Growing concerns over a Gaza aid flotilla planned for May intensified Tuesday, as the Israeli government reached out to Turkish officials to help prevent an incident similar to last year.  

Israeli security forces have been preparing for the arrival of another Gaza flotilla for months, drawing on lessons from the controversial raid on the Turkish Mavi Marmara flotilla last May. They expect more than 1,000 leftists and pro-Palestinian activists aboard roughly 20 ships to participate in this year's envoy.

The announcement came a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a group of EU leaders in Jerusalem that stopping the flotilla from heading to Gaza was in their best interest.

"We are aware that there is an attempted provocation in May, possibly early June, of another so-called flotilla, not a peace flotilla but a provocation, a deliberate provocation to seek to ignite this part of the Middle East," Netanyahu said, according to News.com.au. "I think it's in your and our common interest, and I think it's something that you should ... transmit to your governments, that this flotilla must be stopped."

Relations between Israel and Turkey soured last May after nine activists aboard the Mavi Marmara were killed by the Israel Navy; the ship was en-route to the Gaza Strip when it was boarded.

The incident drew international attention and prompted the Turkish government to recall its ambassador from Israel.

Facing relentless international scrutiny, the Israeli government maintained the soldiers were attacked by people aboard the flotilla and were merely acting out of self-defense. To justify their claims, the Israeli Navy took photographs of weapon stockpiles abord the ship.

However, victims of the incident said the attacks were unprovoked and that the numerous photographs of weapons aboard the ship were staged.

Gabi Levy, Israel's ambassador to Turkey, told the Hurriyet Daily News & Economic Review that Israel has no problem with the transportation of humanitarian aid to Gaza via legal channels.

"The passages to Gaza are open. There is a greater flexibility on the Israeli side. The quota for 220 trucks cannot even be filled as there is no need for more aid. Under these conditions, such an aid campaign could only be seen as provocation,” he said, according to the Jerusalem Post.

Israeli officials are concerned that the incoming flotilla may contain materials that could be used for making bombs - such as fertilizer. However, flotilla activists claim that the planned aid shipment will only transport humanitarian aid.  

The Israeli blockage of the Gaza Strip began in 2001, but later intensified in 2007 after the election of Hamas. The blockage includes access to Gaza through land, air and sea blockade. Egypt also currently participates in the blockade.

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