At an emergency session of the UN Security Council, Libya accused Israel of piracy and demanded that the international body to quickly act and facilitate delivering of humanitarian aid to reach over 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza starved by Israel for more than a year and a half.
Israeli warships on Monday prevented the Libyan cargo vessel, Al-Marwa, from reaching the Gaza Strip, the impoverished Palestinian territory under a crippling Israeli blockade.
Israeli warships on Monday prevented the Libyan cargo vessel, Al-Marwa, from reaching the Gaza Strip, the impoverished Palestinian territory under a crippling Israeli blockade.
Mr. Giad Allah Attalhi, the Libyan representative to the UN, told the 15-nation Security Council that Israel's prevention of the Libyan boat to reach its destination was "an act of piracy" as defined by Article 101 of the UN convention on law of the sea.
He asked the council "to take the necessary urgent actions to allow the ... ship to enter the port and unload its cargo." He added that Libya would allow the United Nations or other organizations to confirm that its cargo was purely humanitarian.
Attalhi said he hoped the council would agree to issue a statement condemning the Israeli move, which would require the backing of all 15 council members. The council took no immediate action on the Libyan draft statement.
The ship, laden with 3,000 tonnes of goods, was stopped several kilometres off Gaza's shores and ordered to return to the Egyptian port of El-Arish, said Palestinian MP Jamal Khodary, who heads an international campaign against the Israeli blockade.
Palestinian officials said the vessel had left Gaza's shores and its crew was unharmed.
The Anti-Siege Committee, a Palestinian group that lobbies with Hamas backing against the embargo, accused Israel of having also blocked Al-Marwa's communications broadcasts to Gaza.
The ship docked at the nearby Egypt's El-Arish port.
Israel sealed its crossings with Gaza, the overcrowded territory's main gateway for food and humanitarian aid, as well as its maritime borders since June 2006.
Israel's UN Ambassador Gabriela Shalev defended her country's decision not to let the Libyan ship reach Gaza and said it was unfortunate that the council had been "outrageously compelled" by Libya to discuss the incident.
The Palestinian observer to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, praised Libya's attempt to deliver aid to Gaza's 1.5 million people, most of whom rely on aid. He expressed regret that it was not allowed to reach Gaza.
Mansour told the council it was "imperative that Israel be compelled ... to lift its siege of the Gaza Strip."
US envoy Alejandro Wolff rejected the Libyan suggestion that Israel had been guilty of piracy as "absurd." He said piracy was defined as an act committed by private persons for private gain, not by the navy of a sovereign country.
He said Libya's decision to send a ship directly to Gaza was "dangerous and irresponsible" and that "provocation and perhaps even propaganda" appeared to be Tripoli's objective.
He asked the council "to take the necessary urgent actions to allow the ... ship to enter the port and unload its cargo." He added that Libya would allow the United Nations or other organizations to confirm that its cargo was purely humanitarian.
Attalhi said he hoped the council would agree to issue a statement condemning the Israeli move, which would require the backing of all 15 council members. The council took no immediate action on the Libyan draft statement.
The ship, laden with 3,000 tonnes of goods, was stopped several kilometres off Gaza's shores and ordered to return to the Egyptian port of El-Arish, said Palestinian MP Jamal Khodary, who heads an international campaign against the Israeli blockade.
Palestinian officials said the vessel had left Gaza's shores and its crew was unharmed.
The Anti-Siege Committee, a Palestinian group that lobbies with Hamas backing against the embargo, accused Israel of having also blocked Al-Marwa's communications broadcasts to Gaza.
The ship docked at the nearby Egypt's El-Arish port.
Israel sealed its crossings with Gaza, the overcrowded territory's main gateway for food and humanitarian aid, as well as its maritime borders since June 2006.
Israel's UN Ambassador Gabriela Shalev defended her country's decision not to let the Libyan ship reach Gaza and said it was unfortunate that the council had been "outrageously compelled" by Libya to discuss the incident.
The Palestinian observer to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, praised Libya's attempt to deliver aid to Gaza's 1.5 million people, most of whom rely on aid. He expressed regret that it was not allowed to reach Gaza.
Mansour told the council it was "imperative that Israel be compelled ... to lift its siege of the Gaza Strip."
US envoy Alejandro Wolff rejected the Libyan suggestion that Israel had been guilty of piracy as "absurd." He said piracy was defined as an act committed by private persons for private gain, not by the navy of a sovereign country.
He said Libya's decision to send a ship directly to Gaza was "dangerous and irresponsible" and that "provocation and perhaps even propaganda" appeared to be Tripoli's objective.
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