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Israeli navy vows to intercept Gaza-bound aid ships

03 November 2011 02:30 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. The Israeli military said late Wednesday that it has prepared to stop two ships currently heading to Gaza, in order to foil their attempt to challenge Israel’s blockade against the coastal enclave, APA reports quoting XInhua.

"The Israel Navy has completed the necessary preparations in order to prevent them from reaching the Gaza Strip," according to an army press release.

"The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) is fully prepared to guard the safety of Israel and its maritime border and to take any necessary action and prevent vessels from breaking the maritime security blockade," the army said.

Earlier on Wednesday, Free Gaza Movement, one of the main sponsors for the campaign against the siege, announced that two vessels are sailing towards Gaza in the latest efforts by rights group to bring aid there.

Dubbed "Freedom Waves to Gaza," the mission includes Canadian Tahrir and Irish Saoirse, carrying 27 activists and a symbolic cargo of some 30,000-U.S. dollar worth of medicine, according to a statement from a Palestinian organization, the International Solidarity Movement.

A Gaza-bound aid flotilla attracted worldwide attention on May 31, 2010 when Israeli navy commandos, trying to board and stop the convoy, killed nine activists and wounded dozens.

Israel argues that it is in accordance with the international law to stop any unchecked cargo from reaching Gaza, so as to prevent the smuggling of weapons and munitions to the Islamic Hamas movement and other militant groups operating in the coastal strip.