Gaza Flotilla Stormed by Israel, Part 6

al-Qa'bong wrote:

Quote:

Defending the blockade is an indefensible position as far as I am concerned. The blockade of Gaza is collective punishment, and it is a systematic attempt to crush an entire people.

 

I find the term "collective punishment" strange.

What have Palestinians done, other than to be born in a land that God promised someone else, to deserve punishment?

Herm... I thought "collective punishment" was a pretty standard term. As far as I understand it, and I'm sure I'll be corrected, it refers to the concept that to in response to things like rockets, suicide bombings, Hamas in general, Israel punishes the entire population of Gaza. It is a reprehensible concept for the very reason you note, because they have done nothing to deserve it. If I have used the term incorrectly please let me know.

I wasn't being sarcastic.  Who the hell has the right to think they can "punish" Palestinians?  Is Israel their Dad?

Actually I don't think anybody thinks that collective punishment is anything but evil.  The phrase itself is descriptive so your choice of the adjective strange confused the meaning of your post for me.  Since it is a common term I got confused as to which of the other meanings of strange you meant.

The Democracy Now interview and some of this footage from the Mavi Marmara was posted earlier, but I think it is worth repeating.

http://www.culturesofresistance.org/gaza-freedom-flotilla

al-Qa'bong wrote:

Quote:

Defending the blockade is an indefensible position as far as I am concerned. The blockade of Gaza is collective punishment, and it is a systematic attempt to crush an entire people.

I find the term "collective punishment" strange.

What have Palestinians done, other than to be born in a land that God promised someone else, to deserve punishment?

Precisely. That's why it's a crime against humanity/war crime.

It's Official: According to Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there was no humanitarian aid on Mavi Marmara.

Gil Ronen wrote:

The MFA noted that:

The equipment does not constitute humanitarian aid in the accepted sense (basic foodstuffs, new and functional equipment, fresh medicines).

The humanitarian aid on the four cargo ships was scattered in the ships' holds and thrown onto piles and not packed properly for transport. The equipment was not packaged and not properly placed on wooden bases. Because of the improper packing, some of the equipment was crushed by the weight in transit.

The medicines and sensitive equipment (operating theater equipment, new clothing, etc.) are being kept in cool storage at the Defense Ministry base. Some of the medicines had already expired, and some will expire soon. The operating theater equipment, which should be kept sterile, was carelessly wrapped. A large part of the equipment, particularly shoes and clothing, was used and worn. (IsraelNationalNews.com)

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/137997

It will be interesting to see what Turkish and Cypriot authorities and Freedom Flotilla humantiarian members reaction will be.

Israel, Egypt, Quartet Discuss Alternatives to Gaza Blockade

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/israel-egypt-pa-and-quartet-di...

"Israel, Egypt, the international Quartet of Mideast mediators and the Palestine Authority have held talks in recent days to try to open further crossings into the Gaza Strip. This regime would supplant the current blockade enforced by Israel and Egypt.."

Protestors in South Korea great Peres with cries of 'Killer!'

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/protestors-in-south-korea-gree...

"Dozens of pro-Palestinian protestors in South Korea greeted visiting President Shimon Peres with cries of 'killer' yesterday...Meanwhile, Peres cancelled his planned trip to Vietnam at Hanoi's request.."

Bagis: NATO fleet could end Gaza Blockade

http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/news-212769-102-bagis-nato-fleet-could...

"Egemen Bagis, Turkey's chief EU negotiator, has proposed sending a NATO fleet to end an Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip...Asked if this might involve a NATO attack on Israeli vessels enforcing the blockade, he said, 'There needs to be no attack'..."

Here's a good summary of what we know so far, and what has happened, from a critical perspective:

http://www.tribunemagazine.co.uk/2010/06/07/the-idfs-charm-offensive-not...

The IDF's charm offensive: not much charm, but a lot of offensive

Israel's propaganda about the Gaza flotilla is aimed at delegitimising the activists
by Keiron Monks and Nicolas Helm Grovas
Monday, June 7th, 2010

Before civilian blood hit the deck of the ill-fated Mavi Marmara, the Israeli government, IDF and right-wing press had already launched their PR offensive.

The propaganda battle had begun the previous Friday with official statements characterising the activists as violent terrorist sympathisers. To steal a word from Israeli military jargon, such statements were directed at 'delegitimising' the flotilla's passengers, who, stripped of their rights as people, could now expect the brutality routinely directed at Israel's perceived enemies.

Phase two followed on Monday before the attack. Media and communication channels from the boats were scrambled, preventing all but one Al-Jazeera journalist from broadcasting live footage. Mobile phones were later jammed for the duration of the attack. Phones and laptops were confiscated and remain impounded.

As reports of the massacre hit the wires, prompting outrage around the world, the navy revealed their version of events. At this time there could be no contradiction, as all activists and journalists were being quietly herded to Ashdod without means of communication to the outside world.

Before they arrived stories of the lynch mob had been widely disseminated. Foreign Ministry Deputy Danny Ayalon terrified the world's media that morning, announcing the aid flotilla was in fact an "armada of hate and violence in support of the Hamas terror organization. The organizers are well-known for their ties to Global Jihad, Al-Qaeda and Hamas. They have a history of arms smuggling and deadly terror." Israeli PM Binyamin Netanyahu continued in the same vein, "they were mobbed, they were clubbed, they were beaten, stabbed, there was even a report of gunfire. Our soldiers had to defend themselves".

The IDF information channels were full of accounts from the real victims, Israeli commandos. One frightened young man, still in a state of shock and disbelief reported "we came to talk, but they came to fight". One Naval Special Forces Commander stated on Tuesday that "there were terrorists who wanted to kill us. I cannot explain it any other way." Meanwhile a steady stream of videos was released by the IDF to bolster their story. 13 videos have been uploaded to the their YouTube channel.

Meanwhile journalists not on the flotilla have been banned from entering the interrogation facility at Ashdod port. The Independent reports IDF officials fanned out through the crowd of reporters outside and on Jonah's Hill overlooking the facility, recounting the military's version of events.

But for all the speed and efficiency with which the military built their defence, holes began to emerge. First the Free Gaza movement released a statement that "under darkness of night, Israeli commandoes dropped from a helicopter onto the Turkish passenger ship, and began to shoot the moment their feet hit the deck."

This is confirmed by video reports from journalists aboard the flotilla during the attack, who detail the use of teargas and stun grenades as well as live ammunition, making no mention of violence from the activists. Al Jazeera confirmed that Israeli commandos continued to fire even when a white flag had been raised. IDF claims that passengers used live rounds were not backed up by any independent sources aboard the ship.

Report of live fire against the army initially suggested the ships' passengers were armed. The IDF later admitted this was untrue, subsequently claiming two handguns had been taken from soldiers and used against them. This morning the IDF released a video of soldiers taking fire "from all directions". The video does not show the origin of the shots, but the volume generated is clearly incompatible with two hand guns. The dialogue between two soldiers is a little too on message.

Scaling down the claims of live fire, army spokesmen have taken to broadcasting pictures of the tools found aboard. Among them are bags of marbles and an angle grinder, allegedly a weapon "used to saw off metal railings used to hit soldiers". Little to suggest the ensuing massacre was a proportional response. Stretching credibility, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Yigal Palmor told us "we havent inspected the ship yet", despite soldiers turning up any object that could conceivably have been used in violence, including parts of the ship itself. Palmor suggested more serious weapons could yet be found, recalling memories of Saddam's WMDs. Palmor was unwilling to contradict the claims of 'Free Gaza' activists that "every item on board each ship had been inspected by port authorities and manifests issued".

The focus now is on establishing links between global terror networks and the flotilla. To this end most of the attention has been directed toward the Turkish humanitarian group IHH, drawing on the supposedly independent NGO 'Intelligence and Information Centre', which is funded and staffed by army officials. The group have published a report in which Danish security services accuse the IHH of funding terrorist groups.

Given that the Afghan groups referred to have taken funding from a colourful array of sources (the White House and Downing Street) and that Hamas has itself been funded by Israel in the 1980s against the Palestinian Authority, it would be unwise to dismiss these claims out of hand. But even the Danish report describes only a fractional minority of the IHH to have any links whatsoever with these groups. Given that IHH members made up a small percentage of the Mavi Marmara's 600 passengers, which included hundreds of unaffiliated citizens from dozens of other nations, Palmor's claim "terror elements were not a minority" is poorly founded. When asked if he believed the flotilla intended to supply arms to Hamas he commented "that is the reason we were concerned. They are establishing a supply line to Hamas. If there were not weapons on this ship, they will be on the next one." So pity the Rachel Corrie, still en route to Gaza, carrying such dubious individuals as Nobel peace prize winner Mairead Maguire and former UN diplomat Denis Halliday.

Smearing of the IHH has been undermined by today's debunking of another piece of army fiction. The IDF had claimed the five ships other than the Mavi Marmara were re-directed peacefully. Greek activist Dimitris Gielalis from the Sfendoni vessel disagrees, "they came up and used plastic bullets, we had beatings, we had electric shocks, any method we can think of, they used". Similar accounts have emerged from the other ships.

Within Israel chinks have emerged in the united front. While Netanyahu and Barak have praised their armed forces, dissenting Knesset members have made their voices heard "The crimes of the pirate government in killing some of the sail's participants put the government beyond international and human law. Tyrants like Bibi and Barak will find themselves in the suitable place in the garbage can of history", said MK Barake of the Democratic Front for Peace and Equality. Even the staunch nationalists of the Jerusalem Post agreed the navy had "erred strikingly" and would now be "overwhelmed in the media". MK Haneen Zoubi, on board the Mavi Maria reported "the army wanted many deaths to terrorise us".

As facts emerge from those onboard the flotilla, more holes are shot through the official version of events. As the façade crumbles, the cover up grows more obvious. Israel may finally be held to account for its crimes. This time it wont go away.

Video testimony from witnesses and victims from the flotilla

Among other atrocities such as severe beatings of women and men in detention (actually, not detained - kidnapped, let's not forget), witnesses and victims say that the Israelis shot people from the Mavi Marmora IN THE FEET when they landed on the ship.

Then three days later, when they deported these people, they weren't even given a change of clothing -- they were deported in the same bloody clothing and they forced them to hobble on SHOT FEET, without crutches or wheelchairs to the plane.  Anyone attempting to help the victims walk were screamed at and beaten.

Purity of arms all right.  Steal their money, steal their cameras and footage, beat them, torture them, and humiliate them.  Real heroes.

Obama Defends Israel as Tactical Shift Prepared on Gaza

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2010/jun2010/gaza-j11.shtml

"Abbas visit to Washington was yet another demonstration of his abject servility; his priority in the aftermath of the Mavi Marmara massacre has been to exploit the situation for his own purposes, urging a shift on Gaza to bolster Fatah's standing against Hamas.."

US-Turkish Tensions and the Israeli Assault on the Gaza flotilla

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2010/jun2010/turk-j11.shtml

"Ankara's emergence as a major economic power over the past decade has deepened its conflicts with the US and Israel. Afraid of the domestic political consquences of supplying US and Israeli wars, Ankara also finds them harmful to its attempts to develop economic and strategic relations in the Middle East.."

State Department: U.S. is no longer backing international probe of aid ship attack:

Jason Ditz wrote:

The Obama Administration has formally abandoned its public calls for an international probe of the Israeli attack on a Gaza-bound aid ship, insisting that reports that they were still in favor of it were false.

"We support an Israel led investigation and we are open to potential ways in which the international community can participate in that," insisted Philip Crowley, State Department spokesman.

11 days ago when the world was still reeling from the attack on the civilian aid ship, President Obama had made vague calls to reserve judgement until an international probe into the killings could take place. By this week, he was already making it clear that he was going to make sure that such a probe would not question the Israeli killings at all, but would instead focus on digging up dirt on the aid workers.

http://news.antiwar.com/2010/06/11/state-dept-us-no-longer-backing-inter...

The Assault on the Mavi Marmara and International Law

http://currentaffairsmonitor.blogspot.com/2010/06/attack-on-gaza-flotill...

"In rejecting UN and EU proposals for an independent inquiry into the Gaza Flotilla incident, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that 'it would create a problematic precedent.' It would indeed: the dangerous notion that Israel is accountable to the international community and is subject to international law as the rest of the world defines it...

There is only one rule of International Law applicable to Israel, a rule established by the persistent, deliberate and knowing 'customary practice of Nations', and backed by an endless succession of lawyers: the rule that Israel is exempt from international law. No other State is so authorised to argue entirely opposite principles of law in the same case, as to argue that black is white and white is black.

As a result of 60 years of condoned illegalities, of flagrant violations aided and abetted, one piled on top of the other, every concept or precept of international law relating to war, sovereignty and human rights in relation to the Middle East conflict has now been corrupted and deranged beyond meaning.

No international lawyer can now define what Palestine or the Palestinians are as a legal entity. It is impossible to determine if Israel and Palestine are in a state of armed conflict. The terms 'State', 'belligerent', 'territory', or 'blockade' have no meaning or can mean anything. The hopeless wreckage that is Gaza today well illustrates the wreckage that is international law. Israel, with the connivance of the West, has obliterated the legal content of every single concept of international law that might possibly assist the Palestinians.

This is the legal corollary of its attempt to obliterate the Palestinians from History. The attack on the Mavi Marmara is a turning point, not because of its blatant criminality or brutality, but because for the first time, many NATO powers have come to realise that Israel's impunity and immunity threatens Western interests and that it is necessary to re-assert international law.."

Witnesses: Jerusalem man shot at point-blank range

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=291342

"Ziad Al-Julani, 38 was shot and killed after he allegedly failed to stop at a checkpoint in the Whadi Joz neighborhood in the occupied part of the city. According to testimony compiled by the Jerusalem Center for Social and Economic Rights, an initial shot knocked Al-Julani to the floor, after which Israeli Special Forces 'fired shots in the face and abdomen at close range.' Others told the center the shooter was seen dancing beside the body and cheering 'I killed an Arab, I killed an Arab'. The center called on Israeli authorities to investigate.."

Hebron: Child Hospitalized After Being Attacked by Israeli Soldiers

http://www.imemc.org/article/58916

"Palestinian medical services in Hebron in the southern part of the West Bank, reported on Saturday evening that a 10-year-old child was hospitalized after being violently attacked and beaten by Israeli soldiers..."

Schumer's Sippenhaftung and the Children of Gaza

http://www.juancole.com/2010/06/schumers-sippenhaftung-and-the-children-...

"Schumer accuses the Gazans of not 'recognizing' Israel, which is sort of like accusing the pelicans in the Gulf of not 'recognizing' BP.."

Breaking News; 'Turkey To Take Central Role in Supervising Gaza Crossings'

http://australiansforpalestine.com/23928

"Turkey could be given a central role in supervising the border crossing of the Gaza Strip as part of a deal to repair ties between Israel and Turkey, according to Arab diplomatic sources cited by the Lebanese Ad-Diyer newspaper on Saturday...According to the report, Turkey would supervise all humanitarian aid entering Gaza, as well as commit to preventing the entry of weapons and money destined for Hamas.."

Agent666 wrote:

http://en.fgulen.com/press-room/columns/3614-fethullah-gulen-sends-condo...

The Turkish Islamists are the ones behind the 'Floatullah'. This was a flaming bag of dog crap laid out for the IDF to stomp on and--paranoid hotheads that they are--they took the bait. This embarassed the Turkish Military, with its close ties to Israel, which is the last bastion of Kemalism in Turkey. Now, Fethullah Gülen gets to pretend to be a peacemaker, as he pulls the strings from the U.S.

The conditions of Gaza's population are truly appalling, but people who are taking the motives of this Turkish-backed 'aid' mission at face value are being suckered in. This isn't about relieving the suffering of people living under the blockade, but who ends up running Turkey.

Tell that to the peace activists on the Mavi Marmara, those who were murdered in this unjustifed atrocity and their families and loved ones.

Agent666 wrote:

The Turkish Islamists are the ones behind the 'Floatullah'.

Besides not even providing one iota of evidence, the sentence itself was one big racist piece of garbage.

If you're going to bullshit, do it without being a racist.

Isaelie Attack on the Mavi Marmara , Raw Footage

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwsMJmvS0AY

Abu Mazen is a US/Zionist puppet.  Don't expect very much.

No Yards--what's 'racist' about pointing out that Fethullah Gülen (an Islamist organization, the head of which lives in the U.S.) has taken control of the Turkish State, and is probably the benefactor behind that convoy of ships. This mess was the last nail in the coffin for the Kemalist Turkish Military, which is currently the only institution in the country supporting Israel (and not in Gülen's control). And I'm not defending the actions of the IDF. The Israeli Military is brash and trigger-happy, to say the least, which is probably what the people who organized this floatilla were hoping for: a shoot-first, ask questions later diplomatic disaster. It's sad that people died, most of whom were probably pacifists with the best of intentions. However, the machinations behind this had little to do with the plights of people in Gaza.

Here's some more info on Fethullah Gülen:

http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC06.php?CID=1430

http://theglobalrealm.com/2010/06/08/fethullah-gulens-cave-of-wonders-ga...

Trauma Expert Wentz: Systematic Dehumanization in Gaza

http://www.savegaza.eu/eng/index.php?id=390

"Trauma is a way of life in Gaza,' says Sonya Wentz, an American mental health professional who was in the beseieged Strip recently to support Palestinian professionals who are trying to help Gazans cope with daily and continuous  trauma. As someone who has worked with trauma treatment in Croatia and Uganda, she thinks that the systematic dehumanization in Gaza is unique.."

Agent666 wrote:

And I'm not defending the actions of the IDF. The Israeli Military is brash and trigger-happy, to say the least, which is probably what the people who organized this floatilla were hoping for: a shoot-first, ask questions later diplomatic disaster. It's sad that people died, most of whom were probably pacifists with the best of intentions.

You're not defending the IDF, and yet you blame the victims for the atrocities.

Am I the only one who sees a contradiction here?

"The Turkish Islamists" is a breathtaking overgeneralization that actually doesn't mean much. Most Turks are Muslim; does that mean that any Turk who becomes politically active is an "Islamist," whatever that is?

The Kemalists are indeed a shrinking elite, and deservedly so. It's easy to manipulate Western progressives who don't know Turkish history by telling them that the Kemalists are "secularists," which they are -- much as Stalin was. Very much as Stalin was. They are also viciously nationalist, xenophobic, and socially repressive. It's the Kemalists who haul novelists and poets and historians into court for "shaming" Turkey by mentioning the Armenian genocide in their writing, eg. It's the Kemalists who hate Erdogan for working towards membership in the EU. Erdogan is a genuinely progressive political leader in a very tough spot, and his steadiness over the last few years has been admirable.

I know little about Gulen, but I think it's just naive to imply that he or any other individual controls any other politician in Turkey who happens to be Muslim. That kind of claim only works on people who haven't bothered to learn their foreign policy and are running on North American social prejudices.

-=+=- wrote:

White House okays inquiry headed by former Israeli supreme court judge, with two international observers from Canada and North Ireland.  The international observers will not have voting rights.

 

Watkin was a JAG, which may be ok -- very by-the-book no-nonsense, and he has a history of objecting when something smells fishy. Trimble was an Ulster Unionist who shared a Nobel because he joined in the peace process. I wouldn't have picked anyone who ever led an Orange parade, but then they didn't ask me. I dunno: maybe he's ok.

And as you say, they don't get to vote anyway. Perhaps Watkin will put his observations on record though; he's done that before.

Frustrated Mess wrote:

I guess General Custer is still unavailable.

Apart from that, Mrs Lincoln, did you enjoy the play?

Footage Proves Indiscriminate Israeli live fire at Mavi Marmara Passengers in Gaza Flotilla

http://aliabunimah.posterous.com/20299014

"The one hour long raw footage released by the Cultures of Resistance Foundation (COR) of the 31 May Israeli attack aboard the Mavi Marmara shows clear evidence of indiscriminate Israeli fire aboard the ship..."