Israel: We don't want a confrontation with #Gaza-bound ship '#Rachel Corrie'

Israel does not want a confrontation with the Gaza-bound ship the MV Rachel Corrie, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday.

"We have no desire for a confrontation. We have no desire to board the ship. If the ship decides to sail the port of Ashdod, then we will ensure its safe arrival and will not board it," said the Foreign Ministry Director-General Yossi Gal.

The MV Rachel Corrie is headed directly for the Gaza Strip with hundreds of tons of humanitarian aid and is expected reach Israel's 20-mile exclusion zone within the next day, a spokesman for the pro-Palestinian group organizing the mission said on Friday.

"Israel is prepared to receive the ship and to offload its contents.After an inspection to ensure that no weapons and war materials are on board, we are prepared to deliver all of the goods to Gaza," the Foreign Ministry's statement read.

"Representative of the people on board and relevant NGOs are welcome to accompany the goods to the crossings. We will work with the UN and international organizations to ensure that all the goods are used for the benefit of the people of Gaza."

The Foreign Ministry's statement was issued following a discussion between the ministers of the forum of seven on Friday afternoon in Jerusalem. The statement seems to hint that Israel's attempts at coming to a resolution with the ship's passengers have reached a dead end.

According to a government source in Jerusalem, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed the foreign ministry's director-general Yossi Gal to invite the foreign press and to issue the statement, in order to make Israel's stance perfectly clear to the ship's passengers and to the international community.

The MV Rachel Corrie had initially planned to reach the Gaza Strip sometime this week, despite an Israel Navy raid on the first six ships in the humanitarian aid convoy on Monday that left nine people dead and several more wounded.

Despite reports that the 1,200-ton ship was heading back to Ireland due to technical difficulties involving its two accompanying vessels, Free Gaza Movement spokeswoman Greta Berlin said the ship was on schedule and had no plans to stop in any port along the way.

Free Gaza's legal adviser, Audrey Bomse, earlier Friday said that the ship was planning to return to Ireland in the coming days due to Israel's "sabotage" of the two passenger boats meant to carry journalists. Bomse told Army Radio that the vessels sustained such serious technical damage while docked in Greece last weekend that they would not be able to sail for weeks.

Bomse was quoted by Army Radio on Friday as saying that the ship would only attempt to breach the Gaza blockade once accompanied by the two passenger vessels. She also said that the activists would refuse any diplomatic solution offered by Israel.

The legal adviser reportedly told Army Radio that her movement's goal was not just to bring aid to Gaza, but to send a message to Israel. Activists would not stop sending these ship to Gaza until Israel agree to lift its blockade, the radio quoted Bomse as saying.

The Rachel Corrie's trip to Gaza is sponsored by two non-governmental organizations, from Ireland and Malaysia. On board is Irish Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mairead Maguire and former United Nations deputy secretary-general Denis Halliday. Also on board are Malaysians from a group sponsored by the former prime minister of Malaysia.

The ship was to have been part of the flotilla that was stopped at sea early Monday morning, but was delayed due to the technical problems. Its cargo includes cement and medical equipment such as a tomograph (CT ), as well as toys and printing paper.

The European diplomats and senior Foreign Ministry officials said Israel had been communicating with the organizers of the ship through the Irish government. The Irish Foreign Ministry also conveyed messages from Halliday, one of the organizers, to the Foreign Ministry.

The most recent messages from Halliday were said to be particularly encouraging. Halliday said the ship intended to reach Gaza, but the 15 passengers aboard pledged that if the Israel Navy stopped them, they would not use violence and would obey instructions.

In addition, senior Israeli Foreign Ministry officials said that talks between the parties have been good, and that the ship might sail directly to Ashdod to off load its humanitarian cargo, which would be sent directly to the Gaza Strip.

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siege

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activists

blockade

rachel corrie

israel

gaza