by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu June 21, 2010 http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/138192
Iranian Red Crescent youth wing director Mohammed Javad Jafarian said “no definite” date has been set for departure of the ships to Hamas-controlled Gaza. Last week, Iran backed down from its threat to send “voluntary” marines for the Iranian Revolutionary Guards to board the boats and defend them against any attempt by Israel to intercept them enrooted to Gaza.
Egypt on Saturday allowed 11 U.S. warships, led by the aircraft carrier USS Truman, and one Israeli ship to pass through the Suez Canal after it closed it to all other boats to ensure a safe and quiet passage for the armada.
It was the largest fleet of warships to sail through the Suez Canal in years, prompting speculation that they were preparing to challenge any Iranian attempt to reach Gaza. The maneuvers also may serve as a warning to Iran if not does cooperate with U.N. officials trying to inspect the Islamic Republic’s nuclear development program.
Two years ago, Iran tried to break Israel’s marine embargo on Gaza, but Israel diverted the ship to Egypt without incident. The boat supposedly was loaded with food and medicine.
The Iranian Students' News Agency reported that Jafarian said the ship that was scheduled to sail to Gaza this week “is humanitarian, in line with navigation international protocols, carries no weapon and it obeys navigation rules, so no military ship has the right to enter the Iranian ship illegally because any aggression is violation of navigation transparent rules.”
Lebanese authorities have granted a Gaza-bound ship carrying aid and activists permission to sail to the Mediterranean island of Cyprus.
Transport Minister Ghazi al-Aridi said the ship, Julia, is now docked at the northern Lebanese port of Tripoli and can set sail once it is cleared by port authorities there.
Aridi's comments came in an interview with a local Lebanese TV channel late Sunday.
He said the ship would be allowed to sail to Cyprus and not directly to Gaza because Lebanon and Israel were technically in a state of war.
"We have been granted permission to go to Cyprus and we are now in the process of making final preparations," said Yasser Kashlak, a Syrian of Palestinian origin who heads the group organizing the trip- the Free Palestine Movement.
Organizers said the ship plans to sail in the next few days, but did not give an exact date for departure because of security concerns.
Kashlak said the ships would be carrying humanitarian supplies to Gaza and would be searched at a port in Cyprus.
"We will abide by international and marine laws and will be subject to international inspection," he said.
Lebanese law requires every ship leaving the country's ports to obtain official permission. Lebanese law also forbids sailing to ports under Israeli control - including Gaza, which it categorizes as under Israeli occupation.
The ship's organizers said Monday they plan to sail in the next few days. They did not give an exact date for departure because of security concerns.
Aridi, meanwhile, denied the existence of the Miriam, a second ship that was supposedly organized by 50 Christian and Muslim Lebanese women to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Aridi said this was a public relations campaign spearheaded by the women.
Despite Aridi's remarks on the Miriam, Palestinian sources said there would be a welcome ceremony for the Miriam at Gaza's port, regardless of whether the ship docks there physically.
"The voice and message [of the Miriam] has already arrived in Gaza, regardless of whether the ship arrived physically or not," one Palestinian source said.
On Sunday, Lebanese sources involved in organizing the flotilla said that activists were on their way to the country to take part in the latest attempt to break Israel's maritime blockade on Gaza.
The participants, including several nuns, have yet to arrive in Lebanon from various European countries, but will be coming "very soon," the sources said.
Israel's UN ambassador, Gabriela Shalev, warned Friday that the attempt by the organizers to sail from Lebanon and deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza could escalate tensions and affect peace and security in the region.
She cited in particular the ships' departure from Lebanon which remains in a state of hostility with Israel. She also cited a possible link between the organizers and the Shiite Muslim Hezbollah group.
"We have been granted permission to go to Cyprus and we are now in the process of making final preparations," said Yasser Kashlak, a Syrian of Palestinian origin who heads the group organizing the trip— the Free Palestine Movement. Organizers said the ship plans to sail in the next few days, but did not give an exact date for departure because of security concerns.
Lebanon has given permission for another flotilla to leave Tripoli for Gaza, according to a Beirut minister quoted by an-Nahar Monday morning.
Lebanese Transport Minister Ghazi Aridi said the ship named Julia is now docked at the northern Lebanese port of Tripoli and can set sail once it is cleared by port authorities there. He said the ship would be allowed to sail to Cyprus and not directly to Gaza in order to abide by UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which calls for a full cessation of hostilities by both Lebanon and Israel and forbids any paramilitary activity south of the Litani River.
Aridi said the voyage of the ship, the French-registered Julia, would not violate the terms of the cease-fire resolution. To clear the confusion over the latest Gaza flotilla initiative, Aridi added that while the ship was named Julia, the voyage itself was named Mariam.
He stressed that Lebanon’s government would take full responsibility over the ship’s course, its cargo and the female activists – both foreign and Lebanese – on board.
Israeli UN ambassador Gabriela Shalev warned Friday that the attempt by the organizers to sail from Lebanon and deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza could escalate tensions and affect peace and security in the region. She cited in particular the ships' departure from Lebanon which "remains in a state of hostility with Israel." She also cited "a possible link" between the organizers and the Shiite Muslim Hizbullah group.
Netanyahu: Easing of blockade will make things easier for civilians
Israel last week eased its ban on all but humanitarian goods for Gaza and said Sunday it will now allow in everything except weapons or other items deemed to have a military use.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told parliament's foreign affairs and defense committee Monday that the easing of the blockade will make things easier for civilians while tightening the blockade on weapons.
The Israeli military said it was ready to increase the transfer of food and household items to Gaza by 30 percent, so that up to 140 trucks filled with goods would be able to pass into Gaza daily. It said it plans to meet with international agencies in the next few days to discuss advancing other projects like the construction of schools, hospitals and infrastructure works.
On Saturday, Lebanese voyage leader Samar Alhaj told an Arabic-language Nazareth radio station that the women on board the Julia were “the new secret weapon” in use against Israel, which she termed the “thieving enemy."
Tovah Lazaroff and Herb Keinon contributed to this report
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