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Fri, June 04, 2010 | Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs

“We have no desire for a confrontation. We have no desire to board the ship. If the Rachel Corrie decides to sail the port of Ashdod, then we will ensure its safe arrival and will not board it,” Foreign Ministry Director-General Yossi Gal said on Friday afternoon in a final message to the MV Rachel Corrie, an Irish cargo ship carrying international activists that is expected to reach Gaza by Saturday.

(Communicated by the MFA Spokesperson)

Amb. Yossi Gal, Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, made the following statement to the press today in Jerusalem:

“I want to once again deliver a message that has been delivered in both public and private channels to the Rachel Corrie ship heading toward Gaza:

We have no desire for a confrontation. We have no desire to board the ship. If the ship decides to sail the port of Ashdod, then we will ensure its safe arrival and will not board it.

Israel is prepared to receive the ship and to offload its contents. After an inspection to ensure that no weapons and war materials are on board, we are prepared to deliver all of the goods to Gaza. Representative of the people on board and relevant NGOs are welcome to accompany the goods to the crossings.

We will work with the UN and international organizations to ensure that all the goods are used for the benefit of the people of Gaza.”

Throughout Friday, Israel continued to insist that it would not allow the Rachel Corrie to breach the blockade of Gaza. The fear of more violence loomed large as Israel stood fast by its blockade despite growing pressure to lift it after an outpouring of international outrage over Monday’s raid, which left nine activists dead.

An Irish Nobel Peace Prize laureate on the ship, Mairead McGuire, said activists were determined to press on but would offer no resistance if Israeli forces came aboard.

“We will sit down,” she told The Associated Press in a telephone interview from the ship. “They will probably arrest us … But there will be no resistance.” [JerusalemPost, Fri, June 04, 2010.]