Gaza Flotilla Stormed by Israel, Part III

Boom Boom wrote:

I heard somewhere on CBC earlier tonight that Hamas was refusing Israel's handing over of the aid from the seized flotilla. My guess as to why is because Israel is using the seized aid shipments as a propaganda exercise to show how generous they are.

If that is all the CBC said, then they are just repeating Israeli propaganda.

From what I've read in other places I've heard:

1) Hamas knew nothing about the shipments.

2) Israel tried to deliver wheelchairs, but had taken out the batteries, and Hamas refused the shipment.

3) Hamas has refused the shipment until all activists are released from Israeli jails.

4) Hamas will only accept the shipments if they're deliver by the activists themselves.

It is hard to know exactly what is happening.

(On a positive note, I had read earlier that Canada sided with the US and Holland in rejecting the UN Human Rights Council independent investigation of the massacre.  Turns out it was Italy, not Canada.  Perhaps even the Harper government has some shame?).

Has Israel Declared War on the International Community?

http://mostlywater.org/has_israel_declared_war_international_community

"As Western citizens we have become accustomed by now to the brutal treatment of Palestinian people by Israeli security forces...What we are not accustomed to in the West however, is to witness the Israeli government blatantly attacking hundreds of nonviolent peace advocates from around the globe. The world has failed to defend the Palestinians for years, but yesterday Israel made a geopolitical turn by declaring war on the citizens of the world.."

From the Sabeel Ecumenical Centre for Liberation Theology's Gaza the Conscience of the World statement:

"In the absence of serious determination from the USA and others to end the illegal Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories (including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip), we urge men and women ‐ young and old, religious and secular ‐ to use every nonviolent means available to end the siege of Gaza, remove the yoke of occupation and work for the freedom and liberation of Palestine and all its people."

The December release of the Kairos Palestine statement seems to have sparked renewed energy among Palestinian Christians that in turn is giving them greater strength for this latest struggle. I have been thinking a lot this week of the humanitarian groups trapped in Gaza who persist in telling fellow Christians and the world to wake up to the slow motion massacre being inflicted on them.

For me, reading the South African and Palestinian church conversations since the release of the document has been profound, but also very uncomfortable. It is so crystal clear that Canada is a settler state that will always sympathise with other settlers. The utter BS spouted by some of my friends since May 31 is a good reminder for me of just how assimilated by colonialism mainstream "Canada" is. On the other hand, I just got off the phone with a Wabanaki friend who had no trouble seeing Canada's action for what they are. He said "Canada is pursuing Indian policy towards Israel and Palestine, and around the world. This is how we need to see it."

Our Canadian poodle of a government (as someone upstream called it) is never going to support any aspect of the Palestinian's anti-colonial fight and will in fact oppose all who do, regardless of which Tweedledum or Tweededee is in power. I agree with all who feel the NDP and the BQ can and must do more. But I think the tide is turning towards much more serious boycott efforts, and that means actions by each of us individually and in our communities, in the absence of our "leaders" / in the face of opposition from them. As with apartheid South Africa and Indigenous human rights here, we need to leave our so-called and spineless leadership behind and respond to the type of call Sabeel offers above.

I am glad of the conversations I participate in on this board, because they ensure I remain challenged and am also given some creative ideas for responding to that challenge.

The members of the next flotilla, and the next,  will be very much on my mind. This kind of so-called "asking for it" action is what is needed to keep the pressure on Israel, but I am worried for their safety and I do feel gutless for staying here.

Green Grouch wrote:

[...]

For me, reading the South African and Palestinian church conversations since the release of the document has been profound, but also very uncomfortable. It is so crystal clear that Canada is a settler state that will always sympathise with other settlers. The utter BS spouted by some of my friends since May 31 is a good reminder for me of just how assimilated by colonialism mainstream "Canada" is. On the other hand, I just got off the phone with a Wabanaki friend who had no trouble seeing Canada's action for what they are. He said "Canada is pursuing Indian policy towards Israel and Palestine, and around the world. This is how we need to see it."

[...]

I wondered why the Irish government was so supportive of its citizens participation in the flotilla, but I guess it is a legacy of their own struggle against colonialism.

Sabotage On The High Seas

http://www.freegaza.org/en/home/56-news/1202-sabotage-on-the-high-sea

"...And sabotage happens with more than deeds. It also happens with words...WE HAVE NO INTENTION OF EVER DOCKING IN ASHDOD"

The Day The World Became Gaza

http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2010/06/2010638557492628.html

"Since Israel's invasion and massacre of over 1,400 people in Gaza 18 months ago, dubbed Operation Cast Lead, global civil society movements have stepped up their campaign for justice and solidarity with Palestinians. Governments by contrast carried on with business as usual, maintaining a complicit silence. Israel's lethal attack on the Freedom Flotilla to Gaza may change that, spurring governments to follow the lead of their people and take unprecedented action to check Israel's growing lawlessness

On top of all the indignities and violence heaped upon the flotilla participants, no names of the dead or wounded have been released - almost 4 full days since the attack. 

I heard somewhere that 4 of the dead were Turks with no indication where the others were from. All the bodies have now been flown to Turkey. Perhaps the families need to be notified first (which is understandable). 

Israel's Dilemma: The Phony Claim of Self-Defence

http://www.counterpunch.org/hijab06032010.html

"You cannot claim self-defence when you have decided to send a thousand or so well-armed forces to board boats in international waters - vessels that were carefully searched before the voyage to make sure there were no arms. Or when you have killed up to 20 civilians and injured 54 others, while suffering no deaths yourself. If the situation were not so tragic, Israel's spinning would be the stuff of comedy..

The visible crushing of peaceful activists usually has a powerful effect on world public opinion and this time it has pushed governments to take action to hold Israel accountable in a way that armed force has not. This is perhaps the most important contribution that those brave humanitarians have made to the Palestinian quest for justice..

And things will continue to unravel for Israel because it only knows how to use force to get its way.."

Palestinian children honouring the country of origin of Israel's latest victims.

Some very startling allegations in this Turkish article. Apparently some of the video footage of the attack made its way back to Turkey and will be aired sometime soon.

Israel killed more than 9, threw wounded into sea, witnesses say

Quote:

 Activists say some people who were initially on the flotilla are missing....

a photographer, whose first name was Cevdet, was shot in the forehead by a soldier one meter away from him...

“The Mavi Marmara was bombed right in front of our eyes. They threw the wounded into the water,” he said. Köse said the soldiers were upset when some of their men were held by activists aboard the Mavi Marmara...

19-year-old Furkan Doğan was killed by four bullets to the head -- all fired at close range -- and one bullet into his chest,...

four wounded activists were thrown into the sea...

the person who was waving a white flag to surrender was shot by soldiers...

“They even shot those who surrendered. Many of our friends saw this. They told me that there were handcuffed people who were shot.”

All activists stated that Israeli helicopters sprayed cold seawater onto the ship for three hours.

The prisoners were harassed by violent attack dogs and some were badly bitten. She also noted that they were not fed any food or given anything to drink during their initial interrogation on the ship....

Meanwhile, the full list of the names of the nine Turks whose corpses were sent to Turkey and their hometowns were announced as İbrahim Bilgen - Siirt, Ali Haydar Bengi - Diyarbakır, Cevdet Kılıçlar - İstanbul (İHH staff), Çetin Topçuoğlu - Adana (national taekwondo team member), Necdet Yıldırım - Malatya (İHH staff), Furkan Doğan - Kayseri, Fahri Yaldız - Adıyaman, Cengiz Songür - İzmir and Cengiz Akyüz - Hatay. Doğan was only 19. He was killed with four bullets to the head and one to the chest.

It doesn't piss off "most of the entire world". It is protected, with money, arms, diplomacy, and power - by those who benefit from its criminal filthy deeds in the region - namely, the U.S., the U.K., various European powers, Canada, etc. It will take a lot more than a few more murders of civilians to change that geopolitical reality.

It will be very interesting to see if the Turkish government does anything substantial beyond expressions of diplomacy.

Yes, the Turkish PM did call Israel "a festering boil" ** that "speads hate and emnity" but I figure that's just his inner Pat Martin that he's channelling (or would, if Martin wasn't such a Zionist) . Full of sound and fury signifying ... However, my critical side suggests to me that after the smoke clears ... the Turkish regime will, more or less, cheerfully accept the latest delivery of Israeli attack drones. There's those pesky Kurds that won't die, after all. Business is business.

And the Israelis have shown so much "understanding" when it comes to atrocities of the Turkish regime itself. Yes, if the Israelis can forget about the Armenian genocide then why can't the Turkish regime forget about ... what was that nationality again?

The Turkish people themselves will have something to say, however. As will Palestinian solidarity and the conscience of the world. And I hope it's very, very loud.

_______________________________

** I thought "a festering pus-filled boil" would be an improvement, but no one seemed to agree. Perhaps it's redundant.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704875604575280571188117054.html

Quote:

What we witnessed in the early hours of Monday morning was symptomatic of a new degree of fatigue in Israeli governing circles. The fact that both the political and the military authorities could sign off on such an irresponsible operation suggests that the leadership of the country has given up what it has concluded is ultimately a Sisyphean attempt to accommodate world opinion. Isolation is no longer a threat to be fought, their thinking seems to go, because Israel is terminally isolated. What remains is to concentrate exclusively on what is best for Israel's survival, shedding any regard for the opinion of others.
...
Israel's fatigue and deep sense of ostracism is, to say the least, unhealthy. It would be unhealthy for any country at the best of times. But it is particularly troubling when the country in question is at perpetual war, and when it is repeatedly threatened with annihilation by the leader of a country who is actively pursuing nuclear weapons. And, of course, it is profoundly disturbing when the fatigued and isolated country itself has the means to strike pre-emptively and punishingly at its enemies, including in ways from which, realistically, there may be no return.

Catchfire wrote:

The attack on the Mavi Marmara, a rabble exclusive interview with Free Gaza Flotilla activist Kevin Neish

Quote:

In his first interview since being released from Israeli detention, a Canadian activist from the Free Gaza Flotilla activist describes seeing solidarity in the face of death, and what happened when the Israeli military took control of the humanitarian aid ship and arrested those on board.

Incredible interview.  Neish was onboard the main ship and describes the Israeli attack and resistance to it.  He also describes (in the 2nd part of the interview I think) the treatment of the prisoners after the Israelis gained control of the ship.

I hope he does more interviews with Canadian media, then Canadians would really understand what happened.

jrootham wrote:

The pissed off = world -(U.S., the U.K., various European powers, Canada, etc.) = most of the entire world.

Oh, thanks for the math. I wasn't aware Israel was a pariah state.

Quote:

The question was, what is the gain? I am assuming they expect to intimidate people into not doing this again.

No, the gain is this: hanging on to the agenda, stopping the growth of any movement for peace and justice inside or outside Israel. Israel and its backers cannot afford any stability in Palestine, nor in neighbouring countries, that might give rise to effective leadership and effective demands for Israel to stop violating international law and engage in meaningful negotiations. Hence the blockade of Gaze, the occupation of the West Bank and Golan and Jerusalem, the constant threats against and occasional invasions of neighbours (and non-neighbours like Iran), the targeted assassinations - everything. In fact, to view this latest act as something uncharacteristically stupid and self-defeating is to ignore similar actions on a somewhat larger scale - the slaughter of Gaza last year, the slaughter of the Lebanese people in 2006, etc. - and never connected with any measurable military or diplomatic gain.

Quote:

The giant question is whether the Turks will follow up with the naval escort. I am not at all sure that will happen.

Don't worry about the Turks. Israel isn't.

Quote:

Updated: Arab Member of Israeli Parliament Gets Death Threats on Facebook — Help Shut Down the Page

Some Israelis, who are always totally peaceful, set up a Facebook page calling for the death of the legislator interviewed by Jonathan Cook on our front page.

Please visit, scroll down a bit and on the left side, you’ll find a button to report this page. It’s in Hebrew, but select “direct threat of violence” from the pulldown menu.

 

http://www.facebook.com/pages/yrwslym/lhwzy-lhwrg-t-hk-hnyn-zwby/121725647863227?__a=18

The Kevin Neish interview is eye opening and fascinating. Everyone should listen to it. 

Polunatic2 wrote:

The Kevin Neish interview is eye opening and fascinating. Everyone should listen to it.

Yep, he pretty much explains the entire conflict through his experience on the ship.

He also comes across as a real Canadian rabble rouser too.

Gaza's Gas: 'Leviathan Find Spurts Optimism'

http://www.jpost.com/Business/BusinessNews/Article.aspx?id=177467

"We may be able to supply Europe, E. Asia.."

never forget there's gas in Gaza...

Quote:

Mr Patel said the initial assault was mounted from the water, with sound bombs, tear gas and stun grenades fired against the Mavi Marmara, but people on the vessel threw items overboard to repel the attack. Then the helicopter appeared overhead "and started using immediately live ammunition" without any warning being issued. After the first victim fell the white flag was raised, Mr Patel said, but Israeli forces continued firing and soldiers rappelled to the deck on ropes.

As the death toll mounted Mr Patel used the ship's public address system to call for a surrender. "I spoke in English very calmly and said 'we are only civilians, we surrender' and requested my colleagues to sit down in their chairs, put their hands and legs on the tables and not to make any movement." But, he said: "Despite our repeated calls the firing continued."

Link here

Now for something from the Israeli government press office that is completely fucking disgraceful, ignorant, and racist (Youtube video.)

Quote:

But the most recent video distributed on Friday by the Israeli government press office (which belongs to the Israeli prime minister's office and is responsible for accrediting foreign journalists) is distasteful and insulting to those killed and injured on the Freedom Flotilla, and quite frankly disturbing - especially since it was made by the Jerusalem Post's deputy managing editor, Caroline Glick, who also moonlights for the American Center for Security Policy in Washington, DC. (Read more about Caroline Glick and her dual role as a pro-Israeli advocate and "credible journalist" in mainstream American and Israeli media here.)

link here

Wonderful idea FM .... I may just do that if I have a few minutes free this weekend.

Yeah, I too though she was just some racist blogger ... but then again, where else should I expect for them to recruit their pro-apartheid media cronies?