Israel vows to stop aid ship as it approaches Gaza

June 4, 2010

By AMY TEIBEL, Associated Press Writer Amy Teibel, Associated Press Writer – 1

hr 6 mins ago

JERUSALEM – Israel vowed Friday to keep an Irish aid ship from breaching its

blockade of the Gaza Strip, setting the stage for another maritime showdown as

the vessel made its way toward the impoverished Palestinian territory.

Concern about more violence loomed large as Israel stood fast by its blockade,

despite rising pressure to lift it following Monday's raid against another aid

ship that left nine activists dead.

Irish Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mairead Corrigan, who was on the ship with

other activists, said they were determined to press on but would offer no

resistance if Israeli forces came aboard.

" We will sit down, " she told The Associated Press in a telephone interview from

the ship. " They will probably arrest us ... But there will be no resistance. "

A spokeswoman for the Free Gaza Movement, Greta Berlin, said Friday evening that

the ship, the 1,200-ton Corrie, was 110 miles (177 kilometers) from Gaza

and was expected to reach the seaside strip by Saturday morning.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu told his Cabinet on Thursday night

that the boat would not reach the territory. On Friday, Israel's foreign

ministry said the policy had not changed.

" There is a maritime blockade on Gaza, " ministry director Yossi Gal told

reporters in Jerusalem.

The new effort to break the blockade will test Israel's resolve as it faces a

wave of international outrage following Monday's botched raid, in which Israeli

commandos clashed with activists after rappelling onto a ship from helicopters.

Eight Turks and an American of Turkish descent were killed and hundreds of

others on the ship were arrested and later deported.

The fallout has increased pressure to end the embargo that has plunged Gaza's

1.5 million residents deeper into poverty and sharply raised Mideast tensions at

a time the U.S. is making a new push for regional peace.

Israel has urged the activists to bring the ship to the southern Israeli port of

Ashdod and promised to transfer all cargo save any weapons or weapons

components. The activists rejected the Israeli offer.

Netanyahu has instructed the Israeli military to avoid harming the passengers on

board the Corrie, a participant at Thursday night's Cabinet meeting said.

He spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting was closed.

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