Israel warns Libya, 'aid boat will not reach Gaza'

Israel has vowed to stop a Libyan aid ship from breaching the blockade imposed on Gaza after the green flagged vessel appeared to be heading towards the enclave despite diplomatic efforts to divert it to Egypt.

11 July 2010, 12:00am

1 min read

"Israel will not let the boat reach Gaza," Israeli minister Yossi Peled told Israel's public radio a day after the 92-metre freighter Amalthea set sail from the Greek port of Lavrio.

Allowing vessels to reach the Hamas-run Gaza Strip without being checked would have "very serious consequences" for Israel's security, he said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also insisted that Israel was determined to enforce the four-year Gaza blockade to keep weapons out of the territory, in an interview with Fox News.

"We are enforcing a security blockade in order to prevent weapons and war material from getting into Gaza," Netanyahu said

"My policy is simple. Weapons out, everything else in," he said, recalling that his government last Monday gave the go-ahead for the international community to import construction materials into Gaza