A coalition of pro-Palestinian groups said today it plans to send a second aid flotilla to Gaza, dismissing Israel's promise to ease its blockade as not bold enough and defying Israeli warnings against any new sea-based activist operation.

Labour MEP Proinsias de Rossa is calling on the Government to initiate legal action against Israel in light of the attack on the aid convoy last Monday and the boarding of the MV Rachel Corrie.

Fine Gael Foreign Affairs Spokesman Billy Timmins has said that boarding of the MV Rachel Corrie by Israeli troops "was plain wrong".

The Israeli military said its forces seized a Gaza-bound aid vessel today, preventing it from breaking a maritime blockade of the Hamas-ruled territory.