Netanyahu and Son Investigated for Using False Passport, Money Laundering Via Panama Account

July 16, 2016, Tikun Olam-תיקון עולם http://www.richardsilverstein.com (USA)

By Richard Silverstein*

Winston Churchill said after one of the earliest Allied victories during WWII: this is not the end, not even the beginning of the end.  Rather it’s the end of the beginning.  I think we’re more advanced in the case of Netanyahu.  We may have just entered the beginning of the end of his seemingly endless reign over Israeli politics.

Israeli social media has lit up with news of a new investigation of Bibi Netanyahu, his son Yair, and the PMO’s former chief of staff, Ari Harow.  This story has not yet been reported by an Israeli mainstream publication and

Erdogan trahit Gaza en échange de gaz "israélien"

29/06/2016, Tlaxcala http://www.tlaxcala-int.org (Mexico)

Tlaxcala, the international network of translators for linguistic diversity

Richard Silverstein

Translated by  Dominique Muselet

Ces derniers jours, les médias israéliens et internationaux ont annoncé à coup de grand titres ronflants que la Turquie et Israël s’apprêtaient à renouer leurs relations diplomatiques rompues après que les commandos de marine israéliens eurent assassiné 10 citoyens turcs (dont un citoyen US) sur le Mavi Marmara en 2010.

Le froid entre les deux pays avait interrompu le commerce et la coopération militaire israélienne avec l’une des plus grandes et les plus influentes nations musulmanes de la région. Avant le massacre, la Turquie et l’armée d’Israël organisaient des

ESKERRIK ASKO, ESTELLE

14 noviembre 2012, Rebelión http://www.rebelion.org (México)

Begoña Zabala González

El día 19 de octubre pasado, varias embarcaciones de la Armada (!! y tan armada!!) del Estado de Israel, abordaban al velero Estelle, de la III Flotilla de la libertad, Rumbo a Gaza, en aguas internacionales, exactamente a 25 millas de Gaza, el objetivo final de la larga y solidaria andadura del barco, que la inició en el mes de abril en aguas suecas.

Había precedentes muy graves, y había amenazas e intimidaciones abundantes para que se desistiera del proyecto. Ahora mismo se está celebrando un juicio en Estambul por el abordaje sufrido en el año 2010, contra el Mavi Marmara. No solamente fue un abordaje ilegal: mataron a 9 personas y resultaron numerosos heridos. Laura Arau, participante de esa expedición y de la del Estelle nos relató aquella cruenta agresión.

El velero Estelle cumplió su misión con toda la dignidad que le cabía y la entereza de la que dio gala durante la travesía. Hubo resistencia, no se acataron las órdenes por ilegales e injustas, además de infractoras del Derecho internacional y del Derecho Humanitario. Pero, una vez más, la fuerza de las armas y la prepotencia e impunidad de un Ejército acostumbrado a avasallar y pasar por encima de los derechos de las personas y de los pueblos, remolcó al velero hasta el puerto de Asdhott, en terreno israelí. Con él, las 30 personas que íbamos dentro, fuimos transportadas de forma obligatoria a su territorio, para ser expulsadas después de unas interminables 30 horas, acusadas -oh! contradicción- de estar en el territorio sin autorización para ello. !Sin autorización y sin voluntad, íbamos a Gaza y nos secuestraron!

Esta información es bastante conocida. Ahora me gustaría contar algunas cosas que son menos conocidas, más difíciles de ver a primera vista y que me han llamado a la reflexión.

La vuelta a “casa” fue una alegría incomparable. Los recibimientos, las felicitaciones, los “ongi etorri”, los buenos deseos, las declaraciones de amor, incluso, no paraban de sucederse. Puedo decir que me siento abrumada dentro de la emoción que me palpitaba. Y entre tantas manifestaciones, se repetían las preguntas y enhorabuenas: “gracias por haber ido”, “felicidades por la valentía”, “vaya miedo que has tenido que pasar”, e incluso el cariñoso “quién te mandará ir a estas aventuras!!!”. Por encima de todos estos comentarios, la clave, seguramente, del proyecto solidario: “os seguíamos todo el tiempo, estábamos pendientes de vuestro viaje, cuánta gente ha llamado para darte ánimos”. El sentimiento de la compañía, de la solidaridad, del seguimiento de la gente, es lo que, sin duda nos ayudó en esta resistencia.

No ha sido mucho tiempo el que ha durado este viaje, y en el propio barco, solo estuve cuatro días y medio. Pero sí, fueron días de una intensidad impresionante y se correspondían con la intensidad del recibimiento. En el intento de contestar a las preguntas que me han realizado he ido articulando un relato, muchas veces salpicado de anécdotas y sucedidos de tono divertido, para relajar la agresión, que dejan claras dos conclusiones importantes: ha sido una de las agresiones más violentas que he vivido “in situ” en mi vida, y, por otro lado, es una de las experiencias más bonitas y solidarias en las que he estado. Y a pesar de que el final estaba cantado, -no llegaríamos a Gaza-, creo que la finalidad y el objetivo se han cumplido ampliamente.

La pregunta obligada es la del sentimiento del miedo en un momento de una agresión tan grave, y más, por lo esperada y conocida. El miedo era una hipótesis dada. La violencia, también. Sabíamos que iba a suceder un abordaje y sabíamos que iba a ser con violencia extrema. ¿Cómo responder? Obviamente, la respuesta, era de resistencia pacífica y no violenta. Sin otra finalidad que remarcar únicamente nuestra finalidad y objetivos. Estábamos haciendo una acción solidaria y humanitaria. El abordaje, en aguas internacionales era a todas luces ilegal. Esto lo transmitían nuestras consignas, coreadas en inglés, frente a los soldados que nos rodearon, primero, y nos abordaron y agredieron después: “Estamos en aguas internacionales”, “El Mediterráneo es nuestro libre mar”, “Desobedeced los mandatos del Estado”, “Nosotras estamos en paz, vosotros hacéis la guerra”....

Juntos, pegados unos a otros, se trataba de tomar una posición en el barco y resistir, los embites de los soldados. Queríamos impedir que subiesen al puente y a la cabina y se hiciesen con el mando del barco, ya que era obvio que no se iban a obedecer por parte de la tripulación sus órdenes de desviar el barco de su rumbo a Gaza. Para lograr esta pírrica victoria de desviar el barco tuvieron que utilizar sus violentos medios, incluso la agresión física mediante las pistolas de descargas eléctricas. El previo intimidatorio, que duró cerca de una hora, antes de la invasión del barco por parte de unos cincuenta efectivos bastante armados, nos sirvió, contra todo pronóstico, para tranquilizar nuestros cuerpos y hacerlos resistentes dentro del evidente nerviosismo. Sin mucho esfuerzo consiguieron rendir a una treintena de activistas que no teníamos más armas que nuestras palabras, nuestra razón y abundante solidaridad.

No puedo dejar de mencionar cuáles fueron mis armas particulares y propias. Se trataba de que, dentro de la estrategia de la resistencia colectiva, individualmente no me perdieran los nervios, los miedos, los descontroles... Se trataba de enfrentar la agresión, dentro de la dignidad y la resistencia. Para ello utilicé por adelantado la solidaridad y el apoyo que recibiría. Como si el tiempo y el espacio no existieran, me trasladé a nuestros lugares e imaginé la febril actividad de mis colegas, convocando manis, ruedas de prensa, haciendo circular los videos, preparando mociones y apoyos; adelanté las muestras de cariño y apoyo que realmente he recibido más tarde y las sentí en vivo y en directo, recibiendo con antelación la energía suficiente que me daba fuerza; me reí, como me gusta, disfrutando del relato que iba a hacer de este “momentico” a mis colegas: sentada en el suelo, agarrada a Jonathan con todas mis fuerzas, teniendo en mi campo visual unas botas militares, bastantes; gritando consignas en un inglés imposible, donde destacaban las palabras peace y war; y, para espanto de la tropa que nos asediaba, cantando a voz en grito “Hator, hator mutil etxera...”. Todo eso y el recuerdo vivo de Gaza, “la cárcel abierta más grande del mundo”, me hizo mantener esta dignidad de vasca solidaria. Pues por todo eso... Eskerrik asko.

Begoña Zabala Gonzále, Emakume Internazionalistak

ISRAEL MISREADS HISTORY, CORNERS ITSELF

9 September 2011, Hurriyet Daily News http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com (Turkey)

Ibrahim Kalin*

The Israeli attack on the Mavi Marmara aid ship bound for Gaza on May 31, 2010, has proven to be a turning point in Turkish-Israeli relations. After the fundamentally flawed Palmer-Uribe report was leaked to the media on Sept. 1 and the Netenyahu government refused to apologize for the brutal execution of nine Turks, including one U.S. citizen whom Roger Cohen of the New York Times called “the forgotten American,” relations have hit a very low point. But the way the Israeli government has responded to the crisis and its refusal to respect international law and uphold the principle of justice has implications beyond bilateral relations and underscores Israel’s dismal failure to grasp the dynamics of the new Middle East. It is also a failure to understand Turkey’s resolve to protect the rights of its citizens.

The killing of nine people 78 nautical miles off the coast of Gaza in international waters is by any standards illegal and immoral. The Palmer Report acknowledges this by saying that Israeli commandos used “excessive force” and the government of Israel failed to provide any credible explanation for the killings from close range. Before a Cabinet meeting this week, Mr. Netanyahu said, “We need not apologize” for the killings, choosing a path of defiance that makes Israel all the more isolated and cornered in the world.

The Palmer-Uribe Report’s claim that the siege of Gaza is legal is essentially wrong and goes beyond its mandate. If the siege is legal, as the report claims, then the occupation of Palestine is legal too because the siege, which has been in effect since 2007, is an extension of the occupation. But the universally accepted fact, established by scores of reports and resolutions, is that the occupation of Palestine including the siege of Gaza is illegal, inhuman and immoral.

Turkey has dismissed the Palmer-Uribe Report because its conclusion about the siege contradicts previous statements and reports by the United Nations, including the Geneva-based U.N. Human Rights Council and statements by the U.N. secretary-general. Furthermore, the Palmer Report, contrary to some claims, is not a legally binding document to be voted on at the U.N. nor is the panel a court that can issue a juridical view on Gaza. But by giving a carte blanche to Israel’s piracy in international waters, it has disregarded international law and undermined the fundamental principles of justice and freedom for all including the Palestinians.

The Netenyahu government’s refusal to issue a formal apology to Turkey has led to a swift reaction from Turkey. Prime Minister Erdoğan ordered the implementation of five measures against Israel including the lowering of diplomatic relations and freezing of military agreements. “No country is above the law,” said Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, referring to the big elephant in the room, which is the Israeli exceptionalism in regional and global politics. PM Erdoğan described Israel as acting “like a spoiled child in the face of all U.N. decisions.” The prime minister also said Turkey has no quarrel with the people of Israel and Jews around the world. And he is proven to be right: Despite the tensions between the two countries, there has been no disturbance among the Turkish Jewish community.

Refusing to apologize and then claiming to want to repair relations with Turkey, as Mr. Netenyahu said recently, is not only an oxymoron but also self-delusional. As PM Erdoğan has declared on various occasions, Turkish-Israeli relations will not be normalized until and unless Turkey’s three conditions are met. Turkey keeps the door of diplomacy open, but it is up to Israel to pass through it or close it.

The Netenyahu government’s defiant yet eventually self-destructive approach is indicative of the eclipse of Israeli strategic thinking. Israeli politicians fail to understand that the fundamental values of the new Middle East spearheaded by the Arab Spring are no longer occupation, dictatorship and alienation but justice, freedom and rule of law. No policy that does not take these values seriously can have legitimacy. Policies of occupation, dispossession and humiliation will no longer be covered up and justified by petty dictators in the Middle East. This should be a wakeup call for Israel to end the occupation and have a serious reassessment of its strategic priorities.

By risking losing Turkey, Israel misreads history and ends up cornering itself not only in the Middle East but also in the U.S. According to former U.S. Defense Secretary Gates, “Netanyahu is not only ungrateful [for the billions of dollars of aid from the U.S.] but also endangering his country by refusing to grapple with Israel’s growing isolation.”

I wonder what it will take to wake up the Israeli leaders from their slumber.

*İbrahim Kalın is senior adviser to the prime minister of Turkey

EL INFORME PALMER/URIBE ENCUBRE LOS CRÍMENES DE ISRAEL

4 Septiembre2011, Rumbo a Gaza http://www.rumboagaza.org (España)

Por desgracia, el Informe Palmer/Uribe sobre el incidente de la Flotilla el 31 de mayo de 2010, filtrado al The New York Times el 1 de septiembre, es un esperado lavado de cara de los crímenes de Israel.

A pesar de que culpa a las fuerzas israelíes por el uso excesivo de la fuerza cuando asaltaron nuestros buques civiles con destino a Gaza, erróneamente justifica el bloqueo israelí de Gaza, arroja dudas sobre las intenciones de los organizadores de la flotilla, y no busca la responsabilidad de los autores de violaciones de los derechos humanos.

El panel Palmer/Uribe estaba viciado desde su inicio. El nombramiento del ex-presidente colombiano Alvaro Uribe como el vicepresidente del Grupo Especial arroja serias dudas sobre la integridad e imparcialidad del propio grupo. La íntima asociación de Uribe con las prácticas militares y paramilitares para asesinar civiles en Colombia y el desprecio notorio hacia los defensores de los derechos humanos hace que su nombramiento en el Grupo sea problemático. Por otra parte, el gobierno de Uribe está en el registro de los que abogan una mayor cooperación militar con Israel [1].

Además de los problemas en la composición del Grupo Especial, su conclusión no ha sido llegar a la verdad de lo sucedido o buscar justicia para las víctimas, si no el llegar a un compromiso político con el fin de reparar las relaciones entre Israel y Turquía. El mandato del Grupo Especial se limita a examinar los informes de las investigaciones nacionales de Turquía e Israel, y no a entrevistar a los testigos o a llevar una objetiva y profunda investigación. Este es un intento político de eclipsar la única investigación del informe independiente e imparcial sobre el ataque a la flotilla flotilla, el cual fue encargado por el Consejo de Derechos Humanos (A/HRC/15/21) y llevada a cabo por tres expertos sobre los derechos humanos de renombre internacional. Las conclusiones y recomendaciones de este informe, publicado el 23 de septiembre 2010, aún no se han debatido en las Naciones Unidas.

Uno de los hallazgos más indignantes de este Grupo Especial es que Israel tenía derecho a imponer el bloqueo naval de Gaza como una “legítima medida de seguridad.”

Este hallazgo ignora completamente el hecho de que el bloqueo naval forma parte de un fuerte régimen que numerosos organismos de derechos humanos, incluyendo varias agencias de la Naciones Unidas, han declarado ilegal. Además, ignora la evidencia incontrovertible de que el bloqueo naval y el cierre total no va dirigido a la seguridad, sino más bien de ejercer presión sobre la población de Gaza. Los dirigentes israelíes han señalando que el propósito del bloqueo es una guerra económica -para mantener la economía de Gaza al borde del colapso con el fin de presionar a la población civil a rebelarse contra el gobierno de Hamas [2].

Utilizar a civiles como forma de presionar a un gobierno viola el derecho internacional humanitario, que prohíbe dañar a civiles intencionalmente, y constituye un castigo colectivo, prohibido por la Cuarta Convención de Ginebra.

El informe de Palmer/Uribe erróneamente identifica a IHH como el “grupo de líderes involucrados en la planificación de la flotilla”, nos acusa (a los organizadores de la Flotilla de la Libertad) de actuar imprudentemente, y pone en duda el carácter humanitario de nuestra acción (páginas 46-48) . Seis organizaciones no gubernamentales, organizaciones internacionales de la sociedad civil, todas teniendo el mismo peso y responsabilidad, organizaron la Flotilla de la Libertad I. Nuestra acción fue una forma legítima de acción directa no violenta. Rechazamos la posición del Panel de que los soldados israelíes se enfrentaron a “una violencia organizada.” A lo que los comandos fuertemente armados se enfrentron, mientras trataban de tomar por la fuerza el Mavi Marmara en alta mar, eran actos legítimos de autodefensa no armada por parte de un puñado de pasajeros, actuando en contra de una agresión injustificada.

A pesar de que nuestros buques llevaban 10.000 toneladas de carga, muy necesaria para el pueblo de Gaza, nosotros hemos manifestado reiteradamente que nuestro objetivo es romper el bloqueo ilegal de Gaza y no simplemente entregar dicha ayuda. La crisis humanitaria que existe en Gaza es el resultado de una política deliberada, ilegal e inmoral. Desafiar esa política buscando poner fin a la causa del sufrimiento de la gente es humanitario.

Aunque el informe correctamente penaliza a Israel por usar una fuerza excesiva contra civiles desarmados, no exige la rendición de cuentas. El informe señala que Israel no ha sido responsable de lo que las pruebas forenses muestran: a la mayoría de los nueve voluntarios muertos les dispararon varias veces, incluso en la espalda, o de cerca, o de los constantes abusos sufridos por otros voluntarios en las manos de las fuerzas israelíes. La recomendación del informe para que Israel simplemente exprese su pesar por el incidente es un insulto a las víctimas y sus familias, y atenta gravemente contra los derechos humanos y ley humanitaria.

Por último, el informe no aborda el tema de que las restantes cuatro naves de la Flotilla de la Libertad I estén todavía bajo captura en Israel, como también la negativa a devolver a los pasajeros el valor de más de un millón de dólares en dinero y equipos, incluyendo cámaras y videos de probado valor.

Damos la bienvenida a la decisión de Turquía de reducir las relaciones con Israel, la expulsión del embajador israelí y la cancelación de los vínculos militares, así como su declaración de que tomará medidas legales contra los israelíes responsables del ataque a la flotilla. Tales sanciones son necesarias para poner fin a la impunidad con que Israel ha estado violando los derechos humanos palestinos y el Derecho internacional.

Coalición Internacional de la Flotilla de la Libertad

[1] Véase “Colombia busca ampliar los vínculos de Israel“, 28 de abril 2010, Jerusalem Post.

[2] Véase por ejemplo, “Wikileaks: Israel pretende mantener la economía de Gaza está al borde del colapso“, de 5 de enero 2011, Haaretz, al informar sobre un cable de la Embajada de EE.UU. en Tel Aviv diciendo que los oficiales oficialidad israelíes desean que la economía de Gaza “funcione en el nivel más bajo posible pero tratando de evitar una crisis humanitaria”.

Rapport Palmer : L’ONU DOIT DIRE LE DROIT ET NON LE PIETINER

3 septembre 2011, Association France Palestine Solidarité (AFPS) http://www.france-palestine.org (France)

AFPS

Le rapport de l’ONU [1] relatif aux événements tragiques, survenus le 31 mai 2010, lors de la première « Flottille de la paix », considère que « le blocus de Gaza est légal » et que la réaction armée meurtrière israélienne dans les eaux internationales faisant 9 morts a été simplement « excessive ».

Ce rapport constitue donc une sérieuse régression relativement au droit international édicté par l’ONU sur ce sujet : il n’est acceptable ni dans la forme ni sur le fond.

Le blocus de Gaza, mis en place unilatéralement par les dirigeants israéliens sans le moindre accord de l’ONU, constitue une violation flagrante et évidente des Conventions de Genève, en ce qu’il constitue une « punition collective » de tous les Palestiniens de Gaza, comme l’avait déclaré le Haut Commissariat aux Droits de l’Homme des Nations unies en août 2009. Il est donc bel et bien illégal, selon précisément le droit international.

Par ailleurs qualifier d’« excessive » la réaction israélienne aboutissant à causer la mort de 9 civils innocents à bord d’un bateau turc se trouvant dans les eaux internationales constitue un déni du droit international : selon ce dernier, il s’agit tout simplement d’un « crime de guerre ». D’ailleurs, la résolution 1860 du Conseil de sécurité n’assurait-elle pas clairement accueillir « favorablement les initiatives » visant à alléger ce blocus.

Israël a évidemment salué immédiatement le contenu et les auteurs de ce rapport sur la Flottille contrairement au rapport Goldstone que les autorités de ce pays ont refusé et auquel la communauté internationale n’a donné aucune suite.

Ce rapport, rappelons-le, accusait Israël – et l’accuse toujours – de « crimes de guerre, voire de crimes contre l’humanité » perpétrés lors de la guerre de Gaza, dite « Plomb durci », qui a fait 1.400 morts parmi la population gazaouie. Quand le droit international est violé, Israël crie victoire. Quand il est précisé, Israël le refuse sèchement.

Il est temps que les Nations unies disent le chemin de la paix, spécialement au Proche-Orient, et n’encouragent pas, au contraire, ceux qui la refusent jour après jour et qui devraient être sanctionnés. On n’instaurera pas la stabilité internationale et la paix au Proche-Orient sur la mise en miettes du droit international, mais au contraire en affirmant ce dernier contre vents et marées et a fortiori en l’appliquant. De ce point de vue, l’adhésion pleine et entière de l’Etat de Palestine à l’ONU s’inscrit pleinement dans cette démarche qui, à l’inverse du rapport Palmer, légitimera l’organisation internationale.

Le bureau national, le 3 septembre 2011

Communiqué

[1] Deux des 4 rédacteurs se sont opposés à ce rapport tandis qu’un troisième n’est autre que l’ancien président de Colombie, M. Uribe, qui a été imposé par les israéliens qui n’avaient accepté la commission qu’à cette condition

THE STORY OF FAILURE IN TURKISH-ISRAELI DIPLOMACY

3 September 2011, Journal of Turkish Weekly (JTW) http://www.turkishweekly.net (Turkey)

By Murat Yetkin

I was talking on the phone with a high-ranking Turkish official as CNN Türk’s breaking-news story started to present the Israeli government’s reaction to the Turkish government’s ultimatum regarding the Mavi Marmara flotilla affair. According to the news, the Israeli government was sorry that its soldiers killed nine Turks who were among the members of a group carrying aid to Palestinians in Gaza under Israeli blockade in May 2010, but would not apologize. The Israeli government also told Turkey to be more respectful of international maritime law.

“They can go to hell,” groaned the Turkish official’s voice on the phone. “They will see what respecting international maritime law means when our Navy sails into the international waters of the Mediterranean if they do not apologize by Wednesday [Sept. 7].”

Turkish-Israeli cooperation broke down in 2009 when Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Israeli President Shimon Peres had their “one minute” row over Israeli operations against Palestinians that were causing the death of civilians in Gaza. Tensions were then raised with the flotilla incident.

With the efforts of the United States, the United Nations set up a commission nine months ago to look into the affair.

During this period, four secret talks (in six sessions – starting in Brussels, then in Bucharest, Geneva, New York, Rome and New York again) were carried out between top Turkish and Israeli officials to find common ground because Turkey was saying two main things: 1) An open apology and compensation to the victims’ families was needed for the normalization of relations, and 2) Israel should stop bullying in the eastern Mediterranean as if it were the dominating power there.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said yesterday – as he was announcing the ultimatum, including the downgrading of diplomatic relations, the freezing of military agreements and the challenging of Israel in international courts and in the international waters of the Mediterranean – that the two countries had come to terms four times in this nine-month period.

At one time in Geneva in December 2010, following the Turkish gesture to send firefighting planes when an awful forest fire broke out in Israel, the diplomats met in Geneva and had the full support of Erdoğan and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the phone. But the agreement never came to life as Netanyahu failed to overcome the resistance of his fringe right-wing coalition partner and foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, in the Cabinet meeting.

In the meantime, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and the Israeli Army said in public that they supported an agreement with Ankara at the cost of an apology. They knew that if the report was released and included accusations that civilians had been killed (if the report found that soldiers had fired at the backs of their heads, for instance), however, that that would have international legal consequences for the Israeli soldiers.

But they could not weaken the nationalist resistance within the Israeli Cabinet.

Diplomacy between the two countries collapsed last week when Turks accused Israelis of misleading the media that it was the Turks who wanted another six months for the release of the report. Turkey challenged the U.N. and the U.S. for an immediate release. U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton asked for some more time personally from Davutoğlu to convince U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Israelis.

But the lobby who managed to provide a speech in the U.S. Congress – with the help of the American opposition when President Barack Obama was out of the U.S. for Europe – probably managed to leak the report to the New York Times to further embarrass Clinton and cause Davutoğlu to explode.

That is the point where we stand now.

PALMER REPORT'S FATAL FLAWS

2 September 2011, Palestine Chronicle http://palestinechronicle.com (USA)

By Julie Webb-Pullman* - Gaza

The most fundamental fault of the Palmer Report on the 31 May 2010 Flotilla Incident(1) is its one-eyed view of security. The second is its exceeding of the Terms of Reference (TOR).

While the Report upholds, and goes into considerable detail about, Israel’s right to security and the firing of weapons into Israel from Gaza and the killing of 25 Israeli’s since 2001, it COMPLETELY IGNORES Gaza’s – or the Palestinian - right to security, it ignores the innumerable military attacks on Gaza by Israel which according to an Israeli Human Rights group (2) have killed more than 4500, with 41 Israeli air strikes in the last week alone killing another 17, and it ignores Israel’s continuous invasions and incursions into Palestinian territory contrary to international law, and in breach of some 80 UN Security Council Resolutions.

If the claimed purpose of the Palmer Report is in fact to “avoid similar incidents in future” it would be more appropriate to address the ROOT CAUSE of the incident, which is Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian territories, and ongoing military assaults on Gaza, even the weapons for which are disproportionate - while Gazan groups use homemade, inaccurate and usually ineffective weapons rarely resulting in injury, let alone death, Israel favours extremely high-tech, accurate, brutally effective – and ILLEGAL – weapons that almost always maim and kill.

Cause and Effect
The Palmer Panel, and the United Nations, would do better to prevail upon Israel to observe international law, as embodied in some 80 UN Security Council Resolutions and numerous international conventions, than do irrelevant book reviews that do nothing but give Israel more ammunition to legitimise its genocide.
It needs to be re-stated – rockets fired into Israel from Gaza, and efforts by international civil society to alleviate the suffering caused by the illegal siege of Gaza, are EFFECTS directly flowing from the ROOT CAUSE, Israel’s persistent and ongoing refusal to observe international law, or even internationally-determined borders.

Enforcement of UNSC Resolutions, not a glorified “book review,” are what is required to “avoid similar incidents in future.”

The TOR
The TOR makes it clear the Report was never intended to be anything but a Clayton’s exercise. They state: (and I don’t know where number 1 disappeared to – it was not in the copy I have)

The panel:

2 (a) will receive and review interim and final reports of national investigations into the incident; that is, do a “book review” and call it a Report, which the international community is expected to swallow, and “move on”.

(b) may request such clarifications and information as it may require from relevant national authorities. Not obtain or assess original or direct evidence, not even obtain witness testimonies or examine or cross-examine witnesses – merely have a chat to the ‘points of contact’ of the ‘relevant national authorities’.

3. In the light of the information so gathered the panel will:

(a) examine and identify the facts, circumstances and context of the incident; – which given the limited TOR can only be what the two national authorities ‘reported’ they were – a veritable exercise in Chinese Whispers (not sure of the politically-correct term for this, if there is one), which is not only a poor substitute for due process, but it is also very unlikely to establish the facts, circumstances and context of the incident such that any meaningful recommendations could be made;

(b) consider and recommend ways of avoiding similar incidents in the future. – the most obvious recommendation of all being OBSERVANCE BY ISRAEL OF ALL SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTIONS, AND INTERNATIONAL LAW, such that defensive actions by Gaza, and humanitarian convoys to alleviate their suffering, are no longer necessary.

The Palmer Panel’s limited assessment of the evidence, and obsession with Israel’s right to security, seems to have blinkered them to this, the most obvious recommendation of all.

Did the Report Find the Naval Blockade is Legal?
While Israel, and lazy mainstream media, touts the Palmer Report as finding Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza is legal, a closer reading shows no such thing.

If anything, the report shows that the Palmer panel exceeded their Terms of Reference (TOR) by the two chairs taking it upon themselves to lay the so-called “secure legal foundation” that served as the basis for their findings and recommendations despite acknowledgement they had no grounds to do so, then attributing legality to their subsequent considerations, findings or determinations.
In its own words, the panel states in paragraph 5 of its Introduction:

“It needs to be understood from the outset that this Panel is unique. Its methods of inquiry are similarly unique. The Panel is not a court. It was not asked to make determinations of the legal issues or to adjudicate on liability.” and
6. “It means that the Panel cannot make definitive findings either of fact or law.”
So why did it go on in Para 73 to make a determination that:
“The Panel considers the conflict should be treated as an international one for the purposes of the law of blockade.”

And in paragraph 81, to state that:

“The Panel therefore concludes that Israel’s naval blockade was legal.” –
These findings are clearly outside the TOR, and are findings on which subsequent statements rely, such as in the Summary at:

ii, “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.”

And,

viii. Attempts to breach a lawfully imposed naval blockade.

Appendicitis
These painful contradictions can be explained by the first appendix in the Report, stating that:

“the Chair and Vice-Chair provide our own account of the principles of public international law that apply to the events under review” in order to rest their findings and recommendations “on a secure legal foundation.” – of their own invention.

Of considerable importance is that they do not even require Israel to have fulfilled its obligation to declare this blockade by notifying it to the UN Security Council according to the processes outlined in Article 51 of the Charter, instead accept their posting it on a few Israeli websites!

This makes a mockery of both the TOR, and the considerable body of highly-qualified international legal opinion that disagrees with their position, and that they explicitly chose to ignore in preference to their own. This ensures that the supposed secure legal foundation for the Report, thus all finding and recommendations based on it, are but a Palmer/Uribe house of cards.

The Palmer Report not only exceeds its TOR, but it is internally inconsistent, and in conflict with other reputable legal bodies and opinions, including those of other UN agencies.

In keeping with the TOR, therefore, any legal determinations and findings should, like an acutely-inflamed appendix, be immediately removed from the final report before they irreparably harm the host.

Extra-territoriality of the Application of the Naval Blockade
A curious omission from their legal deliberations on the legitimacy of the naval blockade, inappropriate as they were, is the attack on the Mavi Marmara 72 nautical miles from the coast and 64 nautical miles from the blockade zone. This goes way beyond enforcing a legitimate naval blockade, which extends at most 20 nautical miles from the coast, into extra-territorial application of the Gaza blockade into international waters.

This has serious - and extensive - implications in international law, which the panel chooses not to discuss, but which are directly relevant to the prevention of further incidents.

Curious – and Unsupportable - Justifications
An example of one of the more curious justifications for not finding the naval blockade disproportionate is the statement in paragraph 78 that “the prospect of delivering significant supplies to Gaza by sea is very low” because of the lack of port facilities.

That the port facilities were destroyed by Israel in 2001 appears to them too insignificant to mention. That Gaza port has been used for literally THOUSANDS OF YEARS for the delivery of “bulk supplies” through Gaza to Europe, and back again. Large ships moored offshore and smaller vessels, of which there thousands here, transferred the goods to port. Gazans were doing this long before New Zealand even had human habitation, and they continued doing it up until late last century - I have spoken to Gazan men in their 50’s who recall watching this as a favorite past-time as children.

There is no reason such methods could not be occurring now – but for the naval blockade. That they might be “inefficient” methods in the panel’s view speaks more to their first world arrogance and failure to appreciate the conditions on the ground in Gaza, than it does to the need to get bulk supplies in to meet the very real desperate need that exists, as repeatedly and continuously stated by the numerous international NGOs and UN agencies working in Gaza.

Recommendation to Use Established Procedures
Any remaining shred of credibility is totally destroyed by this bizarre statement in paragraph 154 which flies in the face of all available evidence, that:

“... the Government of Israel has taken significant steps to ease the restrictions on goods entering Gaza since the 31 May 2010 incident.”

And with regard to future prevention, the even more bizarre recommendation in paragraph iv that:

“All humanitarian missions wishing to assist the Gaza population should do so through established procedures and the designated land crossings in consultation with the Government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority.”

The panel has completely ignored not only the reality on the ground in relation to the so-called easing of restrictions, as reported by numerous NGOs (3), but also UN assessments such as that of OCHA published in March 2011, the Executive Summary of which stated:

“The partial lifting of import restrictions...increased the availability of consumer goods and some raw materials...However, due to the pivotal nature of the remaining restrictions, this relaxation did not result in a significant improvement in people’s livelihoods.”

And went on to say that despite 100 water and sanitation, education and health services. projects since being approved, “while the potential benefit of these projects, once implemented, is significant, due to the recurrent delays in implementation, the population has so far not experienced any improvement in the quality of services.”(4)

Finally, statements from both the Israeli and Turkish participants contained in the Appendix indicate that far from coming to the consensus decisions required of it, the Palmer Report is a Palmer/Uribe house of cards based on selective – and self-determined – legal determinations that exceed their TOR, and are one-eyed in the application of rights – to security, to self-defence, and to provide humanitarian aid as, when and where it is needed.

Most significantly, the selective condemnation of Gaza homemade rocket attacks, while failing to condemn Israel’s use of prohibited weapons against civilian targets in a clear and incontrovertible exercise of the collective punishment of a trapped population, beggars belief.

* Julie Webb-Pullman is a New Zealand activist and writer currently based in Gaza. She has written on social and political justice issues for New Zealand Independent News website SCOOP since 2003, as well as for websites in Australia, Canada, the US, and Latin America, and participated in several human rights observation missions. She contributed this article to PalestineChronicle.com.


Notes:

(1) Palmer Committee Final Report (2011) Report of the Secretary-General’s Panel of Inquiry on the 31 May 2010 Flotilla Incident.

(2) B'TSELEM - The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories – Statistics. http://www.btselem.org/statistics.

(3) Amnesty International UK et al (2010) Dashed Hopes: Continuation of the Gaza.

(4) OCHA (2011) Special Focus: Easing the Blockade.

TURKEY SLAMS ISRAEL WITH LAST MINUTE DEAL DEAD

2 September 2011, Hürriyet Daily News http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com (Turkey)

Sevil Küçükkoşum

The collapse of a last-minute deal pushed by Washington brings Turkey and Israel closer to a breaking point over the Mavi Marmara raid, with Ankara effectively expelling the Israeli ambassador and warning of harsher measures ahead
Turkey downgraded diplomatic ties with Israel to second-secretary level on Friday, effectively expelling the Israeli ambassador and senior diplomats over Israel’s failure to apologize for killing nine Turks in a raid on a Gaza-bound aid ship last year. Ankara announced five steps in protest, warning that more measures could follow.

“Diplomatic relations with Israel have been reduced to a second-secretary level. All personnel above the second-secretary level, primarily the ambassador, will return to their countries by Wednesday at the latest,” Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu told at a press conference on Friday.

Ankara moved to make the announcement shortly after a long-awaited U.N. report on the Mavi Marmara raid was leaked to U.S. media on Thursday. Ankara believes the report was leaked by the hawkish wing of the Israeli coalition government in a bid to limit the room for maneuvering on both sides on a possible reconciliation deal involving an Israeli apology.

The downgrading of diplomatic ties was the first among five measures that Davutoğlu announced in response to Israel’s failure to apologize for the raid and compensate the victims’ families, which Ankara sought as a condition for normalizing bilateral ties.

Israeli Ambassador to Turkey Gaby Levy, whose term in Ankara was set to expire in mid-September, was already in Israel and will not return to Turkey. Ankara had already recalled its ambassador from Tel Aviv immediately after the raid on the Mavi Marmara on May 31, 2010, and other senior Turkish diplomats will return to Turkey by Wednesday.
Turkey previously downgraded diplomatic ties with Israel to second-secretary level in November 1980 after the Jewish state proclaimed Jerusalem as its capital. The chilly period continued until December 1991, when progress in Israeli-Palestinian peace talks prompted Ankara to appoint ambassadors to both sides.

Secondly, Minister Davutoğlu said all military agreements with Israel have been suspended. Last year, Turkey had already effectively suspended military agreements and military exercises with Israel, and Ankara barred Israeli military aircraft from using Turkish airspace. Turkey went a step further Friday by officially announcing that it has suspended all existing military pacts.

Turkey and Israel signed a landmark military cooperation accord in 1996, much to the ire of Arab countries and Iran, marking the outset of what was called “a strategic partnership.” In the first major projects after the accord, Israeli companies were awarded contracts worth $700 million to modernize 100 Turkish F-4 and F-5 fighter jets and sold Turkey rockets and electronic equipment.

Ankara, for its part, offered an opportunity for Israel’s air force to train in a vast airspace unavailable in its own country, as part of joint drills in central Turkey. The two armies also held joint naval exercises in the Mediterranean. Turkey is also said to have allowed Israel access to its radars in monitoring Iranian and Iraqi air space, while other deals involved the exchange of military students and expertise on chemical weapons protection.

Davutoğlu also said Turkey would take every precaution it considers necessary for the safety of maritime navigation in the East Mediterranean, as the country with the longest coastline there. Turkey’s military presence in the East Mediterranean is expected to be boosted in the upcoming days. The move could be considered as a manifestation of Turkey’s position rejecting Gaza’s blockade, a Turkish diplomat said.
Davutoğlu said Turkey did not recognize Israel’s right to blockade Gaza and intended to ask the International Court of Justice in The Hague to examine the blockade as it stood on May 31, 2010. “For this aim, we are starting initiatives to put the U.N. General Assembly in motion [on the issue],” he said. The move suggests Ankara will seek collective action at the U.N. to apply to the International Court of Justice in a bid to secure a legal deliberation on the legitimacy of the blockade.

Lastly, Davutoğlu said Turkey would support legal action by the families of Turkish and foreign victims in the Mavi Marmara raid. Turkish nationals can seek justice in local courts first. One of the nine dead was a U.S. citizen of Turkish origin and his family has already started legal action in U.S. courts.

The measures, Davutoğlu said, were a response to the attitudes of the current Israeli government, and did not target the Israeli people.

“Our aim is not to harm the historical Turkish-Jewish friendship, but on the contrary, to urge the Israeli government to correct their mistake that does not befit this exceptional friendship,” Davutoğlu said. “No state is above the law, and the time has come for Israel to pay a price for its illegal actions. This price, first of all, is being deprived of Turkey’s friendship.”

He said Turkish and Israeli officials held four rounds of talks to reconcile their differences and reached a consensus on two draft texts, which were also approved by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But the agreements failed due to a split in the Israeli Cabinet, he said.

Referring to the Palmer Commission report and its leak to the press, Davutoğlu said: “We are determined to take this issue to the relevant international legal authorities.”

Although the report has yet to be released officially, President Abdullah Gül said Turkey regarded it as “null and void.” Gül warned of further measures targeting Israel “depending on how things will develop and how Israel will behave.”

He warned the Israeli government, branding it “a burden even for its own people” and charging that it had fallen “into a position deprived of any strategy” in the Middle East.

“There are steps Israel must take for peace and security in the region. If they fail to comprehend this by themselves, we hope their allies will tell them in a way they understand,” Gül said.

MUSEUM OF TOLERANCE: ISRAEL'S BLINDNESS

1 August 2011, Palestine Chronicle http://palestinechronicle.com (USA)

By Lillian Rosengarten*

We are by now too familiar with the label anti-Semite aimed towards all who dissent from the deplorable policies of Netanyahu's right-wing disaster. It does not matter if the resistance to Israeli occupation and ongoing collective punishment arises from the actions of Jews, Muslims, atheists, socialists or any human rights activists. In addition, Jew against Jew has created a deeply disturbing divide that pits Jews against one another and seriously questions what it means to be Jewish within a context of compassion or as a fear response to having once been dehumanized and thoroughly victimized. How can this justify the continuous role of Israel as victimizer in the form of an obscene collective punishment, an entire population marginalized, hated, left war torn and homeless without freedom. What is the message to the world after decades of this occupied prison?

I personally have been called an anti-Semite and nothing could be farther from the truth. My motives are not anti Jewish but rather antiwar I see as fascism in the form of an extreme nationalistic Zionism. This behavior cannot help but destroys the soul of Judaism a spiritual religion that ascribes to tolerance, compassion, does not kill and has the courage to reflect on its way of life. It is by now known that the Knesset, the core of Israeli government has thrown out a female Arab-Israeli member, Hanin Zuabi, who had the audacity to participate in protest against her country's actions. She witnessed the brutal murder of 9 unarmed activists on the ill fated Mavi Marmara that attempted to break the Gaza siege. She is now threatened with the loss of her Israeli citizenship.

Yes it is me again, Jewish refugee from Nazi Germany shouting to the world, never again, not in my name." Every day I am bombarded with news of some other atrocity in the name of protecting the "democratic state of Israel." I want to awaken from this nightmare. I no longer can tolerate to hear, “Palestinians do not recognize Israel and wish to destroy us." How much longer can we hear Netanyahu's mantra (US complicit here) "we will never recognize the terrorists Hamas” (legally elected by a majority of Palestinians.) I want to reiterate again, those who call others terrorists must reflect on the terrorism within themselves. The US is grossly guilty of similar careless projections of the label "terrorist" while refusing to acknowledge their own use of terrorism. Tragically Israel and the US both suffer from inordinate forms of extreme denial on the nature of their own violent behavior to keep wars and human suffering going and cannot self reflect on their ego maniacal political agendas. Other countries aid violence by selling arms and contribute powerfully as destroyers of human life in exchange for exorbitant payments.

Recent news has induced a cringe response. Germany sold a torpedo submarine to Israel, capable of deploying nuclear missiles and firing nuclear holocaust. How is this possible? Can it be a form of German restitution to assuage unconscious (or conscious) guilt by association with their infamous history when Nazi insanity and rabid anti-Semitism coupled with Aryan delusions of grandeur ruled Germany? I do not claim to know yet recognize the sheer lunacy to send weapons to Israel. Do we need more killings and endless suffering? Where is the resistance, the outrage? I need to hear more, louder, stronger. Does the Israeli agenda now include a nuclear war with Iran? Has Israel completely lost all reality? I can say much the same for the US that would engage mindlessly with Israel for we are Israel's strongest ally for an exorbitant corrupt price. Is the agenda of Netanyahu's right wing hoodlums to blow up all their neighbors to become the only country in the Middle East and the “only democracy?" Let Israel not become victim to its own self-fulfilling prophesy by their own hand. Such a nightmare, calling for the destruction of Israel cannot happen. Israel along with their Palestinian neighbors MUST change political direction. As of now, Israel is drowning in a sea of paranoia and fear. How can a democracy and brutal occupation exist together? How is it so many remain blind? It has happened before in the 30's but this time it occurs with a twist of fate. Racism lives in a different form yet is equally virulent. I am afraid. Left undisturbed, this myth of democracy will support a continuous unending tragedy for both Palestine and Israel. They must, in order to survive face each other with honest dialogue and sincere attempts at mutual understanding and compromise.

Now I end with some comments on Israel's harsh decision to build museum over a century old Muslim graveyard. For years Muslims struggled unsuccessfully to prevent this construction. The irony is the "museum of tolerance" is being built to promote coexistence and is a project of the Simon Wiesenthal (Nazi hunter) center. Ultra orthodox Jews claim ancient Jewish graves were once located there. Instead of tolerance, one sees arrogance, racism, infantilism, and utter righteousness in action. Can it be this provocative and destructive decision serves to reinforce the tragic rise once again of worldwide anti-Semitism?

*Lillian Rosengarten, a refugee from Nazi Germany is a Buddhist practitioner, poet, writer and a pacifist. She contributed this article to

PalestineChronicle.com. Contact her at: truthpoem@gmail.com.

FLOTTILLE : LA GUERRE DE LA COMMUNICATION

21 Juillet 2011, Association France Palestine Solidarité (AFPS) http://www.france-palestine.org (France)

Céline Lussato - Le Nouvel Observateur

Des Israéliens ou des pro-Palestiniens, qui a gagné le combat des mots et des images ?

Après l’arraisonnement, le 31 mai 2010, du Mavi Marmara, l’un des bateaux de la flottille pour Gaza, lors duquel neuf passagers avaient été tués par l’armée israélienne, 48 heures d’une guerre de communication sans merci avait opposé Israéliens et pro-Palestiniens. Chacun se renvoyant la responsabilité de la mort des militants présents sur le bateau.

La guerre des mots et des images est capitale pour les deux parties. L’opération même, qui consiste à briser le blocus de Gaza imposé par Israël en envoyant des bateaux chargés de nourriture et de biens de consommation est, en elle-même, une opération de communication. Certes ces bateaux sont chargés de ces produits dont manquent les Palestiniens de Gaza, mais l’organisation dépolît des moyens de communication considérables afin d’alerter au travers de leur action le regard du monde sur Gaza. L’opération de l’année dernière avait d’ailleurs abouti à l’allègement du blocus par Israël .

Communication maximum
L’édition 2011 n’a donc pas échappé à la règle. Les organisateurs ont déployé tous les moyens à leur disposition pour faire parler de leur entreprise. Et le gouvernement israélien a mis en œuvre les siens pour tenter d’étouffer dans l’œuf le projet.

Comptes Twitter pour suivre la préparation de l’équipée puis les participants venus du monde entier, pages Facebook, sites internet, la campagne a été très visible cette année sur le Net. Les équipes ont également convoqué la presse à plusieurs conférences lors des semaines qui ont précédé le départ. La participation de plusieurs élus, représentants syndicaux et associatifs a également renforcé la médiatisation.

Bloqués en Grèce par les autorités qui leur refusaient le départ vers Gaza, les organisateurs ont fait tout leur possible pour essayer de maintenir une pression médiatique : points presse quotidiens, visite des bateaux organisée pour les journalistes, dénonciations des sabotages des bateaux… tout est utilisé pour tenter de maintenir autant de pression médiatique possible.

Etouffer l’initiative
Pour Israël, évidemment, l’enjeu est inverse. Très critiqué en 2010 après le fiasco de la gestion de la précédente flottille, le dossier était donc encore plus sensible cette année. Le but de l’Etat hébreu était certes d’empêcher la rupture du blocus de Gaza, mais sans faire de vague.

La force a donc fait place dans une certaine mesure cette année à la diplomatie. Israël a déployé tous ses efforts diplomatiques pour convaincre la Grèce de retenir les bateaux de la flottille. Une opération réussie puisque seul un navire français, le Dignité al-Karama, prit la mer avant d’être arraisonné dans les eaux internationales le 19 juillet par les forces israéliennes. Une opération sans heurts, presque pacifique au regard de celle qui fit l’année précédente neuf morts.

Et le gagnant est…
Alors qui, d’Israël ou des organisateurs de la flottille a gagné ce combat de la médiatisation ? Indéniablement, Israël a mieux géré l’opération que l’année dernière. Mieux également, d’un point de vue médiatique, que la flottille aérienne. Cette opération, qui visait à envoyer vers l’aéroport israélien Ben Gourion des militants pro-palestiniens souhaitant rejoindre la Cisjordanie, a en effet valu de nombreuses critiques envers le gouvernement Netanyahou.

A leur arrivée au port d’Ashdod, les 16 passagers du bateau français arraisonné se sont même vu offrir boissons et nourriture avant être interrogés et remis aux services du ministère de l’Intérieur et de l’immigration avait indiqué l’armée israélienne.

Mais de leur côté, les organisateurs de la flottille ont gagné leur pari en focalisant sur eux une forte attention médiatique. Ils n’ont certes pas ébranlé le blocus de Gaza, mais ont réussi à alerter l’opinion publique plusieurs semaines.

Flotilla: Even state officials say Netanyahu, IDF spread lies

29 June2011, +972blog http://972mag.com (Israel)

Noam Sheizaf*

According to government sources, the army doesn’t have any evidence that the flotilla activists are planning violent resistance, yet it publicly accuses them of conspiring to murder soldiers

Flotilla activists preparing weapons for their encounter with IDF soldiers (photo: Mya Guarnieri)
The top story in two of Israel’s leading daily papers yesterday was a bombshell: The IDF unveiled plans by flotilla passengers to kill soldiers trying to stop the ships from getting to Gaza.

Yedioth Ahronoth, Israel’s most widely read paper, ran a headline declaring “Flotilla activists set to kill,” which was attributed to military sources (but only in the fine print). The story declared, “Intelligence information revealed violent plans.” In the inside pages, the headline declared that this flotilla is considered to be “more violent than the previous one.”

Maariv’s top story covered the same topic: “IDF intelligence reveals: Lethal acid on flotilla boats.” The free paper Israel Hayom had a smaller headline in the front page. “Fear: Flotilla activists will try to kill soldiers.” Haaretz is the only paper that didn’t give the story such prominence in its print edition, but it was the top headline on the paper’s website throughout the previous evening. The Jerusalem Post’s headline read “IDF: Some flotilla activists planning to kill soldiers.”

You can view all front pages of the Hebrew papers in this pic, taken from the media blog Velvet Underground. Yedioth and Maariv are the bottom two.

Front Pages of Israeli papares, June 28 2011 (photo: velvet underground blog)

Chemical Weapons? Against the Israel Navy Seals, Air Force and war ships? Even as a suicide mission, it sounded too fantastic. And how could this flotilla be “more violent,” when the notorious IHH, whose members were on the Mavi Marmara last year, cancelled its participation? Who exactly is going to execute the soldiers with the lethal acid, 64- year-old Alice Walker? It was the kind of propaganda no thinking person could believe, yet the entire Hebrew media – even Haaretz! – went for it.

Luckily, it didn’t take Max Blumenthal to debunk this one. The media’s tone today was entirely different. Government sources have told Maariv that the so-called “intelligence information” was a spin by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, reflecting “a Hasbara [propaganda] hysteria.”

“It’s unthinkable that in cabinet meetings we receive information according to which there are no threats of violent actions from the flotilla activists or [indication of] the presence of terror elements on the ships, and that at the same time, senior political sources, including the army, feed the media with information that is the exact opposite of what we were given.”

Information that the media was only to eager to swallow, one should add.
A day too late, Yedioth Ahronoth’s military correspondent was the voice of reason in his paper:

“There isn’t a shred of evidence that extreme elements will initiate resistance against IDF soldiers. There is no knowledge of the existence of firearms on the ships.”

The damage, however, was done. The reports of the murderous intentions of the flotilla activists traveled around the country and across the world. Not for the first time, a group of unarmed European and American activists traveling on old yachts was presented as a threat to the security of the region’s superpower. The only question is: for how long will the world continue to buy these kind of stories?

Maariv’s story today offers a comment from Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office, claiming the information that was passed to the media came from IDF spokesperson unit. In response to my question today, the IDF spokesperson’s office made it clear they stand behind the information that was released yesterday.

*Noam Sheizaf:I am an Independent journalist and editor. I have worked for Tel Aviv's Ha-ir local paper, for Ynet.co.il and for the Maariv daily, where my last post was deputy editor of the weekend magazine. My work has recently been published in Haaretz, Yedioth Ahronoth, The Nation and other newspapers and magazines. I was born in Ramat-Gan and today live and work in Tel Aviv. Before working as a journalist, I served four and a half years in the IDF.

Breaching Gaza's Siege Update

25 June 2011, MWC Media with Conscience http://mwcnews.net (USA)

By Stephen Lendman

Suffocating besieged Gazans, Israel is committing slow-motion genocide. Global activists are determined to stop it and hold Israeli officials accountable for decades of crimes of war and against humanity - unspeakable atrocities financed by criminal co-conspirators in Washington.

In May 2010, Israeli commandos illegally interdicted six Freedom Flotilla ships in international waters, massacring nine activists aboard the Mavi Marmara mother ship.
Nonetheless, global activists are determined to break Gaza's siege, the first step to ending it altogether and freeing nearly 1.7 million people, isolated in the world's largest open-air prison.

They're coming, Freedom Flotilla II, heading to Gaza with vitally needed humanitarian aid. Planning more high seas barbarism and piracy, Israel will again interdict. In preparation, mobilized reserve combatants held drills, focusing on riot-control measures, including brute force and "surprises" if needed.
On June 19, Israeli Admiral Eliezer Marom said:

"The Navy has prevented and will continue to prevent the arrival of the 'hate flotilla' whose only goals are to clash with (Israeli) soldiers, create a media provocation, and delegitimize the State of Israel."

Besides interdiction, imprisonment awaits participants, Israeli authorities saying blockade violators will be arrested and jailed, treated harshly, then deported. All of it, of course, is lawless, including seizure of humanitarian supplies and personal belongings like Flotilla I was pillaged, the way pirates have done it for centuries.

Israel is a rogue terror state. Activists know the risks. They're coming anyway and will keep coming, no matter what Israel plans.

A June 23 "Freedom Flotilla II - Stay Human" press release headlined, "Sailing to Gaza," saying:

Within days, 10 participating ships will sail. Two carry cargo. Hundreds of activists from 20 countries are aboard the others, including politicians, writers, religious figures, journalists, TV crews from major broadcasters, doctors, lawyers, holocaust survivors, artists, and various other distinguished and ordinary committed activists for justice.

On June 18, Turkey's IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation pulled out, yielding to government pressure at a time Israeli and Ankara officials are holding secret rapprochement talks.

Despite Israeli threats, lies, pressure, blackmail, and governments not supporting their own citizens, preparations are nearly complete to sail.

A June 24 Free Gaza.org press release headlined, "Israel proves that Flotillas work," saying:

Israel's recent authorization of token aid amounts, including construction materials for 1,200 homes and 19 truckloads of medicines, shows pressure works even though not enough. Key is stiffening it until Gazans and all Palestinians are free. It's coming because global millions support it. For now, "Freedom Flotilla 2: Stay Human" sails for Gaza next week. "(O)ur destination is freedom."

Organized by 14 national groups and international coalitions, a US Boat to Gaza is included, named "The Audacity of Hope." Participants call this "an important moment in history." They're defying Israeli US ambassador Michael Oren describing organizers as "radical anti-Israel organizations known also for anti-American activities," and Netanyahu saying the mission is a "provocation." Earlier, he told European ambassadors in Jerusalem, "This flotilla must be stopped." Responding to it, he mounted a PR stunt to pretend Gaza's siege is eased.

Like other global activists, Americans are determined to help, despite Washington's efforts to deter them. On June 14, passengers wrote Obama, saying:

"We are writing to inform you that 50 unarmed Americans will soon be sailing....to Gaza....challeng(ing) Israel's (illegal) blockade (in) friendship (and solidarity) in support of the Palestinian people and their human rights."

Telling Gazans they're not alone, "it will call attention to the morally and legally indefensible collective punishment of a population of civilians....As US citizens, we expect our country and its leaders to help ensure the Flotilla's safe passage (and) demand that the Gaza blockade be lifted. This should begin by notifying the Israeli government in clear and certain terms that it may not physically interfere with" any participating vessel. We "expect no less from our President and your administration."

On June 24, Audacity of Hope participants "expressed profound disappointment" by the State Department's June 22 response, issuing a scandalous "travel advisory," advising Americans against coming by sea or other means. Saying previous attempts were "stopped by Israeli naval vessels and resulted in the injury, death, arrest, and deportation of US citizens," it didn't warn Israel that interdiction won't be tolerated, especially if on board activists are harmed.

Participating in the mission, University of Southern California Professor Hagit Borer said:

"Apparently, the State Department subscribes to the view that Israel's anticipated violence against unarmed protesters is an immutable act of nature. This is a remarkable attitude, coming from a government that provides the Israeli government with billions of dollars in military aid and routinely uses its veto to protect (its) government from censure of its occupation policies by the UN Security Council."

In fact, Washington officials are legally bound to protect US citizens. Nonetheless, they plan nothing to do it, effectively green-lighting Israeli commandos to lawlessly interdict, brutalize, and kill again if if they choose, perhaps with funding, weapons and munitions America supplies for that purpose.

A Final Comment
On June 24, Israel's UN ambassador Ron Prosor said:
"Israel is determined to stop the flotilla. Israel has the right to self-defense. The flotilla has nothing constructive. There is nothing humanitarian in the shipments," calling the mission a "provocation."

In fact, it's bringing vital humanitarian aid Israel lawlessly restricts or blocks entirely for nearly 1.7 million besieged people, ruthlessly persecuted for not being Jewish and electing the wrong government. Abhorrent by any standard, under international law it's illegal but continues because global leaders are complicit for doing nothing to stop it.

In America's Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson endorsed citizen action against destructive government policies. Flotilla participants are acting in the best tradition of his message, challenging Israeli repression for justice.

Breaching Gaza's Siege Update
Israel keeps exerting pressure to block humanitarian efforts to deliver vital to life and other essential aid to besieged Gazans.

Endorsing Israeli lawlessness, the State Department issued a June 22 "Travel Warning - Israel, the West Bank and Gaza," saying in part:

"The Department of State warns US citizens of the risks of traveling to Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip, and about threats to themselves and to US interests in those locations," adding "avoid all travel to the Gaza Strip."

Access the full statement through the following link:
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_5511.html

On June 23, Secretary of State Clinton added:

"We do not believe that the flotilla is a necessary or useful effort to try to assist the people of Gaza. And we think that it's not helpful for there to be flotillas that try to provoke actions by entering into Israeli waters and creating a situation in which the Israelis have the right to defend themselves."

Defend against whom she didn't explain or that Gazan waters belong to Palestine, not Israel. Moreover, delivering humanitarian aid is essential until Gaza's blockade is ended, a crime against humanity Washington funds and supports.

This week, "Freedom Flotilla II - Stay Human" sails to Gaza. Neither Israel nor Clinton will stop it, but they're trying by blocking its departure or planned interdiction surprises if it comes.

The US Boat to Gaza (The Audacity of Hope) is one of 10 participating ships, now blocked by Greek officials, saying the vessel is unseaworthy, a spurious claim with no validity.

A June 26 US Boat to Gaza press release asked "Greek government officials to clarify whether (their leased boat) is being blocked....because of an anonymous request of a private citizen....or whether (Greece) made a political decision....in response to US and Israeli" pressure.

Specifically they want to know if bailout help is contingent on succumbing to blackmail, besides Greece already surrendering its sovereignty to foreign bankers.
On June 27, a US Boat to Gaza press release responded to reports that an Israeli "Lawfare" group (Shurat HaDin) complaint is delaying the boat's departure.

Israel, Washington, AIPAC, and the Shurat HaDin Law Center (SH) are directly involved. In fact, SH's web site claims it's "bankrupting terrorism one lawsuit at a time," adding on June 19:

"I am happy to report that we have achieved some important victories in the struggle to block the anti-Israel Flotilla from 'smuggling contraband' to the Hamas controlled Gaza Strip."

Specifically, it referred to a French insurance company succumbing to intimidation not to cover a French boat from Marseilles, and the Turkish ship pressured by Ankara to cancel its participation.

On June 15, SH announced a Manhattan federal court lawsuit to "confiscate 14 ships outfitted with funds unlawfully raised in the United States by anti-Israeli groups, including the Free Gaza Movement."

SH, the Obama administration, AIPAC and other Israeli Lobby members clearly support state terrorism in violation of international, US and Israeli law. Nonetheless, America's "Audacity of Hope" is confident it will sail, saying:

SH is notorious for filing "frivolous legal complaints against the Gaza Freedom Flotilla. We reiterate that the boat we are leasing....was surveyed by a professional surveyor and successfully completed its sea trials."

At noon Athens time June 27, a press conference will announce its readiness to sail, but expect continued pressure to stop it - criminal co-conspirators determined to lawlessly suffocate besieged Gazans.

On June 27, a Haaretz editorial headlined, "Let the flotilla go," saying:
Israel equates "flotilla" with terrorism or "a declaration of war," no matter that cargo includes food, medicines, educational materials and other humanitarian aid raised by private donations.

Nonetheless, Israel "seems to be as frightened of the flotilla as one would think it would be of an attack by an armed naval fleet." As a result, it's "preparing to fight an enemy" comprised of unarmed, nonviolent men and women who care enough to risk their safety to deliver vital aid and symbolically oppose Israeli lawlessness.

Thirteen months after the Mavi Marmara massacre, "Israel is showing that it has learned just one lesson: the military lesson....The country is not willing to give up a display of power, thereby no doubt contributing to inflating the flotilla's importance" and Israel as a rogue terror state. "From Israel, we can at least demand that it let the flotilla get through....without once again endangering the country's position in the world."

On June 27, Israel National News said former US Ecuador ambassador Samuel Hart (a 27-year Foreign Service veteran) will participate in the Flotilla mission.

In a 1992 Foreign Affairs Oral History Project for the Association for Diplomatic Studies interview, Hart said:

"I've always felt that Israel has been a little bit of a burr in the saddle in our foreign policy. Here is a small country with no particular interest to us in any real strategic terms, yet it sort of jerks us around because it has not only a very vocal Jewish population, but also supporters of Israel from non-Jewish groups."

He also once wrote an essay calling Israel "an exhausting place to live (because) the tension, anxiety and intensity wear you out."

Now aged 77, he told a Jacksonville, FL newspaper he joined the Flotilla because he "missed" participating in the 1950s and 1960s civil rights movement to end segregation. "I see great similarities between this and the civil rights movement," he said. "I am pleased to be part of it."

He also asked, "What did the residents of Gaza do to deserve such punishment? The honest answer is they" elected Hamas in 2006 democratically and now suffer lawlessly.

On June 26, New York Times writer Ethan Bronner headlined, "Avoid Gaza Flotilla, Israel Warns Foreign Journalists," saying:

"Israel threatened Sunday to bar for up to a decade any foreign journalist who boards a flotilla seeking to challenge an Israeli naval blockade of Gaza."
Moreover, Israel's Government Press Office director Oren Helman said their equipment will be impounded and they'll be subjected to "additional sanctions." He sent a warning letter to registered foreign correspondents, stopping short of saying they'll be arrested and jailed.

Perhaps all Flotilla participants will be mistreated, imprisoned, their personal possessions confiscated, then summarily deported the way Flotilla I activists were treated after being attacked, beaten and otherwise abused, besides nine on board massacred in cold blood.

On June 26, Israel's Foreign Press Association responded, saying:

Journalists "covering a legitimate news event should be allowed to do their jobs without threat and intimidation. (Helman's letter) sends a chilling message to the international media and raises serious questions about Israel's commitment to freedom of the press."

Bronner said an unnamed New York Times journalist would participate, joining other international correspondents.

Further updates will follow, highlighting courageous activism against lawless Israeli brutality, complicit with its Washington paymaster/partner.

La Flotilla de la Libertad se reunirá en aguas internacionales entre el jueves y el viernes

27 Junio 2011, Rumbo a Gaza http://www.rumboagaza.org (España)

En la expedición participa el barco de Rumbo a Gaza ‘Gernika’ en el que viajan aproximadamente 45 activistas del Estado español

Dror Feiller (Suecia), Vangelis Pissias (Grecia) y Ann Wright (EEUU), durante la rueda de prensa

Atenas, 27 de junio de 2011.- La Segunda Flotilla de la Libertad – Seguimos siendo humanos se reunirá en aguas internacionales entre el jueves, 30 de junio y el viernes, 1 de julio de 2011, para dirigirse desde allí a la Franja de Gaza con el objetivo de romper y poner fin al bloqueo ilegal israelí a este territorio palestino. Así se ha anunciado hoy en Atenas en una rueda de prensa en la que han participado miembros de las diferentes organizaciones que forman la coalición internacional de la Segunda Flotilla de la Libertad. El escritor Santiago Alba Rico participó en la rueda de prensa en representación de Rumbo a Gaza.

Los barcos zarparán desde diversos puertos del Mediterráneo. Estos puntos de partida no se desvelarán por motivos de seguridad. En la expedición participan 45 personas del Estado español, principalmente activistas aunque también hay entre ellas personalidades representativas del mundo de la política, como el europarlamentario Willy Meyer o las diputadas autonómicas Marina Albiol y Nekane Pérez, o de la cultura, como el escritor Santiago Alba Rico o el actor Guillermo Toledo. Además, también viajan periodistas de distintos medios de comunicación españoles.

Estas personas embarcarán en el buque ‘Gernika’, el barco que desde el Estado español aporta la campaña Rumbo a Gaza a la Segunda Flotilla de la Libertad. En total, la expedición aglutina a una decena de barcos de organizaciones de una veintena de países, mientras que el número de internacionalistas se acerca a 500 procedentes de unos 45 países.

Manuel Tapial, miembro de Rumbo a Gaza, señaló tras la rueda de prensa que la campaña española ha invitado a varias personas turcas de la organización no gubernamental IHH a viajar en el ‘Gernika’ como muestra de solidaridad “con nuestros compañeros que no han podido viajar en el Mavi Marmara”.

Entre las personas turcas que subirán al barco español se encuentra el representante legal de los familiares de los nueve activistas asesinados por el Ejército de Israel el pasado año en el abordaje ilegal de la embarcación turca. En este sentido, Tapial señaló que el ‘Gernika’ “llevará el espíritu de nuestros compañeros asesinados”.

En el convoy irán, además, 50 periodistas de distintos medios internacionales. El Gobierno de Israel, en una clara vulneración de la libertad de información, ha anunciado que prohibirá la entrada en su territorio durante 10 años a los y las profesionales la prensa que embarquen en la Flotilla. Ante esto Manuel Tapial declaró que existe el temor fundado “de que Israel haga una brutalidad como el año pasado y no haya prensa para informar”.

Los barcos de la Flotilla de la Libertad llevarán hasta la Franja de Gaza más de 5.000 toneladas de ayuda humanitaria, principalmente material sanitario, educativo y de construcción. Desde la campaña española Rumbo a Gaza se ha aportado ayuda humanitaria valorada en 600.000 euros.

La Premio Nobel de Literatura estadounidense Alice Walker, durante la rueda de prensa. La escritora afroamericana viajará en la Segunda Flotilla de la Libertad: Fotos: Nacho Prieto


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FLOTILLA DE LA LIBERTAD II

• Bateau suisse pour Gaza (Suiza)
• Belgium to Gaza (Bélgica)
• Canada Boat to Gaza (Canadá)
• Deutch initiative zum bruc des gazablockade (Alemania)
• European Campaign to End the Siege on Gaza
• Free Gaza Movement
• Free Gaza Scotland (Escocia)
• IHH The Fundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief (Turquia)
• Irish Ship to Gaza (Irlanda)
• Italia Freedom Flotilla (Italia)
• Lifeline 4 Gaza (Malasia)
• Nederlands Boat to Gaza (Holanda)
• Rumbo a Gaza (España)
• Ship to Gaza Greece (Grecia)
• Ship to Gaza Norwey (Noruega)
• Ship to Gaza Sweden (Suecia)
• U.S. Boat to Gaza (Estados Unidos)
• Un bateau pour Gaza (Francia)

Os israelís que soñaban con ver o mar de Gaza

27 junio 2011, Xornal.com http://www.xornal.com (Galicia)

Varios cidadáns hebreos desafían o bloqueo de Israel á Faixa dende barcos da Frotiña

Ricardo Rodríguez

Amira Hass, a única xornalista israelí que informou durante a segunda Intifada dende territorio palestino, que viviu en Gaza e Ramala durante anos –entre 1993 e 2000– e que acabou sendo expulsada da Faixa por Hamás pouco antes da operación Chumbo Fundido de 2008, viaxará a bordo do Tahrir, un dos barcos da Frotiña da Liberdade que se fará ao mar nuns días dende un porto grego non especificado. Hass (Xerusalén, 1956), filla de superviventes do Holocausto –os seus pais estiveron recluídos no campo de Bergen-Belsen–, escribe decote para o xornal israelí Haaretz. Das súas vivencias nos territorios ocupados e en Gaza saíron un par de libros. É amais unha das poucas voces críticas –de esquerdas– dentro de Israel coa ocupación. Ten comparado as políticas do goberno israelí cara aos palestinos coas de Sudáfrica durante a época do Apartheid. E mesmo desafiado o bloqueo a Gaza, como cando en decembro de 2008 conseguiu chegar á Faixa a bordo dun barco. Desta volta tentarao de novo nun buque da Frotiña bautizado co símbolo da nacente democracia exipcia, Tahrir, xunto cun feixe de cidadáns israelís que soñan con ver o mar de Gaza.

Nun artigo publicado onte en Haaretz, a xornalista israelí debullaba os detalles da viaxe que comezará nos vindeiros días. Serán tres xornadas de travesía dende Grecia a Gaza. No mellor dos casos, os activistas e xornalistas canadenses, dinamarqueses ou belgas que viaxan a bordo do Tahrir serán quen de acadar as costas da Faixa. No peor, acabarán sendo detidos polos comandos israelís. E para esa situación estanse a preparar. Os tripulantes do Tahrir, escribe Hass, estanse a adestrar emocionalmente para un asalto no que terán que facer fronte a altas doses de estrés. Saben que os soldados apuntarán as súas armas cara eles, que os helicópteros voarán por riba das súas cabezas, que haberá canóns de auga, que se lanzarán gases lacrimóxenos e probabelmente granadas de son. E tamén haberá insultos, empurróns, algún que outro lapote, cans e soldados con pasamontañas. “Os activistas sacaron en limpo deste exercicio que deberían recoñecer os seus medos e que coma un grupo –no que todos e cada un son responsábeis dos demais– deberían aprender a confrontalos”, afirma.

O Tahrir está fretado por activistas canadenses que recadaron fondos durante un ano para adquirir o barco e poñelo a punto para a súa navegación. Foi mercado por 500.000 dólares e as doazóns chegaron dende cidadáns, non desde organizacións, de varios países. O Goberno de Canadá non apoia a acción humanitaria, á que cualifica de provocación a Israel. É unha postura que asumiron moitos outros gobernos, incluído o español, que desaconsellou aos seus nacionais participar na travesía a Gaza polos perigos que entraña a través dunhas declaracións da ministra de Exteriores, Trinidad Jiménez, e sen que houbese unha declaración oficial ao respecto. O único país polo momento que demandou a Israel que evite calquera acción violenta contra a frotiña foi Irlanda.

Un feixe de cidadáns israelís embarcarase xunto con Hass nunha ducia de buques que levan nas súas adegas axuda humanitaria para os cidadáns da Faixa. Algúns deles farano no American, algúns de cuxos delegados son estadounidenses e outros israelís. O pasado xoves, asegura Hass, as autoridades portuarias gregas recibiron unha denuncia consonte o buque non estaba en condicións para facerse ao mar. Os organizadores da Frotiña cren que detrás desa denuncia hai motivacións políticas. E, polo momento, mentres negocian coas autoridades gregas, non está claro se o buque poderá acabar uníndose ao resto rumbo a Gaza.

Pero mentres os preparativos continúan nos portos gregos –un dos cinco activistas galegos que participa na expedición confirmou onte a partida do primeiro navío– a diplomacia turca move ficha para tentar restabelecer as relacións rachadas con Israel despois do asalto ao Mavi Marmara o pasado ano. As presións israelís á organización IHH, que tiña previsto participar na expedición con ese buque– sinálanse como a razón de fondo para retirarse da expedición. Haaretz publicou onte que Erdogan está moi preocupado polas fondas críticas contra Turquía contidas no relatorio do secretario xeral da ONU sobre a matanza do Mavi Marmara e que pretende rebaixar o ton dese informe para atallar as liortas diplomáticas. Un borrador, entregado aos dous países, subliña as relacións entre o IHH e o Goberno turco, mantén que o bloqueo é legal, que acción para deter a frotiña foi acertada e que os soldados israelís actuaron en defensa propia.