Tweeter button Facebook button Youtube button

Archive | Flotilla News

Irish rugby and hurling stars call for support of flotilla ship

Today Irish rugby stars Trevor Hogan, Jerry Flannery, Gordan D’Arcy, Shane Horgan and Tipperary hurling captain Eoin Kelly have joined forces in a video pledge to raise funds for the sabotaged Irish Ship to Gaza ‘MV Saoirse to sail again.

MV Saoirse was set to sail as part of  this years ‘Freedom Flotilla 2′ but was sabotaged with a damaged prop shaft in port whilst in Turkey. Dr Fintan Lane, national coordinator of Irish Ship to Gaza, who own the vessel, said on the sabotage : “This is an appalling attack and should be condemned by all right-thinking people.  It is an act of violence against Irish citizens and could have caused death and injury.  If we had not spotted the damage as a result of a short trip in the bay, we would have gone to sea with a dangerously damaged propeller shaft and the boat would have sunk if the hull had been breached.  Imagine the scene if this had happened at nighttime.”

Trevor Hogan and Fintan Lane

He continued: “One of the most shocking aspects is the delayed nature of the sabotage.  It wasn’t designed to stop the ship from leaving its berth; instead, it was intended that the fatal damage to the ship would occur while she was at sea and this could have resulted in the deaths of several of those on board.  This was a potentially murderous act.”

Dr Lane, who was on board Challenger 1 in last year’s flotilla, said: “The Freedom Flotilla is a non-violent act of practical and humanitarian solidarity with the people of Gaza, yet Israel continues to use threats and violence to delay its sailing.  They attacked us in international waters last year; now they are attacking us in Turkish and Greek ports.  There is no line that Israel won’t cross.”

“We will not be intimidated by attacks like this — it simply highlights the aggression that the Palestinian people of Gaza have to put up with on a daily basis.  It strengthens our determination to continue until this illegal and immoral blockade is lifted.”

Follow the Irish Ship to Gaza at:
http://irishshiptogaza.org/

Posted in Flotilla News, International NewsComments (0)

UN independent panel rules Israel blockade of Gaza illegal

Israel’s naval blockade of the Gaza Strip violates international law, a panel of human rights experts reporting to a UN body said on Tuesday, disputing a conclusion reached by a separate UN probe into Israel’s raid on a Gaza-bound aid ship.

The so-called Palmer Report on the Israeli raid of May 2010 that killed nine Turkish activists said earlier this month that Israel had used unreasonable force in last year’s raid, but its naval blockade of the Hamas-ruled strip was legal.

A panel of five independent UN rights experts reporting to the UN Human Rights Council rejected that conclusion, saying the blockade had subjected Gazans to collective punishment in “flagrant contravention of international human rights and humanitarian law.”

The four-year blockade deprived 1.6 million Palestinians living in the enclave of fundamental rights, they said.

“In pronouncing itself on the legality of the naval blockade, the Palmer Report does not recognize the naval blockade as an integral part of Israel’s closure policy towards Gaza which has a disproportionate impact on the human rights of civilians,” they said in a joint statement.

An earlier fact-finding mission named by the same UN forum to investigate the flotilla incident also found in a report last September that the blockade violated international law. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says the blockade violates the Geneva Conventions.

Israel says its Gaza blockade is a precaution against arms reaching Hamas and other Palestinian guerrillas by sea.

The four-man panel headed by former New Zealand Prime Minister Geoffrey Palmer found Israel had used unreasonable force in dealing with what it called “organized and violent resistance from a group of passengers.”

Turkey has downgraded ties with Israel over the incident.

Richard Falk, UN special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories and one of the five experts who issued Tuesday’s statement, said the Palmer report’s conclusions were influenced by a desire to salve Turkish-Israeli ties.

“The Palmer report was aimed at political reconciliation between Israel and Turkey. It is unfortunate that in the report politics should trump the law,” he said in the statement.
About one-third of Gaza’s arable land and 85 percent of its fishing waters are totally or partially inaccessible due to Israeli military measures, said Olivier De Schutter, UN special rapporteur on the right to food, another of the five.

At least two-thirds of Gazan households lack secure access to food, he said. “People are forced to make unacceptable trade-offs, often having to choose between food or medicine or water for their families.”

The other three experts were the UN special rapporteurs on physical and mental health, extreme poverty and human rights, and access to water and sanitation.

Haaretz

Posted in Flotilla News, International NewsComments (0)

Irish Ship ‘MV Saoirse’ Will Sail to Gaza

Today the ‘Irish Ship to Gaza’ group have announced that their vessel MV Saoirse will again be sailing to break the ILLEGAL blockade of the coastal enclave.

MV Saoirse was set to sail as part of  this years ‘Freedom Flotilla 2′ but was sabotaged with a damaged prop shaft in port whilst in Turkey. Dr Fintan Lane, national coordinator of Irish Ship to Gaza, who own the vessel, said on the sabotage : “This is an appalling attack and should be condemned by all right-thinking people.  It is an act of violence against Irish citizens and could have caused death and injury.  If we had not spotted the damage as a result of a short trip in the bay, we would have gone to sea with a dangerously damaged propeller shaft and the boat would have sunk if the hull had been breached.  Imagine the scene if this had happened at nighttime.”

He continued: “One of the most shocking aspects is the delayed nature of the sabotage.  It wasn’t designed to stop the ship from leaving its berth; instead, it was intended that the fatal damage to the ship would occur while she was at sea and this could have resulted in the deaths of several of those on board.  This was a potentially murderous act.”

Dr Lane, who was on board Challenger 1 in last year’s flotilla, said: “The Freedom Flotilla is a non-violent act of practical and humanitarian solidarity with the people of Gaza, yet Israel continues to use threats and violence to delay its sailing.  They attacked us in international waters last year; now they are attacking us in Turkish and Greek ports.  There is no line that Israel won’t cross.”

“We will not be intimidated by attacks like this — it simply highlights the aggression that the Palestinian people of Gaza have to put up with on a daily basis.  It strengthens our determination to continue until this illegal and immoral blockade is lifted.”

Follow the Irish Ship to Gaza at:
http://irishshiptogaza.org/

Posted in Flotilla News, Gaza News, International NewsComments (0)

Erdogan: Turkey warships will escort any future Gaza aid flotilla

Turkish warships will escort any Turkish aid vessels to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said in remarks broadcast on Al Jazeera television on Thursday.

Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan

Erdogan also said that Turkey had taken steps to stop Israel from unilaterally exploiting natural resources from the eastern Mediterranean, according to Al Jazeera’s Arabic translation of excerpts of the interview, which was conducted in Turkish.
Last Saturday, Turkish officials told Hurriyet Daily News that the Turkish navy will significantly strengthen its presence in the easter Mediterranean Sea, as one of the steps the Turkish government has decided to take following the release of the UN Palmer report on the 2010 Gaza flotilla.

“The eastern Mediterranean will no longer be a place where Israeli naval forces can freely exercise their bullying practices against civilian vessels,” a Turkish official was quoted as saying.

As part of the plan, the Turkish navy will increase its patrols in the eastern Mediterranean and pursue “a more aggressive strategy”.

Haaretz

Posted in Flotilla News, International News, SolidarityComments (1)

Greece buys Israeli weapons and signs security agreement.

Under the financial pressure of EU bailouts to Greece, following their complicity in the blockade of Gaza earlier this year with the prevention of the ‘Freedom Flotilla 2′ vessels moored in Greek ports, Greece and Israel signed a security cooperation agreement. The content of the memorandum was not disclosed

Greek Defense Minister Panos Beglitis, making the first official visit by a Greek defense minister to Israel, and his Israeli counterpart, Ehud Barak, signed a cooperation memorandum on ‘security’ in Jerusalem on Sunday during the first day of Beglitis’ three-day trip.

“I come as my country’s defense minister to state our political will as a government, as well as the majority of the country’s political forces, for the two countries, the two governments, the two peoples, to work together so that we can further develop and deepen our bilateral relations in all sectors of mutual interest and concern,” Beglitis said.

The visit is part of a cooperation memorandum signed last year between Prime Minister George Papandreou and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Last week a Greek Parliament committee approved the purchase from Israel of Rafael-made Spice 1000 and 2000 bomb precision upgrade kits at a cost of $155 million for 400 systems.

Israel’s ambassador to Greece, Arie Mekel, noted the “unprecedented number of high-level visits” between Israel and Greece this year. He said the visit by Beglitis “highlights again the dramatic upgrade of the relations between Greece and Israel for the benefit of both countries.”

Beglitis clarified that his visit concerns bilateral relations with the State of Israel exclusively and is not functioning competitively with other countries in the region.

His visit comes in the wake of the release last week of the United Nations’ Palmer report which said that Israel’s naval blockade of the Gaza Strip is legal, but that Israel used excessive force when boarding the Turkish-flagged ship Mavi Marmara, leading to the deaths of nine Turkish citizens, in May 2010. Turkey has demanded an apology and, with none forthcoming, said it would ramp up sanctions against Israel.

Beglitis was scheduled to meet Monday with Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres, and also will have a private meeting with Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman. He met previously with the chief of Israel’s military, Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz.

Barak said he was pleased by the upgrading of the military and defense cooperation between Israel and Greece.

“We are seeing with satisfaction the deepening and widening of relations between us and the Greeks in all sectors, including the security sector, and we desire to see the deepening and widening of this cooperation between the governments, between the Defense Ministries and between our peoples,” Barak said.

Posted in Flotilla News, International NewsComments (1)

Turkey signals more sanctions against Israel.

Turkey’s prime minister says more sanctions against Israel could follow the expulsion of the Israel’s ambassador and suspension of military ties.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday that other Israeli diplomats order out of the country have until Wednesday to leave Turkey. Turkey also suspended military deals last week after Israel refused to apologize for the botched Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound protest flotilla that killed nine pro-Palestinian activists last year. Israel has expressed regret for the loss of lives.

Erdogan described the raid as “savagery” and accused Israel of acting like “a spoiled boy” in the region.

AP

Posted in Flotilla News, International News, SolidarityComments (0)

Give the Palmer report the contempt it deserves

On Friday, 2 September, a pro-Israeli body at the United Nations released a brazenly unbalanced report concluding that Israel’s four-year  blockade of some 1.7 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip was “legal” and  “within the barometers of international law.”

The scandalous report, dubbed as the Palmer report, also concluded that the manifestly criminal  Israeli assault on a Turkish ship carrying solidarity activists and humanitarian materials  to besieged Gazans, which occurred 18 months ago and   killed at least nine Turkish citizens and injured many others, was also legal.

The report was reportedly prepared by a group of fanatical Zionists who thought that Israel could do nothing wrong and that its victims, whether Turks or Arabs, were either terrorists or sub-humans whose lives had no sanctity whatsoever.

The obscene disregard of truth inherent in that infamous and biased document showed that professionalism and objectivity were the last things on the minds of that commission’s members.

Indeed, the victims of the Gaza siege, which ironically  is yet to be lifted, have every right under the sun  to cry out to the seventh heaven, in anger and bitterness, wondering what right  the Nazi-like entity, Israel, ever had to withhold medicine and  food supplies, fuel and  other  basic necessities from the people  of  Gaza.

To justify its murderous  and  enduring blockade, which killed ( and continues to kill) thousands of innocent  people,  including children,   and devastated the lives  of hundreds of thousands others, Israel invoked  the mantra of arms smuggling into Gaza .

However, the truth of the matter is that under the rubric of preventing the alleged smuggling  of weapons  into the coastal  enclave, Israel repeatedly demonstrated that it was hell-bent  on  starving ordinary Gazans by denying  them badly-needed medicine and  by ruining their originally meager  economy, causing  real starvation with catastrophic proportions.

In fact, some Zionist officials boasted rather gleefully and sadistically about Israel’s ability to make the people of Gaza go on a diet. Unfortunately, the sickening remarks were not prominently featured in the Jewish-controlled American and western press whose coverage of Israeli criminality fell markedly short of basic professional standards.

In the final analysis, when people, including Jews, think, behave and act like the Nazis, these people ought to be compared with the Nazis, let alone treated as the Nazis were treated.

Failing  to hold these comparisons due to “special sensitivities” such as the fear of being  branded “anti-Semitic” is both a betrayal  of  human conscience and professional standards.

Gaza is not  a state, it is  rather an impoverished and heavily-populated  coastal enclave packed  with refugees who had been forced to flee their native towns and villages  at the hands of terrorist Jewish gangs coming from  Eastern  Europe .

Israel claimed ad nauseam it left Gaza for good. However, the truth of the matter is that the Nazi-apartheid regime retained its erstwhile tight control of Gaza’s territorial water, border crossings as well as air space.

And when the Islamic  liberation movement, known as Hamas, won meticulously  internationally observed elections, Israel lost its  composure and decided to  impose draconian  sanctions encompassing  everything  entering  Gaza or  coming  out of the blockaded territory.

The criminal siege, which many courageous  international  observers compared with the Nazi siege of the  Ghetto  Warsaw during the Second  World War, was always made to  produce maximum suffering  and  pain  thanks to a never-ending series of criminal aggressions that mainly targeted innocent civilians.

Israeli leaders, most of them are actually  certified war criminals,  were  quoted on several   occasions  as saying that the targeting of  innocent  Palestinian  civilians by the Israeli  occupation army  was meant to force the civilians  to rise up against their elected government.

There is no doubt that the deliberate and planned targeting of innocent children by Israel is a criminal act. Even Israeli human rights organizations, such as B’tselem, admit that it is.

The fact,  that the whoring  press and  TV networks  in New York ,   London ,  or Montreal don’t see it this way doesn’t make the reality of Israeli  criminality any less nefarious.

A genocide or an attempted genocide doesn’t become less evil if and when perpetrated by Jews. This is what Israel’s ignorant supporters in the West ought to realize, the sooner the better.

In light,  one is prompted to treat the Palmer report with the contempt it deserves. In the final analysis, judging murder, including haphazard murder, as legal because Jews are involved is the ultimate expression of moral bankruptcy, dishonesty and maliciousness.

The same thing applies to the other conclusion about the murderous  attack on Marmara, the Turkish aid ship sailing in international waters in May 2011.  That ship was carrying peaceful activists who wanted to reach the shore of Gaza to deliver urgently-needed relief materials, including  milk, to besieged Gazans.

Yet, instead of allowing the ship to proceed to its destination unhindered, the Gestapo-like  Israeli marines ganged up on innocent  and unarmed men and women, riddling  them with bullets from all sides.

The Turks and  other activists onboard Marmara never ever posed any real threat to the Jewish Rambos. How could they possibly do that, unless we adopt the proverbial  criminal  logic that it was the victims’ heads and chests  that hit the bullets, not the other way around, which puts the blames decidedly on the  victims.!

Unfortunately,  the government of Israel resorted to hasbara and lies and stone-walling to escape  responsibility, claiming  that its soldiers’ lives were  endangered, a claim that shouldn’t be dignified by commenting  on it.

Moreover, in an effort to come out clean of this murderous obscenity,  Israel made numerous insinuations about the humanitarian organization that planned and chartered the aid voyage, calling it terrorist.

Well, the Jewish state and its numerous mouthpieces  of mendacity  would automatically call anyone giving the Palestinians a helping hand terrorist even if the  that one were Jesus Christ or Moses, the  son  of Amram.

This is their way of demonizing and  dehumanizing their victims, just as the Nazis did several decades ago.

It is really heartening that the Turkish government has decided to show Israel that Turkish blood is a red line and that Israel could no longer mobilize its Free Mason  tools in Turkey to bully the Turkish leadership to grovel before Jewish feet. These days are over.

The  reported decision to expel the Zionist ambassador from Ankara, along  with the planned   downgrading  of  security relations with the  Jewish Reich in  occupied Jerusalem, should only be the beginning  of  a new strategic approach  on the part  of  Turkey toward Israel, an approach  that must demonstrate  to Jews and non-Jews alike  that Muslims are human beings, too, and have dignity like  everyone else.

By Khalid Amayreh in Israeli-occupied Jerusalem

Palestinian Info Center

Posted in Flotilla News, Gaza News, International NewsComments (0)

Dozens of Israelis questioned at length upon landing in Turkey

Some 40 Israelis on board a Turkish Airlines flight from Tel Aviv to Istanbul were separated from the rest of the passengers upon arrival in Turkey on Monday and were questioned at length by Turkish police, marking a highly unusual event against the backdrop of a deepening diplomatic crisis between Turkey and Israel.

What will be the consequences of the Israel-Turkey crisis? Visit Haaretz.com on Facebook and share your views. Turkish police took the Israelis’ passports upon arrival and questioned each person individually in an investigations room. Only after prolonged questioning did the Israelis receive their passports back and were freed to go. Foreign Ministry officials said in response that the event is highly unusual and serious, and said that many of the Israeli passengers called the Foreign Ministry and said they felt fear during the questioning. The Foreign Ministry turned to the Turkish Foreign Ministry and demanded an explanation, however the Turks said they were not familiar with the incident. ”

At this time it looks like a local initiative of police in Istanbul, but we are still looking in to the event and mostly trying to understand what was the character of the investigation,” said a Foreign Ministry official. The recent crisis in Israel-

Turkish airlines plane – AP Turkish Airlines plane Photo by: AP

Turkey relations deepened after the UN-commissioned report on the 2010 Gaza flotilla raid was leaked to the New York Times, foiling a last-ditch effort to patch up relations between the two countries. Turkey then announced a series of measures against Israel, beginning with the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador and the downgrading of bilateral relations to the level of second secretary.

Haaretz

Posted in Flotilla News, International News, SolidarityComments (1)

Turkey expels Israeli ambassador over Gaza flotilla row

In the face of a leaked United Nations panel report on the Mavi Marmara incident, which includes accusations both against Israel and Turkey, Turkey on Friday announced that it is further reducing diplomatic relations and cutting military ties with Israel over the country’s refusal to apologize for last year’s deadly raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla.

 

Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu speaks during a news conference in Ankara on Sept. 2, 2011. Davuto?lu said on Friday Turkey was reducing its diplomatic presence in Israel and suspending military agreements after details emerged of a UN report on an Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound ship that killed nine Turks.

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu accused Israel of wasting Turkey’s efforts to normalize relations and underscored that Israel is responsible for the current situation. Stating that it is high time Israel paid the price, Davuto?lu listed a series of measures Turkey has taken at this point in time.

He stated that Turkey is downgrading its diplomatic representation in Israel from charge d’affaires to the level of second secretary, suspending all military agreements with Israel, and that Turkey will, as the country with the longest coastal line in the eastern Mediterranean, take necessary measures pertaining to freedom of navigation, lend full support to the victims of the flotilla incident in their legal efforts to seek their rights and will seek a review of the Israeli blockade of Gaza by the International Court of Justice (ICC) as Turkey does not recognize the blockade.

The New York Times said on Thursday that it obtained the copy of a 105-page UN report on the flotilla incident and that the report includes accusations both against Israel and Turkey. The report was delayed several times to provide a chance for reconciliation between Turkey and Israel, but the UN has decided to release the report on Friday after the former allies failed to bury their differences.

 

The 105-page report, which The New York Times obtained, found that Israeli commandos faced “organized and violent resistance from a group of passengers” and were therefore required to use force for their own protection. However, the report criticized Israeli soldiers for using “excessive and unreasonable” force, saying the loss of life was unacceptable and that the Israeli military’s later treatment of passengers was abusive.

 

Turkish-Israeli relations were badly damaged after Israeli naval commandos stormed the Mavi Marmara, which was carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza in breach of an Israeli naval blockade. The raid resulted in the death of nine Turkish civilians, including an American citizen. Turkey demands an official apology and compensation for the families of victims. Israel says its soldiers acted in self-defense.

 

The UN report said the findings noted that the panel did not have the power to compel testimony or demand documents, but instead had to rely on information provided by Israel and Turkey. Therefore, its conclusions cannot be considered definitive in either fact or law.

 

Israel and Turkey earlier worked out some sort of joint statement which would include Israel’s “regret” rather than apology. Turkey later rejected this and demanded a full apology. The report also recommends that Israel should make “an appropriate statement of regret” and pay compensation to the families of victims.

Posted in Flotilla News, Gaza News, International NewsComments (0)

UN report: Gaza blockade legal, Israel used excessive force

A UN report on Israel’s deadly raid against a Turkish aid ship bound for Gaza has found that the naval blockade was legal but commandos used excessive force in the May 2010 incident.

The New York Times, citing a leaked copy of the document to be released Friday, reported that it found Israel used “excessive and unreasonable force” after meeting “violent resistance” from some of the passengers.

Israel and Turkey have been in dispute over an apology for the May 31, 2010 raid in which nine Turkish activists were killed.

Former New Zealand prime minister Geoffrey Palmer led the UN-mandated investigation into the raid on the flotilla that was attempting to take aid to the Gaza Strip through an Israeli blockade.

Diplomatic relations in brink

The release of the report has been delayed several times this year. Turkey has demanded an apology for the deaths, Israel has refused and there had been no agreement on the final version of the report.

Palmer’s report recommends Israel provide Turkey “an appropriate statement of regret” and pay compensation for deaths and injuries, but neither side has accepted this formula.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Thursday on the fringes of the Libya Contact Group meeting in Paris, where she urged Turkey to prevent further deterioration of its relations with Israel, according to a report on Israel Radio.

Davutoglu had warned on Thursday that diplomats would launch “Plan B”, and referred to possible sanctions, if Israel fails to apologize when the report is published, in an interview with Turkish daily Today’s Zaman.

On Friday, Israeli daily Haaretz cited senior foreign ministry officials saying Turkey could expel Israel’s ambassador and downgrade diplomatic relations, as Israeli officials told the press that no apology would be issued.

Israeli and Turkish leaders declined to give an official comment before the UN formally releases the report.

Report finds fault on both sides

The report criticized “Israel’s decision to board the vessels with such substantial force at a great distance from the blockade zone and with no final warning immediately prior to the boarding.”

But it accused the flotilla of “acting recklessly” by attempting to breach Israel’s blockade of Gaza.

Events surrounding the deaths of nine passengers remain contested.

While the report finds “most of the deceased were shot multiple times, including in the back, or at close range” and this has “not been adequately accounted for” by Israel, it adds that forces met violent resistance from passengers requiring self-protection.

Report writers said they could not determine whether Israeli commandos used live fire before landing on the vessel, a key point of contention.

Israel and Turkey spar over conclusions

In responses from both countries included in the report, Israel and Turkey rejected its findings.

But as the leaked report emerged, the countries attempted to emphasize the conclusions seen as more favorable to their governments.

Einat Wilf, an Israeli lawmaker and member of the Knesset foreign affairs commission, told AFP the report “clearly exonerates Israel on the main issues regarding the legality of the blockade, the legality of stopping incoming ships in international waters and the existence of violence, resistance to the Israeli soldiers.”

Meanwhile, Turkish officials insisted on focusing on Israel’s refusal to apologize.

Ma’an

Posted in Flotilla News, Gaza NewsComments (0)

Israel tells US it won’t apologize to Turkey over Mavi Marmara raid

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu informed US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday that Israel will not apologize for the 2010 Gaza flotilla raid, news reports said on Wednesday, a development that is likely to dash hopes for a recovery in Turkish-Israeli ties in the foreseeable future.

 

In a telephone conversation with Clinton, Netanyahu said Israel does not intend to adopt an outline to restore its relationship with Turkey, Israeli daily Haaretz reported. “We’re firm on not apologizing,” an Israeli official was separately quoted as saying by Reuters.

The Israeli decision came days before the publication of the findings of a UN inquiry into the seizure of the flotilla ship, the Mavi Marmara, where the deaths occurred. The so-called Palmer report was repeatedly delayed to allow Israel and Turkey to try to mend fences amid concerns in Washington over the dispute between two countries that had been strategic partners in the Middle East.

Israeli officials, citing advance copies of the report, have said they have no objection to the release of the report since it would vindicate Israel’s blockade on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. The report is to be presented to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday. Ban is then expected to announce the report’s findings on the following day, according to Israeli officials.

The Israeli decision came after a report which said the United States has been pressuring Israel to apologize to Turkey over the deadly raid. Israeli diplomats in the US have recently received a communiqué from US Secretary of State Clinton stating that deterioration in Turkish-Israeli ties is harming American interests in the region, Israeli news site ynetnews.com reported earlier on Wednesday.

The US reiterated its call for an Israeli apology when Clinton met with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak during the latter’s visit to the US three weeks ago. In their meeting, she urged Barak that Israel do all that it can to end the crisis, including apologizing to the Turks.

The report said the US seeks closer ties with Turkey in view of the crisis in Syria, where the government launched a violent crackdown to crush anti-regime protests. Both the US and Turkey want an immediate end to violence and the two countries have been in close contact lately to discuss developments in Syria.

Turkish-Israeli relations deteriorated sharply after the Mavi Marmara raid and Ankara says a recovery depends on a formal Israeli apology for the bloody takeover. The Israeli Cabinet has been reportedly divided over the issue, with hawkish government members such as Vice Prime Minister Moshe Yaalon and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman categorically opposing such an apology.

“God forbid we apologize,” Yaalon said at a meeting on Tuesday. “National pride is not just something people say on the street but it has strategic significance. If [Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip] Erdo?an goes around afterwards and says that he brought us to our knees, he will appear as a regional leader in the Middle East. He won’t leave it alone, even after we apologize.”

Yaalon also noted that the Palmer committee had ruled in favor of the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip. “The Turks are not ready to accept this,” he said. “But the relationship had deteriorated even before [the flotilla raid]. This is their policy, this is what they wanted, shame on them. So I said the Palmer Report needs to be published and I hope it will be published. Afterwards, we will meet [with the Turks].”

Asked if Israel might change tack after the Palmer report’s publication, the Israeli official told Reuters: “Why would we do that? We know the report supports our position.”

Posted in Flotilla News, International News, Palestine news, SolidarityComments (1)

A voyage of discovery – Amira Hass

The glittering lights of the magical Greek island of Kastelorizo, from which we had distanced ourselves only two to three hours earlier, once again came into sight on Saturday night, July 16. For the 12 passengers on board the Karama – including crew and journalists whose presence the coast guard had permitted – the boat was too small. The French delegation in the flotilla had bought a pleasure yacht, called it “Dignite” (karame, dignity ) and turned it into a floating situation room, a sauna full of stale cigarette smoke, with eight sleeping berths without water for showering, a deafening motor and poisonous diesel fumes.

Another four “clandestine” passengers were supposed to join those officially registered, and to participate in the group experience of becoming adjusted to discomfort as an act of political rebellion. Three had jumped into the boat the moment it moved away from the pier, without the coast guard noticing. Or to be more exact – pretending not to notice. The only one remaining was the sociologist, the Greek professor Vangelis Pissias, who for mysterious reasons didn’t get his new passport on time, and had only a passport that had expired four days earlier.

Karama, gaza 'flotilla' A quiet moment on board for some of the Karama’s 12 passengers and crew.
Photo by: Amira Hass

The adventure became the goal

We returned after midnight in order to pick him up, aboard a fishing boat with a sympathetic fisherman who knew very well under which cliff on the tiny island to hide in order to evade the radar. It wasn’t easy to find them – without a flashlight, without a phone connection. Karama slowly and cautiously made its way through the dark, quiet water and turned around, a bit lost, until someone said in a loud whisper: “Here they are.” A full moon painted the outlines of the boat with a weak stripe.

“Hasamba” [a reference to an Israeli children's adventure series], said Pissias’ good friend, Dror Feiler, who almost wept when the man with the white beard walked between the shaking boat and rocking yacht. Feiler is no longer an Israeli citizen. But culture and childhood memories need no stamp of approval from the Interior Ministry. We sang the Israeli song “A fishing boat is sailing, with two masts,” and together forgot several of the rhymes, when the Karama, which had begun its journey on June 25 from Corsica, sailed (with us ) from a Cretan port on July 12. The other passengers must have found associations from their own culture in order to express some self-mockery and to put into words the contradiction of which everyone was aware: The means (a sea voyage to protest the siege of Gaza ) had turned into the end itself. The adventure had become the goal. And this boat would sail!

The island of Kastelorizo is about two miles from Turkey’s territorial waters. In 1942 and 1943, the fear of German attacks caused the flight of its inhabitants, some of whom found refuge in Gaza for several years. The idea was that there, the sympathy for Gaza and the proximity to Turkey would neutralize the tricks of Greek bureaucracy, which proved so effective in preventing the sailing of the other eight boats. That’s why it was worthwhile to invest 20 hours of sailing northeast, on a stormy sea, and to enable Pissias to negotiate with the coast guard there.

The official destination was Alexandria. The idea was to refuel there and then to continue to Gaza. That plan was abandoned out of a desire not to become involved in the sensitive political entanglements in Egypt. The 10 activists on the Karama have worked in the past year in their respective countries (France, Sweden, Greece and Canada ) to raise money from tens of thousands of people at informative meetings about the siege of Gaza, to convince trade unions to join, to interest writers and actors, to look for suitable seagoing vessels.

In the past week, they unwillingly turned into a symbol of the flotilla and into the representatives of all the hundreds of participants who didn’t sail. These hundreds, including young people who are still studying in university or looking for work, paid for the cost of the flights and the stay out of their own pockets. These hundreds were united in their frank and natural revulsion at the existence of a huge prison like the Gaza Strip. The thought that an open sea could become a prison wall gives them no rest.

There is no lack of food in Gaza

That doesn’t mean the details of the Israeli siege are clear to them. I had the impression that most of the participants knew too little. In their (mistaken ) opinion, the siege began five years ago. And in fact, a Canadian-Syrian doctor asked me in amazement, after I tried to explain something about the denial of right of movement of the Palestinians: “Do you mean to say that the closure in Gaza has been going on for 20 years”? Yes, I said, since 1991.

I explained to a Spanish actor, who had come straight from the 15-M protest encampment in Madrid, that neither Rafah nor the Israel Navy are the main barriers that must be removed to enable the Palestinians in Gaza to have the freedom of movement to which every human being is entitled. “Cutting off the natural link to the West Bank, which is 50 to 70 kilometers away, is the worst thing in terms of the lives of the residents of the Strip,” I explained to him. “The fact that Israelis exercise an almost unlimited right to move around and live between the sea and the river, while the Palestinian are dependent on a regimen of permits and prohibitions and their movement is restricted although they live in the same country – this is the essence of the closure and the demographic separation.”

In other words, concluded the Spaniard, “During the entire information campaign of the flotilla, we were talking about the wrong thing.” And with a few body movements, without words, he said: “Yallah, then I’m getting out of here.” A Danish activist seemed displeased when I exceeded my role as a journalist and said, in one of the preparatory meetings on the boat Tahrir, that it was a mistake to talk about “a humanitarian mission” in addition to a political one. How fortunate I didn’t say that all the insistence on bringing material assistance has its roots in a religious mentality of giving charity.

But I did repeat the words of my friends in Gaza: “We are not lacking food. Nor clothing and electrical appliances. Medications are lacking because of the quarrel between Ramallah and Gaza. What we lack is the freedom to come and go, to study, to manufacture and export, to go on vacation, to visit friends, to host people here. Like all human beings.”

Karama, Gaza, 'flotilla' The Karama avoided the problems faced by boats such as Tahrir by docking in Kastelorizo, an island with historical links to Gaza.
Photo by: Amira Hass

Activists from each boat were asked to send their “VIPs” to one press conference in Athens, when the depth of Greece’s commitment to preventing the sailing was not yet understood – Alice Walker from the American ship, for example, and Swedish writer Henning Mankell. The VIP from the Canadian boat Tahrir (which also had the Danish, Australian and Belgian delegations ) was Bob Lovelace – a member of the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation and formerly its chief – who has experience in struggles against the harassments of white rule and is a professor of the history of the First Nations. He is 60-years-old, and this was his first trip to Europe.

Appetite for freedom

As such he represented, for example, the Belgian doctor in his fifties who, as a young man, was ousted from the doctors’ association because his small car did not suit his prestigious status, because he distributed leftist flyers to the workers and – mainly – because he charged too little. A protest by his patients led to his reinstatement in the association.

Lovelace also represented, among others, a Canadian feminist who works in a shelter for battered women, who is an advocate for the rights of members of the First Nations and plans to run for Parliament on behalf of a Quebecois slate (she is also transsexual ); a former member of Copenhagen’s collective mayorship/leadership; a man who was a Belgian war correspondent for 25 years (“and that’s why I’m a pacifist” ); a Canadian social activist who, in the late 1980s, worked with opponents of apartheid in South Africa; and an Indian-Kashmiri born in Zambia, who was on a peace mission in Iraq with “the Christian peace teams” and was kidnapped and held for four months in captivity.

In their calculated willingness to endanger themselves, the participants in the present flotilla expressed their resistance to the diplomatic and political assistance that their governments give Israel, in order to enable the existence of the large prison called Gaza.

They didn’t reach Gaza. They still have something to learn about the siege. But in their countries and their societies, they expand the essence of democracy, as continual civic participation that is motivated by an appetite for freedom and is not satisfied with voting only. We can only hope that the ripples from there will reach the country between the river and the sea.

Haaretz

Posted in Comment, Flotilla NewsComments (0)

Categories

Related Sites

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