Aid to Gaza should be delivered by land: UN

The United Nations said Friday that groups seeking to deliver aid to Gaza should do so by land, after Israel warned it would intercept two ships seeking to break a blockade of the Palestinian enclave.

"There are established routes for supplies to enter by land. That is the way aid should be delivered to the people of Gaza," U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky told a press briefing.

"Our stated preference has been and remains that aid should be delivered by established routes, particularly at a sensitive time in indirect proximity (peace) talks between Palestinians and Israelis," he added.

He made the comments after Israel served notice its forces would prevent a planned Lebanese aid flotilla from reaching the Gaza Strip.

"We have received information in recent days about a plan to send a new flotilla to break the blockade around Gaza," Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said on Israeli television.

"This is an unnecessary provocation and we believe that preventing such a flotilla is the responsibility of the Lebanese government."

"If this flotilla does leave Lebanon and refuses to be led by our navy to the (Israeli) port of Ashdod, we will have no other choice than to arrest it at sea," the minister added.

"There exists a way of transferring goods, which are not weapons or material for war-like purposes, to the Gaza Strip through the port of Ashdod."

Israel's U.N. Ambassador Gabriela Shalev earlier delivered a similar warning in a letter addressed to U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon.

Our stated preference has been and remains that aid should be delivered by established routes, particularly at a sensitive time in indirect proximity (peace) talks between Palestinians and Israelis

UN spokesman Martin Nesirky

Latest warning

It was Israel's latest warning against any attempt to circumvent its naval blockade around the Gaza Strip despite world pressure in the wake of a May 31 Israeli commando raid that killed nine Turkish activists aboard an aid flotilla on a blockade-busting bid.

Israel imposed the blockade in June 2006 after its soldier, Gilad Shalit, was captured by Gaza militants and tightened it a year later when Hamas seized power in the coastal strip.

In the wake of the May 31 incident, Israel has significantly eased the blockade, barring only arms and goods that could be used to create weapons or build fortifications, but it has maintained a naval blockade of the Strip.

"There has been progress in increasing the amount of aid, but it's far from enough and we continue to call for that," Nesirky said. "We repeatedly said it is vital there should be unfettered access for people and supplies."

Israel admitted errors in planning the high seas seizure of the Mavi Marmara yet justified the lethal force of its marines, saying they came under club, knife and gun attacks after abseiling in from helicopters. Activists dispute that account.

Israeli former general Giora Eiland, who headed an internal military investigation into the incident, said bloodshed could have been reduced had the navy first cleared the Mavi Marmara's decks with high-pressure hoses or water dropped from the air.

Three Spanish activists meanwhile sued Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Madrid High Court for alleged crimes against humanity committed in storming the flotilla, on which they were aboard.

Antonio Segura, a lawyer for one of the activists, told Reuters the legal action centered on the Spaniards' detention on the high seas, their subsequent interrogation and attempts to torture them in Israel, where they were taken by force.

No court case brought against a head of government has so far prospered in Spain.

If this flotilla does leave Lebanon and refuses to be led by our navy to the port of Ashdod, we will have no other choice than to arrest it at sea

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak