An apology to Prime Minister Erdogan

This apology to Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan was passed around by email this morning:

An open letter to Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Prime Minister of Turkey

Dear Mister Prime Minister:

    On behalf of all of the people of Israel, I would like to apologize to you for the cowardice and fathomless idiocy of the Prime Minister of Israel.  As you know, this weekend Benjamin Netanyahu sent you an "apology" for Israel having defended itself against the genocidal terrorists who attacked Israeli soldiers armed only with paintguns when they boarded the terrorist "flotilla" ship that you sent out to challenge Israel's naval blockade of the Hamas enclave in Gaza.   Netanyahu spoke only for himself when he apologized to you for Israel's defending itself and its people, this two generations after the Holocaust.  He does not represent anyone at all in the country when it comes to this "apology."   No one else in the country, except for some anti-Israel radical leftists with tenure at the universities, agrees that Israel owes you an apology for defending its people.

     Actually, on behalf of all REAL Israelis, I would like to apologize to you for the fact that ONLY nine terrorists were killed by Israeli troops on the flotilla ship when Israeli soldiers were savagely attacked by Turkish and other terrorists.  I would like to apologize for the fact that Israeli did NOT torpedo and sink the terrorist ships trying to break the blockade and bring in aid to the Hamas Nazis.  I would like to apologize for the fact that Israel has a Prime Minister who is so clueless, insensitive, and divorced from Jewish history that he would consider buying a  few moments of diplomat calm with a Moslem aggressor by shaming his entire country with an "apology" to Turkey, exhibiting one of the most disgraceful acts by a Jew in all of history, and all this just hours before the Jewish holiday of national liberation, Passover.

     Beyond that, I really do think that Israel owes an apology for NOT having done much more to draw the world's attention to the illegal occupation and destruction by Turkey of the jewel of Cyprus, the city of Famagusta.  Israel sat by while Turkey conquered 40% of Cyprus and transferred tens of thousands of its own people as illegal settlers to the island.  And for that I apologize.  And since you have spent so much time in recent years denouncing Israel as an occupier, I think Israel owes an apology to the world for not helping to end the illegal Turkish occupation of the great ancient Greek capital of Constantinople, now under an illegal Saracen occupation that has continued for far too long.  It is high time that Constantinople be returned to its true heritage and its legal owners, the Greek people. It is less than a hundred years since the city, along with Smyrna and other Greek homelands, was almost liberated by the Greeks, who were only to be blocked by the Turkish military aggressors, the mass murderers of the Armenians.

    So Mister Prime Minister, as you see, I am afraid that Israelis DO owe the world quite a few apologies.

    On behalf of the non-pusillanimous citizens of Israel, I remain

Most sincerely yours,
Prof. Steven Plaut

Indeed. 

Israel Mocks Turkey’s ‘Show Trial’ for '18,000 Years in Jail' A Turkish court begins an in absentia trial of former IDF officers and demands jail terms of 18,000 years. Israel: A show trial.

A Turkish court on Tuesday began what Israel calls an in absentia "show trial" of former IDF Chief of Gabi Ashkenazi and three other former senior military officers over the 2010 clash with the terror-linked IHH organization.

The prosecutors are demanding multiple life sentences that would amount to 18,000 years in jail for the four officers over the clash that plunged relations between Israel and Turkey into deep crisis. Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the Istanbul court waving Palestinian Authority flags and chanting "Damn Israel" as the trial opened, AFP reported

Israeli commandos boarded the Turkish-flagged Mavi Marmara, the largest ship in a flotilla dispatched by the IHH, ostensibly a relief agency but which has been proven to include terrorists. Their ship presumably was headed to Hamas-controlled Gaza with humanitarian aid in an effort to break the maritime embargo against the smuggling of terrorists and arms into Gaza. After the Mavi Mamara ship was led to the post in Ashdod, it was discovered there was no aid on board.

Nine IHH terror activists were killed in the clash after they brutally clubbed IDF Navy commandos who had boarded the ship virtually unarmed. Reinforcements were sent in after the IHH kidnapped, shot and knifed commandos, kidnapping three of them until their rescue.

"This is not a trial but a show trial and has nothing to do with law and justice," Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor told AFP, saying the defendants had not even been informed about the nature of the charges.

"They haven't been given even a symbolic chance to have legal representation," he added. "It's a propaganda showcase. The government of Turkey, if it really wanted to do something about this issue, would engage with Israel."

The defendants in the trial are Ashkenazi, former navy chief Eliezer Marom, former military intelligence head Amos Yadlin and former air force intelligence chief Avishai Levy.

Israel ruled that those who took part in the raid did nothing wrong, and one of thelawyers for the plaintiffs said they expected the court to issue an arrest warrant for the men.

Last year, an Israeli probe ruled that the raid did not violate international law, and a United Nations report said that although the IDF used “excessive force,” the flotilla organizers acted “recklessly” and that the maritime blockade was legal.

In May, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon had said he was expecting foreign diplomatic pressure on Turkey to stop the trial, saying it could have "wide-ranging implications for NATO and US forces," which frequently board ships suspected of terror activity.

Turkey insists ties will not return to normal unless Israel offers a formal apology, compensates the victims and lifts the blockade on the impoverished Gaza Strip.

Israeli commando sues state over Mavi Marmara photo

Former naval commando who participated in deadly clashes aboard a Gaza-bound Turkish ship in 2010 claims a photo of the incident revealed his identity, forcing him to cancel plans to study abroad out of fear that terror organizations would target him for revenge.

The takeover of the Mavi Marmara on May 31, 2010  |  Photo credit: IDF Spokesperson's Unit

A former Shayetet 13 naval commando who participated in the interception of the Mavi Marmara in May 2010 has filed a lawsuit seeking 800,000 shekels from the Defense Ministry for damages he claimed were caused to him by the release of his photo to media outlets in Turkey and throughout the world.

In May 2010, Israeli commandos stormed the Mavi Marmara, a Turkish activist ship headed for Gaza in protest of the Israeli blockade. The commandos were met with violence aboard the ship, and killed nine Turkish activists in the ensuing clash. A photo of the incident, depicting the complainant among others, was subsequently published in an array of publications.

According to the suit, filed with the Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court, the claimant decided not to study overseas as he had previously planned, out of fear that terrorist organizations would target him for revenge.

Investigations conducted by the Israel Navy and the Shayetet 13 elite naval commando unit following the interception of the Gaza-bound ship, which was part of a larger protest flotilla, found that the faces of three commandos had been exposed during the operation, despite the fact that they boarded the ship with their faces covered.

The Israel Defense Forces is concerned that Turkey may try to take legal action against the soldiers whose identities have been exposed.

The former commando's lawsuit was brought to the attention of Military Advocate General Brig. Gen. Danny Efroni, as well as Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein and the State Prosecutor's Office.

Ten Shayetet 13 commandos were hurt in the Mavi Marmara clash, three seriously and three moderately.

FPM -- Solicitation for New Gaza Flotilla Provocation

Having only recently suffered a humiliating defeat in their failed attempt to breach the Israeli maritime blockade of Hamas controlled Gaza, extremists from the Free Palestine Movement (FPM) have now returned to the United States to fund raise for yet another planned Gaza Flotilla provocation.  In a recent solicitation letter, the FPM announced that it has a new ship, the Nour al-Haqiqa, that can carry 120 passengers and crew.  The letter notes that the vessel is currently berthed in a secure location but that the group has been unsuccessful in finding a country in the Mediterranean that will allow its passengers to go on board to create hostilities against Israel.  Once an accomplice country is identified, it is the group’s intention to sail again.  The good news is that, according to their solicitation letter, they are broke. Apparently, the FPM’s funds were exhausted during the course of their previous failed voyage.  Thus, the urgent solicitation letter.  It should be noted, however, that the acts of organizing, funding, furnishing and participating in such a naval expedition against a people with whom the United States is at peace is a violation of American law.  Similarly, providing material support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization is also a violation of U.S. law.  In June, both Shurat HaDin—Israel Law Center and Texas Governor Rick Perry sent letters to United States Attorney General Eric Holder requesting that the U.S. Justice Department investigate and prosecute the FPM and other offenders of these American laws.   

WSJ: A United Nations Miracle Israel is vindicated on the Gaza flotilla, but Turkey still pouts.

Here's a story for the man-bites-dog folder: The United Nations has conducted another inquiry into an Israeli military operation—and produced a report that mainly vindicates the Jewish state. And here, alas, is a story for the dog-bites-man folder: The Turkish government has responded to the U.N. report by withdrawing its ambassador from Tel Aviv and expelling Israel's from Ankara.

The Palmer report—named for the inquiry's chairman, former New Zealand Prime Minister Geoffrey Palmer—was commissioned by the U.N.'s Secretary General to investigate the May 2010 "flotilla incident," when six ships sailing from Turkey to Gaza on an alleged humanitarian mission were boarded by Israeli commandos enforcing a naval blockade of Gaza. Nine passengers were killed (and several Israeli soldiers badly beaten) in the ensuing melee, sparking a crisis in Jerusalem's already frayed relations with Ankara.

Given the U.N.'s track record on Israel, one might have expected this latest report to be a reprise of Richard Goldstone's notorious report alleging Israeli war crimes during its 2009 war with Gaza (charges later retracted by Mr. Goldstone). Instead, the Palmer report offers a point-by-point rebuttal to some of the most preposterous accusations leveled against Israel.

One such accusation from the Turks is that Israel's naval blockade of Gaza is illegal because blockades can only be legally imposed on another state, and Israel has never recognized Palestine as a state. The Palmer report dismisses that legal legerdemain, noting that "Hamas is the de facto political and administrative authority in Gaza," that "it is Hamas that is firing projectiles into Israel or permitting others to do so," that "law does not operate in a political vacuum" and thus "Israel was entitled to take reasonable steps to prevent the influx of weapons into Gaza."

Then there is the fiction that the flotilla had embarked on a "humanitarian mission." If that were true, its organizers would not have spurned Israel's offer to off-load their supplies in the nearby Israeli port of Ashdod. As the report acidly observes, the flotilla's largest ship and the site of the fighting—the Mavi Marmara—barely contained any humanitarian goods beyond "foodstuffs and toys carried in passengers' personal baggage."

The report also gives weight to the view that a "hardcore group of about 40 activists" from an Islamist NGO known as the IHH "had effective control over the vessel during the journey and were not subjected to security screening" when they boarded the ship in Istanbul. "It is clear to the Panel that preparations were made by some of the passengers on the Mavi Marmara well in advance to violently resist any boarding attempt."

Simply put, the flotilla's organizers were spoiling for the fight they later would claim as evidence of Israeli criminality. That's a fight Israel went out of its way to avoid, both through high-level diplomatic representations to Ankara and repeated warnings to the flotilla to turn away from the blockade. Too bad, then, that the report makes a weak stab at balance by chiding the conduct of Israeli soldiers in the heat of a battle against dozens of thugs armed with iron bars, chains, knives and—given that two of the Israeli commandos were shot—probably firearms as well.

All of this might have provoked a bit of soul-searching within the Turkish government, just as its once-warm embrace of Syria's Bashar Assad has. Instead, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has doubled down on his anti-Israel bets, insisting that Jerusalem apologize to Turkey, compensate the victims and lift its blockade of Gaza as the price for his forgiveness. The Palmer report is a fresh reminder—from the least likely of sources—of why Israel has no honorable choice but to spurn those demands. The Turks will learn in their own time that being Hamas's patron is a loser's game.

Israel blockade of Gaza legal, UN review says Force against Turkish flotilla called excessive

UNITED NATIONS - A UN review has found that Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza is legal and appropriate but that the way its forces boarded a Turkish-based flotilla trying to break that blockade 15 months ago, killing nine passengers, was excessive and unreasonable.

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

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

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

The report noted that the panel did not have the power to compel testimony or demand documents, but instead had to rely on information provided by Israel and Turkey.

The foreign ministries in Turkey and Israel declined to comment publicly on the report, saying they preferred to wait for its release. No one was available to comment in the office of the UN spokesman.

The UN investigation into the events on the Turkish-flagged ship known as the Mavi Marmara, the largest of six vessels that were commandeered by Israeli commandos on May 31, 2010, was headed by Sir Geoffrey Palmer, former prime minister of New Zealand, aided by Alvaro Uribe, former president of Colombia, along with a representative each from Israel and Turkey.

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

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

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

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

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

The report assailed Israel for the way in which the nine were killed and others injured. “Forensic evidence showing that most of the deceased were shot multiple times, including in the back, or at close range has not been adequately accounted for in the material presented by Israel,’’ it says.

MK Zoabi in Violent Rage at PM Netanyahu's Speech

When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke in Knesset yesterday, he, among other things, criticized MK Hanan Zoabi for her participation in the flotilla, saying she participated in a provocation against Israel and an attempt to block an Israeli naval blockade. Netanyahu said she should be thankful she is a Member of Knesset in Israel and not in Syria.

Zoabi flipped out and went into a rage. She was being removed from the Knesset after ignoring calls to order. She even lashed out at the security guards who were removing her.

 

Pro-Hamas Activists Fail in the Air and on the Sea

Photographers almost outnumbered fly-in activists at Ben Gurion airport as Israel’s diplomatic efforts stymied the pro-Arab protests in the air and on the sea. Several pro-Hamas activists who failed to set sail for Gaza tried their luck in the air, but to no avail.

Video - Activists blocked at the Charles de Gaulle Airport  near Paris:

International media admitted that Israel successful and peacefully defeated the attempts to force a clash with Israeli soldiers and police. Airlines were more interested in dealing with the peak travel season than in having to find scarce seats and pay for the return of fly-in activists not allowed to enter Israel. They largely accepted Israel’s “black list” of unwanted activists and refused to allow them on board.

The pro-Hamas organizers denied allegations that they planned to incite Arabs in visits to cities to Ramallah, Shechem, Jenin, the Jordan Valley and Jerusalem.

Those who were barred from boarding airplanes threatened to sue. The ones who were able to land at Ben Gurion Airport were not able to do much more than stage a noisy demonstration and try to raise a Palestinian Authority flag for dozen of photographers and aggravated travelers.

Six Israeli citizens were arrested at the airport where they sympathized with the fly-in activists. Bethlehem University Prof. Mazin Qumsiyeh, quoted in The Los Angeles Times, said that the fly-in was a protest against Israel’s alleged "discriminatory policy against Palestinians and its violation of Palestinian human rights."  

Video - Local activists arrested at the Ben Gurion Airport, Israel:

Most of the fly-in hopefuls were American and European. Israeli authorities monitored social network websites and blacklisted 342 people, most of whom were prevented from boarding flights in Europe. Another 124 who landed at Ben Gurion Airport are being deported. 

The numbers are far less than the 800 planned to enter Israel in the “Welcome to Palestine” campaign.

On the sea, one boat, called “The Dignity,” was able to leave the Greek island of Crete with approximately 10 people. It circumvented the Greek ban on sailing to Gaza by stating its destination was Rhodes, from where it plans to change course for Gaza if it can reach past Greek waters.

The Canadian boat Tahrir gave up all efforts to sail, and eight other ships remain stuck at Greek ports.

The London Guardian’s Stephen Pollard wrote that the activists “have been trumpeting the latest flotilla's size, making claims about what it will achieve and taunting Israelis with what they intend to do. And yet their actions have instead strengthened Israel's hand….

“So successful has Israel been in stymieing the flotilla that what is actually setting sail amounts to one small boat with nine activists on board, leaving two weeks late. It is barely worth noting, and poses no threat to the Israeli naval commando unit, Flotilla 13, which played out a range of scenarios in expectation of a more substantial group, from a peaceful takeover of the boats to dealing with activist violence.”

Lt. Col. Avital Leibovich: We cannot afford to outsource our security to the international community

Spokeswoman Lt. Col. Avital Leibovich, Head of the Foreign Press Branch, addresses the planned flotilla which overtly declares its intention to sail to the Gaza Strip, governed by the Hamas terrorist organization.

Lt. Col. Leibovich explains that due to a vast history of smuggling weapons via the sea to terror sources who target Israeli civilians, the IDF must reserve the right to inspect every ship intending to reach the region. Failure to do so will result in the arming of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other terrorist organizations in Gaza. The recent interception of the Victoria ship by the IDF last March shows the attempt by Iran to arm these groups with highly sophisticated weaponry to be used against Israeli civilians.

For operational updates and additional information go to the IDF Spokesperson's official twitter: http://www.twitter.com/IDFSpokesperson

ELDER OF ZIYON: List of accomplishments of flotilla/flytilla drones this week

Here is a list of everything that anti-Israel activists managed to accomplish this week:

• Cause the already cash-strapped Greek government to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on coast guard and security
• Lose their cement
• Start a riot at a French airport
• Whine about every obstacle stopping them from doing illegal activities
• Upset airlines who lose money for every empty seat
• A hunger strike that accomplished nothing
• Tick off passengers trying to travel
• Turn sympathetic Dutch reporters against them
• Insult Greek authorities, airlines, airports, European and American leaders
• Continuously lie to the media, pretending that the very media attention they are getting is a victory
• Get every major Western nation to publicly side with Israel
• Fail to help a single Palestinian Arab in any way

All in all, they accomplished about the same amount they did last week and the week before.

Latma presents: The Audacity of Dopes Band brings you "Guns, Guns, Guns!"

Hello Rafah, hello Gaza

Israeli group launches "counter-flotilla"

From Ma'ariv:

Right-wing group Im Tirtzu has in the past few hours participated in an act of protest at the port of Piraeus in Greece against the flotilla ships trying to leave to Gaza.

Im Tirtzu leaders Erez Tadmor and Ronen Shoval accompanied by four other activists arrived at the shores of Greece, where they hired a yacht to pass by the ships of the pro-Palestinian flotilla protesterss the ships of the pro-Palestinians in the port of Piraeus. Activists sailed between the ships with their yachts covered in posters with the picture of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit. Activists also distributed information materials in English, which states that "freedom flotilla" of leftist activists "must sail towards the oppressed cities in Syria - and not Gaza." In light of the extraordinary act of right-wingers, there was much media interest among the journalists who came to Greece to cover the international flotilla.

ISRAEL MATZAV: Fly-in taking flotilla's place

Will 'Palestinian fly-ins' take the place of the flotilla? Although they will not reach Gaza, they could reach Judea and Samaria and the foreign visitors could cause major provocations for Israel at the airport.

"Welcome to Palestine's" Facebook page, which was launched in May, urges participants to fly to Israel and declare upon arrival that they are heading to Palestine.

Once the activists land, they have scheduled tours in Ramallah, Bethlehem, Hebron, the West Bank, the Jordan Rift Valley and Jerusalem.

"The visitors will enjoy Palestinian hospitality, create partnerships and bonds and volunteer in Palestinian cities alongside hundreds of local activists," the report said.

Organizers of the fly-in have reportedly urged the international community "to recognize the Palestinians' basic right to host visitors from overseas and assert the right to have their own citizens visit Palestine without being harassed.

"Israel may be trying to isolate is, but we invite everyone to stand by us. We reject the attempted to limit our call," the organizers said.

The Foreign Ministry said that the initiative was "taken very seriously," and believe that pro-Palestinian activists have every intention to land in Israel's international gateway and cause a ruckus for the sheer sake of garnering the attention of the global media.

"We don’t think such internet initiatives can be dismissed," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Yigal Palmor told Ynet. "The activists are motivated, and buying an airline ticket is easier than arriving by boat. This has to be taken seriously."

Still, Palmor stressed the ministry was not overly concerned: "There are known groups who are trying to stage 'organized embarrassments' for Israel, especially in illegal manners. Those who fail at sea are doomed to fail here, too."

I would say that so long as they are well-behaved at the airport (if not, deport them), use the customs process to search their bags, give them 'Palestinian Authority only' visas, and then let them depart via the 'Palestinian' airport in Amman. At least they will help our tourism numbers and depending on the airline they fly they will pump some money into our economy. Heh.

Flotilla Activists Reject Greek Offer to Bring Aid for Gaza

Pro-Hamas flotilla activists exposed their political agenda Monday by rejecting a Greek offer to guarantee the shipping of aid to Gaza, under United Nations supervision, through Israeli ports.

Israel has maintained that the aim of the flotilla supporters is to cause a conflict and not to bring aid, which can be shipped through overland routes.

The IDF reported Monday that flotilla organizers “trained boat passengers on how to defiantly rebuff Israel Navy attempts to peacefully board the boats.” It added that the flotilla was estimated to contain only 3,000 tons of goods and materials, half the daily amount that is transferred to Gaza every day through Israeli-supervised land crossings.

The government has clamped a maritime embargo on Hamas-controlled Gaza to prevent the entry of weapons, explosives and terrorists.

The flotilla effort so far has failed following the refusal of Greece to allow the boats to leave its ports for Gaza, an action that can be challenged as illegal because most of the Western world classifies Hamas as a terrorist organization.

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou said that besides ensuring the flotilla aid would reach Gaza, his government might send additional aid. The flotilla organizers turned down the Greek offer while still looking for ways to get around the Greek blockade on their ships. The Greek Coast Guard Sunday arrested an American captain who tried to break the prohibition. He faces felony charges in a Greek court on Tuesday. The United States has warned Americans they face arrest for trying to aid the Hamas terrorist organization.

The American delegation, which includes a sizeable number of Jews, said they would stage a hunger strike in an effort to convince the Obama administration to change its position.

A flotilla last year ended in a violent clash with Israeli Navy commandos after they were brutally attacked by flotilla passengers who were members of the Turkish IHH terror-linked Muslim ”charity” organization.

Documented films from the clash have helped turned the usual anti-Israel tide of public opinion, and the European Union and the United Nations have urged flotilla activists to send their aid through Israeli and crossings without trying to break the maritime embargo.

ELDER of ZIYON: Quick review of previous voyages to Gaza

You know how the flotilla organizers are claiming that they would give their aid directly to the people of Gaza and not go through Hamas?

It is a little hard to believe.


August, 2008: A British citizen who arrived on a Free Gaza boat gets a "Palestinian passport" from Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and Mahmoud Zahar.

August 2008: Hamas leader Haniyeh shakes hands with Free Gaza representative Paul Larudee as other boat passengers look on.

August 2008: Hamas' Ismail Haniyeh presents medals of honor to the members of the Free Gaza Movement that arrived in Gaza. In his home.

October, 2008: Free Gaza passenger - and Nobel Peace Prize winner - Mairead McGuire accepts a gift from Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.

October 2009: Veterans for Peace members meet with Ismail Haniyeh

Date Unknown: Vittorio Arrigoni, of the Free Gaza movement, having a laugh with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.

Date Unknown: Viva Palestina leader George Galloway meets with Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas.

Hamas, and Flotilla 2, Human Rights Activists; Mark Regev, International Media Adviser to the Prime Minister of Israel

Flotilla Plots a Course that Ignores Inequities and Terrorism of Hamas - Richard Humphreys (Irish Times)

• I readily understand the humanitarian impulse of those participating in or supporting this flotilla, but I would like to set out my own view as to why we should be slow to endorse this Gaza flotilla.
• To me, the crucial issue is: why do the Israelis feel obliged to put that blockade in place? They feel obliged to have a blockade because the Hamas regime in Gaza has used munitions and rockets smuggled into Gaza to launch attacks on Israeli civilians.
• The flotilla is not really about bringing aid. The Israeli government is committed to assisting the bringing of aid to Gaza by land. Some of the ships, including the Irish one, are reported to be carrying little or no aid.
• Here in Ireland we should recall that the political representatives of paramilitarism were not admitted into the talks process until there was a permanent ceasefire. We should be able to understand from experience that it is simply not realistic to expect Israel to lift all of their security measures on Gaza without likewise having a ceasefire guarantee.
• The Palestinian regime also needs to be asked hard questions about the level of human rights they are prepared to secure for their own people. Equality for women and rights for gays and lesbians do not conspicuously feature in the Sharia-style regime that Hamas has unleashed on its civilian population. We must not be selective in our concern for rights.
• We know what it means to build relationships with our former adversaries. Building such relationships is not assisted by grandstanding, confrontational and provocative gestures such as the proposed flotilla.
  
  The writer is Labour Party councillor for Stillorgan.

Life for Palestinians in Gaza Strip Improved, So Why Send Flotilla There?

It was a very hot weekend for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. That is why thousands of them preferred to enjoy their time on the clean beaches, swimming, sunbathing, riding horses, sailing, smoking water pipes and barbequing.

These photos were provided not by a Jewish photographer or some naïve Western reporter who happened to be in the Gaza Strip last week.

The photos were actually published by a Hamas-affiliated website in an attempt to show that the situation in the Gaza Strip under Hamas's rule is not as bad as many people think.

No one is saying that the situation in the Gaza Strip is very good. It was never good – not when Egypt was there, not when Israel captured it in 1967, not when the PLO assumed control over the area in 1994 and not under Hamas today.

There has always been poverty in the Gaza Strip, where more than 80 percent of the people rely on handouts from UNRWA and dozens of international aid organizations.

But the irony is that, in comparison with the past, the situation in the Gaza Strip these days is much better. The rate of crime has dropped to its lowest in decades, and many Palestinians there are saying that they don't miss the anarchy, corruption and lawlessness that prevailed under the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority.

In a few weeks, the largest Palestinian shopping mall is scheduled to open its gates in the Gaza Strip, offering Palestinians a wide range of services, including cinemas, modern coffee shops and boutiques carrying international brands such as Armani, Ralph Lauren, Polo, Tommy Hilfiger and Nautica.

According to Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip, there is no shortage of basic foods. Periodic shortage of medical supplies is often attributed to the ongoing power struggle between Hamas and Fatah, whose representatives in the West Bank are sometimes accused of withholding medicine as a way of punishing the Hamas government.

Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh last week boasted that, unlike the Western-funded government of Salam Fayyad, his government was not in debt and does not have any problem paying salaries to tens of thousands of people who are on its payroll.

In light of all the good news from that area, one wonders about the purpose of the new flotilla of ships to the Gaza Strip. Is it about helping Palestinians in the Gaza Strip or is it simply intended to challenge Israel?

It is always nice to send humanitarian aid to people who need it. And there is no doubt that there are many Palestinians in the Gaza Strip who are in need of such aid.

But are there not other ways of helping the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip without challenging and provoking Israel? Why not, for example, try to send humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt? Why aren't the flotilla organizers protesting against Egypt's continued restrictions on the movement of Palestinians? Why are the new rulers of Egypt preventing goods and humanitarian aid from entering the Gaza Strip through their territories?

Finally, wouldn't it have been better if the flotilla organizers had planned a journey to the border between Turkey and Syria to help the thousands of Syrian refugees who have fled from their country in recent weeks? Those refugees cannot go to the beach or shopping malls and many of them are complaining about lack of basic foods and medicine. Or how about a flotilla to help thousands of Libyan families who have fled to neighboring countries in the last few months? Or a flotilla to Saudi Arabia to express solidarity with women who are being arrested for driving cars?