The source, who declined to be named, said Israel`s maritime blockade would only be deemed legal if it imposed a total exclusion zone around the small Palestinian enclave and urged the flotilla organisers not to challenge the navy.
"No ship will get into Gaza," the source said, adding that the military had drawn up new tactics in an effort to avoid last year`s bloodshed, when Israeli marines killed nine activists after intercepting their group of six ships in international waters.
Pro-Palestinian groups are planning a new flotilla, which they say will carry humanitarian aid to Hamas-controlled Gaza, and hope to set sail this month. The senior security source said he expected 10-15 ships to take part.
"I believe that with this flotilla there won`t be any arms smuggled into Gaza," he told a group of reporters.
"But a maritime security blockade can only be legal if it is effective and complete. You cannot keep a selective maritime blockade under international law. You can`t say who gets in and who doesn`t," he added.
Israeli officials have long argued that aid flotillas could be used as a cover to help supply weapons to Hamas, an Islamist group which refuses to recognise Israel and regularly fires rockets and mortars into the adjoining Jewish state.
Palestinians believe the Israeli sea blockade is illegal and say it is helping strangle the underdeveloped Gazan economy.
The Israeli military came under fierce criticism for its assault on a Turkish-sponsored flotilla in May 2010.
It said its soldiers had not expected the violent resistance they faced when they boarded the lead vessel, and had to open fire in self-defence, killing eight Turks and one American-Turk. (*)
Editor: Kunto Wibisono
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
