SINAI, Egypt, July 10 (Xinhua) -- A senior official said Saturday that Egyptian authorities have not yet received any request for access of a Libyan Gaza-bound aid ship to the port of el-Arish in northern Sinai.
Gamal Abdel Maqsoud, the port director, told Xinhua that till the moment his administration has not received requests from any official side to allow the aid ship dock at the port.
Meanwhile, the Egyptian official said el-Arish port is ready to receive any aid ship on the condition of getting necessary approvals prior and meeting the requirements of docking at the port.
On Friday, a Libyan charity, headed by the son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, announced that it is sending a ship carrying food and medicine to Gaza from the Greek port of Lavrio.
Israel has increased diplomatic pressure to stop the ship from sailing, including sending a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Greek officials and diplomats from Moldova whose flag will be carried on the ship.
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Gunmen attack Egyptian Gaza-bound aid convoy
RAFAH, Egypt, June 27 (Xinhua) -- An Egyptian Gaza-bound aid convoy was attacked in the Sinai Peninsula on Sunday by masked gunmen while on its way to a border crossing.
Police patrol accompanying the 20-truck aid convoy exchanged fire with gunmen boarding pickup trucks and four-wheel-drive vehicles on the 65-km-long way to Oujah crossing at Egyptian-Israel borders, a security source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. No casualties were reported. Full story
Palestinian official urges Greece, Moldova to let Gaza-bound ship sail
GAZA, July 10 (Xinhua) -- A Palestinian official on Saturday called on Greece and Moldova to resist Israeli pressure and facilitate the sailing of a Libyan aid ship, bound for Gaza, from a Greek port to breach Israel's blockade on the Palestinian territory.
"Greece should not deal with Israeli pressures to prevent the ship from departing," said Jamal Al-Khoudary, head of the Gaza- based Popular Campaign against Siege. Full story
Israel to increase Gaza-bound goods by one third
JERUSALEM, June 21 (Xinhua) -- Israeli authorities said on Monday that they will increase the amount of land-borne goods that could enter the besieged Gaza Strip by 30 percent following the government's decision to ease the blockade against the Palestinian enclave.
"We informed the Palestinian side yesterday that we are able to increase the amount of wares entering the Gaza Strip by more than 30 percent," said Moshe Levi, an Israeli army officer in charge of the Erez, a border crossing in northern Gaza. Full story
Special Report: Palestine-Israel Conflicts
