GAZA, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- The Libyan aid boat, which Israel prevented from continuing voyage to Gaza, is likely to try entering Gaza territorial waters again, said a Palestinian lawmakers Monday.

    Israeli gunboats intercepted the boat on Monday morning a few km off Gaza Strip shores, forcing it to leave for the nearby Egyptian coast city of al-Arish in northern Sinai. The boat carries 3,000 tons of medical supplies and food to Gazans.

    "We are holding pressing contacts with Ahmed al-Tibi, an Arab member of the Israeli Knesset, the Libyan health minister Mohammed Rashed and the ship's crew who are determined to go to Gaza," saidJamal al-Khodary, a Palestinian lawmakers who chairs a public committee against Gaza siege.

    "The boat is likely to return as a result of these ongoing contacts," he added.

    The voyage was the first attempt to break the Israeli blockade on Gaza Strip by an Arab state. In the previous months, European activists and lawmakers succeeded to dock their small boats at Gaza fishing port.

    Israel sealed off Gaza Strip last year after Islamic Hamas movement seized control of the territory. In June, Israel eased the sanctions due to an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire, but tightened the siege in early November following a surge of violence.

    Meanwhile, Hamas said that the ship must be allowed to get to the Gaza Strip "because it has legal, Arabic, moral and humanitarian authorization," according to Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum.

    Barhoum also urged Egypt to open its border with Gaza Strip.