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Photo: Egyptian Red Crescent personnel supervise the unloading of the Libyan aid vessel, the Amalthea at the port of the costal city of al Arish, Egypt Thursday, July 15, 2010. The Libyan ship carrying aid for Gaza Strip docked at the Egyptian port on Thursday after Israel's navy stopped it from reaching the blockaded Palestinian territory.
The Libyan Al Amal aid ship carrying humanitarian aid for Gaza Strip which has been under Israeli Siege for over three years docked at an Egyptian port on Thursday after Israel's navy stopped it from reaching the Palestinian territory.
The mission have achieved a number of objective including the transfer of all its cargo to Gaza through Rafah crossing.
By compelling the Israel to allow construction materials and financial aid reach Gaza the aid ship has mad headway in breaking the three-year Israeli blockade.
A day earlier, Israeli missile ships stopped the aid vessel from reaching Hamas-ruled Gaza. Israel imposed the blockade after the Islamic militant and anti-Israel Hamas violently overran the territory in June 2007.
On Wednesday the Gaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation (GICDF) issued a statement in Tripoli saying that it achieved its objective even if the ship failed to reach Gaza.
An agreement was struck between the Egyptian authorities and the GICDF whereby the 2000 tonnes of aid would reach Gaza from the Egyptian El-Arish port.
The GICDF said that its conditions were accepted by the Israeli and Egyptian sides that cement and steel needed for construction of over five thousand homes destroyed by the Israeli army are to be allowed to enter the strip for the first time.
The GICDF said that the Israelis also accept the spending of $50 million donated by Libya to rebuild homes in Gaza before the start of the winter.
The statement also said that the Gaddafi Foundation is to provide 500 ready-made homes to be sent to Gaza as a first batch and to be followed by more homes.
The standoff between Israel's navy and the crew of the aid vessel, the Amalthea, followed a botched Israeli raid on a similar Gaza-bound ship in May in which nine pro-Palestinian activists were killed.
The Israeli navy on Tuesday made radio contact with a the Libyan Al-Amal Gaza aid ship as it was sailing towards Gaza this morning, the GICDF said in a statement posted its web site.
"The ship's captain was asked by the gunboat crew to go to El-Arish port instead, stressing that the vessel will not be allowed to go into Gaza at all," the foundation said.
The ship left Greece on Saturday afternoon 10 July.
"The captain and the head of the foundation's team on board affirmed that the Ship's sole destination is Gaza, asserting that it is carrying humanitarian aid and has no other purpose whatsoever, while the gunboat is still present near the ship," it added. The Al-Amal was carrying 15 pro-Palestinian activists and 12 crew members and 2,000 tons of food and medicine.
The Foundation Executive Manager, Mr. Youssef Sawani, said that after mediation from the European Union, the organizers agreed to enter el-Arish port and send the goods by Thursday to Gaza.
"Our aim is not provocation or political propaganda," he told reporters in Tripoli.
The deaths of the nine activists in the May 31 raid focused international attention on Israel's blockade of Gaza, imposed after the Islamic militant and anti-Israel Hamas violently overran the Palestinian territory in June 2007.
Restrictions remain on materials like cement and steel that Israel says could be used for military purposes, and Gaza's 1.5 million people, confined to the small, impoverished territory, have been plagued by other problems, including a chronic cash shortage.
George Saba, who manages a branch of the Cairo Amman Bank in the territory, said Wednesday that because of cash shortages the bank could not pay this month's salary to government officials.
Palestinian officials in the West Bank were trying to arrange a transfer of Israeli cash into Gaza to alleviate the shortage.
Also Wednesday, a Gaza health official said a 42-year-old Palestinian woman was killed and four other Gazans were wounded late Tuesday by an Israeli tank shell. The military said it opened fire after spotting people near the security fence and suspected they might be planting explosive devices.
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This article has ( 1
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| Name:
S.R.H. Hashmi |
Date: 18/07/2010 10:01:31 |
Comment:
While the Libyan Al-Amal ship, with 15 pro-Palestinian activists and 12 crew on board, carrying 2,000 tons of food and medicines for the besieged people of Gaza, did not quite make it to its destination, Gaza, it did achieve spectacular results which makes the mission an overwhelming success. The ship was forced by Israeli Navy to change its course to Egyptian port of El-Arish from where goods will be transported to Gaza under an agreement made with Egypt to which Israel has also consented. Over and above the humanitarian aid that will reach the needy people of Gaza, Israel has been compelled to allow financial aid and construction material reach Gaza. As announced by Gaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation (GICDF), Israelis accepted spending of $ 50 million donated by Libya to rebuild homes in Gaza before the start of the winter. The Gaddafi Foundation is to provide 500 pre-fabricated homes to be sent to Gaza as a first batch, which will be followed by more of such dwelling units.
So, the mission has been a success by all means for which GICDF, and the government and people of Libya deserve thorough praise. However, credit must also be given to our Turkish brothers who, by laying down their lives for such a noble cause, turned the international opinion against Israel which forced even a thuggish and murderous government like Israel to make a big climb-down from its previous stand of blocking all such attempts.
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