RAMALLAH: A Palestinian official on Saturday called on Greece and Moldova to resist Israeli pressure and facilitate the sailing of Gaza-bound Libyan “Hope” aid boat from a Greek port to break the Israeli naval blockade.
Jamal Al-Khodari, the head of the Gaza-based Popular Campaign Against the Siege, said in a press statement: “Greece should not accept the Israeli pressure to prevent the ship from departing.” The ship belongs to Libya, but carries a Moldovan flag and departed from the Greek port of Lavrio.
Al-Khodari, who is also a Hamas-supported independent lawmaker, said the aid boat is sailing to the Gaza Strip “in accordance with the international maritime law and the United Nations’ conventions.”
He added that the boat is “carrying civilian solidarity activists and 2,000 tons of humanitarian aid supplied by the Qaddafi International Charity and Development Association to meet the needs of Gaza Strip’s residents.”
Al-Khodari’s remarks came after Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman spoke on Saturday with his counterparts in Greece and Moldova, and the three concluded that the ship would instead dock in Egypt’s Al-Arish port.
Lieberman’s office said in a press statement that Lieberman had clarified to his counterparts that Israel would not allow its blockade on Gaza to be broken. The ship left Greece on Saturday and organizers said the boat, with 12 crew would head for Gaza but would go to Al Arish, Egypt, instead if banned from reaching their destination.
On Friday, Israel launched a diplomatic move at the United Nations in efforts to enlist the international community to help prevent the ship from sailing to Gaza in violation of Israel’s naval blockade.
