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  • Originally posted by Parihaka View Post
    Greece offers humanitarian aid to Gaza with U.N. assist


    The protesters from the flotilla must be spewing, their last excuse has just been taken away.
    IIRC, India has been providing both humanitarian and financial aid to Gaza through the UNRWA. The goal of these flotillas is not to provide aid to Gaza, it is to constantly bring Gaza into the limelight by breaking international laws and making news. Soon enough, they'll just come up with a more innovative way to screw around and make headlines.
    Cow is the only animal that not only inhales oxygen, but also exhales it.
    -Rekha Arya, Former Minister of Animal Husbandry

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    • French boat leaves Greek waters for Gaza

      While Greek authorities are trying to prevent a `peace flotilla` bound for Gaza from leaving port, a French vessel is reported to have left Greek waters.

      The boat is one of several attempting to make the voyage, to highlight the effect an Israeli blockade is having on Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip.

      The American captain of “The Audacity of Hope”, John Klusmire, appeared in court in Piraeus charged with trying to leave port without permission and endangering the lives of his passengers.

      His colleague Jane Hirschmann said: ‘I think they are using our captain as an example to try to prevent other captains from taking ships to Gaza from Greece. There has been enormous pressure put on Greece by both the Israeli government and the US government and that’s why this case has become so politicised.’

      A small number of demonstrators staged a sit-in at Spain’s embassy in Athens, demanding that Madrid intervene to secure clearance for their Spanish boat being held up in Crete.
      The Palestinians found the Achilles heel. Greeks can't say no to French.
      No such thing as a good tax - Churchill

      To make mistakes is human. To blame someone else for your mistake, is strategic.

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      • Here's what actually happened:

        French Flotilla Boat Eludes Greek Blockade, but Turns Back

        by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

        (Israelnationalnews.com) A small French pleasure boat carrying eight passengers eluded the Greek blockade on sailing to Gaza Tuesday morning and prepared to make the Israeli maritime embargo its next obstacle. However, the passengers then decided to turn the boat around and head back to Greece because they do not want to be the only ones sailing to Gaza.

        The IDF has said it will stop any ship trying to break the blockade that is intended to prevent the opening of the sea route for the smuggling of terrorists, weapons and explosives.

        The “Dignite al Karam,” carrying eight passengers, was the first boat to elude Greek authorities, who barred sailings to Gaza because of legal violations involved in traveling to the Hamas-controlled area to aid the terrorist organization. Pro-Hamas activists have accused Greece of collusion with Israel.

        Israeli officials said that the boat is not carrying any humanitarian aid.

        Until Tuesday morning, authorities in Greece have stopped flotilla boats from sailing beyond its territorial waters. Greece arrested the American captain of a U.S.-flagged boat on Friday, and he is to face felony charges in court Tuesday.

        Another boat tried to leave the southern Greek island of Crete Monday but was stopped and forced to turn back by the Coast Guard. Two Canadians and an Australian face charges.

        Meanwhile, a group of Arabs in Israel have given up on plans to join the flotilla. Israeli Arab leader Mohammed Didan said Monday that the flotilla’s difficulties in sailing for Gaza have convinced his group of supporters to give up boarding one of the boats.

        The Free Gaza Movement, which initiated the flotilla campaign two years ago, has denied reports that the Greek government offered to deliver their cargo to Gaza through Israeli land crossings.

        “We have not been contacted about this, either directly or through any third party,” the group’s spokeswoman Greta Berlin stated.

        “The offer, as reported, is insufficient as it shows collusion with Israel’s blockade as well as a complete disregard for Palestinian human rights, reducing the issue of Gaza and Palestine as a whole to one of humanitarian aid,” she added.

        Berlin said Free Gaza would accept a proposal for a direct sea route to Gaza to carry the cargo.
        Meddle not in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.

        Abusing Yellow is meant to be a labor of love, not something you sell to the highest bidder.

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        • Frenchmen, all they know is retreat!
          No such thing as a good tax - Churchill

          To make mistakes is human. To blame someone else for your mistake, is strategic.

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          • Originally posted by Doktor View Post
            Frenchmen, all they know is retreat!
            Careful now.

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            • I quoted dave ;)

              Anyway, what's the point to play hide and seek with the CG just come back to the port later?
              No such thing as a good tax - Churchill

              To make mistakes is human. To blame someone else for your mistake, is strategic.

              Comment


              • On Friday, heavily armed Greek forces stopped another Gaza-bound vessel, this one carrying American and Israeli activists, after it left port without authorization. Activists on board that ship were able to sail for some 25 minutes, before commandos arrived and later boarded the vessel. The boat's captain was detain and may be indicted.


                *Glad to see they started using a sensible approach to this fiasco.... Maritime Law against the Captains of those vessels. Simple, Easy and inexpensive (Except for those charged with hazzarding their ship and passengers in a declared war zone mind you).

                Then hit them in the pocketbook to get the ship returned to its owner AFTER a thorough inspection for legal ownership and ofcoarse safety. This could take days,weeks, months to sort it all out and the fees for storage etc etc etc just keep adding up.;)
                Fortitude.....The strength to persist...The courage to endure.

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                • Report Finds Naval Blockade by Israel Legal but Faults Raid

                  UNITED NATIONS — A long-awaited United Nations review of Israel’s 2010 raid on a Turkish-based flotilla in which nine passengers were killed has found that Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza is both legal and appropriate. But it said that the way Israeli forces boarded the vessels trying to break that blockade 15 months ago was excessive and unreasonable.

                  The report, expected to be released Friday, also found that when Israeli commandos boarded the main ship, they faced “organized and violent resistance from a group of passengers” and were therefore required to use force for their own protection. But the report called the force “excessive and unreasonable,” saying that the loss of life was unacceptable and that the Israeli military’s later treatment of passengers was abusive.

                  The 105-page report, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times, was completed months ago. But its publication was delayed several times as Turkey and Israel sought to reconcile their deteriorating relationship and perhaps avoid making the report public. In reactions from both governments included in the report, as well as in interviews, each objected to its conclusions. Both said they believed that the report, which was intended to help mend relations, would instead make reconciliation harder.

                  Turkey is particularly upset by the conclusion that Israel’s naval blockade is in keeping with international law and that its forces have the right to stop Gaza-bound ships in international waters, which is what happened in the 2010 episode. That conclusion oversteps the mandate of the four-member panel appointed by the United Nations secretary general and is at odds with other United Nations decisions, Turkey argued.

                  The report 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.

                  The Foreign Ministries in Turkey and Israel declined to comment publicly on the report, saying they preferred to wait for its official release. No one was available to comment in the office of the United Nations spokesman.

                  Israel considers the report to be a rare vindication for it in the United Nations. A United Nations Security Council statement at the time assailed the loss of life, and Israel faced widespread international condemnation. It thought that by offering to negotiate an agreement with Turkey that would stop the report’s publication, Turkish officials might soften their position.

                  But the two countries’ negotiations, which focused on some kind of apology from Israel and compensation for the victims — eight Turks and an American of Turkish descent — ended in failure. Israel says it is willing to express regret and pay compensation. But the Turks want a full apology. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said he believed that apologizing would demoralize Israeli citizens and broadcast a message of weakness. Aides said he might reconsider at a later date if the Turks eased their demands.

                  Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey said an apology and compensation would not be sufficient to return Turkey’s ambassador to Tel Aviv. Israel also has to end its naval blockade of Gaza, he insisted.

                  The report does recommend that Israel make “an appropriate statement of regret” and pay compensation, but the Turks say that formula does not express sufficient remorse.

                  The United Nations investigation into the events on the ship, the Mavi Marmara, which was sailing under a Turkish flag and was the largest of six vessels that were commandeered by Israeli commandos on May 31, 2010, was led by Sir Geoffrey Palmer, a former prime minister of New Zealand. He was aided by Álvaro Uribe, a former president of Colombia, along with one representative from Israel and another from Turkey.

                  The report takes a broadly sympathetic view of Israel’s sea blockade of Gaza.

                  “Israel faces a real threat to its security from militant groups in Gaza,” the report says in its opening paragraphs. “The naval blockade was imposed as a legitimate security measure in order to prevent weapons from entering Gaza by sea and its implementation complied with the requirements of international law.”

                  The report is hard on the flotilla, asserting that it “acted recklessly in attempting to breach the naval blockade.” It said that while a majority of the hundreds of people aboard the six vessels had no violent intention, that could not be said of the I.H.H. Humanitarian Relief Foundation, the Turkish aid group that primarily organized the flotilla. It said, “There exist serious questions about the conduct, true nature and objectives of the flotilla organizers, particularly I.H.H.”

                  It also said that the Turkish government tried to persuade the organizers to avoid an encounter with Israeli forces, but that “more could have been done.”

                  Regarding the boarding of the ship, the Palmer committee said Israel should have issued warnings closer to the moment of action and should have first turned to nonviolent options.

                  The report assailed Israel for the way in which the nine passengers were killed and others were injured. “Forensic evidence showing that most of the deceased were shot multiple times, including in the back, or at close range has not been adequately accounted for in the material presented by Israel,” it says. The report does, however, acknowledge that once on board the commandos had to defend themselves against violent attack. The report also criticizes Israel’s subsequent treatment of the passengers, saying it “included physical mistreatment, harassment and intimidation, unjustified confiscation of belongings and the denial of timely consular assistance.”

                  Like so many elements of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the events on the Mavi Marmara produced two competing narratives, each full of self-justification and contempt for the other.

                  An official Israeli investigation found not only that Israel’s naval blockade was legal but that everything done by Israel, from the actions of its commandos to the treatment of the passengers afterward, was honorable and appropriate. The flotilla organizers, it said, included 40 members of a “hard-core group” who were not properly checked before boarding in Turkey.

                  A Turkish investigation came to precisely the opposite conclusion. It asserted that the blockade was illegal in all aspects, amounting to collective punishment of the Palestinians of Gaza. It said all of the people on board were civilians, all had been checked out and were unarmed and therefore subject to protection from any invasion under international humanitarian law.

                  The Turks also concluded that Israeli commandos used live fire before landing, leading to death and injury; the Israelis said they had not. The Palmer committee said it was unable to determine who was right.

                  Those critical of Israeli actions toward Gaza have viewed the blockade that began officially in January 2009 as part of a siege imposed by Israel on Gaza after Hamas took full control there in 2007. That siege, which has eased considerably in the past year, prevented the movement of most goods and people.

                  But the Palmer committee said that while it had concerns about that policy and urged that it be loosened further, it saw the naval blockade as a purely security-oriented tool that had been imposed to stop weapons from arriving in Gaza by sea. It also expressed strong concern about the thousands of rockets and mortar shells fired into Israel from Gaza in recent years. It said that because Gaza’s port could not handle large ships, a naval blockade had little impact on the supply of civilian goods
                  In the realm of spirit, seek clarity; in the material world, seek utility.

                  Leibniz

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                  • IMO, A fair and acceptable report. It shows both sides with a measure of questionable guilt but still found that the blockade was fair and the flow of goods has not been effected but yet the weapons have been from the sea.
                    Fortitude.....The strength to persist...The courage to endure.

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                    • Yeah, I think PM Palmer has done a good job, certainly quite a bit better than as PM.
                      In the realm of spirit, seek clarity; in the material world, seek utility.

                      Leibniz

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                      • Pretty much the same conclusion we came to over a year back

                        Good job :)

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                        • I wonder where Dubi is and what he has to say about this...
                          Meddle not in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.

                          Abusing Yellow is meant to be a labor of love, not something you sell to the highest bidder.

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                          • Originally posted by bigross86 View Post
                            I wonder where Dubi is and what he has to say about this...
                            Hey 20th September is due date. What happened. No Dubi, no celebration in Ramallah and East Jerusalem. What happened?
                            No such thing as a good tax - Churchill

                            To make mistakes is human. To blame someone else for your mistake, is strategic.

                            Comment


                            • JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel's navy boarded two protest boats trying to break the blockade of the Gaza Strip on Friday and towed them to an Israeli port just north of the Palestinian territory, officials said.

                              The military said forces boarded the boats after repeated calls for them to turn around were ignored. The boarding was done peacefully and nobody was hurt, the military said.

                              It was the latest attempt by pro-Palestinian activists heading for Gaza by boat to draw attention to a 5-year-old blockade of the impoverished coastal strip that critics say amounts to collective punishment of its residents. Israel says its naval blockade is vital in preventing weapons from reaching violent groups like Hamas, the Iranian-backed militant group that rules the Gaza Strip.

                              Once the vessels reach the port of Ashdod, the activists will be questioned by police and immigration officials and then sent back to their home countries as soon as possible, said Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld.


                              There were 27 activists from nine different countries including the U.S. and Ireland aboard the boats.

                              In Gaza, activist Amjad Shawwa, called for the release of the activists, who he said "were on a civil trip to Gaza to help the Palestinians."

                              Israel sees the attempts to break the sea blockade as provocations and publicity stunts. It says the amount of aid in the small boats used by activists is insignificant, as Israel transfers aid to Gaza daily.

                              Shawwa said he had spoken with activists onboard the boats about an hour before they were boarded, when they were surrounded by Israeli naval vessels. But contact was later severed when the activists' satellite phones stopped working. It was not clear if Israel was jamming them.

                              The Israeli military issued a short video clip showing a naval official calling on the ships to turn around. "The Gaza area and coastal region are closed to maritime traffic as part of a blockade imposed for security purposes," the unidentified officer said.

                              "Your attempt to enter the Gaza Strip by sea is a violation of international law. We remind you that humanitarian supplies can be delivered to the Gaza Strip by land, and you are welcome to enter Ashdod port and deliver supplies through land crossings."

                              Israel's navy has intercepted similar protest ships in the past.

                              Last year, Israeli troops killed nine Turkish pro-Palestinian activists when they resisted an Israeli operation to halt a similar flotilla. Each side blamed the other for the violence.

                              Israel has said its troops fired live ammunition only after they were attacked by activists armed with knives, clubs and metal bars and they felt their lives were in danger. The activists say they were attacked first.

                              The incident sparked an international outcry and forced Israel to ease its land blockade on Gaza, which was imposed in 2006 and tightened, with Egyptian cooperation, after Hamas seized control of the territory the following year.

                              Militants in Gaza have fired thousands of rockets into Israel in the past decade, and now have much of southern Israel in range. Gaza militants fired dozens of rockets at residential areas in southern Israel last Saturday, killing one Israeli and injuring several others.

                              Speaking after prayers at a Gaza City mosque, Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas prime minister, addressed the passengers aboard the boats, saying, "Your message has been delivered whether you make it or not."

                              "The siege is unjust and must end," Haniyeh said.

                              iWon News - Israeli navy boards 2 protest boats bound for Gaza
                              Fortitude.....The strength to persist...The courage to endure.

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                              • Originally posted by Dreadnought View Post

                                Israel sees the attempts to break the sea blockade as provocations and publicity stunts. It says the amount of aid in the small boats used by activists is insignificant, as Israel transfers aid to Gaza daily.
                                Israel sees the blockade runners as a serious threat. A 12' skiff with a single MRE as aid to be delivered must at least be attempted to get stopped or the entire blockade becomes illegal under customary international law. One of the requirements for blockade legality is they must be enforced. Only hospital ships and other clearly designated humanitarian vessels with very narrow confines are allowed past a blockade.

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