- 10 juni 2010
Israeli Official Threatens to Kill Turkish PM
Uzi Dayan, former deputy Chief of General Staff in Israel, says the Jewish state should consider a possible Turkish military escort of Gaza aid ships an act of war. If the Turkish prime minister joins such a flotilla, Dayan told Israeli army radio, according to the Jerusalem Post, we should make clear beforehand this would be an act of war, and we would not try to take over the ship he was on, but would sink it.
It is unprecedented for a top level state official to threaten a head of another state with murder.
Israel has refused to cooperate with an independent investigation of the incident that resulted in the death of between nine and nineteen activists. The Turkish government remains unequivocal in its condemnation of the action taken by the Israeli Navy. Most of the victims were Turkish citizens.
On June 5, the Turkish PM, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said he is not only planning to dispatch the Navy on the next flotilla, but that he is considering accompanying them personally. Erdogan reportedly raised the idea in conversations with close associates and even informed the United States of his intention to ask the Turkish Navy to accompany another aid flotilla to Gaza. The Americans asked Erdogan to delay his plans because of tensions on the region, the Lebanese newspaper al-Mustaqbal reported on Saturday.
Uzi Dayan is the nephew of Moshe Dayan, the fourth Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, Defense Minister and later Foreign Minister of Israel.
http://info-wars.org/2010/06/10/israeli-official-threatens-to-kill-turkish-pm/
They're Coming: Freedom Flotilla Two and Others Planned
They're Coming: Freedom Flotilla Two and Others Planned - by Stephen Lendman
The European Campaign to End the Siege on Gaza (ECESG) is "an umbrella body" of 34 European human rights and humanitarian organizations supporting the right of Palestinians "to live in peace and dignity," to be free from occupation, and to have "their own independent and sovereign state, (and) encourages all peoples of conscience and human rights advocates to intensify their efforts to highlight this life-theatening issue and end the catastrophe."
On its June 6 web site posting (savegaza.eu), ECESG reported that preparations for an even larger Freedom Flotilla Two are well advanced, and will be launched in the coming weeks, saying their mission is humanitarian, and others will keep coming until the siege is lifted and aid can enter freely.
Its members helped organize Freedom Flotilla One along with Free Gaza Movement (FG), Insani Yardim Vakfi (IHH), Ship to Gaza Greece, and Ship to Gaza Sweden. ECESG says that if governments won't help, activist groups like them and others will keep working until justice for Palestinians is achieved.
It condemned the Freedom Flotilla 1 massacre, the appalling propaganda that followed, explained that more missions are coming, and said funding for "the first three ships" of Freedom Flotilla Two has been gotten, Campaign president Arafat Madi saying:
"The extensive calls are taking place to launch a new fleet to the Gaza Strip, involving many ships that will be carrying on board more aid and more peace activists than Freedom 1 which was carrying (10,000) tons of aid and hundreds of peace activists from more than forty countries around the world."
Other Aid Missions Planned
The Iranian Red Crescent Society is part of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the world's largest humanitarian organization, comprised of 186 Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
On June 7, it announced it will send three aid ships to Gaza "by the end of the week," two with humanitarian supplies, the other with volunteer Iranian relief workers, and a plane with 30 tons of medical equipment. Iranian Red Crescent director Abdolraoof Adibzadeh said it will deliver aid through Egypt's Rafah border crossing.
On June 1, Egypt opened it, saying it will be "indefinite (and) Additional crews at the harbor are working on carrying out the president's instructions so that procedures for Palestinians to pass into Egypt can be implemented quickly." In addition, those with Arab or other passports, students enrolled to study abroad, and medical patients will be granted free passage in and out.
In December 2008, Iran's Red Crescent sent a ship with food and medicine, then interdicted by Israel's navy and prevented from reaching Gaza. This time, Iranian ships "reportedly" will escort the flotilla, setting up a possible serious confrontation.
Turkey also promised to send aid, this time with a naval escort and perhaps more after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he's considering coming to break the siege and show solidarity with besieged Gazans.
Washington is trying to dissuade him. Israel called it a political maneuver. Erdogan perhaps is serious and intends to come. If so along with Turkish warships, it will be a significant development to watch.
Turkey also, along with Brazil, struck a deal with Iran to further process much of its enriched uranium, then return it as fuel rods for a medical research reactor. Erdogan also met with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at this week's Istanbul regional security summit, prompting Council on Foreign Relations member Steven Cook to complain that he's "running around the region doing things that are at cross-purposes to what the big powers (read Washington and Israel) want," then asked - "How do we keep the Turks in their lane?"
According to Bilgi University Professor Soli Ozel, "The Americans, no matter what they say, cannot get used to a new world where regional powers want to have a say in regional and global politics. This is our neighborhood, and we don't want trouble. The Americans create havoc, and we are left holding the bag."
http://www.opednews.com/articles/They-re-Coming-Freedom-Fl-by-Stephen-Lendman-100610-468.html
Advantage Hamas After Flotilla Fiasco
RAMALLAH, - Israel may allow soft drinks, juice, canned fruit, salads, biscuits and potato chips into the Gaza Strip from next week. What should be an unremarkable event is making news headlines and portends unseen consequences.
After four years of a crippling Israeli blockade, which has reduced the poverty-stricken territory to a humanitarian basket-case, the international powers that be, in their infinite wisdom, have reached the conclusion that the above mentioned items do not, in fact, represent a threat to Israel's security.
Israel is currently under intense international pressure to lift its siege on Gaza and to allow ordinary everyday items into the coastal territory, including toilet paper, toothpaste, seedlings, school books, uniforms, cigarettes and reconstruction material.
Most of these items, and others, were banned, following Israel and Egypt's hermetic sealing of the Gaza Strip after Hamas won free and fair elections in January 2006. Israel has argued the blockade was necessary for "security" reasons.
Human rights organisations counter that the siege is a collective punishment of Gaza's 1.5 million mostly civilian residents and that the coastal territory has been turned into the largest open-air prison in the world. They further argue the siege is illegal under international law.
The latest developments follow the international media spotlight on, and the political ramifications in international power circles, of the Free Gaza (FG) flotilla's attempt to break Israel's siege on Gaza.
Nine people lost their lives and dozens of others were injured after Israeli commandos attacked the six boats, with approximately 700 people on board, in international waters as the flotilla tried to deliver desperately needed aid to the besieged civilian population of Gaza in the early hours of May 31.
Although Gaza's plight has been a festering sore on the collective conscience of the international community it has largely been ignored until now.
"Hamas has emerged from the latest debacle victorious. Not only is the group, according to Israeli intelligence, militarily stronger than prior to the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) military assault on the strip during Operation Cast Lead at the end of 2008, beginning of 2009, but it is also significantly stronger politically," Prof. Moshe Ma'oz from Jerusalem's Hebrew University told IPS.
"It has not bowed to Israeli pressure to give up power, neither has it forsaken the armed struggle and Israel still has not secured the release of an Israeli soldier captured by Hamas fighters in 2006," added Ma'oz. Some analysts have argued that this capture was one of the main reasons behind the blockade.
Following the Flotilla attack Israel has been subjected to a fresh barrage of global criticism, coming shortly after the Goldstone report. Increasingly the Jewish state is being portrayed as a bully and a pariah state which operates above international law.
Israel's decision to ease the blockade is largely the result of a quid pro quo understanding that it would escape a credible international inquiry into the bloodshed on the FG flotilla.
Instead the Israeli government and military will be investigating themselves, with possibly several token international observers, in a move which has already been laughed off by legal experts, including Israelis, as a whitewash of the affair.
Nevertheless, facts on the ground have turned dramatically in Hamas favour. The enormously unpopular regime of Egypt's Hosni Mubarak decided to lift its blockade at the Rafah crossing indefinitely, after Mubarak was placed in an untenable situation.
This followed a meeting between Mubarak, and U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden, a strong Israeli supporter, in the Egyptian seaside resort of Sharm El-Sheikh recently where both men agreed that the blockade would be lifted gradually. The Hamas authorities have responded positively to another European Union (EU) proposal to allow EU monitors back into Gaza to help monitor border crossings as well as launch a sea patrol so that Gaza port can be reopened.
But the biggest change has come from U.S. President Barack Obama who stated that the blockade was unsustainable. Obama has also offered to provide Gaza with aid as long as it is closely monitored. Formerly, the U.S. only provided aid for the Palestinian Authority (PA)-controlled West Bank.
Another breakthrough has been in the U.S., hitherto very much biased in Israel's favour. NBC Tonight recently aired a groundbreaking programme covering the hardships in Gaza. Americans in general have not been well-informed on the contextual background to the Gaza crisis.
However, the biggest change yet to be seen, which works against Israel and ergo in favour of Hamas, is the new balance of power which appears to be unfolding in the Mideast. There are indications that the West's, and particularly the U.S., strategy to divide the region along a Shi'ite crescent v/s a Sunni power-base could backfire badly.
Turkey could well be the new power broker regionally. Israel has lost a strong ally - in a hostile Muslim region - with which it shared intelligence and military manoeuvres.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's moderate Islamic Justice and Development party is winning influence away from Turkey%u2019s traditionally secular military.
Israel's erstwhile foe, Syria, has promised Turkey unconditional support for any further action in Gaza as their relationship strengthens. Meanwhile, Israel's nemesis, an increasingly cocky and confident Iran has offered to send two Iranian Red Crescent aid ships to Gaza escorted by Revolutionary Guard frigates. Such a move could trigger war.
Simultaneously, an increasingly weak and unpopular PA president Mahmoud Abbas - who has been relegated to newspaper back pages of late - was given some desperately needed life support on Wednesday.
Obama met with Abbas in the White House and promised not only political support but economic aid to the beleaguered Abbas.
Proximity peace talks with Israel have ground to a halt. Growing numbers of Palestinians see no gain from negotiations with Israel. Many instead see Hamas as steadfast, a view increasingly reflected in the region.
Under the new political scenario, Obama is probably praying that the PA can be saved.
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=51789
Activists dare Congressman to arrest them
Washington (CNN) -- Activists with several free Gaza groups will symbolically surrender Thursday at a Congressman's office, after the lawmaker called for the prosecution of Americans who were aboard a flotilla raided last week by Israeli authorities.
On a conference call organized by the non-profit Israel Project last week, Rep. Brad Sherman, D-California, said that the Justice Department should prosecute any U.S. citizen aboard the well-publicized flotilla that was stopped by the Israeli military on its way to Gaza last week. Nine people were killed in the May 31 incident.
"So what is illegal is helping Hamas," Sherman said. "I will be asking the attorney general to prosecute all Americans involved in what was a clear effort to give items of value to a terrorist organization."
The U.S. State Department considers Hamas a foreign terrorist organization.
Sherman said the activists could be prosecuted under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, which makes it illegal to give supplies to terror groups
Members of Gaza Freedom March said its group and others would offer themselves up for arrest Thursday at 2 p.m. ET.
"Should Rep. Sherman seek to arrest us, we have faith that no jury in America would possibly convict us for our humanitarian and human rights work in Palestine," the organizers said in a statement.
If Sherman does not have them arrested, the group said it will hold a memorial service for people who died in the raid.
The raid has sparked international condemnation and calls for an investigation.
Aid groups said they were trying to get supplies directly to those in Gaza that need it.
Israel said the ships violated their blockade of Gaza and that its troops were attacked with knives, metal poles and other objects when they boarded a ship.
Israel has said its naval blockade is in place to stop weaponry from reaching militants in Gaza intent on attacking Israel. But critics say the three-year blockade -- imposed after Hamas took over Gaza -- has deepened poverty in the Palestinian territory.
The U.N. Security Council has called for an inquiry into the flotilla raid, and the U.N. Human Rights Council has condemned the assault and voted to launch an investigation.
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/US/06/10/gaza.flotilla.protest/
Turkey calls for Palestinian unity in "new era" after Israel attack
Davutoglu said that unity and integrity should immediately be secured in Palestine would be the best response to Israel's attacks.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Thursday that unity and integrity should immediately be secured in Palestine would be the best response to Israel's attacks.
Speaking at the foreign ministers meeting of the Turkish-Arabic Cooperation Forum, Davutoglu said division in Palestine should never be allowed to become chronical.
Davutoglu thanked to the participants of the meeting as they responded affirmatively to the invitation of Turkey at a time when very critical developments were occurring in the region.
Davutoglu said, "we also envisage to organize Turkish-Arabic Media Forum in Turkey for the first time".
"Arab support for independent probe"
Turkish foreign minister thanked to Arab League Ministers Council that held an emergency session on June 2 and decided to condemn Israel following Israel's attack on ships carrying aid to Gaza.
Davutoglu said this decision made an important contribution to the efforts of Turkey carried out in international platform and noted that Turkey relied on full support to Arab League in other initiatives that would take place in the future.
Turkish foreign minister said Israel raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla on May 31 constituted a "new landmark" in the region noting that, "despite the grave dimensions threatening regional peace and security, this incident at the same time constituted an opportunity in giving a shape to regional order".
"It will not be possible for us to remain silent against the acts violating the most essential principles of the international law and tramping on human honor," Davutoglu said.
Davutoglu said, "no state can be superior to law. Israel has to account for its unlawful and reckless stances. Reactions coming all over the world reveal that international public share this expectation. We should all step up efforts for a more fair and equitable regional and global order."
Davutoglu said Turkey asked for formation of an independent commission as the first step of the efforts in question and underlined that Turkey expected all members of Arab League to support and pursue this process.
Over the situation in Iraq, Davutoglu said a stable and prosperous Iraq, whose territorial integrity and political unity is preserved and have peaceful relations with its neighbours has a key importance in its geography.
Referring to the joint statement announced together with Iran and Brazil, Davutoglu said this deal formed an important opportunity and a new ground for the solution of the problem permanently. "Joint statement is the victory of diplomacy and dialogue," he underlined.
Davutoglu said next meeting of Turkish-Arabic Cooperation Forum would take place in Morocco next year.
http://www.worldbulletin.net/news_detail.php?id=59772 16 oct 2010, 01:01 , Respect -
Maria 11 juni 2010
Flotilla Survivor: Israelis using my seized credit card in Tel Aviv
A Freedom Flotilla Survivor provided bank statements proving her card, seized during Israel's raid on the flotilla, has been used in Tel Aviv.
Probe: $3.5mn stolen from Gaza flotilla survivors by Israel.
Lauren Booth, Press TV, London
http://palestinevideo.blogspot.com/2010/06/flotilla-survivor-israelis-using-my.html
Twee Belgische vrouwen van hulpkonvooi Free Gaza plannen klacht in te dienen
Twee van de vier Belgische vrouwen die aan boord waren van het hulpkonvooi "Free Gaza" dat door Israëlische commando's werd bestormd, zijn van plan op korte termijn een klacht in te dienen bij het parket-generaal op basis de genocidewet (de wet op de universele competentie). Dat heeft de advocate van Kenza Isnasni en van Fatima El Mourabiti aangekondigd.
"We zijn van plan een klacht in te dienen bij het parket-generaal, maar moeten het dossier in detail bestuderen. We willen niet snel snel een klacht indien, met het risico dat ze wordt verworpen", kondigde mr. Joke Callewaert vandaag in Brussel op een persconferentie aan in aanwezigheid van de vier Belgische vrouwen.
De advocate wil zich onder meer beroepen op de Conventie van Genève over humanitaire konvooien, of het maritiem recht om de klacht te motiveren. "Ik sta in contact met advocaten in andere landen om onze actie te coördineren", preciseerde ze. Bij de actie van de Israëlische marine in de nacht van 30 op 31 mei vielen negen doden en tal van gewonden.
Geen contact met autoriteiten
Mr. Callewaert betreurde dat de Belgische minister van Justitie geen gebruik heeft gemaakt van zijn injunctierecht om de opening van een onderzoek te vragen, en zelfs geen contact opnam met de vier vrouwen.
"Ze zijn nu een week in België en werden zelfs niet gecontacteerd door de autoriteiten, gewoon om te vernemen hoe ze het stellen of wat ze hebben meegemaakt. Ik vind dat werkelijk onaanvaardbaar", verklaarde ze.
http://www.hln.be/hln/nl/957/Belgie/article/detail/1117307/2010/06/11/Twee-Belgische-vrouwen-van-hulpkonvooi-Free-Gaza-plannen-klacht-in-te-dienen.dhtml
Sail participants to sue Barak in France
French activists who took part in Gaza flotilla plan to file legal claim with local court, ICC against Israeli defense minister over deadly Navy raid. State official tells Ynet visit to Paris won't be canceled, but security measures around Barak to be tightened during trip
French activists who took part in the Gaza-bound flotilla were expected to declare Friday that they would be filing a legal claim against Defense Minister Ehud Barak with the courts in France and with the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
Barak is expected to leave for France on Sunday on a two-day official visit, during which he will inaugurate the Israeli stand at a military exhibition and meet with the French foreign and defense ministers.
Legal Entanglement
The plaintiffs said they were being helped by three French parliament members.
State officials clarified that Barak would not cancel his plans and that the Foreign Ministry's legal department, together with additional elements in the justice system, were working to provide legal protection should the French activists file the lawsuit
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3903695,00.html
German Activists File War Crimes Complaints
Left Party parliamentarians Annette Groth (l.) and Inge Höger (r.) together with human rights activist Norman Paech (c.).
Public prosecutors in Germany are looking into a war crimes complaint filed against Israel by two members of parliament with the far-left Left Party and a human rights activist who were on board the Mavi Marmara when Israeli troops stormed it 11 days ago.
Eleven days ago, the Israeli military stormed the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara, part of a flotilla carrying pro-Palestinian activists toward the Gaza Strip in an attempt to break the Israeli blockade. Now, it has become a case for German prosecutors.
Human rights activist Norman Paech and two German parliamentarians from the far-left Left Party, Annette Groth and Inge Höger, have filed criminal complaints for "numerous potential offences, including war crimes against individuals and command responsibility ... as well as false imprisonment."
At 5:10 a.m. on May 31, the complaint reads, Höger, Groth and Paech heard from the captain of the Mavi Marmara via the ship's loudspeaker that the Israeli soldiers who had boarded the ship as part of the commando operation were taking over control of the ship. An hour later, Israeli soldiers ordered the Germans on deck, where their backpacks and other belongings were searched. Their hands were temporarily bound.
German Jurisdiction?
It wasn't until 9:10 p.m. that parliamentarian Annette Groth was given the possibility of contacting the German Embassy. At 2 a.m. on June 1, the Germans were brought to the airport in a prisoner transport vehicle for their flight back home.
According to international criminal law expert Florian Jessberger of Berlin's Humboldt University, "there is cause to believe that false imprisonment was perpetrated as understood by German law." He says that German criminal law would have jurisdiction "irrespective of the fact that the act was perpetrated on the high seas."
German public prosecutors told SPIEGEL ONLINE that they were currently investigating whether there was enough evidence to warrant pursuing the case further.
'Barbaric'
The Israeli raid of the Mavi Marmara, which resulted in the deaths of nine activists onboard the ship, unleashed a storm of criticism against Israel and its ongoing blockade of the Gaza Strip. It has also severely damaged Israel's relations with Turkey.
The blockade began in 2007 after the Islamist militants from Hamas took over power in Gaza. Israel claims that many of those traveling with the flotilla had ties to Hamas or other terrorist groups, but the activists deny the charge.
Upon returning home to Germany, Höger told reporters that "we felt like we were in a war, like we had been kidnapped." Her colleague Groth spoke of a "barbaric act."
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,700127,00.html 16 oct 2010, 01:21 , Respect -
Maria 12 juni 2010
EXCLUSIVE: NETANYAHU EXPLAINS VIDEO OF ISRAELI RAID
Yesterday, eleven days after Israeli commandoes raided in international waters a convoy of vessels bearing humanitarian aid for Gaza, an hour-long, unedited video of the raid (http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/06/11/unedited-video-of-israeli-raid-posted-online/?hp) was posted online by Iara Lee, a Brazilian-American filmmaker who was shooting a documentary on the convoy's mission and was aboard the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara when the raid occurred. In an oped (http://www.culturesofresistance.org/op-ed) published by the San Francisco Chronicle on June 5, Ms. Lee claims that the Mavi Marmara had no guns or weapons of any kind, as confirmed by Turkish customs agents before it sailed; that the ship carried "hundreds of civilian passengers" bent on aiding Palestinians who have been suffering "under an illegal siege" maintained by Israel in what Amnesty International calls "a flagrant violation of international law"; and that Israeli "commandoes and navy soldiers shot and killed at least nine civilians and seriously injured dozens more." In view of these tendentious allegations and the video itself, which appears to confirm them, I asked my good friend Benjamin Netanyahu for his comments on both. He replied as follows:
First of all, let me make one thing clear. Whenever it is attacked, Israel will defend itself, and that is exactly what it has done in this case. Many people in this world--including those who consider themselves good friends of Israel--can be deplorably naïve about what constitutes an "attack." They think an attack requires things like guns, rockets, and stinger missiles. And if they don't see any of those things on a ship, they fail to see how the ship can be "attacking" Israel. They don't realize that even a digital video camera can be a weapon just as deadly as a gun or missile--especially when the camera is deliberately aimed at an Israeli helicopter that is merely doing its job, shooting away in the middle of the night to defend the state of Israel against all those who would provoke it under the specious cover of "international law."
The video itself is an attack on Israel, a gross invasion of our privacy. To protect that privacy, we arrested everyone we found on board the Mavi Marmara, confiscated all of their video equipment, hard drives with video footage, cell phones, and notebooks. That Ms. Lee could smuggle her video out of Israel even as we generously released her is bad enough; that she posts it online for all to see is a flagrant affront to our dignity as well as our privacy.
But let us look closely at the video itself. What many people do not realize is that no unedited video can speak for itself--especially not this one. To an untrained eye, the video seems to show a shipful of unarmed civilians being gunned down by Israeli commandoes. But to a trained Israeli eye, the video shows something quite different.
Take for instance the bulky orange boxes that many of the passengers are shown wearing over their shoulders. To the untrained eye, these appear to be life jackets, and at one point, in fact, the video shows a large white chest on the deck of the ship labelled LIFE JACKETS 36 PCS. But Israeli eyes can see these would-be "life jackets" for what they truly are: suicide vests. Our own intelligence agents have confirmed to us that the men and women on the Mavi Marmara aimed to get as close as they could to Tel Aviv, jump in the water, detonate their vests, and thus generate a tidal wave that would overwhelm our beautiful city on the sea.
Furthermore, those who claim that the civilians on this ship had no weapons at all have obviously overlooked two things plainly visible in the video: broomsticks and slingshots. Though no one on the ship is actually shown using a broomstick against our heroic Israeli soldiers, the video does show something even more outrageous: as our heroic helicopter hovers gently, solicitously, and unprovocatively over the ship, two people--a man and a woman--are each plainly caught in the very act of shooting straight at it with rubber-banded wooden slingshots. The video does not show exactly what they were shooting, but as David once taught Goliath, even a small stone can be deadly when fired with sufficient force. In fact, microscopic inspection of the helicopter after the raid has revealed at least four tiny dents in the tail section. The point is simply this: whenever one of our helicopters is fired upon--whether with a stinger missile or a wooden slingshot--Israeli has the right to defend itself with deadly force, even against so-called "innocent" civilians.
One thing more. The idea that we are collectively punishing all the people of Gaza is sheer nonsense. We have nothing against those people and would be happy to see them go anywhere they wish--off to Jordan, for instance--anytime they wish. We just cannot tolerate Hamas because they are a bunch of anti-semitic thugs whose murderous rockets have deliberately killed at least one Israeli civilian for every hundred or so Gazan civilians that we have killed accidentally. And even though Hamas legally won the right to govern Gaza, it did so only by suckering voters with social services like education and health care--services that the so-called "corrupt" party of al-Fatah quite rightly skimps on because unlike the Israelis, the Palestinians are notoriously pampered. By denying all aid to Gaza that does not come through our sensitive hands, we just want to make the people of Gaza see that Hamas can bring them nothing but misery and pain, that their political salvation lies with al-Fatah and Mahmoud Abbas, our peace partner on the West Bank. Let's get one thing straight: we cannot and will not tolerate the existence of any government that refuses to recognize our right to exist, our right to occupy and rule just as much of Palestine as we want to claim. After all, since we are the chosen people, anything we choose to do must be right.
And one last thing about the video. The fact that only Israeli eyes can see what it truly reveals proves the folly of launching an international investigation of this unprovoked attack on Israel. Whether or not the evidence is visual or verbal, video or spoken testimony, no one but an Israeli can judge the evidence properly. That is why we are perfectly willing to investigate the incident ourselves, and thus to show how decently, honestly, and sensitively we have exercised the right to defend ourselves.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-heffernan/exclusive-netanyahu-expla_b_609948.html
Finally released. Mirrors here http://tc.indymedia.org/files/flotilla-footage/index.html
JUST RELEASED: ONE HOUR OF FOOTAGE FROM MAVI MARMARA
Footage taken aboard largest ship in Gaza Freedom Flotilla in hour before and during raid by Israeli military
A full hour of raw footage taken aboard the Mavi Marmara in the hour leading up to and during the Israeli attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla has just been made available to view at: (62:13) Israeli Attack on the Mavi Marmara // Raw Footage 1 x viewed
The footage is also available for download at: http://tinyurl.com/flotilla-footage/
Despite the Israeli government's efforts to confiscate all of the footage taken during the attack, CULTURES OF RESISTANCE filmmaker Iara Lee was able to smuggle one hour of footage back to the United States and is releasing it raw to the public today.
Yesterday at the United Nations, Ms. Lee presented the footage for the first time to the international press corps after the following statement:
"I want first to thank the United Nations Correspondents Association for organizing this event on such short notice.
"My name is Iara Lee. I am a dual U.S.-Brazilian citizen of Korean descent. I am a filmmaker and a human rights activist.
"I decided to join the Freedom Flotilla after going to Gaza a few months ago and seeing first hand the devastation there. After hearing the pleas of the people living in Gaza to have the blockade lifted, I felt I must do something.
"The Gaza Freedom Flotilla was on a humanitarian mission.Ê We expected to be deterred from delivering our aid to Gazans, but we did not expect to be attacked.
"We started filming from the moment we boarded the Mavi Marmara right through the Israeli assault on the ship. Although all of our equipment was confiscated, we managed to smuggle this footage out.
"Mine is high-definition footage of the Flotilla attack and also the only sustained footage of the ship and its passengers preceding the deadly Israeli commando raid. Watching this raw, unedited footage, you will get a sense of the mood on the ship and of the passengers on it.
"Undoubtedly, many of you will be scrutinizing it for clues to resolve the mysteries that still surround what happened that fateful night.
"During this past week the Israeli government has repeatedly alleged that these passengers -- or some of them -- laid a trap for Israel, duped the Israeli military, and plotted a lynching. Israel has repeatedly alleged that we were anti-Semitic Muslim fanatics connected to terrorist organizations.
"In fact, the passengers on our mission came from many countries and religious and ethnic backgrounds.Ê Our one common denominator was that we wanted to end the humanitarian crisis in Gaza by highlighting the injustice of Israel's blockade.
"Prime Minister Netanyahu said, "This wasn't the 'love boat,' this was a flotilla of terror supporters." Our footage will help you decide whether we were a love boat or a hate boat. You will see secular and devout passengers. You will see people at prayer and people working at their laptops.
"Was this a lynch-mob moved by hatred of Israelis or was it a cross-section of humanity moved by the plight of Gaza? Did we lay a trap for the Israeli commandos or did they unnecessarily attack us? Did we take them by surprise or did they take us by surprise?
"Do you see a premeditated ambush, or do you see some passengers using items at hand to protect themselves from an unprovoked assault by heavily armed commandos?
"You decide."
http://www.demonoid.com/files/details/2275431/
US accepts Israeli probe of Flotilla
Despite calls for an international inquiry into a recent deadly Israeli attack on a Gaza-bound aid convoy, the US and Israel have agreed on an independent Israeli committee to probe the attack.
The White House on Friday dismissed reports of backing a proposal by the United Nations for an international commission to investigate the assault on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla on May 31.
UN Secretary General Ban ki-Moon had put forward a proposal for the establishment of a panel headed by former New Zealand Prime Minister Geoffrey Palmer to look into the incident. The panel would have included representatives from Turkey, Israel and the United States.
The proposal was made after the assault by Israeli commandos left at least 20 activists, including nine Turkish nationals, dead and dozens of others injured.
Meanwhile, White House spokesman Tommy Vietor issued a statement saying that the Obama administration supported "the swift, credible, independent and transparent probe that Israel plans to launch."
The White House statement added that intensive talks were currently being held with Israeli officials in order to ensure progress in the matter.
Earlier in the week, Tel Aviv had rejected the call by the UN chief for the international investigation, which has been passed by the UN Human Rights Council.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=130038§ionid=351020202...Read more 16 oct 2010, 02:06 , Respect -
Maria 13 juni 2010
Will Erdogan Blink?
Obama as Moral Dupe
A recent article by Patrick Cockburn, one of the ablest reporters covering the Middle East, provides an excellent character portrait of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan. It is certainly consistent with what little I have been able to learn about this fascinating politician. Regardless of what you may think of Erdogan, and he has many detractors (I am not one), he is certainly establishing himself as an influential world leader who must be reckoned with in an emerging multi-polar world.
Cockburn's report is must reading, because Erdogan has maneuvered himself onto the moral high ground in a very serious crisis he did not create. Consider please the following:
By standing tall against Israel's murderous commando attack on the unarmed ship in international waters that was carrying aid to the besieged inhabitants of Gaza, and by promising to be on another ship trying to break the blockade, Erdogan has set an example that contrasts sharply with the latest generation of pusillanimous leaders in the United States. They have refused to condemn Israel's attack, even though a US citizen was among those murdered -- thus continuing the pattern of unprincipled moral weakness that began when President Johnson refused to act decisively after the Israelis deliberately attacked the USS Liberty in international waters in June 1967, murdering over 30 American sailors.
Not surprisingly, Erdogan has become the newest bête noire of the neocons. They have embarked on a concerted effort in their media outlets to smear him as well as to trash our relations with Turkey, starting with screeds in the Wall Street Journal and Weekly Standard. Their hypocrisy is stunning. Many of these same neocons assiduously cultivated the so-called strategic Israeli-Turkish alliance in the 1990s and, in fact, lobbied Congress on the behalf of Turkey. AIPAC is lobbying Congress for a resolution of support for Israel's attack, or failing that, is pressuring congressmen to not criticize Israel. AIPAC and the neocons are also stoking up the Armenian lobby to criticize the modern Turkish Republic for the genocidal crimes which occurred during the waning days of a decrepit Ottoman Empire. This is logically equivalent to criticizing German Chancellor Angela Merkel for Adolf Hitler's crimes. Some congressmen have already made strong public statements of support for Israel, and by extension a condemnation for Turkey, while the majority -- like the good Germans of the 1930s -- have done likewise by remaining silent. Israel just hoisted Obama on his petard (again) by requesting increased arms aid from the United States which, of course, will be rubber stamped by a compliant Congress. Meanwhile, according to the Jerusalem Post, the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Israeli Army, just threatened to sink any Turkish warships carrying Erdogan, if it was escorting another flotilla of aid ships trying to break the blockade of Gaza. The threat is serious, because it was made on Israeli Army Radio, an outlet for policy pronouncements intended to lather up the Israeli citizens for battle.
To add final insult to this march of folly, Sheera Fenkle just reported that the blockade of Gaza is not about stopping arms shipments to Hamas, because in her words, 'McClatchy obtained an Israeli government document that describes the blockade not as a security measure but as "economic warfare" against the Islamist group Hamas, which rules the Palestinian territory.' Put another way, Israel's own documents suggest that the Israeli government understands the blockade is about an illegal collective punishment of the Gazan people for having the temerity to elect Hamas to govern Gaza in a free election. Ironically, it was the short-sighted Israelis who promoted Hamas in its early years during the late 1980s as a tactical means to divide and weaken Palestinian allegiances to the PLO.
So Turkey and Israel are maneuvering themselves and the United States into a trap between the moral high ground and the moral low ground for very different reasons. In the eyes of most of the world, Turkey is playing a constructive grand strategic card, while Israel is playing a destructive strategic card. One holds out hope for peace and justice while the other continues its warlike business as usual. But there is more. An Israeli attack on Turkey would be also an attack on the NATO Alliance. Under the terms of the NATO Treaty, such an attack should trigger what is known as an Article 5 response -- an attack on a NATO ally is an attack on all. This is what the US used to justify a NATO response to 9-11 in Afghanistan, even though the Afghan case was far less clear than the Turkish-Israeli imbroglio, because the Taliban was at most an accomplice to the 9-11 crime and may not have known about it in advance. If Israel carries through on its threat to attack a NATO warship, it would be a clear act of war. If the US (and the rest of NATO) does not respond, you can kiss NATO and Turkey goodbye, and the US would lose moral standing in the world to a greater degree than that engineered by George Bush and his fellow neocon travelers -- which is no small achievement. Nobody could ever trust the United States to live up to its formal treaty obligations. Our relations with Russia and China would be weakened dangerously, and Iran's position in the Middle East would be strengthened. The fall of dominoes would go on in all sorts of directions.
To borrow the unforgettable words of British Foreign Minister Edward Grey in the fateful summer of 1914, "the lights are going out all over" the Middle East, in NATO headquarters, and in the White House (assuming they were turned on). If Erdogan presses forward with his public promise to be on another Gaza aid ship or an escorting Turkish warship and if Israel acts on its threat to sink the ship carrying him, then like the chain of events of August 1914, the march to war could very well take on a life of its own.
We know what Israel will do if, as is likely, the US stands passively on the sidelines again, so the questions of the hour seem to be: Will Erdogan blink? Will the US force him to blink?
Study Cockburn's report and judge for yourself if blinking is a part of Erdogan's character, particularly, when he has maneuvered himself onto the moral high ground, and it is obvious to all but a few that the low grounders, like PM Netanyau, are playing the hapless Mr. Obama for a moral dupe -- again.
Franklin %u201CChuck%u201D Spinney is a former military analyst for the Pentagon. He currently lives on a sailboat in the Mediterranean and can be reached at [email protected]
By FRANKLIN C. SPINNEY
http://www.counterpunch.org/spinney06112010.html
No Regrets
Obama, the ADC and the Gaza Flotilla
By JENNIFER LOEWENSTEIN
Imagine the media coverage that would have awaited us in our local and national newspapers, our radio, facebook, twitter and television news alerts and special bulletins had Iran or another enemy nation killed and in some cases executed 9 or more Israeli or American Jewish peace activists aboard a Turkish vessel (and therefore a NATO partner). What if that vessel were leading a convoy of 700 unarmed activists aboard ships filled with humanitarian aid to a million and a half Jewish political prisoners held hostage by that nation on spurious and sinister claims of national security?
Imagine, in the wake of these events, President Obama not even bothering to respond to an invitation to deliver the keynote address at AIPAC, the US most influential pro-Israel lobby, as Jews and their supporters from across the United States traveled to Washington DC for AIPAC's most important annual event one that coincided with the 30th anniversary of its founding? The political fallout from such an offense would have created a storm of controversy.
Of course, none of this happened because the event at hand involved the murder of 9 Turkish-Muslim activists (one an American citizen) aboard a convoy of ships on behalf of the Gaza Freedom Movement, a movement organized and participated in by citizens from around the world, including Israel, fed up with the craven, gutless responses of their governments to more than half a century of dispossession, expulsion, theft, abuse and killing of Arabs and Muslims from, or supporting, Palestine. Faced with the imminent threat of having to cease its illegal siege and blockade of Gaza and perhaps from there begin dismantling its occupation by letting the aid ships in Israel seized the occasion to halt the flotilla in international waters and storm the ship with the maximum amount of force at its disposal. Taking these already violent and illegal actions to levels of absurdity bordering on madness, Israel then made the cynical and preposterous claims that it had been forced to use self-defense against al-Qaeda-allied terrorists on the high seas. By then even some of Israel's most egregious defenders had begun to voice some complaints.
At this year's Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) gala dinner on Saturday night, June 5th 2010, long-time Lebanese-American activist (on behalf of the American people) and former presidential contender Ralph Nader gave the keynote speech to some 350-400 people. Halfway through his speech, Nader noted that President Obama had been the original choice of the ADC as the keynote speaker. When I asked Dr. Safa Rifka, Chairman of the ADC's Board of Directors, if he would verify that President Obama had been invited to address the audience that evening, Rifka responded in undisguised contempt, Absolutely; and you can mention my name as well. He said he himself had sent the invitation and that the Whoite House hadn't even bothered to reply.
Fortunately, there were no killings aboard the MV Rachel Corrie, a boat named after the twenty-three year old American activist crushed to death by an armored D-9 Caterpillar Bulldozer on March 16th 2003 as she attempted to prevent it from demolishing another Palestinian home. (More than 17,000 people from Rafah, Gaza had been made refugees twice and thrice over as a result of Israel's policy of demolishing homes along the Philadelphi Corridor near the Egyptian border). Corrie wore a blaze orange vest and carried an orange bullhorn when the driver of the bulldozer trapped her under a mound of dirt and drove over her body twice, breaking her back shortly before she died.
Unsurprisingly the US has yet to insist that an independent investigation into Rachel Corrie's death take place. Neither has the US approved even the least critical of the independent investigations into Israel's attack on Gaza in December-January 2008-9, the Goldstone Report. Operation Cast Lead was the very embodiment of the supreme international crime of aggression and should have led to the arrest and incarceration of its perpetrators for war crimes at the International Court of Justice at the Hague; but of course, it did not. Hence, it should come as no surprise that US representatives stood alone again at the United Nations last week just after the deadly raid on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, arguing that Israel should be allowed to investigate its latest crime of aggression and murder all by itself.
Arab and Muslim-Americans are hardly surprised that state terror directed against their people here or overseas requires no special attention or concern within any US administration. Obama's insult to the ADC occurred exactly one year after his widely acclaimed speech in Cairo, Egypt in which he promised a change in US foreign policy toward Middle East and Islamic nations.
What distinguishes the Obama administration's Middle East foreign policy from that of the Bush administration and those before it is the rhetoric in which its fundamental continuity is enveloped. This is especially disappointing and dangerous for anyone who hoped that non-violent solutions and a basic adherence to international law would finally prevail.
Like its US patron, Israel continues to promote state-of-the art-global violence even when that means executing citizens of US-allied nations for resisting its spiral into madness. When US politicians, pundits and media spokespeople congratulate Israel and its special Naval Commando units for assaulting a NATO partner's ship carrying 700 peace activists tired and ashamed of the persistent international silence over the sadistic destruction of the land, culture and identity of the Palestinians, Arab-Americans are not the only group of people who should be both sickened and aghast.
Jennifer Loewenstein is a Faculty Associate of Middle East Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is also a freelance journalist who has lived, worked and traveled extensively in the Middle East. She can be reached at [email protected]
http://www.counterpunch.org/loewenstein06102010.html
Poster Boy for "Dual Loyalties"
Joe Biden: In Israel's Service
By JEFFREY BLANKFORT
Israel appears to be in more serious trouble diplomatically than at any time in its history following the botched attack by an elite commando squad on the Mavi Marmara in the early morning hours of June 1 that left at least nine dead and scores wounded. Thanks to Al-Jazeera and Iran's PressTV, whose reporters were aboard the ship, much of the world was able to watch the attack unfold on its TV and computer screens and the result has been an avalanche of outrage and ongoing protests against the Jewish state. Within Israel this has led to finger-pointing and calls for resignations while its hasbara machinery has gone rapidly into damage-control and disinformation mode.
Lest we forget, the first U.S. official to give Israel's bloody assault a thumbs up sign was Vice President Joe Biden. The former Delaware senator has been a key part of Israel's hasbara branch, American section, since entering the Senate in 1973 and on the Wednesday following the Israeli attack, he appeared on the Charlie Rose Show where he showed no hesitation in defending Israel's handling of the raid, something that President Obama had been reluctant to do.
On the following morning, Jerusalem Post Editor David Horvitz speaking for 45 minutes to Congressional staffers and AIPAC members on a conference call praised Biden's performance. It is not entirely clear in Israel where America stands, he said, but Israel was very pleased with what Joe Biden had to say.
But isn't that why Joe was picked for the job? Was it not to get the vote and the money from those Jews who were afraid that Barack Obama --who they suspected of being a closet Muslim was no true friend of Israel?
Obama picked Biden who is about as close to the pro-Israel community as any member of either house, observed MJ Rosenberg, a former AIPAC staffer, on TPM Café, just after Biden's selection. Biden is rated 100 per cent by AIPAC When he goes to the synagogues in Florida, he goes not as a visitor but as mishpocha [family]. The Jews simply love the guy.
Bottom line, concluded Rosenberg, the Biden choice pretty much eliminated Obama's Jewish problem. " That was then and now it doesn't seem to matter what position Obama takes, Biden seems to answer to his real boss. And it ain't Barack.
Appearing on the Charlie Rose show was but the latest assignment for Biden in his long career of serving Israel, the first 35 years of which he was drawing salary and gaining political clout as a US Senator for a state whose population is only slightly larger than that of San Francisco (783,600 to 776,733).
Look, Biden told Rose in a rambling monologue in which he confused Ehud Barak with Ariel Sharon, you can argue whether Israel should have dropped people onto that ship or not ... but the truth of the matter is, Israel has a right to know they're at war with Hamas has a right to know whether or not arms are being smuggled in. And up to now, Charlie, what's happened? They've said, Here you go. You're in the Mediterranean. This ship if you divert slightly north you can unload it and we'll get the stuff into Gaza. So what's the big deal here? What's the big deal of insisting it go straight to Gaza? Well, it's legitimate for Israel to say, don't know what's on that ship. These guys are dropping eight 3,000 rockets on my people.
No big deal, Joe, at least nine dead, or four less than the number of Israelis killed since the first Palestinian rocket was fired from Gaza. And notice how easily he says my and pretends that rockets are still being fired from Gaza.
That my was not a Freudian slip. Like scores of other US politicians who have traded their political souls for access to the seemingly bottomless checking accounts of Israel's American supporters, Biden has become a poster boy for dual loyalty. Given that he has done this as a member of Congress and continues to do so while now a heartbeat from the White House should probably qualify him for a treason trial and a cell next to Jonathan Pollard.
Back in 2007, on one of his many visits to Israel, he told a Shalom TV interviewer that the Jewish state was "the single greatest strength America has in the Middle East." Going beyond the standard AIPAC scripted boilerplate, Biden stated, "When I was a young senator, I used to say, 'If I were a Jew I'd be a Zionist.' I am a Zionist," he said. "You don't have to be a Jew to be a Zionist."
Asked about his prospective cell neighbor, sentenced to life-imprisonment in 1985 for turning over mounds of top secret information to Israel, Biden spoke of leniency for Pollard but not a pardon.
"There's a rationale, in my view, why Pollard should be given leniency, said Biden. But there is not a rationale to say, 'What happened did not happen and should be pardoned.'" In other words, should Biden become president, it is likely that Pollard would be freed.
Looking at Biden's track record, it would seem that he has not just been a key cheerleader for Israel; he has aspired to be a member of its coaching staff.
Speaking to an AIPAC meeting in 1992, he was quoted by the organization's Near East Report as saying that it was time to tell the American people straight out that it's in our naked self-interest to see to it that the moral commitment and political commitment is kept with regard to Israel and that Israel is not the cause of our problem, but the essence of the solution. This was in response to President George H.W. Bush's second refusal to support Israel's demand for $10 billion in loan guarantees. Which of America's problems Israel was able to solve Biden didn't mention.
In December, 1995, two years after Oslo, he spoke at an AIPAC meeting in San Francisco and told a lunchtime audience that included most of the Bay Area's public officials that they needed to spend more time educating new members of Congress about the wonders of Israel and its strategic value to the US:
Be prepared to both convert and be prepared to deal with those who are not converted....
Israel is taking more chances on her security today than any time in her history....Arabs make peace with Israel only when they realize that they can t drive a wedge between the US and Israel. We cannot afford to publicly criticize Israel. This past March, back in Israel on a fence-mending assignment, just before he was blindsided by the announcement of Israel's plan to build 1600 new Jewish housing units in East Jerusalem, Biden had modified his can't drive a wedge to read there is no space between.
At that time Biden gave his San Francisco speech, he had taken in over $100,000 from pro-Israel PACs which was small change compared to what he had received in individual donations. By far the largest of these came in 1988, when he made his first bid for the presidency. It was a $1.5 million gift from San Francisco financial real estate magnate Walter Shorenstein, who was, by no coincidence, AIPAC's main man in California as well a major player in the state's Democratic Party. It turned out to be a poor investment since that was the year that Biden was caught plagiarizing a speech by British Labor leader Neil Kinnock and had to withdraw from the race.
In 2007, true to form, Biden took the lead in the Senate in rejecting the Iraq Study Group's conclusion that the United States would not be able to achieve its goals in Iraq unless it "deals directly with the Arab-Israeli conflict, a view taken more recently by Gen. David Petraeus.
"I do not accept the notion of linkage between Iraq and the Arab-Israeli conflict," Biden said during his opening remarks at a January 17, 2007, Senate hearing. "Arab-Israeli peace is worth pursuing vigorously on its own merits, but even if a peace treaty were signed tomorrow, it would not end the civil war in Iraq. It was not that the study group said that it would but it was convenient straw man for Biden.
It was not his first comment on Iraq. It may be recalled that on May 1, 2006, Biden had co-authored an op-ed piece for the NY Times with his guru, Leslie Gelb, a former Times columnist and president emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations, that called for Iraq to be divided into three confessional states. It was starkly similar to what had been written in a policy paper back in 1982 by Oded Yinon, a senior Israeli foreign affairs official, in which he wrote that, To dissolve Iraq is even more important for us than dissolving Syria. In the short term, it's Iraqi power that constitutes the greatest threat to Israel. Gelb had first raised the issue in an op-ed in the Times in November, 2003.
During the 2008 election campaign Biden was outraged to find his loyalty to Israel being questioned by what he reportedly thought was AIPAC but which turned out to be the Republican Jewish Coalition. The RJC had accused him of not towing the AIPAC line on one or two occasions which caused Biden to defend his willingness to oppose AIPAC on some pieces of legislation.
In a 20-minute conference call with members of the Jewish media that September, Biden said it was up to the Israelis to make decisions about war and peace, including whether to launch a strike aimed at disrupting Iran's nuclear program.
This is not a question for us to tell the Israelis what they can and cannot do, said the Democratic vice presidential candidate. "Israel has the right to defend itself and it doesn't have to ask, just as any other free and independent country. I have faith in the democracy of Israel. They will arrive at the right decision that they view as being in their own interests. That as vice-president his job would be to protect US interests and not Israel's and that an attack on Iran might jeopardize American interests either had not occurred to him or was of no concern.
In the interview, Biden tried to position himself as being even more pro-Israel than AIPAC, vigorously defending his record of occasionally breaking ranks with the pro-Israel lobby. AIPAC does not speak for the entire American Jewish community, he said. There's other organizations as strong and as consequential.
Moreover, Biden insisted, "I will take a back seat to no one, and again, no one in AIPAC or any other organization, in terms of questioning my support of the State of Israel."
Insiders at the lobby were more bemused than offended by the outburst wrote the Jewish Telegraphic Agency's Ron Kampeas, saying they regarded Biden as essentially pro-Israel. Sources familiar with the situation said the Obama camp's explanation was that Biden had mistakenly thought it was AIPAC who had criticized him, as opposed to the RJC.
Upset at the RJC's questioning of Biden's pro-Israel credentials The New Republic's Marty Peretz, entered the lists in his behalf. Wrote Peretz in TNR and the Jerusalem Post in September,2008:
If ever there was a true friend of Israel in the United States Senate it is Joe Biden. Oh yes, there were also Owen Brewster, Republican from Maine, and Guy Gillette, Democrat from Iowa. But that goes back to the very founding of the state.
This is not hyperbole about Biden. It is true. And it is so not just on a philosophical basis but in deeds, too. Biden is a true friend on both a higher and a deeper level, and he has been that for three and a half decades. It is reckless for Jews to trifle with such allies. We have, as I've said, many friends. But what we do not have is many such allies - formidable, expert, truly passionate.
Following the election and now, as vice-president, Biden continued to merit Peretz's confidence. Speaking at AIPAC's 2009 policy conference in Washington, he began by describing how he had been warmly welcomed on a visit to Israel in 1973 as a freshman senator by Prime Minister Golda Meir and befriended by Yitzhak Rabin. Then, to loud rounds of applause, he told his audience:
[W]e have to pursue every opportunity for progress while standing up for one core principle: First, Israel's security is non-negotiable. Period. Period. [sic]Our commitment is unshakeable. We will continue to provide Israel with the assistance that it needs. We will continue to defend Israel's right to defend itself and make its own judgments about what it needs to do to defend itself.
Toward the end of his speech, Biden timorously advanced a position that has long been official US policy. You're not going to like my saying this, he said, but [do]not build more settlements, dismantle existing outposts, and allow the Palestinians freedom of movement. There was no applause.
In 1994, Biden was a key player in one of the ugliest episodes in American political history and one that characterizes the subservience of Washington to Israel in its way much as did the cover-up of Israel's attack on the USS Liberty 53 years ago on June 8th.
It featured a star chamber recantation before a confirmation hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, chaired by Biden, of Strobe Talbott, former Soviet affairs analyst for Time, of an article he had written, following his nomination as Deputy Secretary of State by Bill Clinton. Talbott was facing the inquisition as a result of a major article he had written for the magazine in 1981, What to do about Israel (9/7/81). In it, Talbott had advocated a new policy towards Israel-US relations that would rescue that relationship starting with the delusion that Israel is, or ever has been, primarily a strategic ally.
While expressing the obligatory degree of affection for Israel, Talbott had not been equivocal. Referring to problems that had been created for the Reagan administration by Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, Talbott wrote in words, especially pertinent today, His country does need the US for its survival, but the sad fact is that Israel is well on its way to becoming not just a dubious asset but an outright liability to American security interests, both in the Middle East and worldwide.
Talbott was referring to Israel's destruction of the Iraqi nuclear reactor at Osirak and a deadly bombing raid over Beirut that killed over 100 people and wounded 600 more, most of them civilians. Talbott had advised that, If Israel continues to take international law into its own hands as violently and as embarrassingly to the US as it did in Baghdad and Beirut, then the next display of US displeasure ought to be more sustained and less symbolic. It might include severe cutbacks in American military aid, which is $1.2 billion for fiscal 1981 alone.[It is now officially $3 billion].
Pressed to recant, Talbott uttered the required response. As reported by the New York Times Steven Greenhouse, do want to set the record straight on the question of my view of Israel as a strategic asset, he said, sounding chastened and contrite. On that I have simply changed my opinion.
On the other hand, straining to reassure supporters of Israel, Mr. Talbott said, I have always believed that the US-Israeli relationship is unshakable. Second, I have always believed that a strong Israel is in America's interest because it serves the cause of peace and stability in the region
During his 21 years at Time, Mr. Talbott often criticized Israel. Today he took a markedly different tone, portraying himself as a friend of Israel.
In the article Talbott, had written that Begin recognized that American Jews wield influence far beyond their numbers, but he also knew that there is considerable pent-up irritation in the US with the power of the pro-Israel lobby (which includes, of course, many non-Jews). It was clearly his own opinion, as well.
Biden, according to the NY Times, jumped on that statement, calling it, totally inappropriate, to which Talbott, sserting that no sight was intended, noted that this was simply a statement of fact, and turned to Sen. Bernard Metzenbaum from his home state of Ohio for confirmation. Metzenbaum said that he was satisfied with Talbott's remarks, but, Maybe, in retrospect, he might have changed some phrases or some paragraphs.
Mind you, Talbott had questioned Israel's strategic value to the US in 1981, in the heart of the Cold War when he was considered one of the main stream media's ranking Soviet experts. Before going before the Senate, he had become a senior advisor on the former Soviet Union to the Clinton White House. By 1994, with the Soviet bloc no longer in the picture, it was generally agreed, even in Tel Aviv, that Israel's value to the US had been severely diminished.
Biden went on, citing the same article, noted that Talbott also had written: "Israel has been a credit to itself and its American backers."
Playing the role of Torquemada, he asked Talbott, Do you believe that?"
"Yes, senator, I do," he obediently replied.
His conversion process having been completed, Talbott received the senator's and subsequently the Senate's approval.
The reader should not be left with the impression that Joe Biden's prime passions are limited to the love of Israel.
While in the Senate, he was a key supporter of the credit card industry, much of which is based in Delaware thanks to its cozy industry friendly tax laws and he was a key beneficiary of its campaign contributions. In return, he became a leading supporter of the "Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005" which, despite its title, made it harder for consumers to get protection under bankruptcy.
Biden was one of the first Democratic supporters of the bill and voted for it four times until it finally passed in March, 2005. Twisting the truth, a spokesman for Sen. Obama told the NY Times, "Senator Biden took on entrenched interests and succeeded in improving the bill for low-income workers, women and children."
But even the Times wasn't buying that. Biden, the paper noted, was one of only five Democrats who voted against a proposal that would require credit card companies to provide more effective warnings to consumers about the consequences of paying only the minimum amount due each month. Obama had voted for it.
Biden differed with Obama again when he helped to defeat amendments which would have strengthened protections for people forced into bankruptcy who have large medical debts or are in the military. He was also one of four Democrats who sided with Republicans to defeat an effort, supported by Obama, to shift responsibility in certain cases from debtors to the predatory lenders who helped push them into bankruptcy.
So why did Obama pick Biden for his running mate? We already know the answer.
Jeffrey Blankfort can be contacted at [email protected]
http://www.counterpunch.org/blankfort06112010.html 16 oct 2010, 02:32 , Respect -
Maria 13 juni 2010
Video reveals European, American weapons used in Israeli attack on Gaza Flotilla
Sa'ar class corvette warship
In this still taken from the CoR video at 1hr 26sec, an Israeli warship appears:
On Friday 11 June, the Cultures of Resistance Foundation (CoR) released a full hour of video taken aboard the Mavi Marmara before and during the Israeli assault on the ship in the early hours of 31 May in the international waters of the Mediterranean Sea about 80 miles west of the coast of Israel. At least nine people were killed and dozens injured in the Israeli attack.
CoR director Iara Lee and camera operators from her organization were aboard the ship and managed to smuggle the raw footage out of Israel despite Israel's confiscation of all other recordings and images from journalists and passengers when they were taken against their will to Israel and later expelled from the country.
This video reveals information about some of the weapons used by Israel. In using these weapons to enforce an illegal blockade on Gaza and to carry out an illegal attack on civilian ships in international waters, Israel may have acted in violation of the US Arms Export Control Act of 1976, the EU Code of Conduct on Arms Exports or other international law or human rights laws of the exporting countries.
http://aliabunimah.posterous.com/
Officials Try to Strip Haneen Zoubi of Citizenship
An Israeli parliamentary committee recommended stripping an Arab MP of her privileges yesterday in a move to prepare the ground for putting her on trial for participating last week in the Gaza-bound aid flotilla attacked by Israeli commandos.
Haneen Zoubi, who has become a national hate figure since challenging Israel's account of the confrontation, said yesterday she was facing a witch-hunt.
The interior minister, Eli Yishai, has submitted a request for her citizenship to be revoked, and a bill -- labelled the Zoubi Law- is being considered that would allow a serving MP to be expelled for inciting against the state.
Ms Zoubi has been provided with a bodyguard after receiving a spate of death threats. A popular Facebook page in Hebrew is calling for her execution and an online petition for her expulsion from the parliament has attracted tens of thousands of supporters.
Last week, in unprecedented scenes as she tried to address parliament, Ms Zoubi was heckled into silence by Jewish legislators shouting out terrorist and traitor. Guards only narrowly prevented a far-right parliamentarian from attacking her.
Yesterday's hearing of the parliament's house committee was originally intended to consider revoking the immunity of six Arab MPs, including Ms Zoubi, who travelled to Libya in April. All the Arab MPs boycotted the meeting.
However, the committee chairman, Yariv Levin, of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party, switched the focus to Ms Zoubi's involvement in the flotilla.
Legal advisers said the MP was still being investigated for attempting to enter a closed military area and violence against the commandos. After she disembarked from the Mavi Marmara in Ashdod last week, Ms Zoubi said she had been questioned by police about possessing a weapon.
The committee approved by a majority of 7-1 stripping her of parliamentary privileges that take away her diplomatic passport, reportedly to prevent her fleeing the country, and withdraw help with litigation fees. Parliament must approve the decision.
Mr Levin accused Ms Zoubi of betraying the country and said she must be put on trial. What Zoubi did crossed the line and even in a democracy there must be red lines. Whoever sails to Hamas is a supporter of terror, he said.
Ms Zoubi responded: They conducted a kangaroo court against me. They have called on the public to harm me.
An editorial in the liberal Haaretz newspaper warned yesterday that an atmosphere of dangerous incitement was developing against Israel's Palestinian minority, a fifth of the population. Two other Arab MPs, Ahmed Tibi and Taleb al Sana, revealed that they too had received death threats.
In addition to the removal of Ms Zoubi's privileges, she is also facing the revocation of her citizenship. The measure has been used only twice before in Israel's history -- both times against Palestinian citizens accused of terrorism.
Last week, Mr Yishai wrote to the attorney general asking for the go-ahead, saying Ms Zoubi had headed a group of terrorists and was undoubtedly aware of the activists preparations for the attack against IDF troops. This is a premeditated act of treason.
Orna Kohn, a lawyer with Adalah, a legal centre for the country's Palestinian minority, said Mr Yishai's move was uncharted legal territory that could leave Ms Zoubi stateless, in violation of international law. There is simply no precedent for revoking the citizenship of an MP, she said.
After Ms Zoubi's release last week, she said she had seen three passengers shot in the head by soldiers, and two more left to bleed to death. According to autopsies conducted in Turkey, five of the nine dead passengers were shot in the head, and many of the lethal shots were fired from close range.
During her address to the parliament last week, Ms Zoubi called for an international investigation and demanded to know why Israel had not published photographs and video footage it confiscated from passengers that related to the nine dead and dozens of wounded.
After the session, she said: It was so hostile in the chamber that, had MPs been allowed to carry guns, I am sure someone would have shot me.
Israel has been swept by rightwing demonstrations in support of the raid on the flotilla over the past few days.
A Hebrew Facebook page Execute MP Haneen Zoubi features a cartoon image of the MP with crosshairs on her forehead as the figure waves a Palestinian flag with a bloody Star of David at its centre.
Ms Zoubi said she had been surprised to learn that the armed bodyguard -- normally reserved for government ministers and the head of state -- was supposed to remain with her even inside the parliament chamber. What does that say about the threat posed by my fellow MPs?
Four other leaders of Israel's Palestinian community who were on the ships are being investigated by police. After the mass release of detainees last week, they were freed to house arrest but are banned from leaving the country.
At his remand hearing, Sheik Raed Salah, a leader of Israel's Islamic Movement, said of the flotilla episode: The soldiers tried to kill me. They fired in the direction of someone else they thought was me.
Rumours circulating widely that Sheikh Salah had been killed in the commando raid eight days ago were not denied by Israeli officials and only ended when his family identified that a body brought to an Israeli hospital was not his.
Jonathan Cook is a writer and journalist based in Nazareth, Israel. His latest books are Israel and the Clash of Civilisations: Iraq, Iran and the Plan to Remake the Middle East (Pluto Press) and Disappearing Palestine: Israel's Experiments in Human Despair(Zed Books). His website is www.jkcook.net.
By JONATHAN COOK
http://www.counterpunch.org/cook06082010.html
Rabbi Weiss of neturei Karta visits the wounded injured in the Israeli Attack on Humanitarian Flotilla to Gaza
Rabbi Yisroel D. Weiss of Neturei Karta flew to Turkey to visit the wounded victims of the Zionist attack on the humanitarian aid flotilla headed to Gaza.
Read Statement issued by Neturei Karta and view reports of protests and events concerning the humanitarian aid flotilla
http://www.nkusa.org/activities/Demonstrations/20100607Weiss_visits_wounded.cfm#
Barak Cancels French Visit for Fear of Arrest Involving Gaza Flotilla Attack
Ehud Barak's office announced tonight that he had cancelled a planned trip to France, where he was to take part in the dedication of the Israeli pavillion at the Eurosatory International Defense Week there and have consultations with the French foreign and defense ministers. The purported reason for the cancellation as relayed by his spokesperson, was that he had to remain in Israel to help assemble the panel of experts to investigate the Gaza flotilla massacre.
A confidential Israeli source informs me (and AP confirms) that the real reason was that Palestinian activists in France had filed legal complaints against him over his involvement in the flotilla affair. He was afraid he might be arrested.
I understand as well that his advance security detail discovered an inordinate number of pudgy dark-skinned tennis players in dark glasses running around the hotel where he planned to stay. For those lacking a sense of satire, that was a joke.
I have written a number of times here about the international campaign demanding accountability for Israel%u2019s behavior. The more outrageous the acts that country engages in the more its leaders will be constrained from exercising their right to travel abroad to defend those acts. Both BDS and the use of international law have contributed to an ostracism of Israel on the world stage. If Israel continues along the path it has chosen this will only get worse.
That is why the Israeli government and its right wing apologists like Alan Dershowitz, Elie Wiesel, Gerald Steinberg and Im Tirtzu have so savagely attacked the Goldstone Report, Judge Goldstone and the Israeli human rights NGO community.
http://www.richardsilverstein.com/tikun_olam/2010/06/13/barak-cancels-french-visit-for-fear-of-arrest-involving-gaza-flotilla-attack/
Arrestatiebevelen gevraagd voor Benjamin Netanyahu en Ehud Barak
(Belga) De Israëlische minister van Defensie Ehud Barak is volledig verantwoordelijk voor de militaire operatie tegen het humanitaire scheepskonvooi waarbij negen vredesactivisten gedood werden. Dat melden de organisaties Vlaams Palestina Komitee, CODIP vzw (Centrum voor Ontwikkeling, Documentatie en Informatie Palestijnen) en ATTAC Vlaanderen dinsdag in een persbericht.
Tegen minister van Defensie Barak en de Israëlische premier Benjamin Netanyahu moeten dan ook internationale arrestatiebevelen worden uitgevaardigd wegens misdaden tegen de menselijkheid, zo luidt het verder. De organisaties vragen dat de Europese Unie onmiddellijk de bijzondere associatieverdragen met Israël opschort tot alle blokkades van Palestijnse gebieden zijn opgeheven, en tot herstelbetalingen door Tel Aviv aan de Palestijnen zijn overgemaakt, zo staat te lezen in het persbericht. Voorts eisen ze dat de mensenrechten gerespecteerd worden.
http://www.skynet.be/nieuws-sport/nieuws/buitenland/detail_arrestatiebevelen-gevraagd-voor-benjamin-netanyahu-ehud-barak?id=665384&pagenb=2 16 oct 2010, 22:24 , Respect -
Maria 13 juni 2010
Israel's Impunity From International Law
Both the Attack on the Flotilla and the Siege of Gaza are Illegal
Israel's deadly attack on the Gaza "Freedom Flotilla" was flagrantly illegal. The flotilla, carefully searched for arms before disembarkation, enjoyed the right of free navigation in international waters, and Israel had no legal justification to interrupt its peaceful mission.
Flotilla passengers were entitled to defend themselves against Israel's forcible boarding of the Mavi Marmara, whether or not Israeli commandos fired immediately on landing on the ship's deck, as the passengers maintain. Dropping 100 armed soldiers on a ship from the sky is not a peaceful maneuver. Nor can Israeli armed commandos claim self-defense, any more than a purse snatcher facing a victim who elects to fight back. Hence, Israel is culpable for the killings that followed.
Israel has claimed that it is in "armed conflict" with the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip and that its actions on the high seas to enforce the blockade of the Gaza Strip are therefore permissible. That claim is wrong.
In fact, under customary international law that Israel accepts as binding, Israel continues to occupy the Gaza Strip, despite the withdrawal of its ground troops and settlers from that region in 2005. A territory is "occupied" when foreign forces exercise "effective control" over it, whether accomplished through the continuous presence of ground troops or not.
Israel patrols the territorial waters and airspace of the Gaza Strip, regulates Gaza's land borders, restricts internal movements by excluding Gazans from a "buffer zone" that includes 46 percent of the strip's agricultural land, and controls the Gaza Strip's supplies of electricity, heating oil, and petrol. Together these factors amount to remote but "effective control." Thus, the Gaza Strip remains occupied, as the United Nations, the U.S. government and the International Committee of the Red Cross have all recognized.
Israel has authority to halt arms imports into the Gaza Strip. But it also owes a general duty of protection to civilians under its control, and has specific duties to allow them access to adequate food and medical supplies, and to maintain public health standards - duties it has deliberately violated in imposing the siege on Gaza. Currently 77.2 percent of Gaza Palestinians either face or are vulnerable to hunger; of these, 65 percent are children younger than 18. According to UNICEF, 10 percent of Gaza children show signs of stunting, while the World Health Organization maintains that another 10 percent face chronic malnutrition.
Moreover, collective punishment is specifically barred under Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. Israeli officials have repeatedly stated that the objective of the blockade is to weaken the Gaza economy and undermine support for Hamas. That is a political, not a military, objective, and it is impermissible under international law to target innocent civilians to achieve nonmilitary goals.
Actions taken to enforce an illegal siege cannot themselves be legal. Israel's blockade violates the human rights of Gaza Palestinians and must be brought to an end.
Israel's attack on the "Freedom Flotilla" is the logical consequence of years of Israeli impunity from international law - abetted by the diplomatic cover provided it by our government. At some point, genuine friends of both Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arabs must impress on Israel that its serial lawlessness is good for no one, multiplying resentment and pain, and pushing the prospects of regional peace into a more distant future.
George Bisharat is a professor at Hastings College of the Law and writes frequently about law and politics in the Middle East.
By GEORGE BISHARAT
http://www.counterpunch.org/bisharat06092010.html
This is "State Terrorism" with "Irreversible Consequences"
Turkey Condemns Israel
By PATRICK COCKBURN
AIsrael's relations with its most powerful Muslim ally have plunged to a historic low, with the Turkish Prime Minister denouncing the killing of peace activists off the coast of Gaza as "state terrorism" and more than 10,000 protesters taking to the streets of Istanbul, with some trying to storm the Israeli consulate.
The Turkish government had not directly organized the flotilla of six ships including the Turkish cruise ship Mavi Marmara aiming to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza, but the foreign ministry had made clear before the Israeli assault that it supported the voyage as a humanitarian operation.
As Turkey recalled its ambassador yesterday, and cancelled three joint military exercises with Israel, Huseyin Celik, a spokesman for the ruling AK Party declared: "Our relations with Israel will never be the same."
The once-warm relationship has turned more sour and acrimonious over the past several years, but the attack on the Mavi Marmara, the fact that most of the dead are Turkish, and the pictures of Israeli commandos stalking past railings draped with the Turkish flag, will have an explosive impact.
The Turkish army used to favor links to Israel and the military used to control Turkish foreign policy. This is no longer the case. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Islamic AKP have weakened the military's grip on power since they formed a government in 2002. Willingness to co-operate with the US and support its alliance with Israel is no longer true of the younger officers as it is of the older generals. Yesterday's action against the Gaza aid flotilla was only the latest in a series of incidents between Israel and Turkey. In 2009, Mr Erdogan stormed out of a debate with Israeli President Shimon Peres in Davos when he was not given enough time to respond to Peres's defense of the bombardment of Gaza.
Later that year, Turkey postponed an air force exercise because of Israeli participation; in retaliation, Israel sought stronger relations with Cyprus and Greece.
Other incidents followed. In an episode widely criticized as puerile in Israel, Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon summoned the Turkish ambassador this year to protest at a Turkish television program which depicted Mossad agents snatching babies to convert them to Judaism. Mr Ayalon crowed that he had deliberately sat the ambassador in a lower chair than his own and removed the Turkish flag. Turkey later called for an apology.
Turkey is a more essential ally for the United States in the Middle East than it has been for years. It is playing a critical role in Iraq, helping the US to withdraw its forces more easily and Ankara's alliance with Israel has been a key plank of US diplomacy in the Middle East. The Turkish Foreign Ministry had warned earlier that Israeli action on the flotilla would have "irreversible consequences" and for once this diplomatic cliché may turn out to be true.
Patrick Cockburn is the Ihe author of "Muqtada: Muqtada Al-Sadr, the Shia Revival, and the Struggle for Iraq."
http://www.counterpunch.org/patrick06012010.html
Mad-Dog of the Planet
Notch Up Another Disaster for Israel's Well-Oiled Propaganda Machine
By PATRICK COCKBURN
An old Israeli saying describing various less-than-esteemed military leaders says: "He was so stupid that even the other generals noticed." The same derisive remark could be applied almost without exception to the present generation of Israeli politicians.
Such healthy skepticism among Israelis about the abilities of their military and political leaders has unfortunately ebbed in recent decades. As a result, Israelis are left perplexed as to why their wars, military interventions and armed actions have so often ended in failure since the 1973 war, despite the superiority of their armed forces.
The latest example of this is the assault on the Gaza aid convoy by naval commandos, a confrontation initiated by Israel which thereby ensured that the convoy's organizers achieved their objectives to a degree beyond their wildest dreams. By using assault troops in a police action against civilians with predictably bloody results Israel managed to focus international attention on its blockade of Gaza, which the world had hitherto largely ignored. The Israeli action infuriated Turkey, once its strongest ally in the region, and strengthened the claim of Hamas to Palestinian leadership.
The capacity of Israel to shoot itself in the foot needs explanation. From the beginning the operation was idiotic, since Israel was always likely to look bad after any confrontation between élite troops and civilian protesters. Even more ludicrous is the Israeli explanation that their élite and heavily armed soldiers were at risk of their lives because they had to use thick gloves to protect their hands when sliding down cables from a helicopter and therefore could not use their weapons.
The nature of the fiasco should cause little surprise because such botched Israeli military actions have been the norm for years. The 1982 invasion of Lebanon was discredited by the massacre of Palestinians in Sabra and Shatila refugee camps by Christian militias loosed on them by Israeli army commanders. Syria, not Israel, became the predominant power in Lebanon. In south Lebanon, the Israeli army fought a long and unsuccessful guerrilla war against Hizbollah. The bombardments of Lebanon in 1996 and 2006 left Hizbollah stronger, and a similar attack on Gaza in 2008 failed to weaken Hamas.
The problem is that nobody believes Israeli propaganda as much as Israelis. Pro-Palestinian activists often lament the fluency and mendacity of Israeli spokesmen on the airwaves and the pervasive influence of Israel's supporters abroad. But, in reality, these PR campaigns are Israel's greatest weakness, because they distort Israelis' sense of reality. Defeats and failures are portrayed as victories and successes.
The slaughter of civilians is justified as a military necessity or somehow the fault of the other side. Opponents are demonized as bloodthirsty terrorists. Comforted by such benign accounts of their activities, Israeli leaders are consumed by arrogance because they come to believe they have never made a mistake. Denial that errors have occurred makes it extremely difficult to sack generals or ministers, however gross their incompetence or record of failure.
Many Israelis privately take their own propaganda with a pinch of salt, though the number is diminishing. But abroad, the most third-rate Israeli politicians strut before fawning audiences as heroic defenders of the state. Not surprisingly they return home with a dangerously inflated idea of their own abilities and in a perilously self-important mood.
The Israeli propaganda machine, official and private, has been running full throttle in the last few days justifying the assault on the aid convoy to Gaza. Probably spokesmen feel they are performing well given the weakness of their case. In fact, they do nothing but harm to Israel. The greater their success in denying gross and culpable mistakes, the more likely it is that the perpetrators will hold their jobs %u2013 and the more likely it is that the mistakes will be endlessly repeated.
Patrick Cockburn is the author of "Muqtada: Muqtada Al-Sadr, the Shia Revival, and the Struggle for Iraq."
http://www.counterpunch.org/patrick06022010.html
"Mad Dog" Diplomacy
A Cornered Israel is Baring Its Teeth
By JONATHAN COOK
Moshe Dayan, Israel's most celebrated general, famously outlined the strategy he believed would keep Israel's enemies at bay: Israel must be a like a mad dog, too dangerous to bother.
Until now, most observers had assumed Dayan was referring to Israeli military or possibly nuclear strategy, an expression in his typically blunt fashion of the country's familiar doctrine of deterrence.
But the Israeli commando attack on Monday on the Gaza-bound flotilla, in which nine activists have so far been confirmed killed and dozens were wounded as they tried to break Israel's blockade of the enclave, proves beyond doubt that this is now a diplomatic strategy too. Israel is feeling cornered on every front it considers important and like Dayan's mad dog, it is likely to strike out in unpredictable ways.
Domestically, Israeli human rights activists have regrouped after the Zionist left's dissolution in the wake of the outbreak of the second intifada. Now they are presenting clear-eyed and extremely ugly assessments of the occupation that are grabbing headlines around the world.
That move has been supported by the leadership of Israel s large Palestinian minority, which has additionally started questioning the legitimacy of a Jewish state in ways that would have been unthinkable only a few years ago.
Regionally, Hizbullah has progressively eroded Israel's deterrence doctrine. It forced the Israeli army to exit south Lebanon in 2000 after a two-decade occupation; it stood firm in the face of both aerial bombardment and a ground invasion during the 2006 war; and now it is reported to have accumulated an even larger arsenal of rockets than it had four years ago.
Iran, too, has refused to be intimidated and is leaving Israel with an uncomfortable choice between conceding to Tehran the room to develop a nuclear bomb, thereby ending Israel's regional nuclear monopoly, and launching an attack that could unleash a global conflagration.
And internationally, nearly 18 months on from its attack on Gaza, Israel's standing is at an all-time low. Boycott campaigns are gaining traction, reluctant support for Israel from European governments has set them in opposition to home-grown sentiment, and even traditional allies such as Turkey cannot hide their anger.
In the US, Israel's most resolute ally, young American Jews are starting to question their unthinking loyalty to the Jewish state. Blogs and new kinds of Jewish groups are bypassing their elders and the American media to widen the scope of debate about Israel.
Israel has responded by characterizing these threats all as falling within its ever-expanding definition of support for terrorism.
It was therefore hardly suprising that the first reaction from the Israeli government to the fact that its commandoes had opened fire on civilians in the flotilla of aid ships was to accuse the solidarity activists of being armed.
Similarly, Danny Ayalon, the deputy foreign minister, accused the organizers of having connections to international terrorism, including al-Qaeda. Turkey, which assisted the flotilla, is widely being accused in Israel of supporting Hamas and trying to topple Benjamin Netanyahu's government.
Palestinians are familiar with such tactics. Gaza's entire population of 1.5 million is now regularly presented in the Israeli media in collective terms, as supporters of terror for having voted in Hamas and therefore legitimate targets for Israeli retaliation. Even the largely docile Palestinian Authority in the West Bank has rapidly been tarred with the same brush for its belated campaign to boycott the settlements and their products.
The leaders of Israel's Palestinian citizens too are being cast in the role of abettors of terror. The minority is still reeling from the latest assault: the arrest and torture of two community leaders charged with spying for Hizbullah. In its wake, new laws are being drafted to require that Palestinian citizens prove their loyalty or have their citizenship revoked.
When false rumors briefly circulated on Monday that Sheikh Raed Salah, a leader of Israel's Islamic Movement who was in the flotilla, had been gravely wounded, Israeli officials offered a depressingly predictable, and unfounded, response: commandoes had shot him after they came under fire from his cabin.
Israel's Jewish human rights community is also under attack to a degree never before seen. Their leaders are now presented as traitors, and new legislation is designed to make their work much harder.
The few brave souls in the Israeli media who try to hold the system to account have been given a warning shot with the exile of Haaretz's investigative journalist Uri Blau, who is threatened with trial on spying charges if he returns.
Finally, Israel's treatment of those onboard the flotilla has demonstrated that the net against human rights activism is being cast much wider, to encompass the international community.
Foreigners, even high-profile figures such as Noam Chomsky, are now routinely refused entry to Israel and the occupied territories. Many foreign human rights workers face severe restrictions on their movement and efforts to deport them or ban their organizations. The Israeli government is agreed that Europe should be banned from interfering in the region by supporting local human rights organizations.
The epitome of this process was Israel's reception of the UN report last year into the attack on Gaza by Richard Goldstone, a respected judge and international law expert who suggested Israel had committed many war crimes during its three-week operation. Goldstone has faced savage personal attacks ever since.
But more significantly, Israel's supporters have characterized the Goldstone report and the related legal campaigns against Israel as examples of lawfare, implying that those who uphold international law are waging a new kind of war of attrition on behalf of terror groups like Hamas and Hizbullah.
These trends are likely only to deepen in the coming months and years, making Israel an ever greater pariah in the eyes of much of the world. The mad dog is baring his teeth, and it is high time the international community decided how to deal with him.
Jonathan Cook is a writer and journalist based in Nazareth, Israel. His latest books are Israel and the Clash of Civilisations: Iraq, Iran and the Plan to Remake the Middle East (Pluto Press) and Disappearing Palestine: Israel's Experiments in Human Despair (Zed Books). His website is www.jkcook.net.
http://www.counterpunch.org/cook06032010.html
Sabotaging Peace
The Real Motive Behind the Gaza Flotilla Attack
By RANNIE AMIRI
Worldwide outrage and condemnation of Israel's brazen, unprovoked attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, which killed at least nine activists and injured dozens, was predictable and justified. Many remained puzzled, though, as to why Israel thought it necessary to send in elite, rappelling commandos to confront an unarmed civilian flotilla carrying 10,000 tons of humanitarian aid to the beleaguered territory. The six-ship convoy was co-sponsored by a Turkish humanitarian organization and sailed under Turkey's flag when it was raided in international waters.
The consensus was that Israel was sending a message. Anyone who dared challenge its naval blockade and siege of Gaza would meet a similar fate.
This is a correct yet superficial analysis. The real motive behind the Israeli assault is far more sinister: to deliberately undermine (if not entirely abort) consequential, substantive peace talks with the Palestinians and Syrians, and repay the Turks for negotiating a nuclear fuel-swap deal with Iran (which significantly set back Israel%u2019s case for military intervention).
In essence, it was done to sabotage peace.
We have to set up a dynamic state bent upon expansion, David Ben Gurion famously stated. And peace, stability and diplomacy are obstacles to Zionism's tenets of land acquisition and subjugation of indigenous peoples.
There have been recent calls to advance the indirect, United States-mediated proximity talks taking place between the Israeli government and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. This now seems unlikely.
The opening sentence of a May 31 Associated Press report inferred similarly:
Israel's bloody, bungled takeover of a Gaza-bound Turkish aid vessel is complicating U.S.-led Mideast peace efforts, deepening Israel's international isolation ...
That was exactly the intent. Israel can easily wither international isolation to the degree the U.S. protects it from meaningful sanction. Israel actually covets isolation; it permits it to operate in nothing to lose mode. Expropriation of Palestinian land accelerates and reckless behavior goes unchecked.
Additionally, the attack effectively severs relations with Turkey. Israel wants no part of a non-military solution to the Iranian nuclear issue like the one just brokered by Turkey and Brazil. Turkey's role in mediating between Syria and Israel, for all the perfunctory plaudits the latter gave it, was actually unwelcome and is now off the table as well.
It would not be the first time Israel deliberately provoked a crisis at the expense of civilian lives to further its expansionist agenda, justify war, or use as a campaign issue:
* Six weeks before Israel's 1996 elections, Prime Minister Shimon Peres launched operation Grapes of Wrath, a two-week military blitz in Lebanon conducted in the midst of a two-decade occupation of the south. During it, the Israelis massacred 106 civilians that had sought shelter at a United Nations compound in Qana.
* In September 2000, four months before his election, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (accompanied by 1,000 riot police), paraded through the Haram al-Sharif compound in Jerusalem, which includes al-Aqsa mosque the third holiest site in Islam leading to the Second Intifada.
The United Nations Human Rights Commission, in a resolution titled Grave and massive violations of the human rights of the Palestinian people by Israel, condemned the provocative visit to Al-Haram al-Sharif on 28 September 2000 by Ariel Sharon, the Likud party leader, which triggered the tragic events that followed in occupied East Jerusalem and the other occupied Palestinian territories, resulting in a high number of deaths and injuries among Palestinian civilians.
Sharon then campaigned on putting down the intifada he instigated.
* 1,500 Lebanese were killed, one million displaced, and the country's civil infrastructure decimated during Israel's failed bid to destroy Hezbollah in the July 2006 war. The conflict started after two Israeli commandos were caught snooping around the Lebanese border town of Aitaa al-Chaab. After years of repeated, illegal violations of Lebanese airspace failed to provoke a response, the soldiers capture was the pretense needed to initiate the disproportionate Israeli onslaught.
* The flimsy rationale upon which the 2008-2009 Gaza invasion was based was previously discussed.
The latest Israeli operation against 700 activists delivering humanitarian supplies to Gaza is only the latest in a series of criminal endeavors meant to quash any hope for peace, negotiation or conflict resolution between Israel, its neighbors and the Palestinians.
Mission accomplished.
Rannie Amiri is an independent Middle East commentator. He may be reached at: rbamiri [at] yahoo [dot] com.
http://www.counterpunch.org/amiri06042010.html
Spaanse premier wil krachtig standpunt van EU over Gaza
De Spaanse regeringsleider José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero heeft zich vandaag uitgesproken voor een "krachtig gemeenschappelijk standpunt van de Europese Unie" over de situatie in Gaza en de Israëlische blokkade. Spanje neemt momenteel het roterende voorzitterschap van de EU waar.
"Wij willen een krachtig gemeenschappelijk standpunt van de EU tot stand brengen over hetgeen er in Gaza is gebeurd en over de humanitaire toestand in dat gebied", verklaarde Zapatero na een onderhoud met de Palestijnse president Palestijns Mahmoud Abbas.
De Spaanse regeringsleider liet ook weten dat zijn minister van Buitenlandse Zaken, Miguel Angel Moratinos, maandag aan de Europese ministers van Buitenlandse Zaken zal voorstellen "dat de Unie zich duidelijk uitspreekt voor het beëindigen van de blokkade van de Gazastrook en dat alle politieke en diplomatieke acties (van de EU) worden ingezet voor dat doel".
Moratinos had eerder deze week al aangekondigd dat de ministers van Buitenlandse Zaken op 14 juni in Luxemburg zullen samenkomen om een gemeenschappelijk standpunt over deze kwestie te ontwikkelen.
http://www.hln.be/hln/nl/960/Buitenland/article/detail/1117715/2010/06/12/Spaanse-premier-wil-krachtig-standpunt-van-EU-over-Gaza.dhtml
EU ready to intensify pressure on Israel to lift Gaza blockade
Spain's prime minister José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero is spearheading EU calls for a stronger stance on Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip.
The European Union is expected to intensify pressure on Israel to ease its blockade of the Gaza Strip when its foreign ministers meet in Brussels tomorrow amid calls to adopt a robust position.
Spain, which currently holds the EU's rotating presidency, will press for a vigorous approach with support from France, Italy and the UK. José Luis Zapatero, Spain's prime minister, called at the weekend for a "strong joint EU position on the siege".
Zapatero said his foreign minister, Miguel Ángel Moratinos, would argue at the meeting that the EU should "stand up for the end of the blockade on Gaza and that it extends all its political and diplomatic capacity to reach that goal".
Moratinos and his French and Italian counterparts, Bernard Kouchner and Franco Frattini, co-authored an article in the International Herald Tribune last week urging an easing of the blockade.
In the wake of Israel's attack on the flotilla carrying aid to Gaza William Hague, the foreign secretary, described the siege as unacceptable and counterproductive.
The Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, told cabinet colleagues today that discussions about Israel's policy towards Gaza, which have included three meetings with the Middle East Quartet envoy Tony Blair in the past eight days, were continuing.
Blair has been authorised by the Quartet %u2013 the US, UN, EU and Russia %u2013 to try to reach an agreement with Netanyahu on easing the blockade.
He is pressing for Israel to substitute the current "allowed" list of items permitted to enter Gaza %u2013 all items not on the list are forbidden %u2013 for a "banned" list (a limited number of prohibited items, with everything else permitted). The result would be greater transparency and accountability.
Netanyahu told the cabinet: "The principle guiding our policy is clear %u2013 to prevent war material from entering Gaza and to allow the entry of humanitarian aid and non-contraband goods."
Following today's Israeli cabinet meeting, Blair said: "I welcome Prime Minister Netanyahu's clear distinction between Israel's necessity to protect its security and otherwise to allow Gaza people to get the goods and material they require for ordinary life."
Despite the pressure to relax the siege, Israel is reluctant to make a dramatic move which would allow Hamas to claim a victory.
Aid agencies and the UN are also concerned that Israel will restrict any relaxation to essential humanitarian supplies which, although much needed, will not help Gaza's legitimate economy to recover and regain its authority over the black market economy which is based on goods smuggled in via tunnels from Egypt Phil Bloomer, Oxfam's policy director, said: "[Gaza's] conventional economy is in tatters, and without a full lifting of the blockade it will continue on a downward spiral, stopping Gazans rebuild their lives."
Amr Moussa, the secretary-general of the Arab League, arrived in Gaza today in the most high-profile visit by an Arab official since Hamas took control of the territory in June 2007 after winning elections six months earlier.
He was expected to meet the Hamas prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh, to discuss the prospects of reconciliation between Fatah, which dominates the West Bank and is the party of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, and Hamas.
He told a press conference in Rafah: "The Palestinians deserve that the world, and not just the Arab world, stand by them in the face of the siege and in the face of what is happening in the occupied territories and Jerusalem."
Two weeks after the lethal attack on the aid flotilla by Israeli commandos, there is still no firm announcement of an inquiry despite international pressure.
There has been speculation that the issue may have become linked to demands for a relaxation of the blockade in that pressure for an independent international inquiry may be eased if Israel agrees to allow more aid into Gaza.
Israel has proposed an internal investigation, headed by a former supreme court judge, Yaakov Tirkel, with up to three international observers. The US has yet to agree to this formula.
Israel's defence minister, Ehud Barak, today called off a trip to a Paris arms show amid reports that pro-Palestinian groups in France would seek his arrest over the flotilla deaths.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jun/13/eu-opposes-israel-gaza-blockade 16 oct 2010, 23:08 , Respect -
Maria 14 juni 2010
Israel's Gaza blockade breaks law, says ICRC
ICRC says for first time blockade breaks international law, Urges Hamas to allow Gilad Shalit contact with family By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA,
June 14 (Reuters) - The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Monday Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip violates the Geneva Conventions and called for its lifting.
The neutral humanitarian agency also urged Hamas militants holding Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, captured nearly four years ago in a cross-border raid, to allow his family to have regular contact with him, in line with international law.
Israel's raid on a Gaza aid flotilla two weeks ago, in which nine pro-Palestinian Turkish activists were killed, highlighted acute hardships faced by 1.5 million Gazans due to the closure since 2007, it said. They endure unemployment, poverty and warfare, and health care whose quality is at an "all time low". "The whole of Gaza's civilian population is being punished for acts for which they bear no responsibility.
The closure therefore constitutes a collective punishment imposed in clear violation of Israel's obligations under international humanitarian law," the ICRC said in a five-page statement. It was the first time the ICRC has said explicitly that Israel's blockade constitutes a violation of international humanitarian law embodied in the Geneva Conventions, an ICRC spokeswoman said.
The Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, ratified by Israel, bans collective punishment of a civilian population. Israel is entitled to impose restrictions on military material for legitimate security reasons, but the scope of the closure is disproportionate, covering items of basic necessity, according to the ICRC. "We are urging Israel to put an end to this closure and call upon all those who have an influence on the situation, including Hamas, to do their utmost to help Gaza's civilian population," said Beatrice Megevand-Roggo, head of ICRC operations for the Middle East.
The ICRC said Hamas had continually rebuffed its requests to allow its officials to visit Shalit in detention. "In violation of international humanitarian law, it has also refused to allow him to get in touch with his family," it said.
Under customary international humanitarian law, captors holding detainees must allow them family contacts, while the Geneva Conventions require that they be treated humanely.
Arab League chief Amr Moussa visited the Gaza Strip on Sunday, the highest Arab official to do so since its seizure by Hamas Islamists in 2007, and called for an end to Israel's blockade of the Palestinian territory. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held talks on Friday with Middle East envoy Tony Blair on the blockade. Netanyahu said on Sunday Israel would continue discussions with the international community to prevent weapons and military equipment from reaching Gaza and to allow in humanitarian aid, an apparent signal it was open to revising blockade procedures.
"Under international humanitarian law, Israel must ensure that the basic needs of Gazans, including adequate health care, are met," the ICRC said. The blockade, about to enter its fourth year, was "choking off any real possibility of economic development", it said.
States are obliged to allow and facilitate rapid and unimpeded passage of all relief supplies, equipment and personnel, according to ICRC which deploys 100 staff in Gaza."The Palestinian authorities ... must do everything within their power to provide proper health care, supply electricity and maintain infrastructure for Gaza's people," it added. Fuel reserves in Gaza, vital for keeping hospital generators running during daily power cuts, keep drying up, it said. Stocks of essential medical supplies were at an all-time low because of a halt in cooperation between authorities in Ramallah, the Fatah-ruled West Bank, and Gaza, the agency said.
"The state of the health care system in Gaza has never been worse," said ICRC health coordinator Eileen Daly. "Health is being politicised: that is the main reason the system is failing." Only 60 percent of Gazan residents are connected to a sewage collection system, according to the ICRC which voiced concern that drinking water in most of Gaza is unfit for consumption.
http://www.freegaza.org/en/home/56-news/1227-israels-gaza-blockade-breaks-law-says-icrc-
Lord Trimble to be foreign observer in Israel's 'independent' flotilla investigation
Lord Trimble, the Northern Irish Nobel Peace Prize winner, will be a foreign observer in Israel's independent public commission into its naval raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla in which nine activists were killed.
A statement from Prime Minister's Benjamin Netanyahu's office said the commission would be chaired by retired Israeli supreme court judge Yaakov Tirkel, while the peer, the former First Minister of Northern Ireland, would be one of two foreign observers along with retired Brig Gen Ken Watkin, the former chief military prosecutor in Canada.
"In light of the exceptional circumstances of the incident, it was decided to appoint two foreign experts who will serve as observers," the statement said.
But it added that Lord Trimble and Brig Gen Watkin "will not have the right to vote in relation to the proceedings and conclusions of the commission".
The Obama administration and the UN have urged Israel to involve foreigners in the investigation, while Turkey and others have demanded an inquiry without Israeli involvement.
The US said they expected the investigation to be carried out "promptly".
"While Israel should be afforded the time to complete its process, we expect Israel's commission and military investigation will be carried out promptly," said White House spokesman Robert Gibbs.
"We also expect that, upon completion, its findings will be presented publicly and will be presented to the international community."
The announcement came after Tony Blair, the Middle East envoy, said he hoped to see movement in the next few days on easing the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, under rising pressure to ease the embargo since a deadly raid on a Turkish-backed aid ship heading to Gaza last month, held talks on the issue with former British Prime Minister Mr Blair on Friday.
Asked when supplies could begin getting through to Gaza, Blair told the BBC: "I think it's got to be pretty soon."
"As fast as the next few days I hope we can get significant movement on this because otherwise I think the pressure will build up," he said.
"As Benjamin Netanyahu has quite rightly said today, there is a way to distinguish between the security aspect and the daily life aspect. And if we keep that distinction in our mind then I think we will get the right answer and we can start that quickly," he said.
Mr Blair said the Palestinian authorities and the European Union, as well as Israel, could play a role in policing the flow of goods into Gaza.
"There are all sorts of different ways that you can help police this material, the main thing is to make whatever policing system you have effective," said Mr Blair, the envoy for the Quartet of international powers the United States, European Union, United Nations and Russia seeking peace in the region.
Israel says the embargo it imposed when Hamas rose to power in 2006 is aimed at preventing weapons from reaching the Iranian-backed Islamists who have refused peace initiatives with Israel because they reject its right to exist.
Mr Blair said he believed reconciliation between Hamas and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction was possible.
"For people like myself it would be far better if we were engaging with Hamas constructively. The difficulty is when Hamas are still prepared to say 'we don't give up the use of violence ...'," he said.
"I hope they decide they do want to be part of it (the peace process) because the door is open if they want to go through it," he added.
http://bit.ly/9llr5B
Israel's flotilla probe criticised
Abbas said the Israeli probe did not correspond with UN demands
Turkey and Palestinians have attacked Israel's announcement that it is creating an internal committee to probe its deadly raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla last month, saying it did not comply with UN demands.
Ahmet Davutoglu, the Turkish foreign minister, said Israel was incapable of conducting an "impartial investigation," while Hamas, the body governing the Gaza Strip, said the country's continuing refusal to accept an international probe proved its guilt.
"By refusing the formation of an international committee to investigate the massacre, Israel is condemning itself," said Fawzi Barhum, a Hamas spokesman.
The Israeli cabinet formally ratified the creation of the three-man committee looking into the raid on Monday, following its initial announcement of the probe late on Sunday.
The UN Security Council has demanded that Israel create an impartial and transparent investigation into the attack by Israeli commandos on May 31.
The raid on the flotilla, which was trying to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip, left nine Turkish activists dead.
Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, said the setting up of an internal committee by Israel did not comply with the UN's demands.
"The proposition made today for the inquiry committee does not correspond to the request of the Security Council," Abbas said in Paris on Monday after meeting Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president.
Turkey had also demanded a UN-led probe and threatened to review its ties with Israel if it did not heed calls for an independent inquiry.
'Uncovering the facts'
The committee set up to investigate the legal aspects of the raid will be chaired by Yaakov Tirkel, 75, a retired Israeli supreme court judge who will work alongside Amos Horev, 86, a retired major general, and Shabtai Rosen, 93, a professor of international law.
It will also include two international observers: David Trimble, 65, an Irish Nobel Peace Prize winner; and Ken Watkin, 55, former judge advocate general of the Canadian military.
It was not clear what powers Trimble and Watkin would have and a statement from Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, said they would not be able "to vote in relation to the proceedings and conclusions of the commission".
The two men could also be denied access to information that could "cause substantial harm to national security or to the state's foreign relations," the statement said.
The inquiry will run alongside another internal military probe into the events of May 31, which began last week under Giora Eiland, a retired brigadier general.
Israel has made clear the investigation announced at the weekend will not hear any direct testimony from troops involved in the raid.
"I am convinced that uncovering the facts will prove that Israel acted in an appropriately defensive fashion in accordance with the highest standards," Netanyahu told cabinet members on Monday.
"The committee will clarify to the world that Israel acts according to law with responsibility and full transparency," he said.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/06/201061414383877403.html
Israel appoints Gaza flotilla probe
Two foreign officials will have 'observer' status on the Israeli probe into the May 31 raid [POOL]
Israel has said it will set up its own investigation into a deadly raid on a convoy of Gaza-bound aid ships, and that its panel would include two foreign observers.
A statement from the office of Israel's prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, on Sunday said the commission of inquiry would be headed by Yaakov Turkel, a retired Israeli supreme court judge.
Two non-Israelis, Ken Watkin, a former chief military prosecutor in Canada and David Trimble, a politician and Nobel Peace Prize laureate from Northern Ireland, will have observer status on the probe.
The "independent public commission" proposal will be brought before Israel's cabinet for approval on Monday.
"In light of the exceptional circumstances of the incident, it was decided to appoint two foreign experts who will serve as observers," the statement from Netanyahu's office said.
"The commission may request any information from the Prime Minister, the Minister of Defence, other ministers and the Israel Defence Forces Chief-of-Staff."
The format of the inquiry was decided on after consultations with Washington but falls short of UN calls for an international investigation into the raid which left nine people dead.
"The demand for a UN investigation shows a clear double standard towards Israel," an official in Netanyahu's office said.
Israeli commandos attacked the flotilla on May 31 and killing nine activists on the largest vessel, the Turkish-flagged Mavi Marmara.
Condemnation
Israel has faced international condemnation since the attack, especially from Turkey which had been an ally prior to the raid.
Abdullah Gul, the Turkish president, has said that Israel's raid has caused "irreparable" damage to his country's relations with Israel, and will "never" be forgiven.
Israel has defended its use of force and said its commandos were attacked by passengers on the flotilla wielding metal rods and knives.
The Israeli military has announced its own investigation, focusing on the operational aspects of the raid, and officers and soldiers will not give testimony directly to the
government-ordered inquiry.
Instead the government appointed commission will rely on statements made to the military panel, Netanyahu's office said.
Some Israeli diplomats in Jerusalem have reportedly expressed doubts about whether a commission where Israel investigates itself will satisfy the international community.
'Fair investigation'
Unconfirmed reports in the Israeli press suggest that 'investigators' will not be able to interview naval commandos who took part in the raid or the head of the Israeli navy who issued the orders.
In a statement on Sunday the White House welcomed the move as an important step and said Israel was capable of conducting a fair investigation into the circumstances surrounding the raid.
"But we will not prejudge the process or its outcome, and will await the conduct and findings of the investigation before drawing further conclusions," Robert Gibbs, a White House spokesman, told reporters.
Susan Rice, the US ambassador to the United Nations said the "international component" would enhance the credibility of an Israeli inquiry.
The original goal of the flotilla campaign was to pressure Israel to cease its blockade of the Gaza strip.
Netanyahu has confirmed that discussions about ending the blockade have taken place between the US, Israel, and Tony Blair, the envoy of the Quartet of Middle East Peacemakers which includes Russia and the European Union.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/06/201061321535573808.html
Egypt confronts its role in the Gaza blockade
The silver lining in the tragedy of Israel's brutal raid on the Free Gaza flotilla is a new urgency about lifting the blockade on Gaza and addressing the territory's humanitarian crisis. Calls for the blockade to be lifted have been made in the Arab world, in Europe and even, albeit more timidly, by the Obama administration.
But Israel's siege is not the only thing that has been highlighted: the role of Egypt, Tel Aviv's silent partner in the blockade, has also been brought to the fore. This is an uncomfortable development for Egypt, which denies playing any role in the blockade even as it closed its border with Gaza at Rafah since the June, 2007 Hamas takeover. Even now, after quietly opening the Rafah border crossing to avoid popular outrage, the Egyptians are preventing an aid convoy led by the Alexandria Pharmacists Association from reaching the crossing.
The renewed uproar over Rafah has the potential to destabilize Egypt, exponentially raising the cost of its participation in the Israeli-led, Quartet-endorsed blockade -- an outcome that the Egyptians will seek to avoid but is also a concern for their Arab allies, Israel and the Obama administration.
The Egyptians have for the past three years offered an elaborate explanation to deflect blame for their enforcing of the blockade -- despite the fact that the border, with a few exceptions for a few medical cases and hajj pilgrims, has remained closed since June 9, 2007. Whatever the legal merits of Egypt's position, domestically and regionally it lost the moral and political argument: there has been widespread outrage at what is essentially seen as Egyptian collaboration with Israel to punish Gazans for Hamas's actions.
Its intentions have also been made clear by acts that can be best described as petty and vindictive, such as the treatment of last December's Viva Palestina convoy, which arrived at the southern Sinai port of Nuweiba only to be told to it could not disembark: it was forced to go to the northern Sinai port of al-Arish by heading back to Jordan, driving up to Syria, and then chartering a boat to al-Arish. Its reported intention of building an imposing wall across the border has been the subject of intense debate.
Why has Egypt taken such an unpopular hard line towards the Rafah crossing into Gaza? What will it do now?
Firstly, the Egyptian regime has been concerned about the precedent that Hamas' political electoral success in Palestinian elections in January 2006 set for the region, particularly after Egypt's own Muslim Brotherhood secured an unprecedented 20 percent of parliament.
It wants Hamas to fail. Mustafa al-Fiqi, the chairman of parliament's foreign affairs committee, noted at the time, "Egypt will not accept the establishment of an Islamic emirate along the eastern border." Yet, despite its overt and covert support for Fatah and, until June 2006, a substantial intelligence presence in Gaza, it has failed to contain Hamas. This has been a personal failure of Omar Suleiman, Egypt's intelligence chief, who has now spent five years assuring visiting dignitaries he has a plan to reverse Hamas's rise without anything to show for it.
Secondly, Egypt's ties with Israel and the United States have been prioritized over the Palestinian cause, even if this comes at a domestic cost. Between 2006 and 2009, the U.S. Congress aggressively pressured Egypt to do more to constrain weapons smuggling to Gaza, with military aid threatened for the first time.
In 2009, U.S. and Israeli lobbying resulted in the construction of a metal wall at the border and the intensification of operations against tunnel smugglers. There has been a concurrent increase in support for the Mubarak regime in Washington, notably once the Obama administration came into office: not only have pressures on human rights and democratization vanished, but backlogged military purchases such as a multi-year $3.2 billion F-16 deal have been approved by Congress.
While this is in part because of the new administration's wish to distance itself from Bush administration policies, it is also due to its perception that Cairo is a crucial ally in its handling of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Of course, Egypt also has legitimate security concerns about Hamas' control of Gaza. It is concerned about radicalization of the territory and believes that Gazan groups more radical than Hamas may have provided training for the terrorists who carried out three major attacks in Sinai between 2004 and 2006. (It is generally believed Hamas has imposed order in Gaza and checked smaller radical groups and criminal gangs.)
The issue of weapons smuggling not only affects Israel's security, but also Egypt's, as stockpiles of explosives discovered in Sinai over the past year suggests. The dismantling of a network of Hizbullah network last year, recognized by Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah to be involved in smuggling to Gaza, has also raised concerns that Egypt could be drawn into the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Even worse, officials fear a plan to "dump" the problem of Gaza on Egypt's lap, something Israeli strategists have contemplated for decades. Already facing tense relations with the Bedouin population of Eastern Sinai, the regime has no desire to become responsible for Gaza, one of the most radicalized places on the planet.
But perhaps most importantly, it is the Mubarak regime's own security that is threatened. During the Gaza war, Nasrallah made an unprecedented call for the Egyptian military, as well as citizens, to force the regime to open the border.
Many officials I spoke to during the war felt that the "resistance front" of Iran, Syria, Qatar, Hizbullah and Hamas -- as well as pro-Palestinian activists around the world and media outlets such al-Jazeera or al-Quds al-Arabi newspaper -- was waging war on Egypt as much as Israel. It was a flashback to the 1980s, when Egypt had been kicked out of the Arab League for signing a separate peace deal.
The regime has been suppressing activism on Gaza, despite growing tolerance for activism on other issues in the last decade. Campaigns against the blockade have been thoroughly suppressed, with even the new independent press treading carefully on the issue. Pro-Gaza activists have been arrested and foreign activists deported.
The Muslim Brotherhood, which has organized one of the biggest aid drives for Gaza, has nonetheless refrained from any major demonstration condemning the regime on its Gaza policy since the war. Battered by a wave of arrests in the last three years, the Brotherhood has been unwilling to risk more clashes with the regime. There are few issues as sensitive as Gaza policy in Egypt today. Meanwhile, senior officials such as Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif and Gamal Mubarak, the president's son, have articulated an "Egypt First" policy that is widely echoed in the official press, often relying on anti-Palestinian stereotypes and chauvinism.
Parts of the opposition have suggested alternatives to the current policy, though. After the flotilla incident, Mohamed ElBaradei -- the former IAEA chief who is campaigning for democratic change in Egypt -- called for the opening of Rafah and slammed the regime, tweeting that "the opening of the Rafah crossing is the demand of every Egyptian and Arab.
In a democracy, foreign policy represents the will of its people." Short of opening full trade relations, providing humanitarian assistance is a more likely scenario. Essam al-Erian, a prominent member of the Muslim Brotherhood and Gaza aid organizer, is one of many who argues that opening the border to Gazans is not incompatible with national security, since safeguards can be put in place. This is a reasonable position, albeit one the government has chosen to ignore.
It is not clear how "Egypt First" will fare in the wake of the outcry over the flotilla incident. The very first statement issued by the Egyptian presidency after the incident was that "the blockade can only be lifted when Palestinian reconciliation takes place" -- the standing policy -- only to be overturned hours later by a presidential directive to open the border "for an indefinite time."
With thousands protesting in Cairo and around the country over several days -- and participants chanting anti-Mubarak slogans and making the link between the regime and Israel explicit -- closing Rafah was no longer tenable. More likely, though, is a policy of deliberate ambiguity: while Palestinians have crossed through the Rafah terminal in the last few days, much of the aid is still getting held back or being made to go through Karam Abu Salem. There is no clear commitment to keep Rafah open, and Cairo has lobbied hard at the Arab League to keep diplomacy focused on action at the U.N. Security Council and away from Egyptian policy.
Egypt's next concern will be the future of the blockade. In the short term, international focus will be on providing humanitarian relief and construction materials. Ultimately, though, Gazans and their supporters worldwide want to restore the economic integrity of the Palestinian Occupied Territories -- their ability to trade among themselves and with rest of the world.
For this, international support for Palestinian reconciliation would be necessary. Egypt's position will be that that it is up to Israel to do that, with international support, on its side of the border. The Obama administration is reportedly pushing Israel to relax the enforcement of the blockade.
But what if Israel refuses to budge? If there is no breakthrough, the pressure returns on opening Rafah -- and the last thing Egypt wants is to be seen as responsible for Gaza. Its priority is thus to ensure it does not come out a loser from the fallout of the flotilla incident. The Mubarak regime is being confronted by its complicity in the Gaza blockade just as its legitimacy has plummeted amidst uncertainty over Mubarak's health (he was hospitalized for three weeks in March and is rumored to have cancer) and Egypt's future leadership. That too will play a role in the calculations of not only the Egyptians, but also the Obama administration.
http://mideast.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2010/06/04/egypt_confronts_its_role_in_the_gaza_blockade
Q&A: Why Israel's siege is illegal
The International Committee of the Red Cross has described Israel's blockade of Gaza as a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
That conclusion rests on the Israeli government' status as an occupying power in Gaza, which assigns it certain obligations to the people of Gaza.
Those obligations are spelt out in detail by the Fourth Geneva Convention. At their most basic, though, they require Israel to provide for the basic needs of the people, particularly food and medical care.
To the fullest extent of the means available to it, the Occupying Power has the duty of ensuring the food and medical supplies of the population; it should, in particular, bring in the necessary foodstuffs, medical stores and other articles if the resources of the occupied territory are inadequate.
The convention also requires the occupying power to allow sufficient shipments of aid - food, clothing, medical supplies and other essentials - and to take steps to preserve the health care system in the occupied territory.
Many Gazans rely on generators for power; their improper use has killed more than 100 people
Israel does not meet those basic requirements, according to many observers. Eighty per cent of people living in Gaza rely on food aid to survive; 14 per cent of children suffer from stunted growth due to malnutrition.
Power cuts are routine: 98 per cent of the population copes with routine blackouts. Fuel supplies are heavily restricted.
More than 100 basic medicines are unavailable in Gaza, and the territory's few remaining hospitals - several were damaged during the 2008-2009 Israeli war in Gaza - lack basic supplies and equipment.
But didn't Israel withdraw from Gaza? How is it still an occupying power?
It's true that the Israeli government no longer has a presence inside the Gaza Strip. Former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon ordered the withdrawal of all Israelis (including both soldiers and settlers) from the territory in his 2005 "unilateral disengagement plan".
But the Fourth Geneva Convention applies whenever a state has "effective control" over a territory. The Israeli government still controls Gaza's airspace, and its land and sea borders. The only goods and people allowed into Gaza are those approved by the Israeli government.
Last month's raid on the aid flotilla bound for Gaza is an instructive example. The organisers of the flotilla say their boats were on course to travel through Gazan waters, not Israeli waters. But the Israeli army still attacked the flotilla to prevent it from entering Gaza - showing that Israel maintains control over Gaza.
If there was no occupation, would the blockade still be illegal?
The principle of proportionality is central to international law: The military advantage gained by an action must outweigh the harm caused to the civilian population.
Douglas Guilfoyle, a maritime legal expert, says the blockade does not meet the proportionality test
The blockade does not meet this test. It imposes hardships on the entire population of Gaza - 1.5 million people - purportedly in order to achieve a limited military aim: preventing Hamas from firing rockets at Israel.
What's more, documents revealed last week by the Israeli human rights organisation Gisha show that the blockade actually has a political aim, not a military one. A written statement from the Israeli government described the blockade as "economic warfare" and said it was intended to break Hamas's control over the government in Gaza.
What about the Egyptian government?
The Egyptian border crossing with Gaza, at Rafah, has been mostly sealed since Hamas took power in June of 2007. (The Egyptian government reopened the crossing earlier this month following Israel's raid on the aid flotilla.)
But Egypt is not an occupying power in Gaza - it does not exercise "effective control" over the territory - so, whatever the moral and political arguments against its blockade, it is not required to apply the same legal standard as Israel.
(2:53) Gaza's deadly power shortage Many Gazans rely on generators for power; their improper use has killed more than 100 people
(5:55) Is Israel's blockade legal?
15 juni 2010
ICRC: Israel's Blockade Breaks the Law Free Gaza: Send More Ships
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) issued a statement yesterday stating unequivocally that Israel's closure of the Gaza Strip constitutes collective punishment, an act prohibited under the Geneva Conventions. http://www.freegaza.org/en/home/56-news/1227-israels-gaza-blockade-breaks-law-says-icrc-
For the first time, the ICRC explicitly states that Israel's blockade constitutes a violation of international humanitarian law, confirming what the Free Gaza Movement has been saying all along the closure is illegal and states have neglected their obligation to uphold the Fourth Geneva Convention and compel Israel to end the deliberate strangulation of 1.5 million Palestinians locked in an open-air prison.
Therefore, our voyages to defy Israel's blockade are legal and necessary, as civil society is compelled to step up to defend human rights when governments refuse to do so, and we are already organizing another voyage called Freedom Flotilla Two.
In the early morning darkness of 31 May, Israel launched a lethal assault on the Freedom Flotilla, assassinating nine men and wounding over 50 human rights activists on all six boats in the flotilla. The world's attention is now focused on Israel's continued flagrant violations of international and maritime law, as they hijacked our ships in international waters, forced us into an Israeli port, illegally detained, coerced, and beat the passengers and illegally confiscated or destroyed electronic equipment, audio, photo and video evidence, personal possessions as well as much of the cargo.
The Free Gaza Movement is currently working with attorneys in a number of countries, including Turkey, the UK, the Netherlands, Israel and the United States to pursue legal action, since people were killed or badly injured and property was destroyed during Israel's attack on us in international waters.
We continue to call for an independent, international investigation into the attack. Israel's internal government investigation committee is an unacceptable alternative. Israel must not be allowed to continue acting above the law and cannot be trusted to investigate its own actions. Barring political will by our governments to hold Israel accountable, global civil society will continue to act.
We will pursue legal action around the world, intensify boycott, divestment and sanctions efforts, and continue to send ships to Gaza until the illegal blockade is ended.
Contact: Huwaida Arraf, +972-598-336-215
Greta Berlin, +33 607 374 512
Audrey Bomse, +33 638 972 443
http://www.freegaza.org/en/home/press-releases/1228-icrc-israels-blockade-breaks-the-law-free-gaza-send-more-ships
'Toothless’ Gaza raid inquiry as Israel eases blockade
Israel’s cabinet yesterday approved a commission of inquiry into its May 4 attack on a flotilla headed for Gaza. The defence minister Ehud Barak listens at left as the prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, at right, speaks during yesterday’s meeting in Jerusalem.
TEL AVIV // Israel yesterday named the team who will conduct an internal inquiry into its botched commando attack on a Gaza-bound aid ship two weeks ago, in which nine people died.
The investigation was welcomed by the United States, but immediately denounced by Palestinians and by Turkey as toothless and lacking credibility, despite the inclusion of two foreign observers.
Meanwhile Tony Blair, the international envoy to the Middle East, said Israel has indicated it will ease its crippling three-year-old blockade of Gaza within days. The former British prime minister spoke during a summit of European Union members in Luxembourg, during which the 27-member bloc demanded that Israel lift the “unacceptable and counterproductive” siege.
Mr Blair said Israel has agreed to allow more supplies into Gaza, including food and building materials, while maintaining a ban on arms, armaments and explosives. The major change is that a list of specifically banned goods will replace the current restrictive list of permitted items.
Israel said its inquiry panel will be headed by Jacob Turkel, a retired Israeli supreme court judge, and will include an Israeli international law expert and an ex-army general. David Trimble, the former First Minister of Northern Ireland and a Nobel peace laureate, and Ken Watkin, Canada’s former chief military prosecutor, will observe the proceedings but will have no voting rights on the panel’s proceedings or findings. Their access to some confidential documents is also likely to be restricted.
Israeli commentators said the panel was part of a deal with the US under which Israel would agree to loosen its restrictions on Gaza in exchange for backing from Barack Obama, the US president, for an internal and weak Israeli investigation into the aid ship attack.
Yaron Ezrahi, a political science professor at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, said: “The transaction is that Israel will go further than it was initially prepared to in order to lift the blockade on Gaza, without losing control over the import of war materials into the territory, and in return will have a commission with few powers.”
An easing of Israel’s siege is likely to divert attention from what appears to be a powerless investigation. The panel will look at the legality of the raid and examine whether the blockade conforms with international law, but it will not question the commandos, relying instead on summaries of the army’s internal investigation.
The choice of Mr Turkel also appeared to be convenient for Israel’s political echelon. The former judge told Israeli radio in an interview after the attack on the ship that he is not a believer in drawing conclusions about individuals in such inquiries, or dismissing those responsible for failure.
Furthermore, some Israeli commentators yesterday also questioned the speed and efficiency at which the commission will work, given the ages of its Israeli participants.
While Mr Turkel, at 75, is the youngest of them, he will be joined by Shabtai Rosen, a 93-year-old British-born professor and former diplomat, and Amos Horev, an 86-year-old retired army major general and a former president of an Israeli university.
The Israeli government also appeared to be in no hurry for the commission to launch its work, setting no deadline for it to publish its findings. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, insisted yesterday that the committee will give a “convincing and credible response” to the world.
Suggesting that Israel needed the panel in order to salvage its image, he told his right-wing Likud faction: “This committee strengthens our ability to fight in the international political arena. There is a certain price that we are paying, but under the current circumstances this is the best move.”
The creation of the internal Israeli commission, however, drew condemnation from Palestinians and from Turkey.
Eyad Sarraj, a prominent Gaza-based commentator and psychiatrist, who is also a campaigner for Israel to end its three-year-old blockade of Gaza, said: “Israel should not investigate itself. You cannot commit the crime and then also be the policeman, the judge and the executioner. This inquiry is an American-supported cover-up for Israel to get away with carrying out this attack.”
Mr Sarraj also claimed that Mr Trimble’s presence makes the inquiry biased towards Israel because he is known to be close to Dore Gold, a confidant of Mr Netanyahu. Mr Trimble also last month became one of the prominent co-founders of the pro-Israel, Paris-based advocacy group “Friends of Israel” – which was established just one day after the Israeli raid on the aid flotilla.
Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, said after a meeting in Paris with Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, that the Israeli inquiry “does not correspond to the request of the United Nations security council” for an impartial and credible investigation.
Turkey also reacted angrily to the Israeli move, with Ahmet Davutoglu, the foreign minister, saying in Ankara: “Israel’s one-sided inquiry is not of value to us. We want a commission to be set up under the control of the United Nations.”
He threatened that Turkey may “take measures” in its relations with Israel should its demands not be heeded. Turkey, until now Israel’s closest ally in the Muslim world, has already withdrawn its ambassador from Tel Aviv and cancelled military drills with Israel.
Yesterday, Turkish papers reported that the country had suspended talks with Israeli defence companies on a US$180 million (Dh660m) deal for unmanned aircraft.
In Gaza, Hamas dismissed the possibility that Israel may ease its blockade and condemned its announcement of an investigative panel. Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman, said: “The international community should strive for a complete halt to the Gaza siege and not give Israel the opportunity to escape from its responsibility for the crimes it has committed.”
http://fwd4.me/06GR 16 oct 2010, 23:49 , Respect -
Maria 17 juni 2010
VIDEO / UN screening of 'one-sided' Gaza flotilla film spurs Israeli complaint
Israel's mission to the UN prevented from responding to screening of documentary film by one of the activists aboard the Mavi Marmara.
Israel on Thursday issued an official complaint against the president of the United Nations Correspondents Association for deliberately barring Israel from responding to the public screening of a documentary film on the events of the recent Gaza-bound aid flotilla, made by one of the activists.
(5:14) Smuggled New Video Footage Of Israels Gaza Mavi Marmara Flotilla Massacre
Israel on Thursday issued an official complaint against the president of the United Nations Correspondents Association for deliberately barring Israel from responding to the public screening of a documentary film on the events of the recent Gaza-bound aid flotilla, made by one of the activists.
On May 31, Israeli navy commandos boarded one of the ships in the flotilla, the Turkish Mavi Marmara, and were physically assaulted by the activists aboard. A clash ensued resulting in the deaths of nine activists and dozens of injuries.
The president of the UN Correspondents Association, Giampaolo Pioli, organized an event several days ago during which a documentary film by one of the Mavi Marmara activists was screened. In the invitation sent to all the foreign correspondents in New York Pioli wrote that he was inviting them to the debut of a film depicting the "Israeli attack on human rights activists."
The spokeswoman for the Israeli delegation to the UN asked to take part in the event and present scenes from a film prepared by the Israel Defense Forces Spokesperson's Unit especially for the UN delegation.
At first, the president of the association agreed, but two hours before the start of the event he announced that he was canceling the screening of the Israeli film, offering to air the IDF film at a later date, and at a different location.
In the complaint, which Israel distributed to foreign correspondents in New York on Thursday, spokeswoman Mirit Cohen wrote that "I write this letter of complaint to officially protest your mishandling of the events."
"Offering UN media facilities to screen video produced by a one-sided activist while actively preventing a member state of the United Nations an opportunity to respond in real time is severely unethical," she wrote. "Your decision to ban the Permanent Mission of Israel from offering any feedback or comment during the aforementioned screening ensured that the reporters invited to the event would be offered only part of the story."
"Furthermore," she added, "the fact that you cancelled the participation of the Permanent Mission of Israel only two hours prior to the commencement of the screening raises grave doubts as to the reasons behind this decision."
In conclusion, Cohen demanded an official apology.
http://bit.ly/cwsRZ1
Goldstone
(8:47) Gaza Flotilla - Facts vs Israel Fiction
23 juni 2010
Two Hollandese Citizens on Flotilla Sue the Israeli Government
The Dutch Foreign Ministry informed Amin abu Rashed, the coordinator of the European Campaign to Lift the Siege on Gaza, who was present on the freedom flotilla, that they will pay all expenses of a lawsuit which he filed together with another Hollandese citizen against the Israeli authorities because of their abduction in the international water from the ships of the freedom flotilla on May 31 2010.
Abu Rashed stated in a press conference that he and Ms. Anne de Jong filed a lawsuit against the Israeli government on last Thursday June 17 2010, and that a lawyer specialized in the international laws has presented their complaints, because they were kidnapped at sea and detained without a lawyer. He added that they will ask for a compensation for the moral and the material damage which was done to them during the abduction from aboard the ships in international waters.
Abu Rashed pointed out that less than 24 hours after they filed the lawsuit against the Israeli authorities, the Dutch Foreign Ministry informed them that it would bear all expenses of lawsuit. He added that the Dutch government had been following the news about their abduction, and that the Dutch Consul had welcomed them at the airport in Istanbul. He offered them all the assistance to secure their return to the Netherlands, where they were greeted at the airport of Amsterdam by some representatives of the Dutch government.
http://fwd4.me/05vx
Balkan summit condemns Israeli raid on Gaza flotilla
13 southeastern European countries, including Turkey, call for independent and internationally credible investigation on Gaza flotilla deaths.
Turkey and 12 other southeastern European countries on Wednesday denounced the recent Israeli raid on an aid flotilla headed to Gaza, which left eight Turks and one Turkish American dead.
The countries said in a joint declaration at the end of a Balkan summit that they want an impartial, independent and internationally credible investigation on this matter. They also stressed the urgent need to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Nine pro-Palestinian activists - eight Turks and an American-Turkish teenager - were killed after a squad of naval commandos boarded a ship trying to breach Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip. Israel says its soldiers began shooting only after a mob of activists attacked them.
The statement came at the end of a meeting of the 13-member Southeast European Cooperation Process (SEECP).
Meanwhile, Haaretz learned late Tuesday that Arab and Muslim members of the United Nations, led by Malaysia, are working toward assembling an emergency UN session to discuss Israel's last month raid of a Gaza-bound flotilla.
The resolutions reached at an emergency UN session do not bear immediate practical consequences, and are considered recommendations. However, the representatives of dozens of member states could be allowed to speak at such a session, a fact that could turn the debate into a massive diplomatic assault against Israel, which, in turn, could add to international pressure on Israel to lift the blockade on Gaza.
http://fwd4.me/05vw
Belgian lawyers to charge Barak and Livni for war crimes
Two Belgian lawyers, working on behalf of a group of Palestinians, plan to charge 14 Israeli politicians, including Ehud Olmert, Ehud Barak, Tzipi Livni and Matan Vilnai, for crimes against humanity and war crimes.
LONDON - Two Belgian lawyers announced on Wednesday that, working on behalf of a group of Palestinians - including, significantly, one who is a Belgian national - they were intending to charge 14 Israeli politicians, including Ehud Olmert, Ehud Barak, Tzipi Livni and Matan Vilnai, for crimes against humanity and war crimes.
The lawyers, Georges-Henri Beauthier and Alexis Deswaef said they were acting on behalf of 13 Palestinian victims from Gaza, and an additional man - Anouar El Okka, a Belgian doctor of Palestinian origin.
The current charges would be brought against the Israeli leaders using the principle of universal jurisdiction, the lawyers said - and would focus on alleged crimes, including the use of phosperous, committed during the Israeli bombardment of Gaza in January 2009.
In Belgian, the law states that there must be a connection between the crimes and a Belgian citizen in order to successfully prosecute under universal jurisdiction - something El Okka would supply.
This is not the first time the Belgian system has been asked to charge Israeli with such offenses. Just last year, Belgian attorneys, acting on behalf of Belgian nationals with relatives who were wounded or killed in Gaza, petitioned a court there to arrest then Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni upon her arrival in Brussels. However, in that case it seems the connection between the victims and Belgium was not strong enough to follow through with the case.
The most famous case to date involving Belgium and Israel was in 2001 when there was a criminal complaint in Belgium on behalf of 21 survivors of the 1982 massacre at the Shabra and Shatila refugee camps in Beirut. The then Israeli Defense Minister (Ariel Sharon) and members of the Lebanese Christian militia were charged with war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. It was after this case that the law was changed to include a clause about a Belgian connection.
This was far from the only negative attention to Israel in Europe this week.
In Strasbourg on Wednesday, the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly was expected to issue a condemnation of Israel%u2019s behavior over the flotilla events and call for an independent international investigation.
The President of the council Mehemet Kavasgholu, a Turk, told a Turkish newspaper last week that he would not only demand such an investigation but would also set up the investigation under the council's auspices, something that lies within their mandate.
MK Yochanan Plezner, chair of the permanent Israeli delegation to the Council said yesterday that he and his team were hoping to avoid such an outcome.
They will no doubt condemn Israel but our goal is to ensure that an independent international inquiry is not established, and that the council makes do with the Israeli commission, he said.
Plezner added that it is very clear the mood in Europe was increasingly unfavorable to Israel.
There is definitely a more critical mood and we see this mainly with out friends and allies who are less willing to stand alongside us, he said. And, our foes are becoming more adept at exploiting the liberal discourse against Israel....so it is becoming less politically correct to support of stand by Israel.
In Sweden meanwhile, dockworkers launched a week-long boycott of cargo to and from Israel to protest the flotilla episode. About 1,500 members of the Swedish Dockworkers Union began the boycott on Tuesday across the country's ports, which handle more than 95 per cent of Sweden's foreign trade.
Bjoern Borg, the dockworkers union's chairman, said they were calling for an international investigation into the May 31 raid and added Israel's recent easing of its Gaza blockade was insufficient.
"We don't think it is far-reaching enough," he said. "We want them to lift the blockade."
33 Greeks to sue Israeli officials over Gaza flotilla raid
(Grieks protest)
Group of Greek citizens who took part in Gaza-bound flotilla that was taken over by the IDF last month to sue senior Israeli officials - including Defense Min. Barak, and army chief Ashkenazi.
33 Greek citizens who took part in the Gaza-bound flotilla that was stopped by the IDF last month are planning to sue senior Israeli officials, including Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi and Navy chief Eliezer Merom, Army Radio reported on Wednesday.
The Greek activists also plan to sue soldiers and police officers who participated in the IDF's interception of the Turkish-flagged ship the Mavi Marmara, which resulted in the deaths of nine activists.
According to flotilla participants, Israel violated Greek criminal law as well as international treaties when it stopped the ships by force outside of Israel's territorial waters.
The lawyer for the plaintiffs announced the intended lawsuits at a news conference in Athens.
http://fwd4.me/05vu
Netanyahu: Israel's legitimacy is under attack
The prime minister speaks at a Knesset discussion on Israel's collapsing world status, and calls on the PA president to enter direct peace talks.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Wednesday that Israel's legitimacy is being attacked, during a Knesset discussion on Israel's collapsing international status.
"We know that the attacks on Israel are threatening its existence, since we constantly hear people saying 'go back to Poland or Morocco'. They are essentially telling us to dismantle the Zionist enterprise."
Netanyahu went on to criticize the United Nations and other international institutions for targeting Israel alone for condemnation.
"They want to strip us of the natural right to defend ourselves. When we defend ourselves against rocket attack, we are accused of war crimes. We cannot board sea vessels when our soldiers are being attacked and fired upon, because that is a war crime."
"They are essentially saying that the Jewish nation does not have the right to defend itself against the most brutal attacks and it doesn't have the right to prevent additional weapons from entering territories from which it is attacked," he said.
Netanyahu stressed that Israel has taken steps to push forward a resolution with the Palestinians though they have not reciprocated the gesture.
"The Palestinian side promoted the Goldstone report, organized boycotts, and tried to prevent our entrance into the OECD. The Palestinian Authority has no intentions of engaging in direct talks with us," Netanyahu exclaimed.
"I call on [PA President Mahmoud] Abbas, yet again, to enter direct talks with us, because there is no other way to solve the conflict between us without direct dialogue. How could we possibly live side by side if they can't even enter the same room as us?"
Also during the discussion, Kadima MK Dalia Itzik called on Netanyahu to form a unity government with Kadima.
"If you truly want to form a unity government, a new government in line with the people of Israel, you should understand that what matters is not Likud or Kadima, not your ego or our ego, not you or me, but what should guide us is the good of the country," she said.
Earlier, Balad MK Hanin Zuabi, who took part in the Gaza-bound aid flotilla raided by the IDF on May 31, accused fellow MKs of hypocrisy for attacking her for her criticism of the blockade of Gaza.
"I was attacked personally and politically, but two weeks later the prime minister decided to end the civilian blockade of Gaza," she said. "Three weeks ago, I spoke on this podium, after nine people were killed to preserve the blockade. And now, after the prime minister ends the civilian blockade, as he calls it, no one yelled, no one even said a word."
http://fwd4.me/05vs
Malaysia seeks emergency UN session on Gaza flotilla deaths
Diplomatic sources say effort stems from a desire to embarrass Israel in response to what Arab states consider a lax UN response to the raid.
Arab and Muslim members of the United Nations, led by Malaysia, are working toward assembling an emergency UN session to discuss Israel's last month raid of a Gaza-bound flotilla, Haaretz learned late Tuesday.
The resolutions reached at an emergency UN session do not bear immediate practical consequences, and are considered recommendations. However, the representatives of dozens of member states could be allowed to speak at such a session, a fact that could turn the debate into a massive diplomatic assault against Israel, which, in turn, could add to international pressure on Israel to lift the blockade on Gaza.
Diplomatic sources said that recent efforts were triggered by the Arab and Muslim nations' dissatisfaction with the results of a UN Security Council session concerning the May 31 raid, which took place just days after the maritime operation, and which culminated with a presidential denouncement of Israel and a demand for a thorough inquiry.
The sources also told Haaretz that the push for a special UN session was led by Malaysia, who sources said had been inspired by similar efforts by Syria and Iran to place the aftermath of the flotilla raid high on the international agenda.
Malaysia's parliament, which is already known for its extreme anti-Israel stance, had already adopted a resolution calling for steps to be taken against Israel in response to the flotilla incident.
The official website of the country's Foreign Ministry even quoted Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak as saying that the flotilla raid "opened the eyes of the people of Malaysia and the rest of the world to the atrocities of the Zionist regime towards the people of Palestine which hitherto we have read about and seen on television," as well as other anti-Israel remarks.
Sources said that Malaysia was interested in being considered a leading country in the push as a means to advocate its candidacy to the UNSC next year.
http://fwd4.me/05vr
29 juni 2010
Turkish autopsy: Israeli soldiers shot activists from choppers
Autopsy reports showed that the corpses of the activists were washed before being sent to Turkey.
The Association of Human Rights and Solidarity for Oppressed Peoples (MAZLUM-DER) stated during a press conference on Monday that Israeli commandos shot at activists on the Mavi Marmara from their helicopters, according to autopsy reports.
Yasin Divrak, a lawyer for MAZLUM-DER, said the autopsy reports prepared by the Council of Forensic Medicine (ATK) proved that Israeli soldiers, contrary to their claims of self-defense, aimed to kill and started to shoot even before descending onto the Mavi Marmara, which was carrying humanitarian aid to the under-siege Gaza on May 31.
During the Israeli raid, nine peace activists were killed and dozens more injured. Israel claims that its soldiers attacked passengers in self-defense because some of the passengers assaulted Israeli soldiers with sticks and knives after they descended onto the ship.
"Corpses washed"
Turkey's Cihan news agency said, the autopsy reports also showed that the corpses of the activists were washed before being sent to Turkey and some alcohol had been found in their bodies.
The press conference was held by MAZLUM-DER Istanbul branch Chairman Cihat Gokdemir, lawyers Divrak and Selcuk Kar and the deputy chairman of the association, Gulden Solmaz. Divrak said: All the deaths occurred due to injuries caused by firearms. The ATK reports show that the bodies have been washed, so it was not possible to find any traces of chemicals or gun powder. We wonder why Israel washed the bodies of those who were killed.
Divrak added that since the bodies had been washed and all the clothes were extremely dirty it was not possible to determine the shooting range.
Most of the bullets did not stay in the bodies but entered and exited the bodies. Some bullets exited the skull but entered [the body] again, he stated.
Divrak underlined that a very unusual bullet was found in the brain of activist Ibrahim Bilgen. He said this bullet surprised doctors because they have never seen this kind of bullet before.
Israel claims that the soldiers were attacked and that they were defending themselves. But the autopsy reports show that this is not true. Most of the bullets came from above and entered the skulls. It is obvious that the bullets came from the choppers, he said.
http://www.worldbulletin.net/news_detail.php?id=60670
1 juli 2010
'Flotilla passengers were tortured'
The organization which sent the Gaza aid flotilla which was intercepted by the IDF earlier this month, released a report Thursday outlining the events of the raid.
Describing the goal of the aid flotilla as "completely civilian in nature" and "carrying the conscience of the world," the report categorized the IDF interception as a terrorist attack carried out by the Israeli government in "international waters against civilians who had come together for peaceful purposes."
Further claims included torture by Israeli authorities once the passengers were taken into custody and brought into the Ashdod port. "The participants received physical blows and were subjected to psychological torture," the report alleged.
The report continued to explain that the IDF soldiers used machine guns to fire at the Mavi Marmara before boarding, as three different types of shots were heard by the passengers. The soldiers who rappelled from the helicopters onto the ship, shot into the crowd as they descended using real bullets, according to the IHH.
IHH described that the raid developed in a hostile manner with the objective to kill, and considered the initial fired shots by the IDF not as warnings, but as shots that were meant to kill unarmed civilians on the ship. The passengers that were killed by shots to the head, who according to the report were unarmed, further proves the objective of the IDF, claimed IHH.
The three IDF soldiers taken below deck by passengers who were allegedly trying to protect themselves from the soldiers, were being taken to the ship's doctors to be treated, explains the report.
The report accused the IDF of several crimes, including the obstruction of communication and severing of communications, illegal questioning and arrest, confiscation of passports, the seizure of ships, humanitarian aid and personal items, and physical and psychological torture, maltreatment and physical abuse by Israeli authorities.
Numerous passengers were quoted in the report, expressing their side of the events while being on the ship. In addition, the report included various photographs of the raid, including photos of Israeli soldiers and injured passengers. The names of the dead and injured passengers were also listed in the report.
The 42-page report included computer generated graphics of the Israeli naval operation including coordinates along with a chronology of events of the raid.
http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=180104
Turkish Aid From Flotilla Begins Arriving in Gaza
A logistics officer of the World Health Organization overseeing workers unloading electric scooters at a warehouse east of Gaza City on Wednesday.
GAZA One month after Israeli commandos killed nine Turks in a raid on a flotilla trying to break the Gaza blockade, the ships cargo of aid has begun to arrive here by land, starting Wednesday with 82 second-hand battery-powered scooters for the handicapped.
In the same pipeline are hundreds more scooters, hospital beds, drugs, crutches and surgical tools, building materials, food and clothing, said Mahmoud Daher, a health officer for the World Health Organization here.
The cargo has been sitting in Israel for weeks while the Hamas authorities, the Israeli military and international aid agencies negotiated its fate.
Israel wanted to send in only materials that it was sure could not be used for weapons by Hamas. It also did not want the sponsor of the flotilla, a Turkish Islamic charity known by the initials I.H.H., to distribute the goods because of its close ties to Hamas. Hamas, meanwhile, said it wanted either all the aid or nothing.
In the end, the United Nations agreed to distribute the goods. The arrangement was acceptable to all sides, but left I.H.H. officials in Gaza deeply upset.
A convoy of 128 trucks carried the cargo into Gaza from Israel as the American Middle East envoy, George J. Mitchell, watched from the Israeli side. He expressed approval at Israel's agreement, in the wake of the flotilla disaster, to ease its blockade somewhat, though the movement of goods and people out of Gaza remains largely blocked.
We appreciate the changes that have been made,Mr. Mitchell said. There has been a great deal of progress in terms of permitting additional goods into Gaza. He added that the United States would work with Israel on further steps that will be taken in the near future.
The scooters were brought in on flatbed trucks and driven to Karni Crossing in east central Gaza. United Nations workers driving forklifts moved them into an unused warehouse in the evening, in near total darkness because of a dispute between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank over who pays for electricity here, there is an acute shortage.
Mr. Daher, of the World Health Organization, told Israel he would not accept the scooters without their batteries and chargers, something Israeli officials considered withholding out of fear they would be diverted to militant use. Mr. Daher prevailed, and as the scooters began to arrive, a colleague, Khamis Abultayef, said each scooter would be checked for both.
Mr. Daher added that with numerous hospitals and clinics, Gaza could use a great deal of equipment and medicine, although he worried that the donations and the needs were not perfectly suited to one another.
We have been given a great deal of Tamiflu and food supplements, he said, but what we really need are cancer drugs and medicine for hemophilia and cystic fibrosis.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/01/world/middleeast/01gaza.html?ref=middleeast
2 juli 2010
Report: Israel to apologize to Turkey
Israel is prepared to apologize to Turkey for the flotilla incident and to compensate the families of the injured parties, Turkish newspaper Huriyyet reported on Friday. Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer's office has denied the reports.
According to a different Turkish paper, Zaman, during the secret meeting between Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in Brussels, Davutoglu threatened that Israel-Turkey relations may worsen, with Turkey closing its airspace to commerical flights, as well as military ones, should Israel fail to apologize.
Huriyyet reported that Ben-Eliezer signaled that Israel is willing to apologize, and even pay the families of those inured in the IDF raid on the Mavi Marmara.
However, Ben-Eliezer has denied that Israel will compensate those injured on the flotilla.
"No one intends to do that, and the minister did not promise anything," Ben-Eliezer's spokesman said.
There will be a second meeting if the Israeli side takes a step toward [meeting] our demands, a Turkish diplomatic source told Huriyyet on Thursday. We do not categorically dismiss meeting with Israeli officials at this level.
Huriyyet also reported that Israel initiated the clandestine meeting, despite the fact that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's office stated that it Turkey made the first contact.
http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=180231
Netanyahu rules out apology to Turkey over deadly raid
JERUSALEM Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday praised secret talks with Ankara aimed at mending ties after a deadly raid on a Gaza-bound Turkish aid ship but ruled out any apology.
On May 31, Israeli special forces stormed a flotilla of six ships carrying aid for blockaded Gaza, killing nine Turks on board one of the vessels and sparking international outrage and straining ties with one-time ally Ankara.
"Israel cannot apologise because its soldiers had to defend themselves to avoid being lynched by a crowd," Netanyahu said in an interview with Channel 1 public television.
"We regret the loss of life," Netanyahu said.
The raid on the Mavi Marmara Turkish-owned ferry killed eight Turks and a dual US-Turkish citizen, prompting Ankara to recall its ambassador from Tel Aviv and cancel three planned joint military exercises.
Netanyahu's remarks come two days after Trade Minister Benjamin Ben Eliezer and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu held secret talks in Brussels, to try and ease the feud sparked by the deadly raid.
Netanyahu praised the talks.
"This meeting was important in itself. It is important for Turkey and for Israel that such meetings take place to prevent the deterioration of relations," he said.
Davutoglu told Ben Eliezer in Brussels that Turkey demanded an apology for the bloodshed and that Israel should compensate the families of the victims as well as agree to an international inquiry into the raid, Turkish foreign ministry spokesman Burak Ozugergin has said.
But Netanyahu said that no compensation has been discussed and insisted that a commission set up by Israel to investigate the raid "meets the demands" of the international community for an investigation.
Israel has resisted calls for an international probe into the raid, but appointed a commission of inquiry headed by a retired Supreme Court judge with two international observers.
"This commission has asked for widespread prerogatives and we have agreed to its request because we have nothing to hide," said Netanyahu.
The Israeli military also has launched its own internal investigation.
Israel has defended the raid by its special forces saying it had to stop vessels from travelling to Gaza since they could be carrying weapons for the Islamist Hamas rulers of the blockaded coastal enclave.
Meanwhile, the Brussels talks have sparked tensions in Israel as it emerged that Netanyahu gave the go-ahead for the meeting without informing hardline Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman.
On Friday, Netanyahu met Lieberman to mend ties.
At the meeting, Lieberman reiterated that he does not want Israel to apologise or pay the compensation Turkey is seeking, saying it would harm Israel's international standing, an official said.
Elsewhere, Netanyahu said that during a visit to Washington next week for talks with US President Barack Obama he will discuss Iran's nuclear programme and peace talks with the Palestinians.
"I will do everything possible to stop Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, and to promote the peace process," with the Palestinians, Netanyahu said of his July 6 talks with Obama.
Netanyahu had to cancel a scheduled meeting with Obama to return home after the deadly May 31 raid.
US State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said on Thursday that he anticipated Netanyahu would give Obama "a report on the early stages of the Israeli investigation into the flotilla tragedy."
http://fwd4.me/06GN 17 oct 2010, 00:21 , Respect -
Maria 4 juli 2010
Israel expands flotilla inquiry
Netanyahu, second right, said he would appear
before the inquiry panel
Israel has expanded the mandate of a commission investigating a deadly raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, enabling the panel to compel witnesses to appear and testify under oath.
However, the decision by Israel's cabinet on Sunday does not widen its remit to include examination of political leaders' decision-making in ordering the May 31 raid in which nine Turkish activists were killed.
"The government has unanimously decided to extend the powers of the Tirkel Commission. The commission of enquiry will be joined by two experts and will hear witnesses speaking under oath," an official statement said.
The five-man inquiry panel led by former Supreme Court Justice Jacob Tirkel will now have subpoena powers and witnesses will be sworn in, effectively exposing them to perjury charges for any false testimony.
Tirkel has said he would summon Binyamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, Ehud Barak, the defence minister, and Lieutenant-General Gabi Ashkenazi, Israel's military chief, to appear.
Netanyahu has said he, Barak and Ashkenazi would testify.
Other military personnel are not likely to appear before the panel but will be questioned in a separate military investigation.
Amid an international outcry over the raid, Israel rejected a proposal by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for an international inquiry, but appointed two foreign observers - David Trimble, a Northern Ireland politician and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and Canadian jurist Ken Watkin - to the panel.
Tirkel has said the commission's mandate calls for an examination of whether Israel's naval blockade of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and the flotilla's interception conformed with international law.
It also will investigate the actions of the convoy's organisers and participants.
Israel has said its commandos were enforcing a blockade necessary to prevent weapons from reaching Hamas fighters in the Gaza Strip and that they only opened fire when activists with knives and clubs assaulted a boarding party.
In response to Western criticism, including from its biggest ally, the United States, Israel has since eased the land blockade of Gaza, allowing most civilian goods through, while continuing to enforce the naval embargo of the coastal territory.
http://fwd4.me/06GM
(4:08) ISRAEL ATTACK ON GAZA AID SHIP (MAVI MARMARA)
7 juli 2010
UN General Assembly cancels session on Gaza flotilla
President of General Assembly sends letter to member states announcing cancellation of the planned session; some Arab states had reservations about holding the session.
The United Nations on Wednesday officially canceled a planned debate on Israel's May 31 raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla.
In June, Malaysia requested an emergency session by the UN General Assembly to discuss the mid-sea confrontation, which left nine Turkish pro-Palestinian activists dead. Malaysia's request received support from Syria and Iran.
But Ali Abdussalam Treki, the president of the UN General Assembly, recently sent a letter to members of the General Assembly saying that the session would not be held.
The decision to cancel the session was not unexpected. Recent discussions held amongst representatives of Arab countries found that there were differences of opinion on the merits of holding the session and that some countries had reservations about it.
"After consulting with member states I have decided not to hold an interactive thematic debate of the General Assembly on the situation in the Middle East as previously envisaged for July 8, 2010," Treki's letter said. "I will continue to consult with member states on the issue and will keep you informed of further developments."
http://fwd4.me/06GL
Most of Marmara wounded had Islamic ties report
Vast majority of passengers wounded aboard flotilla were Turkish nationals affiliated with Islamic groups.
A vast majority of the passengers wounded aboard the Mavi Marmara ship, commandeered by the Israel Navy in late May, were Turkish nationals affiliated with Islamic organizations, according to a report released on Tuesday by the Israel-based Intelligence Terrorism and Information Center.
According to the report, 53 passengers were wounded during clashes with navy commandos from the elite Shayetet 13 unit and 23 of them were reported to have sustained serous wounds. Nine other passengers, all Turkish nationals, were killed during the raid.
The center, known by its Hebrew acronym MALAM, compared a list of the wounded released by the IHH the socalled Turkish humanitarian organization that sponsored the Mavi Marmara with lists of the passengers that the navy found aboard the vessel, which was stopped on May 31 as it tried to break the Israel-imposed sea blockade on the Gaza Strip.
Israel outlawed the IHH several years ago for its alleged ties with Hamas, and Defense Minister Ehud Barak called the organization extremist supporters of terror.
The report identified 37 of the wounded as members of the IHH or other sympathetic Turkish organizations.
According to the findings, all of the 23 passengers seriously wounded were Turkish males who had all, except for one, boarded the Mavi Marmara in Anatolia. Three of them are known IHH activists, and 13 others are active in other Turkish organizations, which MALAM said appeared to be of an Islamic nature.
Among those not wounded seriously, seven were identified as IHH members, and 13 as active in other Turkish organizations also believed to be of an Islamic nature, the report said.
According to the report, the comparison of the lists and the identities of those wounded backs up the IDF's claims that the Shayetet 13 commandos encountered a well-organized group of mercenaries who had planned a violent attack against the soldiers.
http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=180664
UN launches probe into flotilla raid
Former president of International Criminal Court to head investigation.
The UN on Tuesday began its probe into Israel's raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla last month, despite misgivings from the US, and Israel's establishment of its own internal committee to investigate the incident.
The probe is headed by a former president of the International Criminal Court, Canadian Philippe Kirsch, who is well-known in international law circles.
Kirsch recently judged an international competition on the 'laws of war,' in which in Israeli team was awarded first prize.
The UN probe began the same day Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and US President Barack Obama discussed peace initiatives in Washington.
The US was against the UN probe, which 87 senators opposed in a letter last month to Obama.
The Human Rights Council decided to set up the probe within 48 hours of the flotilla raid.
Turkey has demanded an apology for the raid on the flotilla, which resulted in the deaths of nine Turkish citizens, but Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has refused, insisting there will be no apology.
http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=180697
8 juli 2010
Israel must lift Gaza blockade and answer for flotilla raid, says Turkey
Britain's foreign secretary, William Hague (right), with Turkey's foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, after a press conference in London today.
Foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu uses London visit to issue warning that Israel faces 'gradual disengagement' by former ally
Israel must lift its blockade of the Gaza Strip and be "held accountable" for its attack on a ship carrying aid to the Palestinian territory, Turkey's foreign minister has said.
Ahmet Davutoglu, visiting London, demanded that Israel face its legal responsibility for boarding the Mavi Marmara, an action in which eight Turks and a Turkish-American citizen were killed in international waters on 31 May.
Davutoglu did not repeat a warning earlier this week that Turkey would sever its diplomatic relations with Israel but warned of "gradual stages" of disengagement if did not respond to Ankara's demands over the "freedom flotilla" affair.
Turkey would take "any measures to protect its citizens", he said after talks with the British foreign secretary, William Hague. "We expect Israel either to apologise or to accept an international investigation. I think this is a just and fair request from Turkey. The attack took pace in international waters and there should be accountability in international law.
"Israel must end the siege of Gaza. It is not a problem between Israel and Turkey but between Israel and the international community."
Davutoglu said Israel's own internal investigation was not enough since "the accused cannot be judge and prosecutor at the same time".
Israel has said it will not apologise for "defending its citizens". Turkey withdrew its ambassador from Tel Aviv in protest and is barring Israeli military planes from using its airspace. Turkish officials have said the envoy will not return until Israel meets Turkey's demands.
Davutoglu said Turkey wanted to play a constructive role as a Middle East mediator, as it has done in negotiations between Israel and Syria. "No one should tell us we are losing our mediating role because of our stand on Israel's policy on Gaza."
Hague warned: "Time is running out for a two-state solution. It is in Israel's interest to make sure that it is still possible." The foreign secretary described the blockade of Gaza as "unacceptable and unsustainable" but praised Tony Blair, as Middle East envoy, for helping to persuade Israel to ease restrictions on the goods it permits to enter the Palestinan territory.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/08/turkey-israel-gaza-flotilla
9 juli 2010
High stakes for Turkey and Israel in Gaza flotilla row
Protesters wave Palestinian and Turkish flags in a demonstration in Ankara last month against Israel's raid on the Gaza flotilla.
They may still bristle over the attack on the Mavi Marmara but both sides have enough to lose to warrant resolving the impasse
Turkey is finding it hard to make up its mind about how to deal with Israel. A blunt threat this week to sever diplomatic relations in the wake of the Gaza "freedom flotilla" affair apparently caused internal disagreements and has not been repeated. Respected critics warn of an over-reaction by the government. And Israel points to areas where, despite official anger in Ankara, military co-operation between the two countries is quietly continuing.
Yet the episode is far from over, because while Israel is conducting an internal investigation into its attack on the Mavi Marmara on 31 May, it is resisting calls for an international inquiry and insists it will not apologise for killing nine Turks. Further aid ships from Lebanon and Libya are likely to test the maritime blockade again, though the easing of import restrictions on goods entering Gaza has relieved the immediate international pressure on Israel.
Turkish domestic politics are, of course, part of this story, as is the country's orientation towards Iran, Syria and eastwards as its hopes for EU membership dim. But it is also about a changing regional environment in which Israel has never looked so isolated.
Hostility between Ankara and Jerusalem echoes, albeit in a minor key, the seismic change that took place in 1979 when the Islamic revolution ended Israel's relationship with Iran and its embassy in Tehran was taken over symbolically by Yasser Arafat's PLO. For 30 years Iran and Turkey were the mainstays of Israel's "periphery" strategy. Both had poor relations with their Arab or Muslim neighbours and valued Israel's clout with the US. On the principle that its enemies' enemies were its friends, Israel used its Mossad secret service to gave clandestine assistance to Iraqi Kurds, Lebanese Maronites and Christian rebels in Sudan at a time when peace with Arab states seemed impossible. Even when peace treaties were signed, with Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994, they were not followed by wider acceptance of Israel in the region because they did not reach the Palestinian core of the conflict.
The erosion of Israel's relationship with Turkey is fundamentally a function of the failure to achieve a settlement with the Palestinians. It has accelerated in recent years because of the wars against Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, which triggered the extraordinary incident when the Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, became an Arab hero by storming off the Davos platform he was sharing with the Israeli president, Shimon Peres.
Israel has a lot to lose if the relationship does break down. Turkey is the only Muslim country with which Israel has had a strategic military relationship %u2013 including overflights and joint exercises. But Turkey, which prizes its membership of Nato, knows that a breach with Israel could cost it dear in the US: thus the intensive efforts being made by the Obama administration to end the standoff.
Turks are not alone in disagreeing about foreign policy. Abdullah Gul, the president, complained this week that Israelis were also divided, referring to the position of the hardline foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, who objected to, and is presumed to have leaked details of, a supposedly secret meeting in Brussels where prospects for a rapprochement were being quietly explored. Ahmet Davutoglu, Lieberman's counterpart, revealed that he felt this was an act of deliberate sabotage.
It is hard to argue with Gul's statement that Israel is behaving irrationally by apparently being prepared to ditch its relations with its only Muslim ally. But this episiode again underlines the highly corrosive effect of failing to advance towards an agreement with the Palestinians.
Support for mending fences came from another perhaps unlikely source Syria's president Bashar al-Assad, who warned that a permanent rupture with Israel would make it harder for Turkey to resume its role as broker in future Middle East peace talks. If Washington and Damascus agree, then Ankara and Jerusalem may eventually manage to patch things up.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/09/turkey-israel-gaza-flotilla-row
11 juli 2010
PGPO Will Study Sea Law For Legal Implication On Israel Boarding Mavi Marmara
KUALA LUMPUR, July 11 (Bernama) -- The Perdana Global Peace Organisation (PGPO) will study the law of the sea to find the legal implication on Israel's action to board the lead ship of the humanitarian aid flotilla, Mavi Marmara.
PGPO chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said once they knew the legal implication, the organisation would take action on Israel.
"What Israel has done is actually piracy and now Israel is detaining the ship...that is wrong. Once we know the legal implication, what are the provisions of the law of the sea, then we can take some action," he told reporters after the closing of the international conference, "Breaking the Siege: In the Spirit of Rachel Corrie and Mavi Marmara" by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, here, Sunday.
Dr Mahathir who is also former prime minister, said if the action could not be taken against Israel, "at least Malaysia can show to the world that Israel is a state that does not follow any international law".
He said PGPO would continue to try break the siege from the sea and would also continue to go to Gaza through Rafah to give humanitarian aid to the Palestinians.
"The blockade by sea is still on, but we will continue to bring in aid by land and sea. We are going to watch whether the declaration by Egypt that they would be opening Rafah for people to bring in aid to Gaza will be honoured," he said.
On May 31, the Israeli military boarded Mavi Marmara, the lead ship of the humanitarian aid flotilla bound for Gaza and killed nine activists and injured about a dozen more.
Twelve Malaysians were among more than 550 others on board the Mavi Marmara and six other Malaysians on MV Rachel Corrie, a cargo ship which was seized by the Israeli military while it was in international waters headed for Gaza in June.
PGPO funded two passenger ships and the MV Rachel Corrie.
Asked what the younger generation could learn from Israel's aggression towards Palestine, Dr Mahathir said they must be exposed and learn that there were people who were suffering much more than those who claimed they were suffering.
"They think they are not getting enough of this and that, but there are people out there who are actually starving to death, people who are being killed, attacked and deprived of food," he said.
http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsindex.php?id=512713
Malaysia Will Request UN General Assembly To Seek ICJ Opinion On Freedom Flotilla Attack
KUALA LUMPUR, July 11 (Bernama) -- Malaysia would request the United Nations (UN) General Assembly to seek an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) concerning Israel's attack on the Freedom Flotilla, said Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
"Malaysia will also demand Israel to immediately lift the blockade on Gaza, consistent with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1860," he said when closing the international conference, "Breaking The Siege: In the Spirit of Rachel Corrie and Mavi Marmara", at the Putra World Trade Centre, here, Sunday.
He said these were among the proposals Malaysia would make for adoption through the Emergency Special Session of the UN General Assembly.
He said Malaysia would strongly urge UN members to reconvene the 10th Emergency Special Session of the UN General Assembly to deliberate on the issue, if the calls by the international community for the UN Security Council to initiate an impartial and transparent investigation conforming to international standards on the Israeli attack on the innocent civilians remained unheeded.
Muhyiddin said Malaysia was also in the process of consulting other members of the UN, especially members of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) and the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) to support Malaysia's initiative to call for the Emergency Special Session of the UN General Assembly.
"Our main concern is, should the inhumane blockade on Gaza since June 2007 is not fully lifted, there will be the real danger of a humanitarian crisis of an alarming proportion developing and putting at risk thousands of human lives in Gaza," he said.
Muhyiddin said the Muslim ummah (community) must strengthen its unwavering solidarity with the Palestinians and act together to end the atrocities in Palestine.
"It is the religious duty of all Muslims to reject all forms of oppression and injustice meted out on mankind. What is more, the victims of these oppression and injustices are fellow Muslims.
"It is narrated in a 'hadith' that a Muslim who keeps mum and does nothing to fight against injustices committed before his own eyes is very weak in his faith," he said.
Muhyiddin said the flame of hope for a free Gaza and free Palestine must not fade away, or else, the Palestinians and their plight would once again be forgotten.
http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsgeneral.php?id=512702 31 may 2011, 10:06 , Respect -
Maria 12 juli 2010
Israeli Military Finds Flotilla Killings Justified
TEL AVIV — An Israeli military investigation into its naval takeover of a Gaza-bound flotilla six weeks ago found that it was plagued by errors of planning, intelligence and coordination but that the killings of nine Turks on board were justified, according to an official summary of the findings released Monday.
Giora Eiland, a retired major general who led the probe, presented his classified findings to the military chief of staff; they were not released to the public. But a statement said that the investigators faulted the military for not knowing who was on board one of the ships. A senior officer involved in the report said that at least 65 Turkish Islamic militants armed with metal sticks and knives were on the flotilla’s main ship, and had vowed to fight any effort by the Israeli Navy to board.
The scuffles that ensued led to Israeli commandos shooting the nine Turks, including one with dual Turkish-American citizenship.
“The team concluded that not all possible intelligence gathering methods were fully implemented and that the coordination between Navy Intelligence and the Israel Defense Intelligence was insufficient,” the report’s official summary said. “The team also pointed out that the anticipated level of violence used against the forces was underestimated.”
The investigators praised the commandos who rappelled onto the main ship from helicopters, saying that they “operated properly, with professionalism, bravery and resourcefulness.” They called the use of live fire justified. No dismissals were publicly recommended, but officers said some demotions or dismissals might occur.
The military’s investigation, carried out by eight officers, did not deal with larger policy issues like the legality or appropriateness of Israel’s blockade against Gaza or its takeover of the six-boat flotilla in international waters on May 31. A second investigation, led by a retired Supreme Court justice and including two foreign observers, has just begun its work. Neither, however, seems likely to satisfy demands for a full international investigation by the Turkish government. Turkey has withdrawn its ambassador from Tel Aviv and threatened further steps unless Israel issues an apology and sets up an international inquiry.
Everything that happened on board the Turkish flotilla six weeks ago remains a matter of controversy — who shot first, how aggressive the passengers were, how violent the commandos became, whether the action was justified in international waters. The cargo proved unquestionably humanitarian in nature — hospital beds, medicines, clothing — but the goal of the flotilla was to challenge Israel’s authority over what goes in and out of Gaza.
General Eiland, a former national security adviser, said in his briefing that more ships may try to breach Israel’s Gaza blockade and so lessons from what happened on the Turkish flotilla were important.
In fact, a Libyan vessel arrived in the area of Crete on Monday, with its crew saying it was scheduled to reach Gaza on Wednesday. Israeli officials have vowed to prevent it from getting through.
Israel created a blockade against Gaza, both by land and sea, three years ago, after Hamas, which had won elections the previous year, took full control of the Palestinian coastal strip. The goal of the blockade was to pressure Hamas, which rejects Israel’s existence and was firing crude rockets at its southern communities. Hamas has held an Israeli soldier captive in Gaza for four years. Israel has thousands of Palestinian prisoners in its jails and also set Hamas leaders and militants as targets.
The blockade, joined by Egypt, has suffocated the Gazan economy and barred people from coming and going except in medical emergencies, although food has always been let in. Following the takeover of the flotilla and the deaths on board, international pressure forced Israel to ease the land blockade.
Now the blockade is largely limited to the sea and to materials, like steel, that Israel fears could be turned into weapons by Hamas. There remains, however, intense international opprobrium because of the suffering of ordinary Palestinians in Gaza and the sense that the policy has done little to weaken Hamas.
General Eiland’s report finds that there was at least one gun on board because an Israeli soldier took a bullet in the knee that was not from an Israeli weapon. It also contends that Israeli soldiers most likely fired only after having been fired upon first.
“All the shooting was either when the soldiers were in immediate danger of their lives or when they had to rescue fellow soldiers,” a senior official involved in the investigation said, speaking under military rules of anonymity. He added that there were between four and six events in which Israeli soldiers were fired upon with live fire by those on board.
Passengers aboard the flotilla have mostly told a very different story, with some witnesses accusing the commandos of shooting randomly as they came aboard.
http://fwd4.me/06GK
IDF to blame navy in scathing report on Gaza flotilla raid
IDF chief Gabi Ashkenazi and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Military probe to accuse navy of failing to prepare for violent resistance when boarding Gaza-bound aid ships.
An Israeli military report to be released Monday on the Israel Navy's deadly May raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla is expected to accuse the navy of failing to sufficiently consider the possibility that the commandos would encounter violent resistance when attempting to keep the ships out of Gaza.
The report is also expected to criticize the navy for not cooperating sufficiently with the Mossad in gathering information ahead of the flotilla's arrival and to discuss the process by which the raid was approved. It is not, however, expected to call for disciplinary action against particular officers.
Nine Turkish pro-Palestinian activists were killed in the May 31 raid after they used clubs and knives to attack Israel Navy commandos boarding the Turkish-flagged Mavi Marmara. Israel had previously warned that it would take over the ships to enforce its blockade of the Gaza Strip.
The Israel Defense Forces committee investigating the raid, headed by Maj. Gen. (res. ) Giora Eiland, is the first to complete its investigation. The Turkel Committee, appointed by the government to examine whether the raid adhered to international law, has just begun its investigation. A team from the State Comptroller's Office will be beginning its own probe of the flotilla raid shortly.
Meanwhile, the Israel Navy is preparing to block a Libyan ship carrying humanitarian aid to the region, although sources in the IDF say chances are good that the ship will sail to the Egyptian port of El-Arish. But Yousef Sawani, who heads the Gaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation, the group that chartered the ship, said the passengers do want to reach Gaza and that reports that they are going to dock in El-Arish are intended to harm morale. He said the group was a global institution, not a Libyan one.
Witnesses and various other people who have spoken to Eiland say that his report will be very critical of the army's conduct in the affair. Eiland is also reportedly critical of the government's conduct, but the report will not cover politicians.
Eilan may, however, mention the government's conduct in the press conference he has called for today. The briefing may also be the place to mention the actions of specific people with regard to the affair, if he does not mention them in his report.
It is believed that Eiland is not likely to call for action against individuals involved in the affair because of his record on such things in the past, particularly his report on the abduction of soldier Gilad Shalit four years ago.
Eiland is expected to focus his attention on specific institutions - the navy and its intelligence branch, Military Intelligence, without specifically recommending action against the officers who head these bodies.
The navy is to be the main target of Eiland's critique of the operation, although his assessment will apparently be tempered by consideration for the navy's success in several operations in recent years under Maj. Gen. Eliezer Marom.
The Turkel Committee is expected to make use of Eiland's conclusions as a jumping-off point for its investigation of the government's conduct during the affair.
If the findings of Eiland's committee and other evidence indicate that soldiers may have committed criminal offenses or war crimes, the military advocate general will be informed, and will then decide whether to open a criminal investigation, the State Prosecutor's Office informed the High Court of Justice yesterday.
The prosecution issued the statement ahead of this morning's High Court hearing of a petition by the Israeli peace group Gush Shalom, which is protesting the government's decision to appoint the Turkel Committee to investigate the flotilla raid. The petitioners want a state commission of inquiry to be established that would probe all aspects of the IDF's action with regard to the Gaza flotilla, including the decision making that preceded the raid. They also want the committee to have the authority to question soldiers involved in the incident.
"A situation in which after every operation soldiers have to testify before a civilian committee, and when the feeling created is that the soldiers should hire lawyers when they embark on an operation, harms the soldiers' ability to function and the ability of the army to fulfill its duty," the prosecution said in a statement. "In extraordinary cases, in which there is no choice, it is done. But as a rule, this is to be avoided so as not to impair the army's ability to carry out its duty."
The prosecution said it is up to the government to decide on the way the raid should be investigated. It said the Turkel Committee will have the authority to question soldiers and other members of the security forces regarding their responsibilities, but not to ask them about primarily military issues. The committee will also be able to ask Defense Minister Ehud Barak and IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi about international law as it applies to the raid.
http://fwd4.me/06GJ
Flotilla report expected to be critical of IDF preparation
Analysis: Eiland Commission probe findings to be released; sources say personal recommendations against specific senior officers will not be given for handling of naval raid.
Four years ago, almost to the day, Maj.-Gen. (res.) Giora Eiland presented the findings of the last internal IDF probe he conducted.
The date was July 10, 2006 just two days before war broke out with Hizbullah in the North when Eiland, a former head of the IDF's Strategic Planning Directorate and the Israeli National Security Council, submitted the findings from his probe into the kidnapping of Cpl. Gilad Schalit by Hamas.
Eiland was extremely careful in the wording of his conclusions. While there were various operational mishaps leading up to the kidnapping, Eiland refrained from recommending sanctions against officers in the Gaza Division.
The only penalty was the recording of the incident in the personal files of several senior officers from the Southern Command, including Col. Avi Peled, commander of the Southern Gaza Brigade.
A year later though, Peled was appointed commander of the Golani Brigade, a clear indication that Schalit's kidnapping was not held against him. The commander of the Gaza Division at the time, Brig.-Gen. Aviv Kochavi, also emerged unscathed from the probe. He is currently awaiting a promotion in rank and an appointment within the General Staff. In the meantime he has served as a member of Eiland's investigative team.
In contrast to Eiland's report, the conclusions drawn by the team that investigated the kidnapping on July 12, 2006, of reservists Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser were harsher.
Although that team's report did not issue personal recommendations against him, Brig.-Gen. Gal Hirsch the equivalent of Kochavi in the North retired from active duty following the report's publication.
A number of senior officers in the IDF referred to Eiland's last probe over the past few days as a possible indication of what can be expected in the 150-page report he is scheduled to submit to Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi on Sunday night on the IDF's Operation Sea Breeze 7 to stop the Gaza-bound flotilla from Turkey in late May, which ended with nine dead Turkish nationals and unprecedented criticism of Israel.
Leaks from within the IDF indicate that, again this time, Eiland will refrain from issuing personal recommendations against senior officers. He will, however, criticize the IDF, which he reportedly has concluded did not properly prepare for the flotilla and the possible repercussions.
That is likely why Ashkenazi chose Eiland because he is a safe choice when it comes to officers careers.
Eiland's probe though touches on a larger issue within current military culture regarding the readiness of IDF officers to take responsibility for their actions. The norm, for better or for worse, within the IDF in recent years has been to avoid responsibility, to issue general findings in military probes and thereby let officers who should be held responsible off the hook.
Opinions within the IDF are split into two schools of thought. One school holds that Eiland's probe is on the operational level and needs to issue recommendations on a tactical level how to carry out a similar operation in the future.
The other school of thought is that Eiland needs to single out specific officers. One officer could be the commander of the Navy, V.-Adm. Eliezer Marom.
This school of thought holds that, following such a tactical mishap which led to extraordinary diplomatic damage, someone needs to pay the price. Only thus will the defense establishment learn from its mistakes.
http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=181144
Israeli navy braced for criticism
An Israeli military report into the deadly raid on a flotilla of aid ships heading for the Gaza Strip is expected to heavily criticise the Israeli navy, but will not call for disciplinary actions against any officers, according to Israeli media.
An investigation by an army committee, to be made public on Monday, will reportedly accuse navy officers of failing to sufficiently consider the possibility that they would face resistance when they boarded the Turkish-flagged Mavi Marmara on May 31.
Eight Turkish citizens and a joint US-Turkish national were killed after Israeli commandos dropped onto the vessel as it tried to enforce its naval blockade of the Palestinian territory.
Israel has previously claimed that the pro-Palestinian activists were shot dead after they attacked the troops with makeshift weapons, but those on board have said that the commandos attacked first.
The army investigation, led by Major-General Giora Eiland, is separate form the public inquiry being carried out by the government-appointed Tirkel Committee, which will decide whether the raid complied with international law.
Another by the state comptroller's office is also expected to begin shortly.
'Very critical'
Israel's Haaretz newspaper reportedon Monday that "witnesses and various other people who have spoken to Eiland say that his report will be very critical of the army's conduct in the affair".
The daily said the navy is to be "the main target of Eiland's critique of the operation, although his assessment will apparently be tempered by consideration for the navy's success in several operations in recent years under Major-General Eliezer Marom".
The Israeli media reports said that the military commission's report pointed to "flaws" in the preparations for the raid.
The Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper said that their were problems with the "battle guidelines" issued to commandoes and the intelligence gathered prior to the military boarding the Mavi Marmara.
The Jerusalem Post said that the reportfocused "on the relationship between the military and political echelons as well as the apparent intelligence failure, under which the navy commandos boarded the ship without knowing that a group of passengers, apparently mercenaries, had laid an ambush".
Widespread criticism
Eiland was expected to present the findings to the members of the General Staff, including Marom, Major-General Tal Russo, the head of Israeli military operations, and Major-General Amos Yadlin, a military intelligence official, before making the report public.
Israel has faced widespread international criticism over the deaths of the activists.
Turkey withdrew its envoy to Israel, later saying that the incident would leave an "irreparable and deep scar".
Amid an international outcry over the raid, Israel rejected a proposal by Ban Ki-moon, the UN chief, for an international inquiry, but appointed two foreign observers - David Trimble, a Northern Ireland politician and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and Canadian jurist Ken Watkin - to the Tirkel Committee.
Israel has said its commandos were enforcing a blockade necessary to prevent weapons from reaching Hamas fighters in the Gaza Strip, but has since eased its land border restrictions with the territory to allow through more civilian goods.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/07/201071255657605124.html
Israel Report Cites Flawed Planning for Flotilla Raid
TEL AVIV An Israeli military report blames faulty intelligence and poor planning for the botched raid of a Gaza-bound aid ship, but praises the "heroic" commandos who carried out the raid and concludes that the ship's Turkish passengers likely fired first.
This is the first internal Israeli report into the incident, which left eight Turks and one Turkish-American dead and triggered an international uproar. A separate government-appointed commission investigating the incident has a broader mandate to investigate and is expected to announce its findings within weeks.
The degree to which the international community, including Washington, perceive the Israeli investigations as independent and credible could help determine whether the United Nations pushes ahead with an investigation of its own into the incident and how much support it receives from member nations if it does.
After the raid, Washington demanded that Israel ease the blockade of Gaza, which Israel has taken some steps to comply with, while Turkey withdrew its ambassador from Tel Aviv and canceled three joint military exercises.
A spokesman for the Turkish Foreign Ministry said his government had not yet formulated its response to the results announced by the Israeli military investigation. A senior U.S. official said Washington would wait to pass judgment after the independent government commission completes its investigation.
Huseyin Oruc, an executive board member of the Humanitian Relief Foundation, or IHH, the Turkish aid organization that sponsored the aid flotilla and whose members attacked the Israeli soldiers as they boarded the ship, dismissed Israeli charges that passengers had firearms and fired the first shot.
"Why did they wait 42 days to say this? If there was a single gun on the ship, why didn't they tell it to the world from the first minute?" he said.
The investigation, headed by retired Israeli Maj. Gen. Giora Eiland faulted "underestimation of the resistance on the ship" because of flawed intelligence and poor cooperation between the navy and Israel's intelligence services, a senior Israeli military official involved in the investigation told reporters in a briefing at Israel's sprawling military headquarters complex in downtown Tel Aviv.
It also faulted a "lack of understanding of the means that would be more effective" to deal with the ship and its passengers, the official said.
The commission found mistakes were made at a senior level, but avoided pinning blame on individual officers, at least according to those conclusions which were shared publicly. The majority of the investigation's findings are classified.
The official commended the commandoes who carried out the May 31 raid, calling their conduct "professional and courageous."
"In all events where Israeli soldiers decided to shoot, it was because they were facing immediate danger to their lives or had decided they had to rescue soldiers who had been captured," he said. "There is a good chance that the fist shot was not by an Israeli soldier."
He said that passengers on board the ship fired between four and six shots at Israeli soldiers, using guns that were taken off of Israeli soldiers and at least one firearm that was already on board the ship. A bullet removed from the knee of an Israeli commando wounded during the raid was from a gun that wasn't issued by the Israeli military, he said.
Israel found a stockpile of light weapons on the ship, including knives, steel pipes and slingshots, but found no firearms.
Since the May 31 incident, one additional aid ship has tried to run the blockade but was stopped peacefully. Pro-Palestinian activists say they are planning to send additional aid ships, including one that has already set sail from Libya and could arrive to Gaza as soon as Wednesday.
"If tomorrow we face a similar ship, we'll be able to stop it," the official said. "If there are dozens of people on board with cold weapons and they are committed to kill soldiers and committed to be killed, we can't guarantee they won't be killed."
http://fwd4.me/06GH
Maj. Gen. (Res.) Eiland Submits Conclusions of Military Examination Team Regarding Mavi Marmara,
Maj. Gen. (Res.) Eiland Presents the Chief of the General Staff with the Conclusions of his Examination Team
The IDF Chief of the General Staff, Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, received the conclusions reached by a team of experts, headed by Maj. Gen. (Res.) Giora Eiland, tasked with examining the incidents that took place at sea on May 31st 2010.
Maj. Gen. Eiland presented the team%u2019s findings and conclusions to the Chief of the General Staff as well as to officers from the General Staff and from other IDF branches and directorates who were involved in the preparations and in the actual boarding of the flotilla. The core of the report was presented the Minister of Defense of Israel as well.
The team was appointed by the Chief of the General Staff to examine the deployment towards the flotilla, the chosen course of action and other possible alternatives, advance preparations, and the operation's implementation.
The team included eight officers and their examination focused on intelligence, Naval command, the naval commando unit responsible for carrying out the operation, the Israel Air Force, media relations, technological alternatives, medical aspects and legal counsel and international law.
The examination presented various lessons on a broad, systemic level, not only as regards this specific operation (stopping the flotilla).
In terms of the intelligence effort, the team concluded that not all possible intelligence gathering methods were fully implemented and that the coordination between Navy Intelligence and the Israel Defense Intelligence was insufficient. At the same time, the team emphasized that it is not certain that an optimal intelligence effort would create a complete intelligence picture. The team also pointed out that the anticipated level of violence used against the forces was underestimated.
In terms of situation assessments towards the flotilla, the team clarified that the operation relied excessively on a single course of action, albeit a probable one, while no alternative courses of action were prepared for the event of more dangerous scenarios.
Regarding technological alternatives, the team determined that on the day of the incident, decision makers were not presented with alternative operational courses of action other than a full boarding of the flotilla. The team emphasized the fact that as far as is currently known, no country in the world holds the ability to stop a vessel at sea in a non hostile manner. Therefore statements made on this matter following the incident are unfounded and irresponsible. At the same time, the team determined that alternative courses of action could have existed had the process of preparation begun enough time in advance, and recommended to accelerate the process of examining alternative methods.
The expert team determined that regarding media relations, the preparations made in advance were good. However, the release of press statements and visual materials was delayed due to the need to maintain reliability, the obligation to notify the families of the critically injured soldiers and the long authorization process at the levels above the IDF Spokesperson Unit. The team noted with favor the work of the IDF spokesperson following the incident and emphasized the need for better coordination between the IDF, the foreign ministry and other foreign affairs institutions.
In terms of operation command, the team determined that the location of the commanders during the incident and the presence of the Commander of the Israel Navy at sea during the operation, was proper and fit with the Chief of the General Staff's view regarding the role of commanders at the front lines of IDF activity. His presence proved effective in terms of the decision making process, saving lives and more. The team praised the Israel Navy combat protocols, the preparations of the Naval Commando Unit, the Navy Command, the Electronic Warfare Formation and the medical evacuation.
The team determined that the Navy Commando soldiers operated properly, with professionalism, bravery and resourcefulness and that the commanders exhibited correct decision making. The report further determines that the use of live fire was justified and that the entire operation is estimable.
The team noted with favor the various stages of medical evacuation of the injured by air and by sea, including the injured passengers of the Mavi Marmara. In addition the team pointed out the serious attitude with which the General Staff and the Israel Navy approached the matter, as expressed in the preparations.
Maj. Gen. (Res.) Eiland noted with favor the degree of cooperation and transparency exhibited by those involved in the examination at all levels. In the summary of the examination Maj. Gen. Eiland determined that the issue should be viewed with perspective, being that the damage caused to Israel is not as severe as it seemed following the incident. In addition, he said that a there%u2019s a tendency to draw general conclusions based on a single incident and that the fact that the IDF examines itself and others do not, results in that only the errors of the IDF are publicized,%u201D according to Maj. Gen. (Res.) Eiland.
http://idfspokesperson.com/2010/07/12/maj-gen-res-eiland-submits-conclusions-of-military-examination-team-regarding-mavi-marmara-12-july-2010/
No Wrongdoing In Israeli Raid on Gaza Ship: Report
TEL AVIV (Reuters) - An Israeli military inquiry found no wrongdoing or negligence in the navy's raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, but said intelligence and operational mistakes led to the deaths of nine Turkish activists.
A civilian panel is conducting a separate inquiry into the May 31 raid that triggered an international outcry, strained Israel's relations with its once-close Muslim ally Turkey and forced the Jewish state to ease its land blockade on Gaza.
"The inquiry found that on the one hand there were no wrongdoings and no negligences in any fundamental areas during a complicated and complex operation," Giora Eiland, a retired Israeli general who headed the military inquiry said on Monday.
"But on the other hand there were mistakes that were made in decisions, including some taken at relatively high levels, which meant that the result was not as had been initially anticipated," Eiland told reporters at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, where he released his report into the incident.
Israel says its troops acted in self-defense in opening fire on passengers who attacked them with metal rods and knives.
It also says the interception was necessary to enforce a naval blockade designed to prevent arms shipments from reaching Hamas, the Islamist group that controls the Gaza Strip.
EVIDENCE ACTIVISTS OPENED FIRE
Eiland said his inquiry found evidence that activists on the Turkish-flagged Mavi Marmara opened fire on Israeli commandos.
"We found that there are at least four incidents in which the people who were on the ship shot at our soldiers, either by using the weapons that were stolen from the soldiers or a weapon that they had," he said.
"We do have evidence that there was at least one weapon on this ship before we arrived and there is good reason to believe that the first shooting that occurred was when our soldier, the second soldier that arrived on the deck from the very first helicopter was shot by somebody," he added.
Turkish organizers of the flotilla reject Israeli claims that activists opened fire first, with guns seized from Israeli commandos. They say activists seized guns but threw them overboard.
Some of the commandos, the Israeli military said at the time, were armed with paintball guns -- but also carried pistols -- in anticipation of only light resistance.
Eiland said better intelligence on the activists' plan to attack Israeli commandos could have prevented the bloodshed.
The separate civilian panel is led by a former Israeli Supreme Court Justice Jacob Turkel and includes two international observers.
Its narrow mandate does not include an examination of the political decision-making process behind the launching of the raid, although Turkel said it would call for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to testify.
Instead, it focuses on whether the naval blockade and the flotilla's interception conformed with international law. The panel will also investigate the actions taken by the convoy's organizers and participants.
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2010/07/12/news/news-us-palestinians-israel-flotilla.html?_r=1&hp 6 jul 2011, 21:39 , Respect -
Maria 13 juli 2010
Erdogan vows that Turkey will not Let Israel Get away with Flotilla Attack
Predictably, the Israeli military investigation of itself with regard to the commando attack on the Mavi Marmara humanitarian aid ship on May 31 is a whitewash that says the deployment of deadly fire by the troops was justified. Eyewitnesses reported that one seated photographer was abruptly shot between the eyes, and that another innocent’s head exploded when he was shot from above. The report mentions the Israelis airlifting the humanitarian workers whom they had injured to shore for medical treatment but not the nine persons, one of them an American citizen, whom they killed.
Despite a resignation among intellectuals in the United States to Israel having gotten away with it again, the mood is quite different in Turkey.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said again on Monday that he ‘has no intention of letting Israel get away with its “pirate-like” and “barbarous” attack which led to the death of civilians. ‘
Erdogan said, “I’m saying it very clearly: The Mavi Marmara and those on board who were carrying medicine and games for children were subject to a barbarous and pirate-like attack in international waters. We will never give up pursuing this point,”
Erdogan also expressed impatience with the failure of the Obama administration to pressure the Israelis about the attack, saying that President Obama had said he agreed with Erdogan’s stance when they met privately, but then seemed not to have followed through when Obama met recently with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. Or, Erdogan speculated, perhaps press reports about the Obama-Netanyahu love fest were inaccurate (i.e. behind the scenes Obama may have actually read Netanyahu the riot act about the assault on the Gaza aid flotilla).
IHH, the Turkish charity backing the flotilla effort, rejected the Israeli report, contrasting the firearm-toting Israeli commandos to the civilians aboard. Aljazeera English has video:
(2:49) Turkish group dismisses Israeli report on Gaza flotilla raid
Israel responded last month to the IHH flotilla efforts by putting the organization on a terrorism watch list.
Writing in Today’s Zaman, Ayse Karabat reports on the reaction of Turkish intellectuals such as Sedat Laçiner to the Israeli military report. Laçiner observed, ‘as someone who lives in Ankara, I was able to contact the Mavi Marmara and able to ask them how the situation was. They told me that there was a group of people on the ship, preparing sticks to use against Israeli soldiers if they tried to intercept them. If I knew that, sure Israel knew about it, too.’
Nihat Ali Özcan of the Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey, said, “Recent developments in the world tell us that if you confront a group, you have to learn their conflict culture, not their physical capacity. The passengers of the ship were from a civil society organization, but not a Norwegian-style [one].”
Kürsat Atilgan, a retired military officer now serving in the Turkish parliament, criticized Israel as a ‘paranoid state’ and said that it was impossible to know at what distance from their shores their paranoia would kick in.
Turkey continues to demand an apology from Israel, and has closed off its airspace to the Israeli air force.
http://www.juancole.com/2010/07/erdogan-vows-that-americans-will-stand-up-to-us.html
Press: No surprises in Israel flotilla report
Israeli General Giora Eiland
General Giora Eiland's investigation found "some mistakes" were made
There was little surprise in the Israeli and Palestinian press that an internal report into Israel's raid of a Gaza-bound aid ship failed to identify culprits for the death of nine activists in the operation. The investigation, led by retired Israeli Gen Giora Eiland, found that "some mistakes" were made but also praised the "professional and courageous" behaviour of the troops involved.
Israel's press praised a "thorough" investigation but said that the inquiry left open the question of how to attribute blame for the mistakes made. It was suggested that the report, which was restricted to the military's conduct, left open the possibility that fault lies with political leaders or intelligence officials.
Eiland's report was largely ignored by the Palestinian, Turkish and Middle East press. One Palestinian paper summed up the general indifference by noting that an inquiry conducted internally was unlikely to point fingers. An Iranian commentator said that Israel's "backtracking" over the incident is further evidence of its weakness.
EDITORIAL IN ISRAEL'S HA'ARETZ
As expected, Eiland carried out the task thoroughly and in depth, exposing flaws and recommending ways to correct them. Also as expected, Eiland didn't put anyone's head in a noose. The report does not whitewash the cracks in intelligence gathering and operational planning, but it leaves unanswered the question of command responsibility for what Eiland himself has described as "substantive errors within the senior ranks".
ALEX FISHMAN IN ISRAEL'S YEDIOT AHARANOT
Throughout his briefing, Eiland reiterated that his inquiry had not extended to the political hierarchy, Mossad or the Israeli Security Agency and that these are also worth investigating. Thus he elegantly passed the ball from the military court to the political court.
OFER SHELAH IN ISRAEL'S MA'ARIV
Seldom has a report about a failed operation been received with so much satisfaction by the subjects of the investigation... Eiland rightly avoided calling for someone's head, but there is also a gap between the facts of his report and the soft words he used to express them. Eiland believes his report points to deep problems. But the subjects of the report see no names in the headlines and move on ... [Chief of Staff Gabi] Ashkenazi appointed Eiland knowing that he would provide him with a report that has everything except a clear bottom line.
YAAKOV KATZ IN ISRAEL'S JERUSALEM POST
The running theme [in the report] was that while the Israeli Defence Force made plenty of mistakes ahead of the operation and even during it, none of them were the result of negligence and none of them constituted failures that someone should pay the price for... This fits in with expectations and predictions of what Eiland's report would contain.
EDITORIAL IN PALESTINIAN AL-QUDS
The conclusions of the Israeli investigating committee into the crime against the Freedom Flotilla were unsurprising... the inquiry places no blame on anyone... it does not ask that anyone apologise or be put on trial. It made sure not to anger anyone, at least in Israel.
HANIF GHAFARI IN IRAN'S RESALAT
In recent years, the resistance of Muslims and freedom-loving people across the world against the atrocities of the Israeli regime, allied to Israel's backtracking over events such as attacking the Freedom Flotilla, has sent a clear message to the major powers: they are approaching their expiry date and their hegemony over international organisations is coming to an end. BBC Monitoring selects and translates news from radio, television, press, news agencies and the internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages. It is based in Caversham, UK, and has several bureaux abroad.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8814730.stm
Israeli whitewasher on flotilla inquiry once called for ’suffering of 100s of 1000s of people’
by Norman Finkelstein
The head of the investigation that said Israel made some mistakes but basically did the right thing in raiding the Mavi Marmara on May 31 is General Giora Eiland. A note from Norman Finkelstein:
It's useful to remember who Giora Eiland is. The Goldstone Report listed Eiland as one of the ideological architects of the Gaza massacre: http://fwd4.me/06D1
[Paragraph] 1196. After the war in southern Lebanon in 2006, a number of senior former military figures appeared to develop the thinking that underlay the strategy set out by Gen. Eiskenot. In particular Major General (Ret.) Giora Eiland has argued that, in the event of another war with Hizbullah, the target must not be the defeat of Hizbullah but “the elimination of the Lebanese military, the destruction of the national infrastructure and intense suffering among the population… Serious damage to the Republic of Lebanon, the destruction of homes and infrastructure, and the suffering of hundreds of thousands of people are consequences that can influence Hizbollah’s behaviour more than anything else”. [Giora Eiland, "The Third Lebanon War: Target Lebanon," Strategic Assessment (November 2008)]
Update from Finkelstein on the central issue here:
Israeli philosopher Asa Kasher, despite doing his utmost to defend the Gaza massacre, nonetheless said that “a democratic state...cannot use human beings as mere tools to create deterrence. Human beings are not tools to be used,” and that “killing for the sake of deterrence is something akin to terrorism.” Asa Kasher, “Operation Cast Lead and Just War Theory,” Azure (Summer 2009), p. 51; Asa Kasher, “A Moral Evaluation of the Gaza War,” Jerusalem Post (7 February 2010).
http://fwd4.me/06D2
Exclusive Intifada Interview with Greta Berlin – Free Gaza Movement
Free Gaza Movement founder Greta Berlin
Elias Harb interviews one of the leading voices in the movement to bring freedom to the people of Gaza.
Greta Berlin (France/US, English) has been an advocate for justice for the Palestinians since the early 60s. She is the mother of two Palestinian/American children whose father was born and raised in Safad, Palestine and is a 1948 refugee. She has an MFA in Theatre and
Free Gaza Movement founder Greta Berlin
a bachelor’s in English and, when she’s not working with the Palestinians, has spent the past 32 years teaching engineers and scientists how to design and deliver presentations. In 2003, she volunteered with the ISM, working in several villages in the occupied West bank as well as manning their media office, then returned to work again in 2003, 05 and 07.
She is one of the founders of the Free Gaza Movement and was on board the FREE GAZA, the first boat with internationals to reach this besieged strip of the Mediterranean in 41 years. She then helped run three more successful voyages to Gaza between October 22 and December 23, 2008 working on the land crew and media in Cyprus, sending more than 50 human rights workers to Gaza on board the DIGNITY. She is available to speak in Europe or the U.S.
In the pre-dawn hours of Monday, May 31, showing a terrifying disregard for human life, Israeli naval forces surrounded and boarded ships sailing to bring humanitarian aid to the blockaded Gaza Strip. On the largest ship, the Mavi Marmara, Israeli commandos opened fire on civilian passengers, killing at least 9 passengers and wounding dozens more. The final death toll is yet to be determined.
Elias Harb interviews Greta Berlin Co-founder of the Free Gaza Movement
Elias Harb: Can you tell us what motivated you to the Palestinian Cause and the Free Gaza Movement and when was the movement founded?
Greta Berlin: I married a 1948 Palestinian refugee from Safad and have two Palestinian/American children. I’ve been part of justice for Palestine since 1967. Once you go and see what has happened to the Palestinians (I call them the final victims of WWII, because they have paid the price for what Europe did to the Jews), it is impossible to leave. I am no longer married, my children are grown, I am still working for justice.
The movement was founded in September/October 2006. A group of us were trying to figure out how to bring to the attention of the world what was happening in Gaza. One of the people working for justice for Palestine, Michael Shaik, emailed us and said, “OK. I have been thinking about this for a long time but am aware that I’m better at ideas than practicalities, so I’ll outline what I’d envisaged and let the rest of you do the sanity check. My plan was this: – Charter a big boat to sail from New York. Make it clear that its purpose is to “Break the Siege of Gaza” (that can be the slogan of the campaign). It is very important that the boat have a big send off with speeches by important people that will get it as much publicity as possible.” That kernel of an idea is what started the movement (of course, in a much smaller set of boats).
EH: How many times have the Free Gaza movement tried to break the Israeli siege and have you succeeded in getting any boasts into Gaza so far?
GB: The Freedom Flotilla was our 9th voyage. We successfully entered Gaza five times. This attempt was the fourth time we were stopped. If you look on our website under http://www.freegaza.org/en/boat-trips/passenger-lists, you will find the stories and passengers there.
EH: Israel declares that it had the legal right to confront the flotilla from reaching Gaza. Do you think there is any justification in that stance??
GB: Israel has no right to stop us under international law UNLESS it wants to admit that it occupies Gaza. Since Israel says it no longer occupies Gaza and Gaza is free, they have no right to stop us. In addition, the blockade is collective punishment against a civilian population that is WAY out of line. International law, Amnesty International and the International Red Cross have all said the same thing. Israel’s blockade is illegal. The illegal entity in the neighborhood is Israel, not us.
EH: Are there still passengers still held in Ashdod detention camp, and any updates on whereabouts of the missing passengers?
GB: There are no missing passengers, everyone is accounted for. There are no passengers held in Ashdod. There are, however, five very seriously injured passengers still in hospital, two are not expected to live…making the count really 11 murdered.
EH: Israel is saying that those on board the ships were violent terrorists not humanitarians. Israeli Prime Minister went so far to state that the Jewish state is a victim of an Iran-backed campaign to arm the Hamas rulers of Gaza with missiles that could hit Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. What is your position on that?
GB: Silly man. What do you expect from a man who is the head of a country founded on terrorism? Israelis think everyone is a terrorist, because that’s how they got their country originally. The only guns on board those six boats belonged to Israel. As far as the Free Gaza movement is concerned, we are a civilian organization that works with other civilians in Gaza such as PNGO and Al Aksa Hospital. Our cargo was designated for NGOs in Gaza and all cargo was inspected by maritime experts before it left port.
EH: Have there been any suits filed or are there plans for filing suits from countries or passengers of the Flotilla?
GB: Yes, and we are working on filing suits over the next few weeks
EH: Israel seized all cameras and communication equipment from flotilla passengers. Do you know of plans for getting personal property appropriated back from Israel?
GB: We have demanded all equipment and tapes be returned. They stole the equipment, ruined our cameras, shot several journalists who were trying to film the assault (killing one of them). We estimate that Israel stole over a million dollars of computers, cameras and phones. We also insist that our boats be returned. Israel still has our boat from last July when they hijacked it, kidnapped our passengers and hauled them into Israel for a week.
EH: Israel has announced it has eased the blockade on Gaza, Has the humanitarian Crises improved in Gaza, can you update on?
GB: Well, if you want ketchup and chocolate, then the blockade has been eased. If you want to rebuild your society, it has not. The people of Gaza want their freedom, not handouts from the international community. What right do they have to collectively punish a population of 1.5 million Palestinians for resisting occupation and for voting in one of the fairest elections held in the Middle East?
EH: Do you feel the Mainstream Media as a whole was fair in reporting the Israeli Israeli armed forces attack on the Gaza ‘Freedom Flotilla?’
GB: It was better than usual until the Israeli lobby started in on our occupied Congress. In Europe, everyone pretty much knows what Israel did was illegal. Unfortunately, Americans are still being lied to continuously.
EH: It seems pro-Israeli lobbies have succeeded in pressuring most members of U.S. Congress to declare that Israeli had a right to defend itself, despite the massacre of innocent civilians and violations of International law. Do human rights activists have an objective to get around the pro-Israeli support in Congress?
GB: We work on it all of the time. We had people show up at Brad Sherman’s meeting in a Temple (he’s the one who wants to arrest all of us). We had people show up in Congress dressed in prison garb ready to be arrested, people like Col. Ann Wright, Ramzi Kysia, Medea Benjamin. It will take a long time for Congress to shake itself loose from Zionist (both Christian and Jewish) influence.
EH: I read in witness Gaza.com that there is a Libyan boat headed for Gaza, do you have any new information on that Boat. Also are there any plans for a new flotilla in the near future?
GB: We do not have any connection to the Libyan boat since we do not deal with governments who want to send boats. Our organization is made up of people from civil society (although we certainly take members of Parliament) who work civilian to civilian. Yes, we are going again sometime in the fall.
E.H: Lastly, what gives you and all of those associated with The Free Gaza Movement so much courage to continue?
G.B: Hmmmmmm. I always say, “Never underestimate the power of pissed off women.” (but I suppose you want a better answer than that). Of the five founders, four are women. Of the nine members on the interim board, seven are women. Of the six people in the office in Cyprus when the massacres happened, five were women.
Women are a powerful force for justice and always have been.
EH: Thank you Greta Berlin
http://fwd4.me/06Cu
Knesset revokes Arab MK Zoabi's privileges over Gaza flotilla
In 34-16 vote, Knesset approves stripping Zoabi of three parliamentary privileges over Gaza flotilla; Zoabi: Knesset is punishing me out of vengeance.
The Knesset on Tuesday voted to revoke three parliamentary privileges from Arab MK Hanin Zoabi (Balad) due to her participation in the aid flotilla that sailed to Gaza in late May.
Thirty-four lawmakers voted in favor of stripping Zoabi's privileges and 16 voted against, after a heated debate, in which Zoabi accused her fellow lawmakers of punishing her out of vengeance.
The Knesset's House Committee previously recommended revoking Zoabi's privileges after she participated in the Gaza-bound aid flotilla, which resulted in an IDF raid that killed nine activists.
"You are punishing me out of vengeance," Zoabi told fellow parliamentarians. "When you threaten the Arab MKs and the Arabs' protectors, you threaten democracy and co-existence between Jews and Arabs."
"I have the right and the duty to fight for my rights and my values," she continued, adding that "my positions are often different from those of the Likud, Kadima and most of the MKs. That’s why I don’t represent Kadima, the Labor Party or the Likud, but those who voted for me and in my case I represent the consensus of the Arab MKs."
"You have no freedom of choice with regards to the rules of democracy," Zoabi added. "There are fixed rules that do not change at whim. You do not need to protect democracy, but to protect me for democracy's sake."
Last week the Knesset committee recommended rescinding from Zuabi three key privileges, one of which is the privilege to exit the country – meant to prevent Zoabi from fleeing Israel if she commits a felony or has debts in Israel.
Another privilege to be rescinded is carrying a diplomatic passport, which according to the Knesset's legal adviser, is a privilege that does not grant diplomatic immunity so revoking it would not make it more difficult for Zoabi to fulfill her duties.
The third privilege is the right to have the Knesset cover litigation fees of an MK if he or she faces trial.
MK Yariv Levin (Likud), chairman of the Knesset committee that decided on rescinding her privileges, told Zoabi that she doesn’t belong in the Knesset.
"You have no place in the Israeli Knesset, you are unworthy of holding an Israeli ID and you embarrass the citizens of Israel, the Knesset, the Arab population and your family," he said.
Meanwhile, MK Anastassia Michaeli (Yisrael Beiteinu) was escorted out of the hall after she handed Zoabi a lookalike Iranian passport with a photograph of her in it, saying that it will serve her on her diplomatic incitement trips.
"In every civilized country, a member of parliament who crosses the red line and identifies with the enemy and arming the enemy with weapons of mass destruction aimed at destroying his country's national foundations will not find in his pocket a diplomatic passport of the country he aims to destroy," Michaeli said.
"Ms. Zoabi, I take your loyalty to Iran seriously and I suggest you contact [Iranian President Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad and ask him to give you an Iranian diplomatic passport that will assist you with all your diplomatic incitement tours, because your Israeli passport will be revoked this evening," she added and proceeded to hand Zoabi a lookalike Iranian passport that she had produced for her.
Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin (Likud) interrupted Levin and said that the Knesset plenum was not the platform to express his personal feelings but rather the committee's decision.
Rivlin said: "I was not happy with Hanin Zoabi's actions, but if she broke an Israeli law may the Attorney General, who was solely and unequivocally given the power to decide, rise and press charges against her."
"We, as Knesset members, were chosen due to our beliefs. Today it is in our favor, and tomorrow it might not be; there is a complex ideological struggle between what was once left and right," Rivlin said, adding, "I believe that everyone should have the right to speak their minds, even if what they say hurts me."
The House Committee decision to recommend the rescinding of Zoabi's privileges was passed by a majority of seven to one, with MK Ilan Gilon of Meretz opposing.
The Balad party condemned the Knesset committee decision calling it "racist and anti-democratic."
"The MKs who incite against Zoabi spill her blood – they are calling on the public to harm her and following their decision, her life will be threatened," Balad said in a statement. "These MKs will be responsible for any harm that may be caused to her."
http://fwd4.me/05vo
14 juli 2010
7 flotilla victims wanted to be martyrs, report says
According to report, eight of the nine passengers belonged to the IHH radical Islamic group.
Seven out of the nine passengers who were killed aboard the Mavi Marmara Turkish passenger ship on May 31 had expressed their desire to die before the flotilla set sail for the Gaza Strip, according to a report put out Tuesday by an Israeli research center.
According to the report by the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center – known as MALAM – eight of the nine passengers belonged to the IHH radical Islamic group and other Turkish organizations that, MALAM claimed, have a radical Islamic character. The report quoted a Turkish newspaper in which one of the passengers, 19-year-old Furqan Dogan, said that he wanted to be a martyr.
“These are the last hours before I join the sweet experience of being a shahid. Is there anything more beautiful than this?” the newspaper quoted from Dogan’s diary.
The MALAM report cited “growing evidence” that seven out of the nine passengers killed had “in one way or another” expressed their desire to die as martyrs aboard the flotilla.
The IDF has claimed that the nine were part of a group of mercenaries that attacked navy commandos with clubs, knives and metal bars as they boarded the ship’s upper deck.
http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=181358
They asked for it
by Norman Finkelstein
The Israeli Intelligence and Information Center has done a report on the flotilla raid saying that 7 out of 9 victims wanted to be martyrs.
Big news in Israel.
About the Israeli Intelligence and Terrorism Center:
In March 2010 the Israeli Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center released a voluminous refutation of the Goldstone Report.[i] It was based largely on “interrogations of terrorist operatives,” “reports from IDF forces,” “Israeli intelligence information,” and unverifiable and indecipherable photographic evidence. Despite ample evidence assembled by human rights organizations, the Israeli document denied that Gazans were suffering a humanitarian crisis before the Israeli attack (it blamed Hamas for the shortages that did arise);[ii] denied that the Israeli raid on Gaza on 4 November 2008 caused the breakdown of the ceasefire with Hamas;[iii] and denied that Israel used Palestinians as human shields.[iv]
It also falsely alleged that the Goldstone Report made “almost no mention of the brutal means of repression used by Hamas against its opponents”;[v] that the Report devoted “just three paragraphs” to Hamas’s “rocket and mortar fire during Operation Cast Lead” and downplayed Israeli civilian deaths;[vi] that the Report “absolved” Hamas “of all responsibility for war crimes”;[vii] that the Report gave “superficial” treatment to “the terrorists organizations’ use of civilians as human shields”;[viii] and that the Report relied on “the unreliable casualty statistics provided by Hamas.”[ix]
On more than one occasion the Israeli document tests the limits of chutzpah and credulity: it rebukes not Israel but Hamas for “unwillingness to cooperate with the [Goldstone] Mission,” and purports that “Hamas operatives would position innocent civilians near IDF tanks to prevent IDF soldiers from shooting at them.”[x] So, Hamas dragged Palestinian civilians to Israeli tank positions, ordered them to stay put, and then beat a retreat. Regrettably, the document never says if the civilians did stay put.
[i] Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, Hamas and the Terrorist Threat from the Gaza Strip: The main findings of the Goldstone Report versus the factual findings (March 2010).
[ii] Ibid., p. 69.
[iii] Ibid., pp. IV, 8, 73, 80. Whereas a prior publication of the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center had reported that Hamas was “careful to maintain the ceasefire,” and sought to “enforce the terms of the arrangement on the other terrorist organizations”, in this document it is alleged that the ceasefire was “systematically and repeatedly violated by Hamas,” and Hamas “made no effective effort to impose the lull” on the other “terrorist organizations.” Still, its own graphs showed that just one rocket and one mortar were fired at Israel in October 2008 and it did concede that “the first five months of the lull were relatively quiet” (ibid., pp. 74, 79).
[iv] Ibid., p. IV.
[v] Ibid., pp. 3, 35 (cf. Goldstone Report, paras. 1345-72).
[vi] Ibid., pp. 95, 97 (cf. Goldstone Report, paras. 1604-6, 1610-36, 1647-74, 1682-91; the Report explicitly stated that “the impact on [Israeli] communities is greater than the numbers of fatalities and injuries actually sustained” (para. 1647)).
[vii] Ibid., pp. VIII, 57 (cf. Goldstone Report, paras. 1687-91). The document chastised the Goldstone Report for referring to “Palestinian armed groups” instead of explicitly implicating Hamas, but the Report reciprocally referred to “Israeli armed forces.”
[viii] Ibid., p. 120 (cf. Goldstone Report, paras. 475-98).
[ix] Ibid., pp. 315, 321-22 (cf. Goldstone Report, paras. 352-63). The document indulged the baseless speculation that Palestinian families seeking “financial compensation” might have reported deaths from “natural causes” as invasion-related (ibid., p. 322).
[x] Ibid., pp. 318, 196.
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/07/they-asked-for-it.html[/b][/b] 6 jul 2011, 23:31 , Respect -
Maria 14 juli 2010
Israel and the Flotilla Intifada
Yesterday, an Israeli military inquiry committee published a report about Israel's raid on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla. While criticising "mistakes" made by the Israeli navy, such as its failure to coordinate with the Mossad before the raid and to properly plan the raid, the report is essentially a whitewash. Aside from these criticisms, it commends the raid. It does not hold the Israeli commandos involved culpable in any way for the deaths of nine people on board the Mavi Marmara, instead praising them for showing courage in their confrontation with unarmed activists, which it portrays as terrorists. This report suggests that Israel has learned no lessons from its murderous raid. Its image across the world has taken a battering and if it thought that it could deter any further aid convoys it was sorely mistaken.
Following the raid on the flotilla, new aid convoys are being planned. The European Campaign to End the Siege of Gaza is now organising a "Freedom Flotilla 2", which will set sail for Gaza in August. It will consist of more ships than the first one and carry 4,000 activists. An aid ship from Lebanon is on its way to Gaza via Cyprus. A Libyan aid ship, the Amalthea, organised by the Gaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation and carrying one of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's sons is due to reach Gaza today but is been surrounded and forcibly diverted by the Israeli navy toward Egypt. In addition to the ships, there have been overland convoys. An Algerian aid convoy and a convoy organised by Egyptian opposition MPs entered Gaza through the Rafah border crossing last month, but they were forced by the Egyptian authorities to leave their aid behind. A Jordanian overland convoy also began its journey to Gaza yesterday 14 July.
These aid missions have a very low chance of success. Those attempting to reach Gaza by sea are exposing themselves to great danger, as the Israeli government has shown that it is not averse to killing unarmed activists. Overland convoys trying to reach Gaza through the Rafah crossing almost invariably have their aid confiscated by the Egyptian authorities. The convoys to Gaza appear to be on a perilous and futile mission. Why then, do the activists of the European Campaign to End the Siege of Gaza, the Free Gaza Movement, and the Turkish humanitarian group IHH, which has been so much maligned in the media, persist in their efforts to send aid to Gaza? The reason is that this is the only way to end the siege of Gaza. The European Union, the United States and the Arab countries, are all collaborating with the Israelis in the siege of Gaza, and while they are prepared to make occasional statements criticising it, they are not prepared to exert even the smallest amount of pressure on Israel to end the siege. When global public opinion turned against Israel after its raid on the flotilla, the U.N. Security Council refused to condemn the raid under U.S. pressure and the U.S. vice president, Joe Biden, defended Israel's actions. In order to placate world opinion, Israel announced that it would "ease" the blockade on Gaza. However this "easing" will have little effect on the lives of ordinary people in Gaza. Exports remain prohibited, crippling Gaza's economy. The import of building materials is still banned, ensuring that the damage done by Israel's war against Gaza – which destroyed 39% of Gaza's houses - goes unrepaired and that thousands of people remain homeless.
Israel's three year siege of Gaza has devastated that territory. 52% of children suffer from malnutrition. The water supply system has collapsed. 80% of the population live in poverty. However, the international community has shown that it is willing to tolerate this and with Israel's announcement of the "easing" of the blockade, international pressure on Israel has also eased. The United States and the European Union are willing to allow Israel to get away with meaningless gestures which will do nothing to alleviate the plight of the people of Gaza. However, the aid convoys will continue to keep the siege of Gaza in the global spotlight and keep up the pressure on Israel and the international community to lift the siege. Israel's image across the world is now in tatters thanks to the raid on the flotilla. The Boycott, Disinvestment and Sanctions campaign is gaining momentum, particularly on the cultural level with actors and musicians cancelling concerts and appearances in Israel. With their perseverance and determination, the convoys will be able to make Israel's siege of Gaza unsustainable.
http://fwd4.me/06Rb
'Gaza blockade is legitimate'
Israel defended its right to stop aid ships headed for the Gaza Strip during a hearing of the UN Human Rights Committee in Geneva on Wednesday, AFP reported.
The two-day committee hearing began on Tuesday, discussing whether Israel was violating obligations under the UN treaty on civil and political rights.
"No ship can breach this blockade, be they civil or military ships. Whoever violates the blockade is heading for retaliation," Israeli envoy Sari Rubenstein reportedly told the Human Rights Committee. "The blockade is legitimate. Under international law... a blockade can be imposed on the sea," she added.
"These are not activists for peace, but messengers of death," Israeli ambassador Aharon Leshno Yaar said, in reference to those aboard the Mavi Marmara, on the second day of the session.
"We cannot sweep aside with a stroke of the hand the application of the treaty [on civil and political rights] in the Palestinian territories," said a member of the committee, Christine Chanet, according to AFP's report.
The UN said Israel is responsible for Gaza's 1.5 million population as it controls access to its sea and air ports. Israel said it is not an occupier, because as it does not control territory within the Gaza Strip.
http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=181410
Flotilla journalists to sue Israel
More than 30 journalists were on board the flotilla when it was intercepted by Israel
A group of journalists has announced that it plans to sue Israel over its deadly raid on a flotilla of aid ships bound for the Gaza Strip in May.
Lawyers have already begun preparing lawsuits in several European countries, according to several of the journalists, who met in Istanbul on Wednesday. The group accused Israel of violating international law.
One of the nine people killed on board the Mavi Marmara, the main ship, was Cevdet Kulclar, a Turkish journalist.
Reporters who were on board the ships say the Israeli government never returned their equipment or passports, and that Israeli soldiers later used their credit cards.
An Italian journalist, Manolo Luppichini, told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz in June that his credit card was used to make NIS250 ($65) worth of purchases in Israel.
In a statement released after their meeting, the journalists said they are demanding compensation for their losses, the return of their equipment, and an international inquiry into Israel's treatment of the reporters on board the flotilla.
The group of more than 30 journalists includes reporters from Turkey, Spain, Germany, Lebanon, Egypt, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Several of the journalist on board the ship were from Al Jazeera.
http://fwd4.me/06DJ
Israel's boat problem
Israel’s siege on Gaza essentially consists of one thing – surrounding the territory and controlling all exit and entry points. Logically, to break the siege you enter or exit the territory against Israel’s will. Exiting without permission is not an option, so on came the boats...
In theory it’s a simple, perhaps even genius idea. It started shortly after the siege began – back then Israel sporadically let in small boats carrying aid. Israel let them in because they had more to lose by stopping them than by allowing through a few lefty activists (and the odd politician) carrying a gratuitous amount of aid.
But the boats got bigger, and so too did the problem. Israel then decided the ships were a “security risk” and began intercepting them at sea to prevent them docking in Gaza. For many within the Israeli military, the mistake was made years ago when the boats were first allowed in – had they been stopped from the start, perhaps the blockade-busting boat idea would not have taken off and they wouldn’t be in the mess they’re in now.
Flotilla intifada
What happened onboard the Mavi Marmara on May 31 was nothing short of disastrous for Israel – it’s public image got a battering and its illogical policy of blocking food and supplies to people in Gaza was exposed. What was onboard that ship – wheelchairs and children’s books- revealed just how nonsensical and downright cruel the blockade was. Even Israel’s masters of spin struggled to explain why notepads were a security risk to the state.
The Foreign Ministry has been busy doing damage control from the botched flotilla raid. It’s almost there, but it's made very clear to the security establishment another boat blunder will throw away all its efforts. That puts the military in a bit of a predicament, because riding on the tail winds of the Mavi Marmara, is a summer boat (and convoy) intifada.
Following the raid on the flotilla, new aid convoys are already in the works. The European Campaign to End the Siege of Gaza is organising a "Freedom Flotilla 2", due to set sail for Gaza next month. It’s said to consist of more ships than the first one and as many as 4,000 activists. An aid ship from Lebanon has been much delayed but organisers are still adament to get to Gaza. A Jordanian overland convoy also began its journey to the Strip this week.
What a difference a boat makes….
But apart from calling attention to the plight of Gazans, and making us all sudden maritime experts able to track down every ship in the Mediterranean with the click of a button – what difference will more ships make? In the weeks that followed the deadly raid on the Mavi Marmara, Israel announced it was “easing” the Gaza siege. What that actually meant was they were increasing the amount of food and supplies being let into the Strip via the land crossings they control and clarifying their policy on what is allowed in.
As the situation in Gaza is so desperate, even that was seen as quite an achievement.
But it’s worth considering it was a move in the works well before the Mavi Marmara set sail. Many months ago the Egyptians began building an underground wall that will effectively cut off the smuggling tunnels that run between Gaza and Egypt. If that wall was completed before the “ease” it would, quite simply, have starved Gaza. People there rely almost solely on the tunnels not just for food and cigaretters but for fuel, generators and other essentials. Israel was not going to allow 1.7 million people to starve on live TV. In short, something had to give before the wall was completed.
Consider too that one of the “gestures” the US was reportedly pressuring Israel to make to entice the Palestinian Authority to indirect peace talks (which the PA eventually agreed to in an apparent U-turn) was an easing of the Gaza siege. I’m not saying the flotilla had no impact on the decision to ease the siege, but it may have been more of a catalyst than an instigator.
Ship vs siege: Fair fight?
The real success of the flotilla should be seen within a wider context. It has become the beacon of a non-violent form of resisting Israel’s occupation that is making huge strides.
The current boycott movement in the West Bank is attracting attention – it’s an embarrassment for Israel casting a shadow over the democratic, moral state it purports to be with many comparing this boycott to the divestment policy against South Africa during apartheid in the 1980s.
Events onboard the Marmara ended in bloodshed and violence but the theory behind the flotilla was logical and peaceful. Israel is a highly militarized state. Dealing with violence is what it knows how to do best. An Israeli soldier confronted by a man holding a gun moving towards him knows exactly what to do. But swap that gun for a banner saying ‘Free Gaza’ and the soldier will panic. He was trained for combat not crowd control.
And that’s why whether it’s a ship, a boat, a truck or a plane, both the success and the danger of this movement lies in the way it plays so simply to Israel’s weakest point.
http://blogs.aljazeera.net/middle-east/2010/07/14/israels-boat-problem
15 juli 2010
U.S. Government Considers Listing Turkish Charity As ‘Terrorists’
The US State Department is considering whether to designate a Turkish charity as a ‘terrorist group’ after the organization sent a ship of medical and school supplies to the Gaza Strip in May.
The aid ship was attacked in international waters by the Israeli navy, and nine aid workers, including one US citizen, were killed.
The Foundation for Human Rights and Humanitarian Relief is a Muslim charity based in Turkey that funds humanitarian aid missions to troubled and impoverished places around the world.
Formed in 1992 with the goal of assisting Muslims in Bosnia, the charity has branched out to many places, including Lebanon, Pakistan, Sudan, Somalia and the Palestinian territories.
Although the Israeli-based Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center says the Turkish charity is quote “a radical Islamic organization with an anti-Western orientation," the group has never been linked to any violent activities or groups.
When the aid ship was attacked by the Israeli navy in May, the U.S. Congress issued a statement declaring full support for the Israeli act of piracy, and the Obama administration did not criticize the attack.
Despite the fact that smuggled video footage shows passengers being killed execution-style by Israeli commandos, the U.S. government has continued its policy of unquestioning support of the Israeli attack.
http://www.imemc.org/article/59132
19 juli 2010
Syria and Turkey insist on int'l inquiry into flotilla
Syria and Turkey issued a joint statement Monday insisting on the need for an international inquiry of the May 31 Gaza-bound flotilla, which was boarded by Israeli commandos and resulted in the deaths of nine Turkish citizens.
Syrian President Bashar Assad met with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, and declared the need for an investigation into the "crime committed by Israel against the Turkish flotilla."
Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri also attended the meeting.
http://www.jpost.com/Headlines/Article.aspx?id=181945
20 juli 2010
Israel rescinds travel warning on Turkey
Counter-Terrorism Bureau announces it is now safe to travel to Turkey, despite government's anti-Israel comments; however Israelis warned to stay away from mass rallies, avoid political arguments
The Counter-Terrorism Bureau on Tuesday cancelled a travel warning issued on Turkey after the calamitous IDF raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla in May.
The bureau issued a statement saying the warning had been withdrawn due to a "calm and lack of mass rallies against Israel".
No Fear
However the bureau recommended that Israelis residing in Turkey "stay away from any rally that may be, and refrain from getting into political arguments with locals".
Elkana Har-Nof, an official with the bureau, told Ynet that the cancelation of the warning means "Israelis can now travel to this country without fear".
He said the decision to post the warning came after the slew of anti-Israel rallies held in Turkey after the flotilla raid.
"The warning was not based on intelligence but rather a fear that the mass rallies there, which were rather outspoken, will deteriorate to violence against Israelis," he said.
"Since then, for the past month and a half, there have been no rallies, and from an intelligence point of view no terror threats are known of."
Har-Nof qualified his statement, however, by saying that "tomorrow morning something new could develop", and warned Israelis against getting caught up in unnecessary political demonstrations.
"The rules of behavior for the entire world apply there as well: Don't stand out, don't speak Hebrew in problematic areas and don't bear any sign of Israeli identity," he said.
The cancelation of the warning was unexpected, as the Turkish government continues to improve ties with Lebanon and Syria. On Monday Damascus hosted a summit attended by leaders from the three countries, in which they called for increased efforts at "ending the Israeli siege on the Gaza Strip".
http://fwd4.me/08y7
'South Africa to reinstate Israel envoy, after recalled over Gaza flotilla'
Israeli Navy personnel board one of the ships of the Gaza aid flotilla on Monday May 31, 2010.
Government reiterates call for international probe and end to Gaza siege, but says ambassador needed to monitor developments in Middle East.
South Africa has decided to reinstate its ambassador to Israel nearly two months after recalling him to protest the deadly naval raid on a Turkish-flagged ship carrying aid to the Gaza Strip, AFP reported on Tuesday.
In its statement to that effect, the South African foreign ministry said that it would still support calls for international probe into the commando raid that killed nine Turkish citizens on May 31.
"South Africa reiterates its call that any investigation should be a 'prompt, impartial, credible and transparent', in line with UN recommendations," said the statement, adding that it urged Israel to lift its blockade of the Gaza Strip "which is causing untold suffering to thousands of innocent civilians."
South Africa had decided to send Ambassador Ismail Coovadia back to Tel Aviv so that he could monitor developments in the Middle East, the statement clarified.
http://fwd4.me/08y5
22 juli 2010
Gaza flotilla sponsor IHH responds to "slanderous, fabricated" allegations in NY Times article
The Turkish nongovermental organization IHH, which sponsored the Gaza Freedom Flotilla which was attacked and hijacked by Israel in international waters on 31 May 2010, killing 9 and injuring dozens, has responded to a recent article in the New York Times.
The IHH response, written by attorney Ugur Yildirim demands corrections to the "unsubstantiated, almost slanderous, and fabricated comments," it says are contained in the article.
One of the false allegations in the NY Times article is that "Germany banned the charity’s offices, citing its support for Hamas, which Germany considers a terrorist organization."
In fact, Germany banned an organization called "Internationale Humaniterien Hilfs Organizatione" which while it also goes by the same initials "IHH" is not the same organization.
On the link is a copy of the full IHH letter to the New York Times, which I received via email from IHH's information department.
http://fwd4.me/09fy
23 juli 2010
Palestinian passports for flotilla activists
ACTIVIST FIACHRA Ó Luain, who travelled on the Challenger 1 as part of the Gaza-bound aid flotilla, said he had been offered and would accept a Palestinian passport.
A spokesman for the General Delegation of Palestine in Ireland confirmed passports and honorary citizenship had been offered to all those who participated in the flotilla last month.
“It’s an honour to be offered the passport and honorary citizenship. I don’t feel I’ve done enough to deserve it. It only redoubles my determination to help bring about a complete end to the siege of Gaza,” Mr Ó Luain said.
He said his Irish passport was detained by Israeli officials at Ben Gurion airport when he was deported from Tel Aviv in June. It was subsequently returned.
Mr Ó Luain said he would not now relinquish his Irish passport.
“However, I may in my next meeting with [Minister for Foreign Affairs] Micheál Martin ask him to keep my Irish passport until such time as I’m satisfied he’s taken all necessary action to guarantee the safety of Irish passports.”
Dr Fintan Lane of the Free Gaza Movement said he regarded as “genuine” the offer from the Palestinian Authority.
“Our official position is it’s up to individual participants on the flotilla to decide whether or not to accept the offer,” he said. “We see it as an act of appreciation from Palestine. We accept some people might have political differences with the Palestinian Authority and consequently might decide not to avail of the offer. Other people won’t. It’s meant to be a positive gesture. We are not suggesting people do one thing or the other.”
Dr Lane said the offer had been relayed to the Irish flotilla participants through a Turkish organisation also involved– the foundation for human rights and freedoms and humanitarian aid (IHH).
Hufeyan Oruc, who described himself as an IHH board member, said: “It’s true. The Palestinian Authority said, you have done very important things for Palestine. We want to accept you as a Palestinian citizen. We don’t know if it’s actual citizenship or honorary citizenship. In any case, we will accept.”
Earlier this month, Mr Ó Luain called for Irish economic and diplomatic sanctions against Israel. Mr Martin has said this would be futile and counter-productive.
http://fwd4.me/0CF0
Three Spaniards file charges over Israel flotilla raid
The activists say the move broke international law
Two Spanish activists and a journalist arrested in a raid by Israel on a Gaza-bound flotilla are filing charges against Israel's prime minister.
The three accuse Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, six cabinet ministers and the navy commander of illegal detention, torture and deportation.
They claim the move contravened international law.
Earlier, Israel said it would return the three Turkish vessels it had seized during the raid on 31 May.
Nine Turkish activists died when Israeli marines attacked the flotilla, sparking an international outcry.
The pro-Palestinian convoy was carrying 10,000 tonnes of aid for Gaza in an attempt to break Israel's blockade of the territory.
Laura Arau, Manuel Tapial and David Segarra, who were on the Mavi Marmara ship, say they were held illegally in international waters by Israeli forces, tortured and forcibly deported to Turkey.
Spanish courts are yet to accept the case.
'No conditions'
Meanwhile, Israel has announced it will return three ships that were part of the convoy to Turkey, Israeli public radio has reported.
Turkey had already been informed of the decision by the inner cabinet in Jerusalem, the report said.
Talks to return the cruise ship Mavi Marana and two other vessels were held up by Israel's demand that the ships' owners should sign guarantees that they would not mount new aid missions to Gaza.
However, the inner cabinet decided to return the vessels without further conditions, an Israeli official is reported to have said.
The incident soured relations between Israel and Turkey, which withdrew its ambassador and suspended joint military exercises after the raid.
Turkey has also demanded an apology, which Israel has refused to issue.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-10741416
UN names Gaza raid investigation team
The UN Human Rights Council appointed a team of international experts today to investigate a raid by Israeli commandos on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla in May.
The fact-finding team comprises three independent experts - Sir Desmond de Silva (Britain), Karl Hudson-Phillips (Trinidad and Tobago) and Mary Shanthi Dairiam (Malaysia) - a UN statement said.
The 47-member forum voted to set up the inquiry last month to look into what it called violations of international law in Israel's attack in which nine Turkish pro-Palestinian activists were killed.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2010/0723/breaking39.html
Ex-UN prosecutor De Silva on panel to investigate Israeli flotilla raid
GENEVA-The UN Human Rights Council appointed former UN war crimes prosecutor Desmond de Silva and two other people on Friday to investigate Israel's May 31 forcible boarding of a boat bringing aid to the Gaza Strip.
A statement said the British lawyer will be joined by Trinidadian judge Karl T. Hudson-Phillips and Malaysian women's rights advocate Mary Shanthi Dairiam in examining whether Israel violated international law.
Israel has refused to co-operate with previous investigations ordered by the 47-nation council.
Eight Turks and one Turkish American were killed in the raid on a flotilla trying to break Israel's blockade on Gaza.
Israel says its naval commandos were acting in self-defence after being attacked by pro-Palestinian activists, and an Israeli military report concluded last week that flawed intelligence-gathering and planning led to the deadly encounter.
The report praised the commandos who took part in the operation and said they were justified in opening fire.
There is an investigation going on by Israel and it should be allowed to continue to do its job,Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Andy David said.
He didn't say if Israel would co-operate with the UN council's investigation.
Two more blockade-busting ships are planning to sail to Gaza, this time from Lebanon, though precise dates have yet to be released.
In a statement Friday, Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak called this an uncalled-for provocation, like previous flotillas. He said Israel would stop the ships if they refused to sail to a southern Israeli port. The cargo, he said, could be transferred from there to Gaza, except for weapons, ammunition or other items with military uses.
Barak said he held the Lebanese government responsible for making sure that the ships respect the blockade.
http://fwd4.me/0CEV
24 juli 2010
Israel to Release Flotilla Ships And Prepare For Lawsuit
Tall Aviv –PNN- Israel agreed to return the Turkish ships it captured during the deadly Gaza Flotilla Raid. Israel killed nine activists in international water on May 31 and will now face a lawsuit for its actions.
ImageIsrael faced international condemnation for its violent actions against the humanitarian-aid carrying flotilla earlier this summer. The ships attempted to break Israel's three year blockade of the Gaza Strip, imposed after the inauguration of democratically-elected Hamas.
Israeli has held three captured Turkish ships at the Israeli ports of Ashdod and Haifi despite Turkey's numerous demands for the their return. However on Friday, Israel agreed to release the captured boats, presumably in an effort to appease the Turkish government, media sources report.
Previously, Israel said it would only return the boats if Turkey guaranteed that they would never again be used in a Gaza flotilla effort. Yet on Friday, no such condition was mandated, Haaretz reports.
The boat return comes four days after the Israeli army released its investigation on the Gaza flotilla raid. Maj Gen. (res.) Giora Eiland made no apologies for Israeli's violent actions:
"To my relief, the investigation found no negligence or failures on any significant matters, and that it was due to mistakes made at the relatively top levels that caused the results to be different from what was planned," Eiland said according to Haaretz.
Three discontented Spanish activists affiliated with the Gaza flotilla will pursue a lawsuit against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his forum of top six cabinet ministers and the Israel Navy. Their 83-page document includes complaints of illegal arrest and unwanted force, the Republica newspaper reports.
It is suspected that nine other lawsuits will be filed by European countries outraged by the raid in addition to a United Nations Human Rights Council investigation headed by the former president of the International Criminal Court, Canadian Philippe Kirsch
http://fwd4.me/0CEW
Watch Video: UN To Investigate The Flotilla Attack
(2:13) UN To Investigate The Flotilla Attack
The President of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), Ambassador Sihasak Phuangketkeow on Friday appointed three pre-eminent experts to an independent international fact-finding mission to "investigate violations of international law, including humanitarian and human rights law, resulting from the Israeli attacks on the flotilla of ships carrying humanitarian assistance" on 31 May.
ImageAmbassador Phuangketkeow made the announcement of the appointment of the three experts.
"Well we have three very qualified people in the international independent fact finding mission. The first person is Mr. Karl T. Hudson-Philips. He is a former Judge with the International Criminal Court and he was also the Minister of Legal Affairs of Trinidad and Tobago. The second person is Sir. Desmond de Silva, he's a Queen's Counsel, he comes from the United Kingdom and he was the Chief Prosecutor for the Special Court on Sierra Leone. And the third person is a lady from Malaysia, and her name is Mary Shanthi Dairiam, and she is known for her background in Human Rights and she was also a member of the CEDAW, The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.” Phuangketkeow announced.
The establishment of the independent international fact-finding mission was decided on 2 June 2010 through a Human Rights Council resolution. The Council had previously held an urgent debate on the raid on the Flotilla by Israeli navy, which left nine aid workers killed and 54 injured. The attack took place while the aid ships was sailing in international waters.
"The members of the panel were selected on the basis of the qualification that they have especially in the areas of international law, human rights and humanitarian law, but the main consideration was that these three persons are known for their independence, their impartiality, their integrity which I think is very important in successfully carrying out their mission." Phuangketkeow, UNHRC President, added.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=8570&Itemid=63
25 juli 2010
Israel: We won't assist 'obsessive' UN Gaza flotilla probe
Decision not to cooperate with the UN committee has not been announced officially, but is expected to be made this week.
Israel does not intend to cooperate with the United Nations Human Rights Council's investigation into Israel's interception of a Gaza-bound flotilla at the end of May. The raid resulted in nine deaths.
According to a senior Israeli official, the sense at the Foreign Ministry, the Defense Ministry and the Prime Minister's Office is that cooperating with the investigative committee would only confer legitimacy upon the UNHRC, which has consistently acted against Israel.
"This is an unnecessary committee," the official said, "which is the product of an obsession with Israel."
The decision not to cooperate with the UN committee has not been announced officially, but is expected to be made this week. It is believed it will be accompanied, however, by a decision to cooperate with a separate flotilla committee acting on behalf UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. The secretary general's team is expected to examine the conclusions of Israel's Turkel Committee as well as the results of a Turkish investigation into the flotilla incident.
Although the decision by the Human Rights Council to look into the case was made two months ago, the makeup of its investigative panel was only announced Friday. The committee will consist of Desmond de Silva of Britain, the former chief prosecutor of the UN war crimes tribunal on events in the African country of Sierra Leone; International Criminal Court judge Karl Hudson-Phillips of Trinidad; and Mary Shanthi Dairiam of Malaysia, a women's rights activist.
The three-member panel is to submit its conclusions by mid-September, before which it is expected to try and visit Israel, Gaza and Turkey. In light of Jerusalem's expected decision not to cooperate with the panel, it is not thought the members will be allowed into Israel.
Over the weekend, Israel prepared for a possible attempt by another flotilla, this time from Lebanon, to run the Gaza naval blockade. Syria and Hezbollah are thought to be organizing the flotilla in an effort to divert international attention from the imminent release of conclusions from an investigation into the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak sent a message to Lebanon over the weekend demanding the government there stop the flotilla. The Lebanese government, however, vehemently denied that any such flotilla is in the offing.
The country's transportation minister, Ghazi al-Aridi, told the daily Lebanese newspaper An-Nahar he was unaware of any such plans. He said that if he did ever receive such a request, it would be considered based on applicable laws and regulations. Al-Aridi added that Lebanon supports the Palestinians, but is committed above all to observing international law.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Barak and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman decided to release the Mavi Marmara and two other Turkish ships that were part of the flotilla at the end of May and had been towed to port in Israel. Despite earlier demands that the ships' owners promise the vessels would not be used in future Gaza-bound flotillas, the three Israeli leaders decided to release the ships unconditionally.
http://fwd4.me/0Aqa
Israel Rejects UN Plan to Probe Flotilla Raid
The Mavi Marmara ship, the lead boat of a flotilla headed to the Gaza Strip which was stormed by Israeli naval commandos in a predawn confrontation, sails into the port of Ashdod, Israel, 31 May 2010 (file photo)
A United Nations body is moving ahead with an investigation of the deadly flotilla incident off the coast of the Gaza Strip in late May, despite Israeli opposition.
Israel has rejected a decision by the United Nations Human Rights Council to investigate the Israeli raid on a Gaza aid flotilla two months ago. Commandos stormed the ships as the vessels tried to run the Israeli blockade. Nine pro-Palestinian activists were killed.
Israel faced world outrage, and the U.N. demanded an international investigation. But Israel refused, on grounds that a U.N. report on the Gaza War last year was biased. The Goldstone Report accused Israel of war crimes and rejected Israeli claims that the army acted in legitimate self-defense after years of Palestinian rocket attacks.
"I definitely suggest that we don't give in on any demands that would demand creating something like a Goldstone II, or anything of the kind, because we already have bitter experience," said Cabinet Minister Yuli Edelstein.
Instead, Israel has launched two of its own inquiries: a closed one by the military, and the other a civilian probe with foreign observers.
"We have an Israeli committee investigating, checking what exactly happened, and international observers joining the committee, watching the work of the committee. So the truth will not only be obvious to us but later to the whole world," added Edelstein.
Israel has said that commandos acted in self-defense after they were attacked by activists wielding clubs and knives aboard the flotilla. But the U.N. Human Rights Council says an independent investigation is necessary to look into what it called Israeli "violations of international law."
http://fwd4.me/0AqZ
26 juli 2010
UN Promises Delivery of Freedom Flotilla Cargo to Gaza
London, July 26, 2010, Six weeks after the Freedom Flotilla ships were forcibly boarded in international waters, their passengers illegally jailed and the cargo impounded by the Israeli authorities, the office of the United Nations Special Co-ordinator for the Middle East (UNSCO) has promised to deliver the full humanitarian aid cargo to UN. agencies in Gaza.
“The cargo finally being processed for delivery this week consists of supplies prevented by Israel from entering Gaza for the last three years. On the MV Rachel Corrie, the cargo ship of the Free Gaza Movement, we were carrying 20 tons of paper, plus pens & books for schools & universities, over 50 tons of medical supplies & 550 tons of cement for Al Shifa Hospital. Instead of docking in Gaza & distributing the supplies to the intended recipients, Israel impounded cargo, searched, then handed over to an overburdened UN, who can give no guarantees that it will get to the intended schools or NGO's." said Niamh Moloughney, coordinator of the Free Gaza Movement – Ireland.
The Rebuilding Alliance, one of the U.S. organizations to place humanitarian cargo on the Rachel Corrie is none-the-less hopeful that the backpacks, sports equipment, and building materials donated by hundreds of Americans will be delivered to the designated Gaza non-governmental organizations (NGO’s) .
“When we first learned of the Freedom Flotilla, we asked our partner NGO’s in Gaza what we could send that would matter most to them, given the 3 year-long blockade,” said Donna Baranski-Walker, Executive Director of the Rebuidling Alliance, a San Mateo CA-based nonprofit. “They asked Americans to send messages to children, along with backpacks, sports equipment, and cement to build a kindergarten.”
Added Ms. Moloughney, “Israel has insisted that cargo be brought into Ashdod for delivery, but this ignores the overall illegitimacy of Israel's closure policy. It also means that once more Israel profits from its illegal acts. The 'easing' of the blockade means nothing to families whose homes and businesses are still in ruins and allows them only to be consumers of Israeli goods."
The Free Gaza Movement repeats that only a complete end to Israel's punitive closure policy will suffice in starting to repair the economy of this decimated slice of the Mediterranean, the only territory in the world that does not have access to its own sea.
“We ask people throughout the world to press their governments to open Gaza, not just for aid but for movement and trade as well, to truly end the collective punishment of Gaza’s civilian population,” said Huwaida Arraf, chair of the Free Gaza Movement. “That’s why we will continue to send ships to Gaza loaded with civilian supplies Israel refuses to allow into Gaza – and on return, fill our ships with goods from Gaza for export. We look forward to international cooperation in developing a sea route certification system to assure aid, fair trade and the safety of all.”
Israel continues to hold all of the vessels that it illegally commandeered, including the seven ships of the Freedom Flotilla, as well as the Spirit of Humanity, which Israel hijacked in June 2009.
http://fwd4.me/0CF9
Israel Slams UNHRC Flotilla Probe
Israel has criticized the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for appointing what it calls a biased committee to probe Tel Aviv's deadly attack on a Gaza-bound aid convoy.
An unnamed Israeli official in an interview with AFP on Sunday called the three-member fact-finding panel as "biased."
He further alleged that the council's team of experts intended to satisfy an anti-Israeli majority that controls the body.
The UNHRC on Friday appointed former UN war crimes prosecutor Desmond de Silva, Trinidadian judge Karl T. Hudson-Phillips and Malaysian women's rights advocate Mary Shanthi Dairiam to investigate the May 31 attack in which Israeli commandos killed nine peace activists and injured many others.
The panel of experts would investigate whether the commando operation breached international law.
The UN body described the panel as "completely unbiased," urging Israel to cooperate. Tel Aviv has refused to collaborate with previous investigations conducted by the UN body.
The Human Rights Council condemned the incident during an emergency session days after the operation and decided to set up a commission of inquiry.
The three-member panel is due to present its findings in mid-September.
http://fwd4.me/0CF8 6 jul 2011, 23:32 , Respect -
Maria 2 aug 2010
Turkish FM: Israel must apologize publicly for flotilla
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that the international community expects Israel to apologize publicly for killing civilians on the Gaza-bound flotilla.
"Israel can apologize to Turkey, but the most important thing is that the apology be an open declaration to the international community," said the minister. Ankara issued its findings to the UN from its probe into the Israel Navy raid on the flotilla which claimed the lives of nine Turkish civilians.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3948162,00.html
Soldier confesses to looting Marmara
Military Prosecution set to file indictments against officer, two soldiers suspected of involvement in theft of laptops, other equipment from Mavi Marmara after it was seized by commandos. 'Their behavior was disgraceful,' IDF official says
Less than two weeks after Ynet reported on the looting of the Mavi Marmara, the Military Prosecution was expected to file an indictment Thursday against a soldier who admitted to stealing a laptop computer, two camera and a compass belonging to the passengers of the Turkish vessel, which was seized by Israeli commandos as it was making its way to Gaza.
Nine Turkish citizens were killed in the May 31 incident. The ship's passengers were detained and later released.
Indictments are expected to be filed against two other suspects in the coming days. One of the suspects is an officer. An army official called the affair "one of the most embarrassing the IDF has known in recent years."
The soldiers involved are expected to be charged with looting, theft, dealing in stolen property and behavior unbefitting a soldier.
IDF investigators obtained information indicating that computers stolen from the flotilla were being traded within the army. The probe found that among the suspects were commanders who were tasked with preventing unauthorized personnel from boarding the Marmara when it docked in Ashdod's port.
According to the investigation, the suspected soldiers purchased the stolen goods from the commanders.
One of the soldiers, who was arrested last week, admitted to taking the equipment. The officer, a second lieutenant, denied the allegations. However, Military Police believe he and a soldier stole a number of laptops, and then sold them to another soldier.
An indictment is also expected to be filed against a soldier suspected of stealing a laptop and an electronic game from the ship.
The soldiers who allegedly purchased the goods are also expected to stand trial, but the charges filed against them will apparently not be as stringent.
"The soldiers' behavior was disgraceful, and they should be brought to justice," an IDF official said.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3948049,00.html
Soldier confesses to looting Marmara
Less than two weeks after Ynet reported on the looting of the Mavi Marmara, the Military Prosecution filed an indictment Thursday against a soldier who admitted to stealing a laptop computer, two cameras and a compass belonging to the passengers of the Turkish vessel, which was seized by Israeli commandos as it was making its way to Gaza.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3948033,00.html
6 aug 2010
Uribe’s appointment to flotilla probe guarantees its failure
10 aug 2010
Barak: Flotilla, planned provocation
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has described a Gaza-bound aid convoy seized in Israel's May 31 commando attack as a "planned provocation."
"The flotilla of May 31 was a planned provocation," Barak said on Tuesday in sworn testimony before an internal panel set up to probe the legality of the onslaught and Tel Aviv's years-long blockade of the Gaza Strip, AFP reported.
Barak said discussions Israeli authorities held back to April had concluded that the organizations sponsoring the Gaza Freedom Flotilla "were preparing for armed conflict to embarrass Israel."
Barak said different alternatives were discussed weeks before the incident, adding he and other senior officers had considered the possibility that the activists would attack the troops when they tried to the planned takeover.
"We regret any loss of life," the minister said. "But we would have lost more lives if we had behaved differently."
He also defended Israel's naval blockade and border restrictions on Gaza as "absolutely essential to stop Gaza from transforming into a massive arsenal."
Barak's appearance before the Tirkel panel came a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's testimony before the five-member commission.
Netanyahu insisted Israel acted in accordance with international law when it stormed the boats, which led to the death of nine Turkish civilians onboard the civilian convoy. He also accused Ankara of looking to gain from a high-profile confrontation between Turkish activists aboard the Flotilla and the soldiers who attacked the 6-vessel fleet in international waters.
Israel's Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi is due to take the stand on Wednesday and is expected to be questioned on operational aspects of the raid.
The commission, headed by retired Israeli judge Yaakov Tirkel, And including two international observers, is allowed neither to quiz the soldiers involved in the May attack, nor to question the decision-making process.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=138132§ionid=351020202
Barak contradicts Netanyahu's testimony on flotilla
Defense minister testifies before committee probing deadly IDF raid on Gaza-bound flotilla, says seven-minister forum dealt with both military, media aspects of operation. 'I take full responsibility for the orders given,' he adds
Speaking before the Turkel Commission probing the raid on the Gaza-bound flotilla in May, Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Tuesday contradicted statement's made by the prime minister on Monday, who told the committee the seven-minister forum only discussed the media aspects of stopping the flotilla and did not address the operational aspects.
"The decision to stop the flotilla, which was made by the prime minister and the seven-minister forum, was made after examining the entire situation and the dilemmas," Barak said, stressing that "the discussion that was held by the seven-minister forum dealt not only with the media aspects of stopping the flotilla, but also with the military aspects."
The defense minister said IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi and the head of the military's research department were present at the meeting, and answered all the ministers' questions on the professional aspects of the operation. "During the deliberations, the chief of staff repeatedly expressed his concern with the public-media affect of using force to stop the flotilla, he stressed to the ministers, 'It won't be easy, but we will carry out the mission'," Barak told the panel.
'Military said: It will be difficult, but we will do it'
During the seven-minister forum discussion, Barak said, "colorful and detailed alternatives" were raised. He said there were those who proposed not stopping the sail and allowing it to enter Gaza.
"There was no way that people didn't understand the situation. Ministers without portfolios but with a lot of brains immediately raised questions." Ultimately, the defense minister said, the ministers supported stopping the flotilla despite what that would entail.
"I spent most of my life in operations," Barak said, "The difference between success and complications is as thin as a strand of hair. Here, the goal of stopping the sail was achieved. I salute the IDF fighters and expect them to learn all the lessons from the probes. We have an excellent military and chief of staff, and excellent fighters."
According to Barak, "There was confusion in the public debate regarding the political echelon and the military's authorities. The political echelon decides what needs to be done and takes responsibility. The military echelon decides how it should be done and takes responsibility. Obviously, the political echelon cannot assign tasks that cannot be carried out. In the case in question the military echelon did not say it cannot be carried out. They said, 'It will be difficult, but will do it.' They did not say how it should be done, and rightfully so. They said there would be distressing images."
Shorty after he began speaking at 9 am, Barak stated that he takes responsibility for the incident. "I take full responsibility for what occurs in the systems subordinate to me," Barak said.
"I take full responsibility for the political echelon's orders as they were given during the flotilla incident," the defense minister added, stating that even before the flotilla arrived efforts were made on the political, intelligence and military fronts, including preparations for a takeover.
'This is not America'
Barak added that the flotilla was a "planned provocation meant to embarrass Israel" and said other protest flotillas are still planning to set sail. "Israel is fighting for its right to exist in one of the toughest corners of the world. This is not America, this is not northern Europe," he said.
Barak said that on April 22 he asked the military men during a meeting, "What's the right thing to do and do you know how to do it?". According to the defense minister, the officers responded saying the military was prepared and capable of handling this flotilla, just as it had with previous flotillas, despite the difficulties. On May 6, the issue was raised once again, and Barak ordered the involvement of "additional elements to stop the flotilla". He defined this alignment as "special".
Judge Jacob Turkel, who heads the committee, interrupted Barak and asked, "Was it only the Navy's intelligence that was included and not other organizations?". Barak responded saying, "I was not aware of the problems between the Military Intelligence and other organizations. I was only exposed to this in hindsight."
When asked if the blockade on the Gaza Strip is in accordance with the law and whether upholding it is legal, Barak referred the committee's members to three documents %u2013 a letter by Amos Gilad which reviews that circumstances that led to the siege, a document by the attorney general addressing the blockade, and an overview by Major General Eitan Dangot on the civilian situation in the Strip.
Barak noted that at the time Hamas took over the Gaza Strip, the organization had hundreds of missiles %u2013 and now, it has 5,000. "The siege is necessary to stop Gaza from turning into a giant weapons store to be used against the citizens of the State," he explained.
The Turkel Commission entered its second day of work after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's testimony on Monday caused a storm, and led him to publish a clarification.
In his testimony, Netanyahu appeared to shift responsibility to the defense minister, who he said was the man in charge while the PM was abroad.
Later, Netanyahu published a clarification saying, "The overall responsibility is always mine %u2013 whether I'm in Israel or abroad."
In his testimony, the prime minister refused to answer a number of questions, and when he did respond, he indirectly placed responsibility with Barak. "I left instructions and asked the defense minister to activate me and the top ministers if necessary. I wanted there to be one address here in Israel and he (Barak) was that address," the prime minister said.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3933060,00.html
Defense Minister Ehud Barak said during his testimony before the Turkel Commission, which is examining the events surrounding the Navy raid on the Gaza-bound flotilla, that a week before the incident he warned that "preparations must be made for the possibility that terrorist elements may also be among the people on the ships."
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3933139,00.html
Barak takes full responsiblity orders given during flotilla incident
Speaking before committee probing events of commando raid on Gaza-bound flotilla, defense minister says diplomatic, intelligence, military efforts made before raid, takes 'full responsibility for everything that occurs in systems subordinate to me'
Defense Minister Ehud Barak appeared before the Turkel Commission investigating the events of the commando raid on the Gaza-bound flotilla to give his testimony on Tuesday.
Barak said that efforts were made on the diplomatic, intelligence and military fronts before the flotilla incident, which included preparations for a takeover.
"I take full responsibility for everything that occurs in the systems subordinate to me, I take full responsibility for the political echelon's orders as they were given during the flotilla incident."
The committee entered its second day of work after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's testimony on Monday caused a storm, and led him to publish a clarification.
Before his testimony, Barak had kept silent following Netanyahu's testimony, in which he appeared to shift responsibility to the defense minister, who he said was the man in charge while the PM was abroad.
Later, Netanyahu published a clarification saying, "The overall responsibility is always mine %u2013 whether I'm in Israel or abroad."
In his testimony, the prime minister refused to answer a number of questions, and when he did respond, he indirectly placed responsibility with Barak. "I left instructions and asked the defense minister to activate me and the top ministers if necessary. I wanted there to be one address here in Israel and he (Barak) was that address," the prime minister said.
Minister Eli Yishai, a member of the seven-minister forum, said following Netanyahu's testimony: "The people of Israel need to know that the only person who receives all the intelligence, and therefore bears that utmost responsibility, is the prime minister of Israel. While he has the authority to place specific responsibilities on certain ministers, the final responsibility is on him."
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3933060,00.html
Ban: UN Gaza flotilla probe won't assign individual responsibility
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon
Panel probing deadly Israeli raid on Gaza-bound Turkish aid ship to seek 'fullest cooperation' from Israel, Turkey.
The four-member panel investigating the Israeli military interception of a Gaza-bound aid flotilla was instructed to seek the "fullest cooperation" from national authorities, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Tuesday, adding that the panel would not assign individual culpability.
Ban met with former New Zealand prime minister Geoffrey Palmer and outgoing President Alvaro Uribe of Colombia, who will co-chair the investigation, as well as Ozdem Sanberk of Turkey and Joseph Ciechanover of Israel at UN headquarters for their first meeting.
A statement from Ban's office said, "The panel will spend the coming days determining how they will undertake their task and in this effort, the secretary general stressed they should seek the fullest cooperation of the national authorities."
The panel was asked to discharge its mandate based on a UN Security Council statement issued following the May 31 incident, which called for a "full investigation" that should be "prompt, impartial, credible and transparent" in accordance with international standards.
The panel will submit a first progress report in mid-September, Ban said.
"The panel is not designed to determine individual criminal responsibility, but to examine and identify the facts, circumstances and the context of the incident, as well as to recommend ways of avoiding future incidents," the statement said.
"For that purpose, the panel will receive and review reports of national investigations into the incident and request such clarifications and information as it may require from relevant national authorities," it said.
On May 31, Israeli commandos stormed the Gaza-bound flotilla in efforts to prevent the aid ships from violating an Israeli-imposed naval blockade on the Palestinian territory. Aboard one of the ships, the Israeli soldiers were met with violent resistance, which resulted in a deadly clash in which 9 Turkish activists were killed.
On Monday, Ban denied he had agreed to keep Israeli soldiers involved in the raid off limits in the inquiry. A government source in Jerusalem, however, stressed that Israel would not cooperate with the UN probe if the panel decided to question Israeli soldiers. According to the source, the UN chief had agreed to keep the soldiers out of the investigation.
"There was no such agreement behind the scenes," he said when asked by reporters whether there was a deal with the Israeli government to open the UN inquiry.
"Their main work will be to review and examine the reports of the national investigations and liaise with the domestic authorities," Ban said. "Whatever is needed beyond that, they will have to discuss among themselves in close coordination with the national government authorities."
In addition to the UN inquiry panel, which was called for by the UN Security Council, the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva has also appointed a three-member "independent international fact-finding mission" to examine whether the raid violated international law.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/ban-un-gaza-flotilla-probe-won-t-assign-individual-responsibility-1.307207
UN secretary general meets flotilla probe committee
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is meeting with the team he appointed for investigating the Turkish flotilla affair. An Israeli representative is also present at the meeting in New York.
This is the investigative committee's first working meeting, taking place under the shadow of Israeli threats to discontinue cooperation if the committee insists on questioning IDF soldiers.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3933609,00.html
Turkish FM: Israel solely responsible for flotilla deaths
Israel should admit sole responsibility for the killing of nine activists during a raid on a Gaza aid flotilla, Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Tuesday.
"No one else can take the blame for killing civilians in international waters," Davutoglu told journalists. "Israel has killed civilians, and should take the responsibility for having done so." The Turkish minister appeared to be responding to comments by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday to a separate Israeli inquiry into the fatal raid.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3933380,00.html
Israel: UN won't question IDF soldiers in Gaza flotilla probe
UN Chief Ban denies having agreed to keep Israel's military personnel out of inquiry.
A government source said Monday that Israel would not allow a United Nations investigation into an Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla to question Israeli soldiers. The source said that this "crucial" condition for Israel's cooperation in the investigation was made clear to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
The four-member UN panel appointed to investigate the Israeli raid aboard the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara, which resulted in the deaths of nine Turkish activists on May 31, was to hold its first meeting with Ban on Tuesday.
The Israeli source said Monday that in accordance with a deal struck between Israel and the UN chief, the UN inquiry would base its conclusions on reports composed by Israeli and Turkish investigation commissions. The source further revealed that under the terms of the deal, any further inquiry the panel would wish to make would have to be coordinated with the appropriate Israeli authorities whose identity will be determined solely by Israel.
Ban, who said he would meet with the panel at UN headquarters to discuss its mandate on Tuesday, quashed what he called a "rumor" that he had agreed to keep Israel's military forces off limits in the inquiry.
"There was no such agreement behind the scenes," Ban said when asked by reporters whether there was a deal with the Israeli government.
"Their main work will be to review and examine the reports of the national investigations and liaise with the domestic authorities," Ban said. "Whatever is needed beyond that, they will have to discuss among themselves in close coordination with the national government authorities."
The Israeli government last week immediately welcomed the launch of the UN panel while Turkey withheld all reaction.
Israel has also conducted its own military investigation into the incident.
A Turkish diplomat said Ankara, which is one of the 15 UN Security Council members, will ask the UN panel to brief the body directly because it was the council that called for the full investigation and demanded that it be transparent and independent. Ban, who formed the panel on the council's instruction, said the panel will report back to him by mid-September.
Turkey will assume the council's presidency in September.
"The panel will find and review the facts and circumstances that led to the violence onboard one of the ships, and then decide what else is needed to fully investigate the incident," Ban said.
"The panel has a robust mandate to examine and identify the facts, circumstances and contexts of the incident as well as to recommend measures to avoid future incident," Ban told a news conference.
The UN commission is headed by former New Zealand prime minister Geoffrey Palmer and outgoing President Alvaro Uribe of Colombia, who will co-chair the investigation. The other members are Ozdem Sanberk of Turkey and Joseph Ciechanover of Israel.
Sanberk has served as ambassador to Spain, France, Britain and Germany, and Ciechanover is an expert on financial and security policy.
http://fwd4.me/05w2 6 jul 2011, 23:37 , Respect -
Maria 11 aug 2010
Turkish FM speaks out as UN panel begins Gaza flotilla probe.
'Turkey bears no responsibility'
Ankara bears "no responsibility in the attack on the Mavi Marmara flotilla," Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Tuesday, the same day a UN panel that includes Israeli and Turkish representatives began its probe into the matter.
In an apparent answer to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who on Monday told the Turkel Commission in Jerusalem that Turkey did nothing to stop the flotilla, even though there were contacts between Israel and Turkey at the highest levels, Davutoglu said Israel should take responsibility for the incident.
Nobody can place the responsibility of killing civilians in international waters on the other party. There is a very clear situation that Israel killed civilians in international waters. First of all, they should bear that responsibility, the Web site of the Turkish daily Hurriyet quoted Davutoglu as saying during a press conference in Brussels, where he met his Belgian counterpart.
Turkey bears no responsibility in this case and is determined to protect the rights of its own citizens, Davutoglu said.
According to Hurriyet, Belgian Foreign Minister Vanackere said his country regretted the disproportionate use of force Israel employed against the aid flotilla and demanded an independent, impartial inquiry.
According to the report, Davutoglu expressed Turkey's confidence in the UN-led panel and its hopes that the panel would determine the responsible party for the incident in conformity with international law.
Davutoglu, however, may be disappointed, because a UN spokesman, following the first meeting of the panel set up by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, said the panel was not established to determine criminal responsibility, but rather to probe the incident and give recommendations.
Ban, on his first meeting with the panel, said he hoped it would contribute to the peace process and to improving Turkish-Israeli relations.
He advised the panel to submit a progress report by September 15.
The panel is headed by former New Zealand prime minister Geoffrey Palmer, with a former president of Colombia, Alvaro Uribe, serving as vice chairman.
After blogging their way through a meeting with Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, a wine festival, the intricate web of the Old City's holy sites, Masada, the nightlife of Tel Aviv and more, a hand-picked group of four prolific online writers made their way to a hill in the capital's southern neighborhood of Gilo on Tuesday afternoon and gazed out over the sprawling hillsides and sun-kissed minarets of Palestinian Authority- controlled Bethlehem.
The idea was to shift the focus of the bloggers trip which until Tuesday had been spent familiarizing them with everyday life here and softer, domestic issues to the Joseph Ciechanover, while Turkey is represented by former senior Turkish diplomat Özdem Sanberk.
No information was disseminated about the panel's first meeting, held on Tuesday afternoon after its session with the Ban.
But several statements from the UN seemed intent on defusing tempers flared by Ban's statement at Monday's press conference that there was no agreement that the panel would refrain from questioning Israeli soldiers.
Asked twice by a journalist whose phrasing of the question revealed an anti-Israel agenda whether there was an agreement that the panel would not interview Israeli soldiers, Ban replied, There was no such agreement behind the scenes.
After Ban's statement, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's office released its own statement saying that the prime minister makes it absolutely clear that Israel will not cooperate with and will not take part in any panel that seeks to interrogate Israeli soldiers.
On Tuesday, however, after noting that all four panel members including Ciechanover had attended Tuesday's meeting, UN spokesman Martin Nesirky repeatedly emphasized to the press that the cooperation of the parties is crucial to the panel's work.
When asked whether the panel would have the power to compel people to appear before it and testify, Nesirky responded, Absolutely not.
This is not a criminal investigation, Nesirky said. We've said that clearly and repeatedly, and it's not looking into individual criminal responsibility. That is not its role.
A statement released by the secretary-general's office after the press conference underscored the point, saying that the panel is not designed to determine individual criminal responsibility, but to examine and identify the facts, circumstances and the context of the incident, as well as to recommend ways of avoiding future incidents.
For that purpose, the panel will receive and review reports of national investigations into the incident and request such clarifications and information as it may require from relevant national authorities.
The secretary-general's statement also referenced the support received from both the Israeli and Turkish governments in establishing his panel.
Israel maintains that in understandings reached with Ban before Israel agreed to take part in the panel, it was agreed that the investigation would be based on reports from the investigative committees in Israel and Turkey.
Any requests to further question Israelis would have to be approved by Israel.
It did not appear, however, that these understandings were written and signed, leaving the panel's mandate somewhat murky and open to interpretation.
For instance, whereas Ban called the panel an investigative panel, Israeli diplomatic officials over the last few days have been calling it a review panel.
Ban, at his press conference on Monday, said the panel had a robust mandate.
It needs to examine and identify the facts, circumstances and the context of the incident, as well as to recommend ways to avoid future incident, he said.
Those are very important mandates.
The panel will decide what steps it may need to take, in cooperation with the national authorities, as their work evolves.
Though neither the Turkish nor Israeli national investigations into the May 31 incident are close to concluding, a representative of the secretary-general's office said on Tuesday that the UN panel does not have to wait for the completion because there is already a lot of information available.
http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=184343
High Court slams Turkel panel make-up
The High Court of Justice criticized the manner in which the state established the Turkel Commission, which is probing the May 31 commando raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla.
"Did the government even see a list of potential female candidates?" Justice Miriam Naor asked the State's representatives during a hearing on a petition filed by women's rights groups.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3934028,00.html
Ashkenazi: IDF couldn't predict flotilla raid's outcome
Ashkenazi
After Netanyahu, Barak shift responsibility for decision to storm Gaza-bound flotilla to IDF, army chief tells inquiry commission operation's circumstances were 'unprecedented,' says soldiers displayed 'calm, bravery, morality'
After Defense Minister Ehud Barak shifted some of the responsibility for the decision to storm a Gaza-bound Turkish ship to the IDF, Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi told the panel investigating the raid that he "takes responsibility for the army's actions."
"The (committee's) decision to avoid summoning (Navy) commanders is correct," he said Wednesday morning, adding that he was "proud" of the soldiers who took part in the raid.
"The commandos exhibited calm, bravery and morality in accordance with IDF values," Ashkenazi told the committee.
Nine Turkish citizens on board the Mavi Marmara ship were killed in the May 31 raid.
Ashkenazi said the outcome of the raid was difficult to predict. "From the moment the operation began, it was clear that the circumstances were unprecedented," he said.
The army chief said during his testimony that the soldiers who raided the Marmara ship opened fire at the passengers because they felt their lives were in danger.
"The soldiers opened fire legitimately; they shot only those they had to," he said.
Addressing the Israeli naval blockade on Gaza, Ashkenazi said, "Hamas has come a long way; it carried out murderous attacks in city centers and seized Gaza in a brutal manner. Its extremist ideology rejects Israel's existence and poses a threat to the State of Israel. Thousands of rockets (fired from Gaza) led to the launching of Operation Cast Lead.
"Hamas has not abandoned the path of terror, but another, less conspicuous threat has developed alongside it," said the IDF chief.
According to him, Hamas is expanding its smuggling operation in order to obtain long-range rockets and anti-tank missiles.
"This process of strengthen would not have been possible without a policy that supports terror, particularly Iran's," Ashkenazi told the panel.
Barak blames IDF
In his testimony before the Turkel Commission on Tuesday, Barak assumed overall responsibility for the decision to send navy commandos to intercept the Turkish ship, but said it was the military's job to warn the government if the mission cannot be carried out."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the panel a day earlier that the so-called forum of seven ministers met before the navy operation, but only discussed the media and public diplomacy aspects of the mission.
However, Barak said the ministers who took part in the meeting also discussed military aspects of the operation, and received an intelligence briefing.
The panel is headed by former chief justice Jacob Turkel.
Hanan Greenberg and Ari Galahar contributed to the report
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3933948,00.html
Ashkenazi: I take responsibility for army's actions
IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant-General Gabi Ashkenazi has begun his testimony before the Turkel commission of inquiry into the raid on the Gaza-bound flotilla and said he "takes responsibility for the army's actions."
"Personally, I'm proud that these are our soldiers," he noted.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3933964,00.html
Ashkenazi to testify before flotilla committee
IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi will give his testimony to the Turkel Committee investigating the Gaza flotilla incident on Wednesday.
He follows in the footsteps of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak who gave their testimonies earlier in the week.
http://www.jpost.com/Headlines/Article.aspx?id=184383
Ashkenazi names IDF's prime error in deadly raid
IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant-General Gabi Ashkenazi said that his and the IDF's prime error was that the commandos did not shoot at the activists that prevented them from reaching the Marmara deck.
Speaking before the Turkel panel Ashkenazi said," We thought there would be 10-15 people on the deck, we would throw shock-grenades, they would move and within a minute we could take out 15 fighters. This was the mistake. We should have used accurate weapons to incapacitate whoever was preventing them from coming down."
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3934084,00.html
IDF chief to Gaza flotilla probe: Commandos acted proportionately
'From the moment the operation began, it was clear that the circumstances were unprecedented,' Gabi Ashkenazi tells Turkel Committee, claiming soldiers had not used excessive force in operation that killed nine civilians
Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi on Wednesday morning testified before an internal probe into Israel's deadly raid on Gaza-bound aid convoy, defending the military from politicians' accusations that it botched the operation.
"The commandos exhibited calm, bravery and morality," Ashkenazi told the inquiry panel, headed by former chief justice Jacob Turkel. Their actions were "proportionate and correct", he said
Ashkenazi said the outcome of the May 31 raid, which left nine pro-Palestinian activists dead, was impossible to predict.
"From the moment the operation began, it was clear that the circumstances were unprecedented," he said.
The IDF chief, who is set to step down in February at the end of a four-year term that has seen him increasingly at odds with Defense Minister Ehud Barak, repeated the army's version of the raid, saying commandos used live ammunition only after they were attacked.
In testimony on Tuesday, Barak heaped blame on the IDF, telling the inquiry that the failure of the operation did not stem from the decision to carry it out but from its planning and implementation by the army.
On Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also implied that the IDF, and not politicians, had been responsible for the controversial interception, which drew international condemnation and prompted the United Nations to set up its own inquiry.
Israel imposed its blockade on Gaza after Hamas militants seized power in the coastal strip in 2007, claiming that the measures are necessary to halt the entrance of rockets and other weaponry that has been used against its southern communities.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/idf-chief-to-gaza-flotilla-probe-commandos-acted-proportionately-1.307307
Israel, U.N. Avoid Spat Over Gaza Flotilla Raid Probe
Investigations into Israel's deadly raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla last May are in full swing, as Israeli leaders seek to defend the actions taken by their soldiers amid sharp international criticism.
The United Nations formally launched an inquiry in New York on Tuesday, while an Israeli investigation reached the midway point with testimony from Israel's highest elected officials, including Defense Minister Ehud Barak.
Israeli officials appeared confident as they defended their decisions ahead of the May 31 incident in the Mediterranean that left nine Turkish activists dead after clashes with Israeli naval commandos. On Monday, they warned they might withdraw from the U.N. panel on the flotilla incident. But by Tuesday evening, Israeli officials confirmed they will continue to participate, but will not allow their soldiers to be interviewed by the U.N.
Israel has often accused the U.N. of bias, and the government has never taken part in a U.N. investigation.
Earlier, Israel accused U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon of reneging on a deal under which Israel would cooperate with the world body in exchange for assurances that no soldier from the Israel Defense Forces would be interviewed. Although Ban denied such a deal, he did not explicitly state that IDF soldiers would be interviewed and said that the U.N. panel would not try and assign individual criminal responsibility.
Meanwhile in Israel, Barak said it was unnecessary for Israeli soldiers to appear before the U.N., adding he is sure Israel acted in full compliance with international law. In his testimony to the Turkel Commission, an internal Israeli inquiry into the raid, Barak described the flotilla incident as a planned provocation by pro-Palestinian activists. He said Israel had no choice but to take action against it.
Barak said that for more than a month prior to the incident, Israeli officials had been aware that some people involved in the flotilla planned to stage clashes in an attempt to embarrass Israel.
Although reporters were allowed into the courtroom to hear Barak's testimony Tuesday, no recordings were allowed. The hearing was also open to the Israeli public, but no private citizens showed up.
Audio for this story from Morning Edition will be available at approx. 9:00 a.m. ET http://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=3&prgDate=8-11-2010
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129117773
Ashkenazi takes pride in flotilla attack
Israel's army chief has defended Tel Aviv's deadly attack on the Gaza-bound aid flotilla in late May as 'proportionate and correct.'
Speaking before an internal panel set up to probe the legality of the onslaught and Israel's blockade of Gaza, Lieutenant-General Gabi Ashkenazi on Wednesday rejected the blame apportioned to the Israeli military for using excessive force when attacking the Mavi Marmara, claiming that his troops' use of live fire was legitimate.
Ashkenazi also praised his commandos for showing calm and morality during the May 31 attack on the Turkish flagship, which left nine civilian activists dead and many others wounded.
While the activists onboard the aid ships say Israeli commandos opened fire upon boarding the Mavi Marmara, Ashkenazi repeated the army's version of the attack and claimed his commandos used live fire only after a soldier was shot at by one of the activists.
"The soldiers legitimately opened fire and shot those who they needed to shoot and not those who they didn't need to shoot after underestimating the strength of resistance," Ashkenazi told the commission headed by retired Israeli judge Yaakov Tirkel and joined by two international observers.
Ashkenazi's claim that the flotilla activists initiated the attack comes as no guns were found aboard the ship.
Israel's army chief also rejected Turkish charges that some of the victims had been shot "execution-style" at point-blank, saying that shots had been fired at close range as part of a life and death struggle.
Turkish post-mortem examinations have revealed that a total of 30 bullets were found in the bodies of the nine dead activists. One of the activists had been shot four times in the head.
Ashkenazi, who has taken responsibility for the military's actions, is the only military officer scheduled to appear before the inquiry. He was the third senior figure to address Israel's self-ordered Tirkel commission after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak.
The commission is neither allowed to quiz the soldiers involved in the May attack, nor to question their decision-making process.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=138313§ionid=351020202
New footage casts doubt on MK's version of events
MK Hanin Zuabi
Film appears to show Hanin Zuabi MK, who sailed aboard the Gaza-bound convoy, standing near activist armed with clubs.
Footage of Israel's deadly raid on a Gaza-bound released Wednesday appears to contradict the account of Knesset member on board one of the boats, who claimed she had not come into contact with armed activists.
"There were no people carrying clubs near me," Hanin Zuabi MK, from the Arab Balad party, had told a news conference following the May 31 raid, in which nine pro-Palestinian activists were killed.
But film published by Army Radio appears to show Zuabi standing in close proximity to a group of men carrying heavy sticks.
(2:40) MK Hanin Zuabi's lies exposed
Footage of Israel's deadly raid on a Gaza-bound released Wednesday appears to contradict the account of Knesset member on board one of the boats, who claimed she had not come into contact with armed activists.
"There were no people carrying clubs near me," Hanin Zuabi MK, from the Arab Balad party, had told a news conference following the May 31 raid, in which nine pro-Palestinian activists were killed.
But film published by Army Radio appears to show Zuabi standing in close proximity to a group of men carrying heavy sticks.
Zuabi had previously called on the Israel Defense Forces to release all of its video footage from the operation, which she said would prove her version of events.
Later in the clip Zuabi can be seen arguing with an IDF commando attempting to evacuate one of the wounded. According to Army Radio, Zuabi claimed she had cooperated with troops in helping to remove the wounded from the boat.
In mid-July the Knesset voted to revoke Zuabi's parliamentary privileges over her participation in the flotilla.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/new-gaza-flotilla-footage-casts-doubt-on-mk-s-version-of-events-aboard-protest-ship-1.307325
Kadima accuses Netanyahu, Barak of passing the buck
Livni says both used Turkel testimonies to evade responsibility.
Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak both used their testimony before the Turkel Commission to evade responsibility for the mistakes in handling May's Gaza flotilla, Kadima leader Tzipi Livni said on Tuesday.
A Kadima spokesman accused Barak of breaking records of chutzpa previously set by Netanyahu by placing responsibility on soldiers for the government's failures. The spokesman said Netanyahu's government behaved irresponsibly by throwing its rubbish on the officers of the IDF who cannot defend themselves against the ministers of their own government.
Livni told Army Radio that the basic characteristic that must exist in a leader is the ability to come before the State of Israel innocently, cleanly and truthfully to explain the considerations, the explanations and the motivations behind their decisions.
Likud and Labor responded by accusing Livni and Kadima of political opportunism.
The attempts by Livni and Kadima to use the events of the Mavi Marmara as a political battering ram are unprecedented in their hypocrisy, said Likud MK Ophir Akunis, who heads the party's response team.
Instead of acting as a responsible and loyal opposition, once again Kadima under Livni has proven its shallowness and pursuit of spins and slogans. The public has already understood where Kadima's irresponsibility led Israel from failure to failure.
The Labor Party said it furiously rejects attempts by Kadima to place the IDF within their political game.
A party spokesman said Kadima members could learn about evading responsibility by looking at Livni's own testimony before the Winograd Committee that probed failures that occurred during the Second Lebanon War, when she was foreign minister.
Barak said in his testimony today before the Turkel Commission in an definite manner that he bears the responsibility for everything that occurs in the security forces, including the IDF, and that he bears full responsibility for the connection between the policy-setting level to the security echelon as occurred in the case of the flotilla, the Labor spokesman said.
National Union MK Arye Eldad said, Barak is convinced that the Turkel Commission isn't capable of chipping his Teflon coating. He is rich in experience of throwing responsibility on others. In the course of his military career, it was only the names of those guilty that changed, and it was always those above him or those below him. He is convinced that this time as well [it is] the sentry or the pilot who will take the fire instead of him.
http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=184373
'Navy prepared to handle future flotillas'
IDF chief speaks at sailors' course graduation ceremony, says, 'Flotillas aiming to deliver weapons to enemies will be halted by Israel's defensive shield'. Navy Commander Eliezer Marom says soldiers involved in Marmara raid 'acted swiftly, while upholding battle ethics'
Hours after taking responsibility for the takeover of the Marmara ship headed to Gaza in May, IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi spoke at the Navy's sailors' course graduation ceremony in Haifa on Wednesday, and thanked the course's previous graduates. "Thanks to them we know that the coming flotillas and ships aiming to deliver weapons to our enemies will be halted by the State of Israel and the Navy's defensive shield," he said.
"These days, when the heart of sea and the Middle East's shores are more stormy than usual, our gaze is shifted toward the de-legitimization campaign our enemies are waging, and the future flotillas against the State of Israel," he added.
Navy Commander Major-General Eliezer Marom also addressed the flotilla and called it a hate sail of six ships towards the State of Israel. He said the Navy executed the task it was handed, stopped all six ships and led them to Ashdod Port.
"The soldiers encountered a group of terrorists on the Marmara murderers whose goal was to kill our soldiers. The force acted swiftly, while upholding the ethics of battle and high standards," Marom said.
He also noted that the nine people killed on the ship were "the murderers who tried to harm the soldiers."
Marom added that the Navy has examined the operation in order to be prepared for future operations as well. "I am proud to say that the Navy forces are prepared for any mission to be handed to them."
A total of 38 graduates completed the 121st sailors' course on Wednesday. There were no women among the graduates this year.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3934487,00.html
IDF chief: Future Gaza flotillas will be blocked
IDF chief: Future Gaza flotillas will be blocked by Israel's defensive shield.
Ashkenazi tells Turkel committee IDF troops were not ready for violent resistance they met when they boarded a Gaza-bound aid ship, killing nine pro-Palestinian activists in May.
Future aid flotillas traveling to Gaza to break the naval siege on the territory will be blocked by the Israel Navy's defensive shield, Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi said on Wednesday.
"If they come, they will be stopped by our defensive shield," Ashkenazi said in his address at the naval graduation ceremony in Haifa. "There is no doubt that you will manage to stop the nearing threats," he told the graduates.
Earlier Wednesday, Ashkenazi testified before an internal probe into Israel's deadly raid on the Gaza-bound aid ship, the Mavi Marmara, saying that the raid quickly became "chaotic," and the soldiers had no choice but to "continue with the plan."
IDF troops were not ready for the violent resistance they met when they boarded a Gaza-bound aid ship and killed nine pro-Palestinian activists, Ahskenazi told the inquiry, headed by former chief justice Jacob Turkel, adding that the outcome of the May 31 raid was impossible to predict.
"From the moment the operation began, it was clear that the circumstances were unprecedented," he said, adding that as commander he took full responsibility for the troops' actions.
Meanwhile, despite initial reports that military personnel would not testify before the Turkel committee, Ashkenazi has authorized Military Advocate General Brig. Gen. Avichai Mandelblit to testify before the panel.
Ashkenazi also approved the questioning of General (Res.) Giora Eiland, who headed the IDF's internal inquiry into the deadly raid.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/idf-chief-future-gaza-flotillas-will-be-blocked-by-israel-s-defensive-shield-1.30741
Turkish FM speaks out as UN panel begins Gaza flotilla probe.
'Turkey bears no responsibility'
Ankara bears no responsibility in the attack on the Mavi Marmara flotilla, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Tuesday, the same day a UN panel that includes Israeli and Turkish representatives began its probe into the matter.
In an apparent answer to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who on Monday told the Turkel Commission in Jerusalem that Turkey did nothing to stop the flotilla, even though there were contacts between Israel and Turkey at the highest levels, Davutoglu said Israel should take responsibility for the incident.
Nobody can place the responsibility of killing civilians in international waters on the other party. There is a very clear situation that Israel killed civilians in international waters. First of all, they should bear that responsibility, the Web site of the Turkish daily Hurriyet quoted Davutoglu as saying during a press conference in Brussels, where he met his Belgian counterpart.
Turkey bears no responsibility in this case and is determined to protect the rights of its own citizens, Davutoglu said.
According to Hurriyet, Belgian Foreign Minister Vanackere said his country regretted the disproportionate use of force Israel employed against the aid flotilla and demanded an independent, impartial inquiry.
According to the report, Davutoglu expressed Turkey's confidence in the UN-led panel and its hopes that the panel would determine the responsible party for the incident in conformity with international law.
Davutoglu, however, may be disappointed, because a UN spokesman, following the first meeting of the panel set up by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, said the panel was not established to determine criminal responsibility, but rather to probe the incident and give recommendations.
Ban, on his first meeting with the panel, said he hoped it would contribute to the peace process and to improving Turkish-Israeli relations.
He advised the panel to submit a progress report by September 15.
The panel is headed by former New Zealand prime minister Geoffrey Palmer, with a former president of Colombia, Alvaro Uribe, serving as vice chairman.
After blogging their way through a meeting with Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, a wine festival, the intricate web of the Old City's holy sites, Masada, the nightlife of Tel Aviv and more, a hand-picked group of four prolific online writers made their way to a hill in the capital's southern neighborhood of Gilo on Tuesday afternoon and gazed out over the sprawling hillsides and sun-kissed minarets of Palestinian Authority- controlled Bethlehem.
The idea was to shift the focus of the bloggers trip which until Tuesday had been spent familiarizing them with everyday life here and softer,domestic issues to the Joseph Ciechanover, while Turkey is represented by former senior Turkish diplomat Özdem Sanberk.
No information was disseminated about the panel's first meeting, held on Tuesday afternoon after its session with the Ban.
But several statements from the UN seemed intent on defusing tempers flared by Ban's statement at Monday's press conference that there was no agreement that the panel would refrain from questioning Israeli soldiers.
Asked twice by a journalist whose phrasing of the question revealed an anti-Israel agenda whether there was an agreement that the panel would not interview Israeli soldiers, Ban replied, There was no such agreement behind the scenes.
After Ban's statement, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's office released its own statement saying that the prime minister makes it absolutely clear that Israel will not cooperate with and will not take part in any panel that seeks to interrogate Israeli soldiers.
On Tuesday, however, after noting that all four panel members including Ciechanover had attended Tuesday's meeting, UN spokesman Martin Nesirky repeatedly emphasized to the press that the cooperation of the parties is crucial to the panel's work.
When asked whether the panel would have the power to compel people to appear before it and testify, Nesirky responded, Absolutely not.
This is not a criminal investigation,Nesirky said. We've said that clearly and repeatedly, and it's not looking into individual criminal responsibility. That is not its role.
A statement released by the secretary-general's office after the press conference underscored the point, saying that the panel is not designed to determine individual criminal responsibility, but to examine and identify the facts, circumstances and the context of the incident, as well as to recommend ways of avoiding future incidents.
For that purpose, the panel will receive and review reports of national investigations into the incident and request such clarifications and information as it may require from relevant national authorities.
The secretary-general's statement also referenced the support received from both the Israeli and Turkish governments in establishing his panel.
Israel maintains that in understandings reached with Ban before Israel agreed to take part in the panel, it was agreed that the investigation would be based on reports from the investigative committees in Israel and Turkey.
Any requests to further question Israelis would have to be approved by Israel.
It did not appear, however, that these understandings were written and signed, leaving the panel's mandate somewhat murky and open to interpretation.
For instance, whereas Ban called the panel an investigative panel, Israeli diplomatic officials over the last few days have been calling it a review panel.
Ban, at his press conference on Monday, said the panel had a robust mandate.
It needs to examine and identify the facts, circumstances and the context of the incident, as well as to recommend ways to avoid future incident, he said.
Those are very important mandates.
The panel will decide what steps it may need to take, in cooperation with the national authorities, as their work evolves.
Though neither the Turkish nor Israeli national investigations into the May 31 incident are close to concluding, a representative of the secretary-general's office said on Tuesday that the UN panel does not have to wait for the completion because there is already a lot of information available.
http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=184343
250 bullets in the blue trace output Marmara
Port of Iskenderun of Hatay, the Israeli military's bloody raid on the ship seized by Mavi Marmara with paint and toothpaste meri is trying to conceal traces of close to 250, respectively.
ISKENDERUN - Iskenderun Prosecutor's Office completed the forensic examination of the ship and the Human Rights and Freedoms (IHH) Humanitarian Relief Foundation, was delivered.
Israel will be brought to the port of Iskenderun on Saturday July 10, anchored in berth No. 9 with a 7 Blue Marmara, Laurel A. In the port and Gaza, bomb disposal experts from the Atomic Energy Authority and Turkey (Taek) radiation measurements of the teams that the Chief Public Prosecutor of the Iskenderun then Mustafa Ercan's 18-person team led by forensic examination carried out has been completed.
WITH PAINT AND PASTE hidden
Especially the May 31 attacks in the nine individual graves, Mavi Marmara ship, the Israeli soldiers' bloody raid evidence Tips for searching from Ankara police crime scene investigation team, rigorous study to paint and putty is trying to conceal a lot of evidence out fished. Close to 180 teams gather evidence, paint and sealed with putty and numerous traces of the destruction of 250 shells were determined. Traces the bullet scraped paint and sealants to be removed, the number was. The provisions also thought to have been a particularly heavy work and the stench was affecting the team negatively.
Alexandria prosecutors, the investigation is completed and delivered three ships to the IHH officials. IHH officials, experts of insurance companies in the ship to do their work-related injury was reported.
http://bit.ly/9vvGEf 6 jul 2011, 23:38 , Respect -
Maria 12 aug 2010
Turkish commission will hear IHH's side, inspect ships
The new Turkish commission established to look into the Israeli raid on Gaza-bound aid ships will listen to all responsible parties including the organizers of the flotilla. The commission will submit a report to the UN's inquiry panel. Diplomats say the report needs to be ready by the end of the month, so that it can be submitted to the UN before its mid-September report is released
A Turkish commission set up to look into the Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla will listen to all parties responsible, including the Humanitarian Relief Foundation, or IHH, which organized the aid ships to break the Gaza blockade.
The commission will meet with everyone responsible including those who were aboard the ship from the Turkish side, a senior Turkish diplomat told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review on Thursday. There were claims that IHH members aboard the Mavi Marmara ship attacked by Israeli commandos May 31 lacked passports and a few of them were carrying only business cards.
Turkish officials, however, denied any contact with Israel, saying that the goal of the commission is to carry out an investigation in Turkey. The members of the commission, who held their first meeting Wednesday, will submit a report to the international inquiry set up by the United Nations earlier this month to look into the incident. Diplomats said the report needs to be ready by the end of this month, so that it can be sent to the U.N. panel before the latter's initial progress report is released in mid-September.
The members of the commission will also examine the three ships towed into the port at Iskenderun on Turkey's Mediterranean coast after the Israeli government allowed Turkey to take them back, diplomatic sources said. The vessels were part of a six-ship flotilla that tried to make a run on Israel's naval blockade of the Gaza Strip to deliver humanitarian aid. Turkish diplomats said the return of the ships has made an inspection easier.
Turkey established a committee in the wake of the May 31 incident made up of officials from the Justice and Foreign ministries and the Maritime Undersecretariat. Officials said, however, the current commission, which will work under the Prime Ministry, is a brand new body that will also provide information to the U.N. panel, which has the full confidence of Turkey, and is broader than the former committee as it also includes officials from the Interior and Transportation ministries.
Israel has set up two internal commissions into the raid, one military and the other a civilian committee that includes two international representatives. Asked if the Turkish commission will also include civilian figures for impartiality, the unnamed Turkish diplomat said: We'll speak with civilians, but whatever we do we cannot appear impartial. However much we don't see the Israeli commission as impartial, they too will not see ours as impartial.
He added: Only the state and its institutions have the capacity of conducting this inquiry. To what extent can we trust a civil society organization to do this?
Ambassador Mithat Rende will, in a way, head the Turkish commission as he will be the point of contact to help liaison between the members of the internal commission and the U.N. panel.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry declined to announce the other members of the commission apart from Rende.
The U.N. panel is chaired by former New Zealand Prime Minister Geoffrey Palmer, co-chaired by former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe and includes Israeli representative Joseph Ciechanover and Turkish representative Özdem Sanberk.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=turkey-sets-up-its-own-inquiry-into-israeli-raid-2010-08-12
The flotilla as metaphor
The negligence and arrogance that characterize this government's work, and which led to its military and diplomatic failures in handling the flotilla, are also reflected in subsequent developments.
The High Court of Justice yesterday rejected the government's excuses for failing to include a woman on the committee investigating May's raid on a Turkish flotilla to Gaza. In addition to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Justice Minister Yaakov Neeman, responsibility for ignoring the obligation to uphold the law on women's equality rests with committee chairman Jacob Turkel, himself a former Supreme Court justice.
The negligence and arrogance that characterize this government's work, and which led to its military and diplomatic failures in handling the flotilla, are also reflected in subsequent developments. They reveal a basic flaw in the way the government operates and in the conduct of its senior ministers, including Netanyahu, Neeman, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman (and it is puzzling that the latter has not been summoned to testify before the committee on the raid's diplomatic aspects ).
The key government officials who formulated Israel's position toward both the local and the international investigations failed, just as they failed in handling the flotilla itself. They established the Turkel Committee for a limited purpose: examining questions related to international law (imposition of the naval blockade, searching the ships, the use of force ). But the committee took the liberty of looking into other issues as well, which are more important from a public standpoint. The government decided that only Netanyahu, Barak and the Israel Defense Forces chief of staff would testify, but now it turns out that other generals will also be summoned.
It is good that the committee is doing so, but this in itself reveals the government's limited control over planning and execution. The committee grew from three to five members even before the subsequent addition of a woman (if the government accedes to the High Court's urging ). The two foreign observers are refusing to behave as puppets, and contrary to the government's decision, they will have access to classified material.
The Turkel Committee was meant to repel outside pressure to establish a UN committee. Israel first opposed the UN committee, and then reversed itself and agreed, arguing that it had nothing to hide. But it agreed only on the understanding that IDF soldiers would not be questioned - or in other words, it does have things to hide. Now, the UN secretary general has repudiated this understanding, and Israel is in trouble: It must either give in or quit the committee.
A government that behaves this way cannot be fixed. Israel's helm is not in good hands.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/the-flotilla-as-metaphor-1.307733
HRC pressed to scrap flotilla probe
The UN Human Rights Council (HRC) is facing intense pressure from several major countries to scrap its probe into Israel's deadly attack on Gaza Freedom Flotilla.
"Various key international players are trying to persuade the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva to dismantle the flotilla probe it had set up," the Israeli Haaretz newspaper wrote.
In addition to a UN inquiry panel, set up by UN chief Ban Ki-Moon, the Geneva-based council has also appointed a three-member "independent international fact-finding mission" to investigate whether the attack violated international law.
The council has already charged Israel with war crimes during its military offensive on Gaza at the turn of 2009.
"Diplomats in New York said several heavyweight countries are now pressing the HRC to cancel its probe and leave the issue to the (four-member) committee Ban set up," the daily added.
Diplomats familiar with the issue have told the newspaper that the conclusions of Ban's panel would be considered more reliable and will overshadow the HRC's findings.
Ban appointed the former New Zealand prime minister, Geoffrey Palmer, and outgoing president, Alvaro Uribe of Colombia, who will co-chair the investigation, as well as Ozdem Sanberk of Turkey and Joseph Ciechanover of Israel to investigate the issue.
If the council fails to accede to this request, it will be setting itself up for humiliation because the conclusions of Ban's panel will be deemed more credible than those of the HRC panel, the same diplomats told the daily.
The report came a week after HRC President Sihasak Phuangketkeow rejected the notion that his organization's probe into the deadly raid was made redundant by the announcement of the higher-profile UN probe.
"There's a clear distinction between the two missions and the mandates given," Phuangketkeow told reporters, dismissing suggestions that the 47-nation council's probe was now superfluous.
On May 31, the Israeli military attacked the Gaza-bound Freedom Flotilla of international aid in the Mediterranean Sea, in international waters, killing nine activists onboard the Turkish-flagged M.V. Mavi Marmara, injuring about 50 other people who were part of the team on the six-ship convoy.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=138393§ionid=351020202
Turkish team to probe Flotilla attack
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's office is to preside over a board of inquiry, probing Israel's recent deadly strike on a Gaza-bound aid convoy.
The May 31 assault against the Freedom Flotilla killed nine Turkish human rights campaigners, who were among hundreds of other activists heading towards the Gaza Strip to break Israeli siege of the impoverished coastal sliver.
Turkey's Foreign Ministry announced the formation of the taskforce on Thursday, saying it is to "investigate the attack and the treatment the activists faced," AFP reported.
Dozens of the passengers suffered injuries during the onslaught and many reportedly had their belongings stolen.
The investigators would trust their findings with the United Nations fact-finding commission on the matter.
Tel Aviv, which has come under an avalanche of international reproach over the raid, has set up its own research committee. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi have so far appeared before the panel, defending the attack.
Israel has so far rejected Ankara's demands of offering an apology, compensating the survivors and easing the Gaza blockade.
Reports earlier said Israel had softened some of the restrictions on the transfer of goods into the impoverished coastal sliver, buckling under global pressure. Witnesses on the ground, however, have rejected any lenience on the part of Tel Aviv and said it continued to deprive the Palestinians of food, fuel and other necessities.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=138422§ionid=351020204
Turkey sets up own Gaza flotilla inquiry
Probe will work under the office of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and present findings to UN, AFP news agency reports
Turkey has set up its own inquiry into Israel's raid on a Gaza-bound aid convoy that left none Turkish citizens dead, the AFP news agency reported on Thursday.
The probe will work under the office of Prime Minister's Recep Tayyip Erdogan and will "investigate the attack and the treatment the activists faced" before reporting on its findings, the ministry said in a statement.
Turkey said it plans to present its findings to another inquiry set up by the United Nations. Early this month, Israel agreed to participate in the UN probe, as well as setting up its own investigation, which this week heard teastimony from the Israeli prime minister, defense minister and army chief of staff.
Turkey's commission will include officials from the foreign, justice, interior and transport ministries as well as from the country's maritime agency.
Israel's May 31 raid on the Mavi Marmara, the Turkish-flagged lead ship in the flotilla, plunged relations between the erstwhile allies into deep crisis.
On Tuesday Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Tuesday that Israel should admit sole responsibility for the deaths aboard the Mavi Marmara.
"No one else can take the blame for killing civilians in international waters," Davutoglu told journalists. "Israel has killed civilians, and should take the responsibility for having done so."
The Turkish minister appeared to be responding to remarks made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday when he testified before an Israeli commission of inquiry into the same May 31 incident.
Netanyahu said Turkey had ignored repeated warnings and appeals "at the highest level" to halt the flotilla, which was organized by an Islamic charity based in Turkey.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/turkey-sets-up-own-gaza-flotilla-inquiry-1.307581
Livni on appointing woman to Turkel panel: Better late than never
In response to the State's claim that appointing a woman to the Turkel Commission would be futile at this juncture, Opposition leader Tzipi Livni said, "It's better to appoint a woman at this stage than to continue keeping women away from decision-making circles.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3934994,00.html
NOTE:
WANTED FOR WAR CRIMES AND CRIMES
AGAINST HUMANITY
Tzipi Livni
On the 12th of July 2006, the suspect along with her accomplices ordered the aerial bombardment and artillery assault on residential areas in Lebanon. For 34 days she authorized troops to make 12,000 aerial sorties, to fire 100,000 artillery shells, damaging 350 schools and destroying 15,000 houses in Lebanon. 130,000 homes were partially damaged. The attacks destroyed water sources, hospitals, power stations and other infrastructure essential to life. 900,000 people were forced to leave their homes and remain without shelter for many days. Some 1,200 people were killed, and 4,400 were wounded: approximately 30% of the dead, about 360, were children under the age of 13.
On 27th December 2008, the suspect and her accomplices ordered an aerial, ground and naval attack on densely populated areas in the Gaza Strip. The attacks again damaged houses, hospitals, schools and infrastructure, and killed more than 1,300 people, including hundreds of children. 20,000 houses were partially destroyed and 50,000 people were made homeless as a result of the suspects orders.
Attacking innocent people, shooting indiscriminately into residential areas, causing injuries, destroying essential infrastructure such as water, electrical plants and hospitals are all prohibited under International law and are war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Description of the suspect: a white woman, 50 years old, above average height, blonde hair.
http://wanted.org.il/tzipi_livni_en.htm
Footage doesn't show Balad MK in same frame as armed passengers.
(2:40) Israel releases bogus video to implicate MK Haneen Zoabi
Rivlin calls on A-G to probe Zoabi video
By Dr. Hanan Chehata
Passengers on the Freedom Flotilla to Gaza have asked the Israeli authorities repeatedly for the return of their belongings and the release of the video footage they shot during the Jewish state's attack on their boat, the Mavi Marmara, on 31st May. The Israeli assault took place over 10 weeks ago and yet it is only now that the authorities have released a 2 minutes 40 seconds video clip; but why now and why have the Israelis selected those couple of minutes from all of the hours of confiscated footage that they still have in their possession?
The Israeli authorities claim that the clip shows Knesset Member Haneen Zoabi in the presence of men from the charity group IHH armed with clubs, contradicting her claim that she did not see any flotilla members holding weapons. As a result of this video, there is now a call to investigate Ms Zoabi for her part in the violence that unfolded on board the Marmara.
However, in releasing this footage it looks as if the Israelis have shot themselves in the foot once again, because the film actually shows Israeli soldiers in a far worse light than Haneen Zoabi. In fact, it goes some way towards corroborating her version of events.
In the first of three short clips, Ms Zoabi is on screen for less than 10 seconds and she is simply in the distance walking towards the camera from the far side of the deck. There are more than 30 people milling around, only one of whom is shown for approximately six seconds holding what looks like a broomstick handle. The rest are tying on life jackets, filming the Israeli boats that are surrounding them and simply looking out to sea. At no point is Ms Zoabi seen anywhere near anyone with any kind of weapon.
In the second clip Ms Zoabi is standing in a stairwell. Blood from the victims shot by the Israeli commandos is already forming into pools on the floor of the landing a few steps up from where she stands; first aid is being administered to one of the wounded. In the stairwell she is surrounded by humanitarian flotilla members wearing orange life jackets, several with handheld cameras. On the section of the staircase directly above where she is standing - completely out of her line of sight - are three men holding what, again, look like broomstick handles. No weapons are in sight and once again it is clear that at no point is Ms Zoabi even in the visual proximity of anyone with a "weapon" even as flimsy as a broomstick.
In the third and final clip, Haneen Zoabi is in conversation with two armed Israeli soldiers. She is calm and confident but in no way aggressive at all. She is speaking in Hebrew but it is understood that she was trying to communicate to the soldiers that the wounded man in question did not want to be transferred to an Israeli hospital. Given the fact that he had just been shot by Israeli soldiers and nine colleagues had just been murdered by those same soldiers it is understandable that Ms Zoabi would do her best to ask the soldiers to let him be transferred somewhere other than Israel for medical attention! This does not contradict her claim that she later helped to facilitate the transfer of patients to get urgently needed medical treatment.
There are no guns, no knives, no clubs nor any other kind of weapon being held by anyone in this clip apart from, of course, those carried by Israeli soldiers, who are in full combat gear with their faces covered having a conversation with Ms Zoabi. Next to her is a man with a stethoscope around his neck while several men are lying on chairs, clearly having been wounded in the Israeli assault.
The content of the video, all two minutes and forty seconds of it, does not implicate Haneen Zoabi in the slightest. It actually supports her assertions about the events that unfolded. Claims by newspapers such as Jpost which state that the "video proves Zoabi knew activists [were] armed" are laughable. It does no such thing, so why release the footage? It's simple; it serves as a diversion. Haneen Zoabi has made it clear that she believes the release of this footage at this particular time to be an effort to divert attention from the investigation into the flotilla assault that is now taking place; more specifically, that its release was timed to coincide with the IDF Chief of Staff giving his testimony. It is no more than that.
Calls to investigate her are welcomed by Haneen Zoabi because, as she has said before, neither she nor any of the other passengers on board the Mavi Marmara have anything to hide. But the Israeli army must have lots to cover up, as is clear from its consistent refusal to release all of the stolen footage or to let its soldiers be questioned during the investigation, and the curt refusal to co-operate with a fair and objective international enquiry into Israel's murder of nine human rights activists in international waters.
Rivlin calls on A-G to probe Zoabi video
Footage doesn't show Balad MK in same frame as armed passengers.
A video clip released on Wednesday reawakened the public and political furor over Balad MK Haneen Zoabi's participation in the May 31 Gaza-bound flotilla.
Zoabi's critics said the footage from the Mavi Marmara, which was revealed by Army Radio, proves that the freshman lawmaker was aware of the violent intentions of the ship's passengers.
However, the footage never clearly shows Zoabi in the same frame as an armed passenger.
The material was passed on to the office of Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin (Likud) before Army Radio released the tape to the public. Rivlin determined that the tape should be passed on to the Attorney-General's Office for review, as well to the Knesset's Ethics Committee.
The attorney-general must examine the new material and determine if there are grounds to investigate Haneen Zoabi for criminal offenses, Rivlin explained. The Knesset does not judge its members, and it is not my job to do so as the speaker. The evidence must be checked, and the attorney-general must determine if Zoabi was a participant in any crime. That has been my stance from the beginning, when this affair was exposed, and is certainly correct now, as well.
Zoabi said on Wednesday that the video was released to further sully her name, and that she was not seen doing anything illegal on the brief tape.
The video, which was apparently filmed before, during and after the IDF's boarding of the Gaza-bound ship on May 31, contains segments that show Zoabi at various stages of the incident.
Zoabi's critics said the tape undermines her claim that there was no violent resistance aboard the ship, and that any injuries to IDF personnel were due to selfdefense by the passengers, who were helpless against the boarding party.
After repeated review of the 2 minutes and 39 seconds of the tape available to this paper, it appears that there is no moment in which Zoabi appears in the same frame as a person clearly bearing a weapon. The video which is widely available on the Internet has three separate and distinct scenes.
The first scene opens on a deck of the Mavi Marmara.
Activists at least one bearing a pole for possible use against IDF soldiers are seen milling about, preparing for the boarding. Passengers allegedly members of the radical Turkish IHH organization are seen wearing orange life vests, and are clearly opening packages of gas masks.
Toward the end of the brief scene, Zoabi is seen coming around a corner, and has not yet put on the life vest that she is seen wearing in the next scene. One man, walking toward Zoabi, was cited by at least one Israeli television station as carrying a weapon, but repeated examinations of the footage suggest that the split-second image merely showed a dangling strap.
The second scene was apparently filmed before or during the IDF's boarding of the ship and the violent assault on Flotilla 13 soldiers.
The scene opens in a stairwell, where a number of men are seen apparently brandishing metal batons and other possible weapons. The camera then focuses on a bloodstain on the metal deck, and then on what appears to be a wounded activist.
A conversation is heard that begins in Arabic, and ends in English, with one of the speakers apparently Zoabi, who is seen on the staircase, alone, now wearing a life vest. The MK clearly checks her watch, and then realizes that she is being filmed, and pushes the camera away. In no frame of this scene is she filmed alongside the batonbrandishers.
The third and by far the longest scene takes place in a cabin in the ship, where Zoabi is seen clearly negotiating with IDF medical officials.
Zoabi tells the IDF men and an off-camera army doctor that the wounded people in the cabin do not want to be taken to an Israeli hospital.
One of the soldiers tells her that the patients are not stable and that we need to take them to the hospital. That's it.
I said that I was willing to translate for those people, Zoabi told Channel 1 news on Wednesday. They were people with pride. They didn't want to be taken to a hospital by the people who send the army to attack them.
We convinced them, for their health, that would be better for them to go to the hospital, Zoabi added, deflecting claims that she had interfered with the IDF's attempts to provide immediate medical care for those wounded during the boarding of the ship.
There are two casualties who died between 5:30 and 6 [a.m.] who died there because they did not receive medical attention, she said.
Zoabi complained that the video failed to show hours when I calmed the spirits so that there would not be additional bloodshed.
She said that hope that the attorney-general will get all the material, unedited, from the IDF. And that they will question me. If I committed a crime, I am willing to be tried.
She accused the IDF or the media of creating a situation in which two minutes are connected together.
MK Miri Regev (Likud) said that Zoabi is not only a traitor, but also a liar.
Regev called for Zoabi's parliamentary immunity to be immediately lifted and for her to be investigated for harming national security while taking advantage of her status as an MK, as well as aiding the enemy.
The State of Israel cannot and should not allow an MK to commit treason against the country and to brazenly lie in a clear attempt to harm national security, Regev continued.
Zoabi's behavior is a clear violation of the rules and values of democracy in the State of Israel, and she must be tried.
Regev's comments were echoed by MKs from across the political spectrum, from Labor to the Right.
MK Ophir Akunis (Likud), a member of the Central Elections Committee, promised to work to disqualify both Zoabi and the Balad party from running for the next Knesset.
Rivlin said that he had accepted Zoabi's request that the Knesset's probe into the events of May 31 be accelerated in order to determine the truth.
Personally, these images cause disgust, and in light of the pictures I cannot find an explanation with which I can remain satisfied, the Knesset speaker continued. But as the person who is charged with running the temple of Israeli democracy, I must allow her to bring her position up for clarification. Even when my soul is repulsed by the actions, as speaker I also serve those whose positions differ from mine.
http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=184475
12 aug 2010
UN chief: Flotilla probe won't summon witnesses
Panel investigating deadly flotilla raid to submit interim report to Ban Ki-moon by September 15. UN chief says committee does not have authority to summon soldiers to testify
WASHINGTON - Following the many concerns raised in Israel that the UN team investigating the Gaza flotilla raid may attempt to summon soldiers to give their testimonies, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon declared the committee does not have the authority to do so.
The UN chief stressed that the committee does not have the power to probe suspicions of individual criminal responsibility in the deadly outcome of the takeover of the Turkish ship, the Mavi Marmara.
On Thursday, just two days since the UN panel first convened in New York, a statement released by the panel said it will strive to submit an interim report to Ban by September 15 before the General Assembly's annual convention.
The panel's next meeting was set for early September.
Ban, who has expressed hope that the report's conclusions could help bridge the gap between Turkey and Israel instead of widening the rift between them, was pleased with the discussions' positive atmosphere and the good cooperation by the Israeli and Turkish representatives.
During the panel's two days of work, its members met with the UN chief and he outlined the nature of the task he envisaged for them.
The panel also met with UN secretariat bodies to ensure that administrative arrangements and support are either in train or have been established to enabling them to complete their work in the best possible manner.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3935443,00.html
IDF distances itself from Zoabi video release
The IDF Spokesperson sought to distance himself from the release of a video depicting MK Haneen Zoabi on the Mavi Marmara, in a statement released on Thursday.
"The IDF and the IDF Spokesperson division did not release photos or videos dealing with MK Hannen Zoabi to any media, including Army Radio," the statement said.
http://www.jpost.com/Headlines/Article.aspx?id=184513
Ashkenazi: Next time, IDF will use snipers to halt Gaza-bound flotillas
In his first round of testimony to the Turkel Committee, the Chief of Staff took responsibility for the army's actions.
IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi completed his first round of testimony yesterday to the Turkel Committee, the Israeli panel investigating the deadly May raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla.
Ashkenazi had the benefit of access to testimonies given by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak (except those delivered in closed-door testimony ), both of whom testified to the panel before him.
The primary difference between his and their testimonies lay in his tone. The chief of staff admitted mistakes, took responsibility for failings and directed only mild criticism toward the government his army answers to. (At least this was the case during the portion of testimony open to the public ).
The IDF chief was also gracious to his own subordinates. Mistakes made were "ours," he said, noting that "We erred."
"I take responsibility for every operation in the army," Ashkenazi said as the hearing began. "The decision to refrain as much as possible from summoning commanders [to testify] is the correct one. I represent them."
The flotilla raid, he added, was "proportionate and appropriate. The troops displayed calm, courage and dedication. I'm proud that these are my soldiers."
Unlike Barak during his testimony on Tuesday, Ashkenazi seemed to cautiously navigate the minefield between the military and political leaderships. Several times he described the army as acting in accordance with decisions made by the government. He also referred repeatedly to a letter he had sent to Netanyahu and Barak on May 13, two and a half weeks before the flotilla was due to set sail, asking that they exhaust other alternatives before making a decision to authorize a military operation.
Many saw Ashkenazi's remarks about the letter as a clear swipe at Netanyahu and Barak. That letter, however, can be found in a film screened last month for journalists by the Eiland Committee, the IDF's in-house inquiry into the raid. The film was replayed yesterday, with the letter quoted to members of the Turkel panel.
Ashkenazi told the commission yesterday that the primary lesson he had gleaned from the flotilla incident is the need to muster enough force in minimal time during any similar raid.
"Our fundamental problem, and mine as well, was exactly that," he said. "I estimated there would be 18 people on the upper deck, and that if we came with a helicopter and threw a stun grenade they would relent. We had to guarantee 'sterile' conditions for the unit."
Once forces came into contact with passengers, he said, "the navy commander made the right decision in taking over the bridge of the ship."
Ashkenazi said that if the IDF is faced with a similar situation in the future, there may be no alternative to deploying snipers to minimize troop casualties. "When people are looking for a fight, it usually happens," he said.
On the apparent faulty intelligence on the nature of the Mavi Marmara's mission, he said, "We need to know more."
Committee chairman Jacob Turkel expressed dismay at what he described as the absence of accurate intelligence on IHH, the Istanbul-based Islamist group that sent the flotilla.
"It seems a bit odd, in light of impressive prior achievements in preventing ships from arriving, and - according to foreign media reports - in thwarting weapons smuggling in places far from Israel," the retired Supreme Court justice said.
Ashkenazi replied, "It's true. I've already said we didn't know enough about the organization, that we hadn't investigated it enough. It wasn't on our list of priorities as were other groups... Turkey isn't an enemy country, and I hope it doesn't become one. We maintain military links with it, even during the current crisis. I myself was a guest of the Turkish chief of staff two weeks before the flotilla incident."
A picture of mistakes
The picture emerging from the testimonies offered to both the Turkel and Eiland committees is cause for concern. Not only does it appear that the political leadership was at fault, but the military command as well, in particular that of the navy. The incident will long be remembered as a resounding failure, even though the IDF had several months to prepare for the flotilla.
In the final analysis, military planning was ill-suited to the operation at hand, was based on faulty intelligence and was not flexible enough to allow troops to adequately confront the worst-possible scenario. As a result, when just such a scenario unfolded, soldiers were left alone to contain an angry, violent mob.
Just as in the first intifada of the late 1980s and early '90s, the Temple Mount riots of 1990 and 2000, and the October 2000 unrest across Israel and the territories, troops employed disproportionate force to get their comrades out alive.
The consequence, as is often seen in such cases, was the deaths of a number of people Israel had not planned to target, and untold damage to the country's image abroad.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/ashkenazi-next-time-idf-will-use-snipers-to-halt-gaza-bound-flotillas-1.307435
12 aug 2010
Analysis: Ashkenazi tries to save face
IDF chief could have been remembered as hero.
Had Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi's tenure as chief of the General Staff ended in mid- May, he would have been remembered as the army commander who restored the IDF to its former glory following the failed Second Lebanon War in 2006 and oversaw the successful Operation Cast Lead.
Instead, Ashkenazi will be remembered as the chief of staff who got into an unprecedented fight with his defense minister and as a result did not receive an extension to his tenure, who oversaw the botched raid on the Mavi Marmara and who appears to have lost control of his General Staff in what has led up to the infamous Galant Document.
On Wednesday, during his testimony before the Turkel Commission, Ashkenazi did what he could to restore something of his tarnished image by taking the high ground and openly accepting responsibility for the Mavi Marmara raid in late May, which ended with nine dead Turkish nationals.
In his testimony, Ashkenazi said all the right things from his subordinates perspectives.
He took responsibility for the commando raid and detailed some of the military's flaws, but overall did not try to push the responsibility up or down the ladder not to Defense Minister Ehud Barak, nor to Israel Navy commander V.-Adm.
Eliezer Marom as he easily could have.
This was a sharp break from the testimonies of Barak the day before, and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu earlier in the week. In these cases, Netanyahu pushed the responsibility down to Barak and Barak pushed it down to the IDF, going as far as to say that the government tells the military what to do but not how to do it. It is the military's job, he said, to tell the government if it cannot carry out its assignment.
That is very convenient to say, but it is not exactly the case, at least not in the Israeli model of political-military relations something of which Barak, a former chief of staff, should be well aware.
Barak is also far from being a hands-off defense minister.
He has even said on more than one occasion that as defense minister, he gets down to the smallest details before approving operations.
He regularly holds discussions on operations before they are approved and is known to send the IDF back to the drawing board if the pending plan is not to his liking.
This is also in contradiction to the image Barak has tried to create for himself: the defense minister that this country desperately needs to counter the growing threats and challenges it faces. If that were the case, then where was Barak in the planning stages of the operation to stop the Turkish flotilla? Netanyahu's testimony is also slightly misleading. In his effort to pass the buck, Netanyahu claimed he had only discussed the media and hasbara (public diplomacy) ramifications of stopping the flotilla with his top cabinet, known as the septet, and had left the rest up to Barak.
This was contradicted by the defense minister, who claimed that the forum of seven top ministers had discussed the actual operation.
In this case, Barak is likely right.
After all, since this government took office in mid- 2009, Netanyahu and Barak have gone out of their way to stress how deep, thoughtful and comprehensive the septet's meetings are. Barak even said a few months ago that in his almost 40-year military and political career, he had never sat in such a serious forum that debated every issue down to the smallest detail.
So what went wrong with the Mavi Marmara? That will be up to the Turkel Commission to determine. Judging from the results of the Winograd Committee, which investigated the Second Lebanon War, Netanyahu and Barak are likely hoping for a similar outcome %u2013 that the IDF will take the fall.
http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=184480
State: Appointing woman to Turkel committee pointless
In response to appeal filed by women's groups, State says adding woman to committee probing Gaza flotilla raid futile as Netanyahu, Barak and Ashkenazi already testified
In the State's response to an appeal filed by women's rights groups with the High Court of Justice, former Supreme Court justice Jacob Turkel, who heads the panel probing the deadly raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla, said appointing a woman to the committee would be of no consequence as most of the testimonies have already been heard.
The court was expected to rule on the appeal later in the day.
According to the State's response, filed Thursday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided not to debate the issue with his cabinet and asked Justice Minister Yaakov Ne'eman to ask for Turkel's opinion on the matter.
"The committee's chairman is of the position that since the panel has already heard the main testimonies from Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, appointing a woman or women to the panel would contribute nothing to its work," according to the State's response.
The State insists that "active efforts" had been made to seek out a female panel member.
The five members and two observers on the Turkel Commission are men, but women's groups are demanding that this be changed. The women's group, Itach Women Lawyers for Social Justice and the group WePower filed a petition against Netanyahu and the Turkel Commission with a demand that they appoint a woman to the commission.
The organizations also asked that an interim injunction be issued ordering the suspension of the commission's activities until the petition is fully deliberated and decided upon.
The petition claims that despite the importance of the commission's conclusions and its effect on Israel's international standing, the cabinet authorized the makeup of the Turkel Commission in complete opposition to the law of equality and women's rights. Even after the decision was made to expand the commission, the petition claims, the government made no effort to appoint at least one woman to the panel.
On Wednesday the High Court criticized the government for excluding women from the panel.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3934849,00.html
High Court to cabinet: Try appointing woman to Turkel Commission
High Court justices instructed the cabinet to discuss on August 29 the appointment of at least one woman to the Turkel Commission, charged with investigating the events around Israel Navy's raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla.
The justices also ruled that if an appointment is offered to at least five women who had not previously been offered the position by the date of the cabinet deliberation, the government will have fulfilled its obligation. In the meantime, the commission will continue its work as usual.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3934865,00.html
State: Turkel against adding woman to Gaza flotilla probe
Jacob Turkel: Former Israeli Supreme Court justice.
In response to High Court of Justice, the state says it will not change its stance against adding a woman to the Gaza flotilla probe, citing Jacob Turkel's view that expanding the panel at this point might hurt its work.
Jacob Turkel, the head of Israel's probe into the IDF raid of a Gaza-bound aid flotilla in May, opposes adding one or more women to the commission panel, the state told the High Court of Justice on Thursday.
A day earlier, the court had instructed the state to review its stance regarding the inclusion of a woman in the commission which currently consists of three Israelis and two international observers, all men.
On Thursday, the state responded to the court, saying that its stance would not change, citing Turkel's position that the addition of a new member to the panel at this point would not contribute to the panel's work.
"After the panel has already heard testimony from the prime minister, defense minister, chief of staff, the chairman [Turkel] stands by his view that adding one or more new members to the panel would not contribute to the work of the panel and might even hurt it," the state's response said. "In light of the international developments on this matter particularly the creation of an international UN probe it is particularly necessary that the panel finish its work as quickly as possible."
Nine activists were killed in the May 31 raid on the Gaza-bound flotilla, when violence erupted as Israel Navy commandos boarded the Mavi Marmara, one of six ships in the flotilla. Both Israel and the United Nations are conducting investigations into the incident.
On Wednesday, High Court judges Miriam Naor, Uzi Vogelman and Salim Joubran hinted that they may order the inclusion of a woman on the panel, even at the expense of one of the men that currently make up the commission.
Last week, a Supreme Court judge ordered Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the state and the Turkel Commission to expand the panel of the public inquiry to include a representative of the female population, as required by law.
The order came in response to a petition last month by the organizations "Women Lawyers for Social Justice" and "Women Power," following a government decision to expand the commission to include another two men. Before submitting the petition, "Women Lawyers for Social Justice" had requested in vain for the panel to include a woman.
Earlier this week, the state told court that before the makeup of the panel had been decided, it had invited three women who are experts in international law to join, but each had refused. The state also claimed that it had subsequently tried to recruit women panel members once the commission had been formed, but was equally frustrated.
http://fwd4.me/05w4