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Israeli Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi has urged the Lebanese government to be responsible and stop two aid ships from sailing to Gaza in the coming days.

"I hope the Lebanese government will prevent the ships from departing Lebanon's territory, and if not – we'll know how to stop them," Ashkenazi said during a visit to the Tel Hashomer Induction Center on Sunday.

"We have the duty and the right to prevent the transfer of arms, weapons and terror activists into the Gaza Strip," he added.

The Israeli navy has been on high alert ahead of the possibility that the ships – currently docked in the northern port of Tripoli – would leave for the Gaza Strip.

Ashkenazi's comment echoed similar remarks by Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Friday. The Israeli chief of staff also said the rise in the number of commissions of inquiry established to probe Israel's deadly raid of a Gaza-bound flotilla two months ago is "out of line."

On Friday, the U.N. Human Rights Council named a panel of experts to investigate whether the commando operation, in which nine Turkish activists were shot dead, breached international law. 

Copyright Naharnet

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