Israeli Defense Minister, Ehud Barak, threatened that Israel will intercept and, if needed, use force against two Lebanese solidarity ships heading to the besieged Gaza Strip.He claimed that the Lebanese ships are not on a humanitarian mission but are considered a provocative act.
“If they insist to sail to Gaza, we will have to intercept them”, Barak said. “We will be forced to attack it and take the ships to Ashdod port.”
Barak also addressed the Lebanese government and urged it to prevent the solidarity ships from sailing to Gaza. He further contacted a number of countries to oblige Lebanon to prevent the sailing of the shops.
He claims that the ships were organized by a “terrorist group that aims at killing Israelis.”
Furthermore, the organizers of the Lebanese women flotilla “Mariam” stated Friday that they intend to sail from Libya to the Gaza Strip on Saturday evening.
The Naji al-Ali flotilla also intends to sail to Gaza several days after Mariam sails.
The ship “Mariam” carried 60 women from Lebanon, Europe and the United States, and will be carrying medical supplies and other humanitarian supplies.
All official documents were obtained from the Lebanese authorities while the ambassador of Cyprus in Lebanon said that the flotilla will be sent back to Lebanon and will not be allowed to sail to Gaza.
