Israel Threatens to Stop Flotilla From Reaching Gaza

Israel will do everything necessary to prevent a planned international flotilla from reaching Gaza, despite the fact the ships will probably not be carrying weapons, a senior military source said.

The source, who declined to be named, said Israel’s maritime blockade would only be deemed legal if it imposed a total exclusion zone around the small Palestinian enclave and urged the flotilla organizers not to challenge the navy.

“No ship will get into Gaza,” the source said, adding that the military had drawn up new tactics in an effort to avoid last year’s bloodshed, when Israeli marines killed nine activists after intercepting their group of six ships in international waters.

Pro-Palestinian groups are planning a new flotilla, which they say will carry humanitarian aid to Hamas-controlled Gaza, and hope to set sail this month. The senior security source said he expected 10-15 ships to take part.

“I believe that with this flotilla there won’t be any arms smuggled into Gaza,” he told a group of reporters.

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