Cyprus will not allow Gaza-bound aid ship
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Cyprus will not allow a Gaza-bound aid ship to use the country's ports on its way to the Palestinian city which is under Israeli naval blockade, police warned on Saturday.
"The Force will implement the ban on using Cyprus ports as a staging point to Gaza," police spokesman Michalis Katsounotos told state-run radio.
The warning came after Lebanonese Transport Minister Ghazi Aridi said an aid ship had been authorized to sail on Sunday from Tripoli to the neighboring island.
But Aridi acknowledged that Cyprus did not give permission for the ship to either enter any of its ports or to pass through its territorial waters on its way to Gaza.
"Violation of the ban constitutes a criminal offence and the captain of the ship will face the consequences of the law if the vessel enters any port in Cyprus," Katsounotos said.
The ship, the Mariam, is carrying about 50 women activists on board, who seek to break the Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip.
Ports in Cyprus had been frequently used until last year as staging posts for aid ships sailing to Gaza, but the government later changed its policy, citing the island's national interests.
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