UN: Possible flotilla should avoid "unnecessary confrontation"

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Monday urged organizers of a possible new aid flotilla to the Gaza Strip to drop the idea and instead use land routes and avoid confrontation with Israel, dpa reported.

Ban said he had written letters to some countries in the Mediterranean, which he did not name, asking them not to proceed with a flotilla.

In May 2010, a flotilla sailing toward Gaza was intercepted on the high seas by Israeli commandos, resulting in nine people killed aboard the main Turkish ship Navi Marmara.

This year, organizers apparently were putting together a larger fleet. But Ban said he had no information about when it may sail to try to break the Israeli sea blockade off Gaza.

"I believe that, at this time, it is very important to avoid any unnecessary confrontation," Ban told reporters. "There are land routes, there are some other areas. It is my sincere hope to avoid any potential confrontation.