The Foreign Ministry summoned the ambassadors of Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, Sweden and Ireland, the states from which participants in the Gaza aid flotilla come from, to separate meetings in which Israel's position was clarified. Israel holds that the flotilla is a provocation and claims there is no blockade on humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.
The Foreign Ministry invited the participants to come to Ashdod Port and unload their aid cargo, and Israel would transfer it to Gaza after security checks. The Ministry's director-general also emphasized that Israel would not allow the flotilla to reach Gaza's shores and that in keeping with Israel's local authority, the Defense Ministry had forbidden any vessels from entering Gaza. (Ynet)