Israeli military officials say Libyan aid ship captain agrees to sail to Egypt instead of Gaza

Military officials: Gaza aid ship heads to Egypt

JERUSALEM — A Libyan aid boat carrying supplies for Gaza changed course toward Egypt Tuesday instead of trying to run a naval blockade of the Palestinian territory, Israeli military officials said, apparently defusing a potential confrontation on the high seas.

The Israelis said the ship captain informed the Israeli navy ships tailing him that he was heading for the Egyptian port of El Arish.

Even so, they said Israeli naval vessels would continue to follow the Libyan ship, because a last-minute shift could point the ship back in the direction of Gaza. El Arish is in the Egyptian Sinai coast next to Gaza.

The Israeli officials spoke late Tuesday on condition of anonymity because no announcement was made.

The latest challenge to the blockade came a day after Israel’s military admitted mistakes in the May 31 confrontation aboard a Turkish ship that left nine pro-Palestinian activists dead and brought a wave of world criticism that forced the Jewish state to ease restrictions imposed on the Hamas-ruled territory.

Earlier the Israeli military confirmed that it made contact with the Libyan vessel and said “the navy has begun preparing to stop the ship.” Organizers had insisted they would press forward toward Gaza but an Al-Jazeera correspondent on board the ship later reported that they had been ordered to divert to El Arish or the Israeli port of Ashdod.

The Gadhafi International Charity and Development Foundation, which is organizing the mission, said the Moldovan-flagged Amalthea, left Greece on Saturday carrying 2,000 tons of food and medical supplies.

The foundation, which is headed by the son of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, could not be reached for further comment.

Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev repeated a standing offer earlier Tuesday, inviting the activists to sail to Ashdod and unload the supplies there. On Monday, Egyptian officials said if the Libyan ship docked at El Arish, Egypt would transfer its supplies to Gaza.

Israel dismisses the need for ships to bring aid to Gaza. Israel responded to international pressure over the bloody raid aboard the Turkish vessel Mavi Marmara by easing the movement of goods through land crossings. It canceled its list of a few permitted humanitarian items and replaced it with the opposite — a list of banned items, mostly weapons and products that can be used for military purposes — allowing in all the rest.

But it maintained the naval blockade, imposed after Hamas overran the Palestinian territory in June 2007. Several other aid ships have been commandeered without incident and towed to Ashdod.

Israel insists the naval blockade on Gaza is vital to keep rockets, missiles, explosives and other weapons out of the hands of the Islamic militant group, which is sworn to the destruction of Israel and has dispatched suicide bombers who have killed hundreds of Israelis.

The Gaza blockade and the flotillas challenging it have already caused Israel serious diplomatic damage, putting it on the defensive against demands for inquiries, criticism for its role in the plight of Gaza and underlining a growing rift with Turkey, once one of its few allies in the Muslim world.

On Tuesday, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Ankara will keep pushing for an international inquiry into the Israeli raid on the Turkish flotilla.

Israel says its commandos were defending themselves after being attacked by pro-Palestinian activists, and has resisted calls for a U.N.-led inquiry into the raid. Activists on board the ship have said they acted in self-defense after Israeli troops landed on their ship.

Findings released Monday from a military-commissioned report found that flawed intelligence-gathering and planning led to the botched raid but also said the commandos were justified in opening fire and killing nine after being confronted by violent pro-Palestinian activists on board one of the ships.

Israel also has appointed a civilian inquiry with a mandate limited to investigating the legality of the operation. Two international observers have been attached to the civilian commission, which is led by a retired Israeli Supreme Court judge.

In a development related to the May 31 raid, Israel’s parliament on Tuesday voted to remove privileges from an Arab member, Hanin Zoabi, who was on board one of the other ships in the Turkish flotilla. She will not be allowed to leave the country, have a diplomatic passport or get her legal fees covered by the parliament.

Associated Press Writer Maggie Michael in Cairo contributed to this report.