Israel orders cruise ships not to dock

Israeli Transportation Minister Meir Sheetrit today ordered four Israeli cruise ships carrying hundreds of tourists not to dock at the Turkish port of Alanya after receiving warnings of a possible terrorist attack, officials said.

“There was a warning,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev, who confirmed the ships were rerouted. He declined to say where they were sent, or provide details about the nature of the warning.

Israel’s Army Radio said the ships were carrying 3,500 Israeli tourists.

A spokesman for Turkey’s Interior Ministry had no information about ships being diverted or any threats in Alanya.

Islamic militants in Turkey affiliated with al Qaida bombed two synagogues, a London-based bank and the British Consulate in attacks in November 2003, killing 58 people and wounding hundreds more. More than 60 people are currently on trial in connection with the attacks.

The suspects said they originally planned to attack an Israeli ship in the Mediterranean, according to the prosecutor’s indictment.

During the trial, some of the defendants also testified that their ringleader had met with Abu Hafs al-Masri, a former top lieutenant of Osama bin Laden, in 2001 and discussed an attack on an Israeli ship making a call in Turkey, or on the southern Turkish Incirlik air base, which is used by US jets.