Aryanews- Israel's navy has given a Gaza-bound Libyan aid ship until midnight Tuesday to change course for Egypt, with the military saying it was preparing to stop the vessel.
"Israeli authorities have given us until midnight tonight (2100 GMT) to change course and head to the port of El-Arish, otherwise they are threatening to intercept the boat with their navy," Mashallah Zwei, an activist on board said.
Zwei, a member of the Kadhafi Foundation charity which organised the shipment, said the crew had informed the navy it would study the request before responding.
The military refused to confirm or deny it had given the ship an ultimatum although a spokesman said that preparations were under way to stop the vessel from reaching the Gaza Strip.
"The navy has begun preparations for stopping the ship, should it attempt to violate the naval blockade," he declared. "We are now making contact with them."
Fears of a new and potentially deadly standoff came exactly six weeks after Israeli commandos launched a pre-dawn operation to prevent a flotilla of aid ships from breaching its naval blockade on Gaza.