Lebanon grants permit for blockade-busting ship bound for Gaza to sail to Cyprus

Lebanon permits Gaza-bound ship to sail to Cyprus

BEIRUT — Another blockade-busting ship with activists and aid on board could be bound for Gaza within a few days after Lebanese authorities granted permission Monday for it to sail first to the Mediterranean island of Cyprus.

Israeli navy commandos raided a blockade-busting international flotilla bound for Gaza on May 31, killing nine pro-Palestinian activists. An international outcry over the operation pressured Israel to ease its three-year-old blockade of the Palestinian territory.

“We have been granted permission to go to Cyprus and we are now in the process of making final preparations,” said Yasser Kashlak, a Syrian of Palestinian origin who heads the group organizing the trip— the Free Palestine Movement. Organizers said the ship plans to sail in the next few days, but did not give an exact date for departure because of security concerns.

Lebanese Transport Minister Ghazi Aridi said the ship named “Julia” is now docked at the northern Lebanese port of Tripoli and can set sail once it is cleared by port authorities there. He said the ship would be allowed to sail to Cyprus and not directly to Gaza because Lebanon and Israel are technically in a state of war and Lebanon views Gaza as Israeli controlled.

Israel imposed the blockade of Gaza after Hamas militants overran the territory three years ago. But the blockade did not achieve Israel’s aims of keeping weapons out of the territory, pressuring Gazans to turn on their Hamas rulers or winning the release of an Israeli soldier held by Hamas-linked militants for four years.

Israel has made clear that even though it has eased its land blockade of Gaza, it maintains a naval blockade and will not allow any ships to dock there for fear they could bring weapons to Hamas.

Nearly a week after the deadly commando raid, Israeli forces seized a Gaza-bound aid vessel without meeting resistance, preventing it from busting the blockade. The Irish ship was carrying hundreds of tons of aid, including wheelchairs, medical supplies and cement.

Israel’s U.N. ambassador, Gabriela Shalev, warned Friday that the attempt by the organizers to sail from Lebanon and deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza could escalate tensions and affect peace and security in the region. She cited in particular the ships’ departure from Lebanon which “remains in a state of hostility with Israel.” She also cited “a possible link” between the organizers and the Shiite Muslim Hezbollah group.

Israel last week eased its ban on all but humanitarian goods for Gaza and said Sunday it will now allow in everything except weapons or other items deemed to have a military use.

“Julia” is one of two ships planning a blockade-busting trip from Lebanon to Gaza this month. Another ship called “Mariam,” named after the virgin Mary, is also planning to make the voyage, carrying some 50 women activists including Arabs, Europeans and four American nuns as well as cancer medication to Gaza.

It was not clear whether the two ships would leave together.

The Iranian-backed Lebanese Hezbollah has denied any involvement in organizing the flotilla. Hezbollah, which is part of the Lebanese government, fought a war with Israel in 2006.

Kashlak said the ships would be carrying humanitarian supplies to Gaza and would be searched at a port in Cyprus.

“We will abide by international and marine laws and will be subject to international inspection,” he told The Associated Press Monday.

There will also be journalists on the ship.

In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told parliament’s foreign affairs and defense committee Monday that the easing of the blockade will make things easier for civilians while tightening the blockade on weapons.

The Israeli military said it was ready to increase the transfer of food and household items to Gaza by 30 percent, so that up to 140 trucks filled with goods would be able to pass into Gaza daily. It said it plans to meet with international agencies in the next few days to discuss advancing other projects like the construction of schools, hospitals and infrastructure works.

There has been no word, however, on whether Gazans would be allowed to export goods or import raw materials for industry — restrictions that have crippled Gaza’s economy.