would host on July 15 a two-day meeting of multinational lawyers to explore avenues of filing a joint lawsuit against Israel with the international criminal court at The Hague to punish it for its deadly attack on the Freedom Flotilla aid convoy.

It added Monday that representatives of the countries whose nationals participated in the convoy would attend the meeting.

For his part, Turkish premier Recep Erdogan stated during an official visit to Serbia on Monday that his country would continue its quest for an apology and compensation for the families of the victims who were killed by Israeli troops during a raid on their ship.

Erdogan also stressed in a news conference in Belgrade the need for lifting the siege on Gaza, and added that his government would keep up its effort to end it.