Jerusalem (CNN) -- The Israeli government said Thursday it will stop a convoy of cargo and passenger ships filled with supplies and headed to Gaza to break a blockade imposed by Israel in 2007.





Government officials said Wednesday they have given the Israeli Defense Forces instructions to reroute the flotilla to Ashdod port in Israel, where the supplies will be unloaded and transferred to Gaza.





Mark Regev, an Israeli government spokesman, called the flotilla "a cheap political stunt."





"If they were really interested in the well being of the people of Gaza, they would have accepted the offers of Egypt or Israel to transfer humanitarian aid to the people  of Gaza, along with the other 15 thousand tons sent every week," he said.





The convoy, which left various European ports, is organized by two major groups: the Free Gaza movement, a pro-Palestinian human rights organization, and the IHH movement, a Turkish humanitarian relief foundation affiliated with the Islamic Brotherhood.





Organizers said the convoy is carrying 10,000 tons of construction material, medical equipment and school supplies, and about 750 activists of different nationalities.





Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Yossi Gal, its director-general, has summoned the ambassadors of Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, Sweden and Ireland -- the countries from which the flotilla set sail -- and "clarified the state of Israel's official position, which declares the flotilla an absolute provocation: There is no shortage of humanitarian aid to Gaza, as food products, fuel and supplies are constantly transferred into the Gaza Strip by the international organizations."





The flotilla is "invited to dock at Ashdod port, to unload their cargo and transfer it to Gaza, after a security check, either via the Israeli authorities or via the humanitarian organizations," the ministry said.





Hanin Zoabi, a member of Israel's parliament, the Knesset, and a passenger on the flotilla, called it a "humanitarian campaign for the 1.5 million Palestinian people who Israel put in jail for about the last four years without allowing building material, without educational material, without food into the Gaza strip.





"Israel destroyed 165 schools and more than 100 (factories) and destroyed tens of thousands of houses without enabling the Palestinians to rebuild their homes and their lives," Zoabi said. "This is a very strong political message towards Israel and towards the Arab world that stood silent regarding what is happening in Gaza."





Israel imposed the naval blockade on Gaza after the Hamas forcefully took control of  Gaza in 2007, ousting the Fatah movement headed by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.





Regev argued that the activists maintain a double standard when it comes to Hamas' actions.





"They call themselves human rights activists, but they remain silent when it comes to Hamas' deliberate targeting of Israeli civilians  and the brutalities of the Hamas regime in Gaza, which has crushed political opposition, suppressed independent media and has locked up hundreds of political opponents."





Sarah Weiss Maudi, an Israeli Foreign Ministry legal expert, said, "The naval blockade has been imposed by Israel because Israel is currently in a state of armed conflict with the Hamas regime that controls Gaza."





Under international maritime law, when a maritime blockade is in effect, no vessels can enter the blockaded area.





Maritime blockades are a legitimate measure under international law, and may be implemented as part of an armed conflict at sea, Israeli officials have said.





"The objective of the boats is to break Israel's siege on Gaza, to break Israel's blockade on Gaza. The material that we have on board are all of the materials that Israel denied to the people of Gaza like cement, building supplies, educational supplies etc," said Greta Berlin, co-founder of Free Gaza movement.





"We do not accept the siege on Gaza," said Zoabi. "... Israel does not want a siege. It wants a silent siege. Israel does not want occupation, it wants a silent occupation. It wants its policies to go without criticisms of the world. That's why it wants to stop the flotilla and also
What does the convoy aim to do? What does the government say they will stop? What is the the flotilla taking to Gaza?
ships filled with supplies and headed to Gaza to break a blockade imposed by Israel in 2007. ships filled with supplies supplies
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