Tensions rise over Gaza aid fleet

Tensions
rise over Gaza aid fleet

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<td>[ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذه الصورة]</td>
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<td align="center">The Israeli army
has prepared a detention centre in Ashdod for activists taking aid
to Gaza [AFP]</td>
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The UN chief has called for restraint as some 700
activists from around world vow to deliver 10,000 tonnes of
humanitarian aid to break the blockade of Gaza.
Israel has cautioned that the Freedom Flotilla would be stopped, if
necessary by force.
The nine-ship flotilla is by far the largest fleet of aid to try to
reach the coastal Palestinian territory since Israel imposed its siege
on it in 2007.

"We strongly urge that all involved act with a
sense of care and responsibility and work for a satisfactory
resolution," a spokesman for Ban Ki-moon said on Thursday.
He restated UN opposition to the siege of Gaza and the lack of
material to meet "basic needs, begin reconstruction, and revive economic
life".

After the Israeli army announced a detention
centre at Ashdod port for holding the activists, Greta Berlin, one of
the flotilla organisers, said: "We have the right to sail from
international waters into the waters of Gaza.
"The only illegal presence in the area is Israel."
Berlin said the Freedom Flotilla was on schedule to arrive in the
Gaza Strip on Saturday with more than 10,000 tonnes of supplies,
including water-filtration units and pre-fabricated homes.
Israel and Egypt have sealed Gaza off to all but very limited
humanitarian aid since Hamas, the Palestinian political faction, took
control of the territory in June 2007.
Israel says the Gaza blockade aims to prevent Hamas from acquiring
weapons or materials that could be used for military purposes.
For the majority of Gaza's population of 1.5 million people, the
result has been impoverished living conditions