Tag: Gaza

  • Israel Warns Of Using Force If New Flotilla Heads to Gaza

    Israel Warns Of Using Force If New Flotilla Heads to Gaza

    By ETHAN BRONNER

    TEL AVIV — Israel made clear on Thursday that if a new flotilla of pro-Palestinian activists sought to break its naval blockade of Gaza like the one a year ago when its commandos killed nine people, the Israeli military would use force again, including boarding the ships and confronting the activists.

    “We will do anything we have to do to prevent a boat from breaking the blockade,” a top naval official said in a briefing for foreign journalists. “If there is the same violence against our forces on board, there is a pretty good chance there will be injuries.” The official spoke on the condition of anonymity under Israeli military rules.

    On Israel Radio on Thursday, the military’s chief spokesman, Brig. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, said the army would stop any ship from entering Gaza. General Mordechai added, “There is an unequivocal directive from the government to enforce the naval blockade that is recognized by international law, and we will not allow it to be broken.”

    The statements seemed part of a heightened effort to stop another flotilla and to pre-emptively explain Israel’s position if violence ensues.

    Groups of Palestinian advocates in chartered vessels are scheduled to depart from a number of European ports this month and assemble into a flotilla heading toward Gaza to challenge Israel’s blockade and commemorate the deaths of a year ago.

    Among those expected to participate is an American vessel with several dozen passengers, including the writer Alice Walker and an 86-year-old whose parents died in the Holocaust.

    Because of insurance difficulties and political pressure, it remained unclear whether the ship on which last year’s deaths occurred, the Mavi Marmara of Turkey, would join the flotilla as planned. Israel, widely condemned for the commando operation, said that a year ago the ship was dominated by extremists who created the confrontations that resulted in the deaths.

    A number of world leaders, including Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations secretary general; Catherine Ashton, the European Union’s foreign policy chief; and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu of Turkey, have urged the flotilla organizers to drop their plans or wait and see how Gaza fares under changes in Egyptian and Israeli policies.

    Four years ago, after Hamas took over in Gaza, Israel and Egypt closed off the territory, preventing most goods and nearly all people from going in and out. Israel began a naval blockade two and a half years ago when it invaded Gaza to stop Palestinian militants from firing rockets into Israel.

    But after the commando raid a year ago, international outrage over the deaths, along with the hardships in Gaza, contributed to a shift in Israeli policy. Israel eased its blockade, letting in more goods over land. After the revolution in Egypt this year, Egypt changed its policy toward Gaza, partly reopening its border to people. Today Gaza has plenty of goods available, but its economy remains devastated and unemployment is 40 to 45 percent.

    Moreover, Israel continues the naval blockade. The government says its goal is to prevent Hamas from importing weapons by sea. In March, Israel stopped a vessel packed with weapons that it says were Gaza-bound.

    This year an Israeli commission concluded that the blockade conformed with international law, as did Israel’s raid on the Mavi Marmara in international waters. The panel included two foreign legal experts who agreed with the conclusions. Turkey dismissed the report as lacking credibility.

    Israel’s navy has been training for another flotilla and says it will use a number of tactics before boarding ships and do everything it can to avoid close contact with activists on board.

    As it did last time, Israel says it will ask ships carrying aid to Gaza to dock in Israel or Egypt, unload the cargo and allow it to be driven in. Israeli officials say the flotillas’ goal is not to ship aid to the Palestinians, but to challenge and embarrass the Israelis.

    The naval officer who briefed foreign journalists said that he did not believe that the coming flotilla would contain arms, but that Israel needed to enforce the blockade indiscriminately to defend against weapons imports by future flotillas. He said searches on board did not work because boats had many areas to conceal things, so the only reasonable way was for the cargo to be unloaded and driven to Gaza.

    He said that many of those planning to take part in the flotilla were peace activists, but that they were naïve because “extremists will set the tone” if Israeli commandos board the ships.

    A version of this article appeared in print on June 17, 2011, on page A4 of the New York edition with the headline: Israel Warns Of Using Force If New Flotilla Heads to Gaza.

    via Israel Warns Of Using Force If New Flotilla Heads to Gaza – NYTimes.com.

  • Israeli raid on Gaza-bound flotilla remembered

    Israeli raid on Gaza-bound flotilla remembered

    (CNN) — On the first anniversary of the Israeli raid on a flotilla headed to Gaza, organizers of another flotilla planned for June held a news conference Monday that concluded with a minute of silence for the nine activists killed in that raid.

    Palestinians rally Monday off the coast of Gaza City to mark the first anniversary of a deadly Israeli raid on a Turkish flotilla
    Palestinians rally Monday off the coast of Gaza City to mark the first anniversary of a deadly Israeli raid on a Turkish flotilla

    Palestinians rally Monday off the coast of Gaza City to mark the first anniversary of a deadly Israeli raid on a Turkish flotilla

    The event was held on the Mavi Marmara, the ship that was the scene of the raid, which led to the deterioration of relations between Israel and Turkey, its once strong Muslim ally.

    Mavi Marmara — owned by the Turkish Humanitarian Relief Foundation, or IHH — and five other ships were on their way to Gaza carrying humanitarian aid and about 700 activists from various countries when Israeli soldiers swarmed aboard it in international waters on the night of May 30-31, 2010.

    Eight Turks and one American of Turkish origin died. Istanbul pulled its ambassador from Israel after the incident and the post has remained vacant.

    Huseyin Oruc, an executive from IHH, said Monday the flotilla that will set out in the last week of June in an attempt to break the Israeli blockade will consist of 15 ships and about 1,500 participants from 100 countries.

    The ships will carry a wide variety of humanitarian aid for Gaza, ranging from children’s toys to construction and medical supplies. They will be leaving from a variety of Mediterranean ports.

    At the news conference, Evangelos Pissias of Greece read out a joint statement on behalf of the international flotilla organization welcoming the recent decision of Egypt to open the Rafah border crossing into Gaza.

    However, he said, “We must continue to challenge this blockade. We call on all states, the United Nations and international organizations to support our action and demand that Israel refrain from attacking our vessels.”

    Egypt opened its border crossing into Gaza on Saturday. It had been mostly kept closed after Hamas, an Islamic militant group, got control of Gaza in June 2007.

    Asked if the flotilla organizers are taking any measures to protect the people on board the ships in case of an Israeli raid, Ann Wright, representing the American boat that will be a part of this year’s flotilla, told CNN, “There is not much we can do. They have got the weapons. We have no weapons. We don’t want weapons. We are going non-violently.”

    The news conference ended with prayer and the minute of silence.

    Monday evening in Istanbul, anger spilled out as several thousand Turks gathered in the city’s central Taksim Square to mark the anniversary.

    Chants of “Damn Israel” were interspersed with Arabic- and Turkish-language Islamic music as people waved Palestinian and Turkish flags at the event, which also was organized by the Turkish Humanitarian Foundation.

    The crowd, including men, women and children, carried banners saying “Support Gaza,” “Mavi Marmara martyrs are our honor” and “Palestine will win.” They also sent Chinese lanterns into the sky and lit flares in red and green.

    There was a moment of prayer. The crowd got loudest when chanting “Allahu Akbar.”

    One of the participants in the rally, Rabia Demirci, has registered to take part in the next flotilla. “I don’t think (Israel) will attack after this,” she said. “The Rafah crossing is open, too. God willing, it won’t. But if it attacks, we will continue on our path again, saying on with resistance. No obstacle can block our path.”

    Palestinians also marked the day, with many taking to small boats off the coast of Gaza City.

    via Israeli raid on Gaza-bound flotilla remembered – CNN.com.

  • New int’l flotilla heading to Gaza in early 2011

    New int’l flotilla heading to Gaza in early 2011

    ShowImage

     By ASSOCIATED PRESS 
    10/12/2010 09:53

    IHH says may send ship larger than Mavi Marmara; US group sending ship named after Obama’s book, “Audacity of Hope.”

    GENEVA — Pro-Palestinian groups plan to sail a flotilla of boats through Israel’s sea blockade of Gaza as early as February in the second such attempt in less than a year, activists said Monday.

    The activists, representing groups from over a dozen countries including Switzerland, Turkey and the United States, said the flotilla would be bigger than the one stopped by Israel earlier this year.

    “It’s not about the aid,” Huwaida Arraf of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition told reporters in Geneva.

    Arraf said the aim will instead be to show that the Gaza blockade can be broken. A spokeswoman at Israel’s embassy in Bern, Shlomit Sufa, said humanitarian goods are allowed into Gaza by land and the sea blockade is needed to prevent weapons being smuggled in to the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Several smaller ships have failed to reach Gaza since the May raid — most recently last month, when a boat carrying Jewish activists tried to reach the densely populated strip. Among the groups planning to take part in the latest flotilla is the Turkey-based Islamic charity IHH, which sponsored the Mavi Marmara — by far the biggest ship in the first flotilla. A representative of the group, Ahmet Faruk Unsal, said IHH is considering sending another ship of the same size. An American group, US Boat to Gaza, is also planning to send a vessel, said activist Jane Hirschmann. The boat will be named “The Audacity of Hope” in reference to US President Barack Obama’s best-selling policy book.

  • Israeli rabbi will meet Turkish PM in Ankara

    Israeli rabbi will meet Turkish PM in Ankara

    Rabbi Menachem FromanChief Rabbi of the Israeli settlement of Tekoa, Rav  Menachem Furman, plans to visit Turkey upon Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan‘s invitation, the Turkish newspaper Milliyet reported.

    Furman’s visit will take place on the backdrop of controversy in the Turkey-Israel bilateral relations in connection with the Israeli military’s attack on the Turkish humanitarian ship Mavi Marmara routing to Gaza that lead to murder of nine Turks in late May.

    Furman, whom is known for his ties with the leaders of the Muslim world, is in contact with the Erdogan administration for more than a year.

    He said peace in the Middle East can be achieved only through dialogue and close contact with representatives of the Muslim clergy. Furman believes Turkey will become the country that will bring peace to the region.

    Israel regards Furman’s upcoming Turkey visit and his meeting with Turkish politicians as an important step toward reconciliation with former military and strategic ally.

    This will be Furman’s second visit for the last month. He also plans to meet with the head of the politburo of the Palestinian movement Hamas, Khaled Mashaal

    https://en.trend.az/news/society/religion/1722815.html, 19.07.2010

    Rabbi Menachem Froman

  • Sources say Turkey could help oversee Gaza crossings

    Sources say Turkey could help oversee Gaza crossings

    Turkey could be given a central role in supervising the border crossings with the Gaza Strip as part of a deal to repair ties between Israel and Turkey, according to Arab diplomatic sources, the Lebanese Ad-Diyar reported newspaper yesterday.
    The relationship between Israel and Turkey has deteriorated dramatically since the Israeli naval commando raid on the Gaza-bound aid flotilla on May 31 in which nine Turkish citizens (including one with dual Turkish-Amerian citizenship ) were killed.
    According to the Lebanese newspaper report, Turkey would supervise all humanitarian aid entering Gaza, as well as commit to preventing the entry of weapons and money destined for Hamas. In this position, Turkey would play a meaningful role in lifting the blockade of Gaza and play the role of a central figure in the Middle East, which will enable the Islamic country to mediate between Israel and the Arab world in the future, as Turkey has sought in the past, the paper said.
    The report has not been confirmed by Turkish or Israeli officials.
    On Friday, Turkish President Abdullah Gul told the French daily Le Monde that Israel must make amends to be forgiven for a commando assault on the Gaza-bound aid flotilla, including apologizing for the attack and paying compensation.
    Gul added that if Israel made no move to heal the rift, then Turkey could even decide to break diplomatic ties.
    In an interview published on Friday, Gul said the fatal Israeli attack at the end of May was a “crime” – one that might have been carried out by the likes of Al-Qaida rather than a sovereign state. “It seems impossible to me to forgive or forget, unless there are some initiatives that could change the situation,” Gul was quoted as saying in Le Monde. Asked what these might be, he said: “Firstly, to seek a pardon and to establish some sort of compensation.” He added that he also wanted to see an independent inquiry into the botched raid and a discussion on lifting Israel’s blockade of Gaza.
    Asked if Turkey might break relations with Israel if nothing was done, Gul said: “Anything is possible.”
    By Jack Khoury
    Source: haaretz.com
  • Iranian aid ships head for Gaza

    Iranian aid ships head for Gaza

     First ship left Iran Sunday, another leaves this week

    * Iran says will continue until Gaza blockade lifted

    * 100,000 Iranians volunteer to help the Gazans

    (Adds parliamentarians aim to visit Gaza; context)

    By Robin Pomeroy

    TEHRAN, June 14 (Reuters) – Iran is sending aid ships to blockaded Gaza, state radio said on Monday — a move likely to be considered provocative by Israel which accuses Tehran of arming the Palestinian enclave’s Islamist rulers, Hamas.

    One ship left port on Sunday and another will depart by Friday, loaded with food, construction material and toys, the report said. “Until the end of (Israel’s) Gaza blockade, Iran will continue to ship aid,” said an official at Iran’s Society for the Defence of the Palestinian Nation.

    Iran has sent aid to the coastal territory in the past via Egypt. It was not immediately clear if the latest shipments would do the same, or try to dock in Gaza itself.

    Reuters