17 June 2010 , 19:27
Defense Minister Ehud Barak delivered a speech regarding the flotilla preparing to leave Lebanon with the declared intention to break the maritime blockade on the Gaza Strip
Arnon Ben-Dror
On Thursday morning (June 17), Defense Minister Ehud Barak spoke about the Lebanese flotilla which is preparing to leave within the next days with the intention to break the maritime blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip. “There are media reports on the intention to send two ships from Lebanon to Israel, and I clearly say to the Lebanese government: you are responsible for ships that leave from Lebanese ports with a clear and known intention to break the maritime blockade on Gaza”.
In his speech, the Defense Minister stressed that the Lebanese government is fully responsible for the cargo transported on the ships, and that this may end up in a violent confrontation. “The government of Lebanon, from where such ships are leaving, has to prevent war materials, weaponry, ammunitions, explosive charges and so on, which can later lead to violent and dangerous confrontation in case the ship refuses to dock in Ashdod, from finding their way into the ships”, he said.
Barak also noted that there is no intention to remove the maritime blockade on the Gaza Strip, “designed to ensure there is no smuggling of rockets, missiles and weaponry into the Gaza Strip. We continue to maintain the principle that anyone who wants to transfer humanitarian aid and equipment to the Gaza Strip must transfer it through the Ashdod port, just like containers intended for Ramallah, Bethlehem or Nablus”.
source:http://dover.idf.il/IDF/English/News/today/10/06/1702.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment