Iranian group to send 3 aid ships to Gaza

The Iranian Red Crescent said Monday that it will send three aid ships to Gaza in the latest bid to break the blockade imposed by Israel.

It will also send a plane carrying 30 tons of medical equipment to Egypt for onward delivery to Gaza.

Red Crescent director for international affairs, Abdolrauf Adibzadeh, told Iranian media that two ships would leave for Gaza this week, followed at a later date by a third vessel.

The first two ships will head to Gaza in coordination with the Turkish government, he added.

Adibzadeh's words came shortly after Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that normalization of ties with Israel would depend on whether it agrees to an international inquiry into the May 31 raid on an aid ship, in which nine Turks were killed.

"If Israel ... gives the green light for the establishment of an international (inquiry) commission and is ready to answer to the commission, then naturally Turkish-Israeli ties will follow a different path," Davutoglu said. "If it continues to evade that, normalization in relations would be out of the question."

Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian National Authority, called for fresh initiatives to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza, in place since 2006, and urged Hamas, which controls the impoverished territory, to reconcile with his Fatah faction.

"The best answer to (the raid) ... is for Palestinian groups to reconcile and resist Israel hand in hand," said Abbas, who was to travel on to Washington for talks with US President Barack Obama.

The foreign ministers of Afghanistan and Pakistan also condemned the raid and voiced support for Turkey, after three-way talks with Davutoglu.

Meanwhile, US Vice President Joe Biden said Monday that Washington is seeking "new ways" to deal with Israel-blockaded Gaza.

"We are consulting closely with Egypt, as well as our other partners, on new ways to address the humanitarian, eco-nomic, security and political aspects of the situation in Gaza," he said after 90 minutes of talks in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

However, the Israeli government easily defeated three parliamentary no-confidence motions Monday over the May 31 raid.

Agencies