UNITED NATIONS (AFP) — The UN Security Council on Wednesday was to take up a complaint by Libya that Israel unlawfully intercepted one of its cargo ships in waters off Gaza, a diplomatic source told AFP.
Israeli warships on Monday prevented a Libyan cargo vessel, the Al-Marwa, carrying humanitarian aid from reaching the Gaza Strip.
The Libyan ship, laden with 3,000 tonnes of goods, was stopped several kilometers (miles) off Gaza in an effort to provide relief to the impoverished Palestinian territory, which is under a crippling Israeli blockade.
An official in Tripoli said the crew of the detained ship will have no option but to return to Libya, since the aid cannot be unloaded in Gaza.
The only Arab state on the 15-member UN Security Council, Libya has no diplomatic relations with Israel, and has been a harsh critic of its handling of the situation in Gaza.
The Libyan aid shipment was an effort to circumvent a blockade of Gaza, which Israel has sealed off since the Islamist movement Hamas violently seized power there in June 2007.
The Libyan attempt to deliver aid to Gaza was the first effort by an Arab state to defy the blockade, though European and other pro-Palestinian activists have made three trips from Cyprus since August without being intercepted by the Israeli navy.
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