Tag Archives: blockade

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Instilled Memory

Uri Avnery

Uri Avnery, 13 July 2011

FOR SEVERAL weeks now, our army and navy have been in a state of high alert, bravely facing a deadly threat to our very existence: ten little boats trying to reach Gaza. These vessels are carrying a dangerous gang of vicious terrorists, in the form of elderly veterans of peace campaigns.

Binyamin Netanyahu has affirmed our unshakable determination to defend our country: We shall not let anyone break the blockade to smuggle rockets to the terrorists in Gaza, who will then launch them to kill our innocent children.

This is a kind of record even for Netanyahu: not a single word is true. The flotilla is not carrying any weapons – the representatives of respected international media in the boats provide assurance of this. Also, I think we can rely on the Mossad to plant at least one agent in every boat. (After all, what am I paying my taxes for?) Hamas has not launched rockets for a long time – it has very good reasons of its own to keep the unofficial “Tahdiyeh” (“Quiet”) agreement.

If the flotilla had been allowed to reach Gaza, it would have been news for a few hours, and that would have been that. Israel’s total mobilization, the training of the naval commandos for capturing the boats, the acts of sabotage carried out in Greek ports, the immense political pressure exerted by Israel and the US on the poor, bankrupt Greek government – all this has kept this minor initiative in the news for weeks now, drawing attention to the blockade of the Gaza Strip.

What is this blockade for? There is no ascertainable reason for it now, if there ever was one. To terrorize the Gaza people into overthrowing the Hamas government, the victor in democratic elections? Well, it didn’t work, did it? To compel Hamas to change its terms for a prisoner exchange which would release Gilad Shalit? That didn’t either. To prevent the smuggling of arms into the Strip? The arms are flowing freely through a hundred tunnels from Egypt, if we are to believe what our army tells us. So what purpose does the blockade serve? Nobody seems to know. But it is the rock of our existence. That much is clear.

As a result of world pressure following last year’s flotilla, the blockade was eased considerably. But Gaza manufacturers are still prevented from getting their products out of the Gaza Strip – thus condemning most of the population to unemployment and abject poverty.

The same goes for the disgusting trade in human remains. Netanyahu promised to turn over the remains of 84 “terrorists” (both Fatah and Hamas) to Mahmoud Abbas as a gift. At the last moment, he reneged. His people make believe that these remains, by now hardly identifiable, may serve as bargaining chips in the game for releasing Gilad Shalit.

The same goes for the actions against yesterday’s fly-in of international peace activists though Ben-Gurion airport. All they wanted was to go to Bethlehem and Gaza, which can only be reached by crossing Israeli territory. Almost a thousand police officers were mobilized to meet that threat.

All of these unthinking knee-jerk reactions: We must be strong. Everywhere there lurk mortal dangers. Israel must defend itself. Otherwise there will be a second Holocaust.

THIS IS an interesting phenomenon: people see innocent-looking elderly human-rights activists on their TV screens and believe they are seeing dangerous provocateurs, because the government and most of the media tell them so. Sinister “Arab and Muslim” individuals are hiding in the boats. An Arab American on one boat has been unmasked as somebody who has collected money for a Hamas social institution. A dangerous terrorist! How absolutely awful!

The phenomenon of people seeing something and thinking they are seeing something else has always intrigued me. How can people not believe their own eyes but believe the eyes of others?

This week I got an e-mail message from a man who remembered something from the time he was a pupil of my late wife, Rachel, in first grade.

Rachel asked him to raise his right hand. When the boy did so, Rachel said: “No, no. That is your left hand!” She turned to the other children and asked them,[] which hand it was. Following their teacher, they shouted in unison: “The left! The left!” Seeing this, the first boy started to waver. In the end he conceded: “Yes. It is the left hand.”

“No, you were right in the first place,” Rachel assured him. “Let this be a lesson to all of you: if you are sure that you are right, insist on it. Never change your view because other people say the opposite.”

Quite by chance, straight after reading this testimony,[] I saw on TV the results of a scientific investigation by Israeli researchers into “instilled memory”. Their experiments show that people who have seen something with their own eyes, but are told by everybody else that they have seen something else, start to suppress their own memory and “remember” that they saw what the others had allegedly seen. Neurological research then showed that this is can actually be seen happening in the brain: the imagined memory replaces the real. Social pressure has done its work: the instilled memory has become real memory.

I believe that this is even truer for an entire nation, which is, of course, composed of individuals. I have seen this many times.

For example, for 11 months before Lebanon War I, not a single shot was fired from Lebanon into Israel. Against all expectation, Yasser Arafat had succeeded in enforcing a total cease-fire even on his Palestinian opponents. Yet after Ariel Sharon started the war, practically all Israelis clearly “remembered” that the Palestinians had shot across the border every single day, turning life in Israel into hell.

I call this “Parkinson in reverse” – while advanced Parkinson patients do not remember things that happened, these patients do remember things which never happened.

THERE IS a mental disorder called “paranoia vera”. Patients adopt a crazy assumption – e.g. “everybody hates me” – and then build an elaborate structure around it. Every bit of information which seems to support it is eagerly absorbed, every item that contradicts it is suppressed. Everything is interpreted so as to reinforce the initial assumption. The pattern is strictly logical – indeed, the more complete and the more logical the structure, the more serious is the disease.

Among the accompanying symptoms are belligerent behavior, recurrent suspicions, disconnection from the real world, conspiracy theories and narcissism.

It seems that whole nations can fall victim to this illness. Ours certainly appears to have.

The whole world is against us. Everybody is out to destroy us. Every move is a threat to our very existence. Everyone critical of Israeli policy is an anti-Semite or self-hating Jew.

Indeed, even when we do a good thing, it is turned against us.

Witness: We left the Gaza Strip and even dismantled our settlements there, and what did we get in return? Qassam rockets!”

(Never mind that Sharon refused to turn the Strip over to any Palestinian body, leaving a void. He cut it off from the world and turned it into one big prison camp.)

Witness: “After Oslo we armed Arafat’s security forces, and they turned their arms against us!”

(Never mind that we never quite fulfilled our commitments under the Oslo agreements, that the occupation got more oppressive and that the settlements on Palestinian land increased by leaps and bounds. Also, the Palestinian security services never actually acted against Israel.)

Witness: “We withdrew from South Lebanon and what did we get? Hizbollah and Lebanon War II!”

(Never mind that Hizbollah was born in reaction to our 18-year occupation there, and that we ourselves chose to launch the second Lebanon War after a minor border incident.)

IT HAS been said that paranoiacs also have real-life enemies. The trouble is that the paranoid by their offensive and distrustful behavior, create more and more real-life enemies.

The slogan “All the world is against us” may easily function as a self-fulfilling prophesy.

Israel is not the only country to suffer from this affliction. At some time, the Germans have been afflicted. So have the Serbs. So, to some extent, has the US and many others. Unfortunately, the costs of paranoia are very high.

So let us start to behave like sane people. Let the little boats go to Gaza. Let arrivals at Ben-Gurion airport go to the Palestinian territories and pick olives, if that’s what they want.

Even if we do behave like a normal nation, Israel will continue to exist. Really!

Uri Avnery

Uri Avnery

Uri Avnery is an Israeli writer and founder of the Gush Shalom peace movement. A member of the Irgun as a teenager, Avnery sat in the Knesset from 1965–74 and 1979-81.

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Strangling Gaza

gazan_woman-999de

Editor Palestine Monitor, 23 August 2010
The United Nations and the World Food Programme released on Friday a study of Israel’s occupation of the Gaza Strip. A condemnation of Israel’s conduct, it describes a burgeoning catastrophe mutating dangerously and mercilessly.

“This regime has exacerbated the assault on human dignity triggered by the blockade imposed by Israel since June 2007,” stated the report titled Between the Fence and a Hard Place.

Under Israel’s thumb, the occupation is ruining Gaza’s land, sea, and mental and physical health.

Because of the siege, more adults are depressed, more children are wetting their beds and earning worse grades. Nutrition is deteriorating. Disenfranchised breadwinners are increasingly beating their partners.

West Bank Deputy Secotr Lead Antoine Renard described the rules of the blockade: “No movement of people, they are very restricted on what can be imported, and there’s practically a total ban on exports.”

Debt plagues families, children can’t go to school, and farms degenerate. The blockade and occupation has cost Gazans $308 million in property, $50.2 million in agriculture profit, and $26.5 million in fish harvest.

“The private sector is moribund,” Renard said. Before the blockade, Gaza exported lucrative cash-crops like strawberries and flowers – now domestic farming is their only option. “As long as you cannot have raw material in Gaza because of the blockade, the economy cannot pick up.”

1994’s Oslo Agreements allotted Gaza 20 nautical miles of maritime rights into the Mediterranean, but today 85 percent of these productive waters are cut-off by Israeli gunships. Fisherman are shot, flotillas are boarded and ships are confiscated if they breach the illegally cordoned security zone. Traders risk death and injury sneaking past Israeli and Egyptian navies to buy fish. Others smuggle goods through tunnels.

“The current restrictions of civilian access to Gaza’s land and sea must be urgently lifted to the fullest extent possible,” stated the report, calling on full withdrawal of troops, an enduring ceasefire, and cooperation with humanitarian aid as demanded by UN Security Council Resolution 1860.

Starvation and bullets symbolize the current problem – but long-term threats lurk. The Gazan coastal aquifer, fed by the Hebron river meandering west across Beersheba to the coast, is in danger of irrevocable contamination. Through the Joint Water Commission and Civil Administration, Israel has blocked necessary waste water treatment facilities, and every year 80 million liters of foul water runs over Gaza towards the sea, trailing pollution.

The Green Line enclosing Gaza is now a barren scar of land. Expanded by an Israeli-enforced security zone up to 1,500 meters wide, the fence has cut into 17 percent of Gaza’s total landmass and 35 percent of it’s farming land. Made up of “high risk” and “no-go” areas, this land is razed by Israeli patrols more than three times a week. Such forces typically are “between four to ten military vehicles (tanks, bulldozers, military jeeps), frequently accompanied by helicopters, drones and heavy bursts of fire.”

Two satellite photographs of Beit Hanoun, comparing fertile 2005 and a desolate 2008, is evidence of this environmental devastation.

Israel clears out these fields as preemptive and reprisal attacks against civilians. If violent factions within Gaza attack Israel forces from civilian land, it is destroyed. This is collective punishment, Renard said.

“Civilians should not be targeted in these areas,” Renard said. “You’re not as a civilian responsible for it.”

For Gaza’s 1.5 million residents, Israel’s 2005 disengagement meant an intensification of suffering.

Since then, Israel has destroyed 18,000 dunums of olive, almond, citrus and grapes fields, 5,800 dunums of lucrative greenhouses, more than 300 water wells, six factories, 197 chicken farms, 377 sheep farms, 996 homes, three mosques, and three schools.

In Gaza, the disengagement meant a shift from troops to hardware and hi-tech weaponry like drones, brutal flechette bombs and remote-controlled turrets. Operating these machine-guns, an all-female cadre of Israeli soldiers track and attack targets in a distant bunker, watching relays of satellite images, ground sensors, and aircraft manned and unmanned. Using joysticks and buttons, one soldier compared the system to a Sony Playstation.

The report is a dreadful documentation of atrocity. The army besieges a land, poisons the water, targets fishers and farmers, and deploys the latest weapons of war, watching it live via satellite.

Israel still grasps Gaza’s throat.

ST McNeil reporting from Ramallah.

Between the Fence and a Hard Place

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Should Lebanon Be Sending A Flotilla?

Beirut_to_Gaza-cb827
Palestine Monitor, 26 July 2010
Who authorised this latest flotilla? If the new attempt to breach Israel’s blockade boasted enough cohesion to suggest that it was an informed, deliberate decision, rather than a bunch of hot-heads in numbers negligible enough to constitute a dinghy, then whoever okay-ed the plan must surely go the way of BP chairman Tony Hayward.

Members of the mainstream solidarity organizations must be feeling a few nerves as the ships from Lebanon prepare for departure. While it seems positive that Arab solidarity is making a belated appearance, and international organisations say the more pressure the better, there seems little to be gained from sworn enemies of Israel throwing their partisan agenda into an already diffuse mix.

A major land and sea convoy is planned for September, with up to 700 vehicles in tow. Over 50 nations will be represented. It is surely a time for careful planning and consideration over how to maximise their effect. MK Haneen Zouabi said the Palestinian spokesmen “wasted Gaza”, meaning they failed to capitalise on the spike in global opinion in their favour. If momentum from the massacre is intelligently built on, Israel’s siege, losing legitimacy around the planet, will seem unsustainable.

It’s hard to perceive what benefit the movement will derive from having a few postage stamp vessels full of Israel’s enemies representing it. This can hardly be declared as the world speaking against Israel and as such makes the IDF’s position easier. Minister Danny Ayalon sounded relaxed talking about how the new flotilla would be handled, “the situation is different, these are from enemy states, they will be dealt with differently”, going on to suggest passengers would be imprisoned. Back on home turf. Dealing with enemies rather than a confusing mix of 50 countries that cant all be calling for Israel’s destruction.

There has been little detailed publicity about this edition, little of what the sophisticated PR people at Viva Palestina call ‘trailing’. The previous ships went through very public security searches to show they had no weapons, they released constant updates, videos and blogs to relay their journey to the world. They hosted enough reporters to staff several newsrooms. Such methods guarantee a level of interest that, carefully managed, can become a huge media event. Publicity is the currency of these missions, to facilitate external pressure on the policy makers. Haneen Zouabi called the last flotilla a success, because “Gaza got more coverage in the Israeli papers in a month, than it had in four years.”

Right now we are told the ships are poised to depart but we don’t know where, or what they are carrying, or when they will land. That vital link to the outside, or at least western world is missing and as a consequence the flotilla becomes too easy to ignore. Their journey will last days instead of weeks, meaning the subplots (the Cyprus docking) and drama that captured the popular imagination last time, will be absent.

The only emerging information is coming from IDF sources, reporting the passengers are predominantly Islamists. Whether its true or not, this is worrying for the organisers and the Free Gaza movement at large. If, as last time, the army’s strategy involves dominating the narrative from beginning to end, it is vital the Hasbara does not go unchallenged. Having effectively smeared the previous coalition, army communicators must be rubbing their hands with glee at the prospect of finding muck to rake on the Lebanese and Syrians. If the previous trip taught us anything it is that the agendas of each passenger will be under a microscope and should these groups be successfully tarred as extremists, it would be damaging for the movement at large. The September flotilla would depart under a cloud.

The key factors of size and demographic are simply not there in this case. Logistically, Israel’s navy will have few problems picking off the boats and quietly leading them to Ashdod, where no doubt some ‘terrorists’ will be discovered and some prison sentences delivered as warning and precedent. Few embassy officials will be called. Few protests will be held in London, Madrid and Seattle. If the reports indicating a large contingent of fundamental Islamists are true, international public sympathies could lurch toward Israel, being ganged up on by its aggressive neighbours.

The last flotilla was effective because it included such a range of nationalities, faiths and backgrounds that no collective, sinister motive could be successfully foisted upon them. By representing just one face of the free Gaza movement, rather than the mosaic which made up the previous and following trips, they risk splitting the support base. European and American elements are said to be uncomfortable that a by-product of these trips has been propaganda coups for Hamas. It may alienate key supporters to promote an Islamist agenda that would lead to dark whispers of Anti-Semitism and terror networks.

With Lebanese-Israeli tensions bubbling in the background, sending ships to confront the IDF which is perceived to be hostile, could lead to complications in their fragile truce. Israel holds the state of Lebanon responsible for all its citizens, and will doubtless treat them with little sympathy. If prisoners or casualties are taken, the Lebanese government will be obliged to ramp up the tensions further, with obvious implications for neighbouring countries.

The chances of this flotilla reaching Gaza are nil, in the best case scenario it will be clay to the IDF spin mongers, led meekly into the obscurity of a stage managed non-story. At worst it will cause a diplomatic incident that jeopardises the hard-won progress that owed so much to the deaths of the Mavi Marmara activists, while hardening dangerous tensions throughout the region. Organisers of the following flotilla, which has a far greater chance of influencing policy, will be watching though their fingers and praying for damage limitation.

With a UN probe underway and three Spanish activists suing the military, the issues are still bubbling close to the surface. Perfect embers for the September convoy to fire afresh. This ill-conceived trip shows cracks in a movement which proved unity could be a potent weapon.

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Israel’s boat problem

MV Mavi Marmara leaving Antalya for Gaza on May 22, 2010

Sherine Tadros, Al Jazeera, 15 July 2010

Israel’s siege on Gaza essentially consists of one thing – surrounding the territory and controlling all exit and entry points. Logically, to break the siege you enter or exit the territory against Israel’s will. Exiting without permission is not an option, so on came the boats…

In theory it’s a simple, perhaps even genius idea. It started shortly after the siege began – back then Israel sporadically let in small boats carrying aid. Israel let them in because they had more to lose by stopping them than by allowing through a few lefty activists (and the odd politician) carrying a gratuitous amount of aid.

But the boats got bigger, and so too did the problem. Israel then decided the ships were a “security risk” and began intercepting them at sea to prevent them docking in Gaza. For many within the Israeli military, the mistake was made years ago when the boats were first allowed in – had they been stopped from the start, perhaps the blockade-busting boat idea would not have taken off and they wouldn’t be in the mess they’re in now.

Flotilla intifada

What happened onboard the Mavi Marmara on May 31 was nothing short of disastrous for Israel – it’s public image got a battering and its illogical policy of blocking food and supplies to people in Gaza was exposed. What was onboard that ship – wheelchairs and children’s books- revealed just how nonsensical and downright cruel the blockade was. Even Israel’s masters of spin struggled to explain why notepads were a security risk to the state.

The Foreign Ministry has been busy doing damage control from the botched flotilla raid. It’s almost there, but it’s made very clear to the security establishment another boat blunder will throw away all its efforts. That puts the military in a bit of a predicament, because riding on the tail winds of the Mavi Marmara, is a summer boat (and convoy) intifada.

Following the raid on the flotilla, new aid convoys are already in the works. The European Campaign to End the Siege of Gaza is organising a “Freedom Flotilla 2″, due to set sail for Gaza next month. It’s said to consist of more ships than the first one and as many as 4,000 activists. An aid ship from Lebanon has been much delayed but organisers are still adament to get to Gaza. A Jordanian overland convoy also began its journey to the Strip this week.

What a difference a boat makes….

But apart from calling attention to the plight of Gazans, and making us all sudden maritime experts able to track down every ship in the Mediterranean with the click of a button – what difference will more ships make? In the weeks that followed the deadly raid on the Mavi Marmara, Israel announced it was “easing” the Gaza siege. What that actually meant was they were increasing the amount of food and supplies being let into the Strip via the land crossings they control and clarifying their policy on what is allowed in.

As the situation in Gaza is so desperate, even that was seen as quite an achievement.

But it’s worth considering it was a move in the works well before the Mavi Marmara set sail. Many months ago the Egyptians began building an underground wall that will effectively cut off the smuggling tunnels that run between Gaza and Egypt. If that wall was completed before the “ease” it would, quite simply, have starved Gaza. People there rely almost solely on the tunnels not just for food and cigaretters but for fuel, generators and other essentials. Israel was not going to allow 1.7 million people to starve on live TV. In short, something had to give before the wall was completed.

Consider too that one of the “gestures” the US was reportedly pressuring Israel to make to entice the Palestinian Authority to indirect peace talks (which the PA eventually agreed to in an apparent U-turn) was an easing of the Gaza siege. I’m not saying the flotilla had no impact on the decision to ease the siege, but it may have been more of a catalyst than an instigator.

Ship vs siege: Fair fight?

The real success of the flotilla should be seen within a wider context. It has become the beacon of a non-violent form of resisting Israel’s occupation that is making huge strides.

The current boycott movement in the West Bank is attracting attention – it’s an embarrassment for Israel casting a shadow over the democratic, moral state it purports to be with many comparing this boycott to the divestment policy against South Africa during apartheid in the 1980s.

Events onboard the Marmara ended in bloodshed and violence but the theory behind the flotilla was logical and peaceful. Israel is a highly militarized state. Dealing with violence is what it knows how to do best. An Israeli soldier confronted by a man holding a gun moving towards him knows exactly what to do. But swap that gun for a banner saying ‘Free Gaza’ and the soldier will panic. He was trained for combat not crowd control.

And that’s why whether it’s a ship, a boat, a truck or a plane, both the success and the danger of this movement lies in the way it plays so simply to Israel’s weakest point.

  • Sherine Tadros reports from Israel and the Palestinian Territories. Original articles is from Al Jazeera Blogs online here.

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Cosmetic Easing In Gaza Keeps Hope On The ’Banned’ List

Gaza Blockade (Palestine Monitor)

Palestine Monitor, 8 July 2010
As world leaders and mainstream news outlets sing the praises of Israel’s June 17 decision to ease its stranglehold blockade of the Gaza Strip, there is little prospect of change for Palestinians living under siege. Previously banned consumer items such as toys, newspapers, spices, and instant coffee are now passing through two of Gaza’s land border crossings, but the seaports remain tightly closed, all exports are still prohibited, and there is no sign of much-needed construction material. Written by Michael Carpenter.

Gaza Blockade (Michael Carpenter)

Gaza Blockade (Palestine Monitor)

Nevertheless, after Tuesday’s top-level meeting between United States and Israel, President Obama commended Prime Minister Netanyahu on the Gaza decision, claiming “We’ve seen real progress on the ground [and] it has moved more quickly and more effectively than many people anticipated.”

Similarly, former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, the Quartet’s special envoy to the Middle East, trumpeted the move as “a significant milestone” and predicted a “dramatic influence on the daily lives of the people of Gaza.”

The world press has echoed this tone, some hailing the cosmetic changes as a major U-turn in Israeli policy on Gaza.

Not surprisingly, Gaza residents and those working on their behalf inside the open-air prison have a less enthusiastic view. Gamal Al-Khodari, leader of the Popular Committee for Confronting the Siege on Gaza, has described Israel’s decision to modify the embargo as “cheap publicity to dodge demands for ending the blockade.”

Adnan Abu Hassna, UNRWA spokesman in Gaza, described the changes as window dressing. “Ketchup and mayonnaise will not have any real effect,” he said.

Nevertheless, he was careful to measure his words. “Of course, we welcome any step that leads toward an end to the blockade, but we need action, not only talking. We need to see policy implemented, to see material, cement and iron, and not in small amounts.”

According to Israel’s modified embargo, construction material will soon be allowed into the Gaza strip, but only for building projects approved by the Palestinian Authority from the West Bank and conducted under international observation.

This does not encourage Abu Hassna. “We don’t know when the steps of the new policy will be taken. We need to know what the mechanisms and procedures will be, and we hope that it will be soon. To improve the situation, we need thousands of tons of cement and steel. We are in serious need right now of rebuilding ten medical clinics and 100 schools. Based on past experience, if we have to go slowly, truck by truck, it will take one hundred years to rebuild Gaza.”

“We have money,” he says, “but the problem is we cannot build. The people of Gaza need jobs. They need to not depend on UNRWA. Right now 80% of Gazans depend on humanitarian organisations for food.” The Gaza blockade has been in place for over three years, since Hamas took control of the strip in 2007. Israel’s decision to modify the embargo follows increased international pressure, especially in the wake of last month’s deadly raid on the aid convoy, the Freedom Flotilla. The face-saving gesture was also timed to precede Netanyahu’s highly anticipated visit to Washington and comes against the backdrop of an aggressive settlement policy in occupied East Jerusalem.

Small quantities of consumer goods and an uncertain commitment to allow construction materials will not have a significant impact on the people of Gaza.

Amal Sabawi, director of American Friends Service Committee in Gaza, says the blockade must go. “There should be pressure on Israel to end the siege, not to have this agreement to allow some things. The people should live in dignity. They should have a normal life, the right to mobility and travel.”

Abu Hassna says that the problem of Gaza transcends the strip’s borders. “I think from experience that Gaza is the key to stability and peace,” he explains. “The Israeli policies are increasing extremism and destroying the moderate mentality, and the international community should be aware of this if they want to have stability in the Middle East. Gazans must have hope, and if life continues like this, there is no tomorrow in Gaza. The international community should work hard to lift the blockade, to commit to the people of Gaza, to allow them to be part of the world and to show them they are not isolated. This is what the people of Gaza need, and what peace for the region needs.”

Learn more from UNRWA Gaza http://www.unrwa.org/etemplate.php?id=64

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PCHR Response to Publication of New Israeli List of Items Banned from Entry to Gaza

PCHR

Palestine Center for Human Rights, 7 July 2010

On Sunday, 4 July 2010 the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs published two lists, detailing items not permitted to enter the Gaza Strip and those used for construction, which may only be imported and utilized under the supervision of the United Nations.

The response from the international community and diplomatic representatives, including the Quartet’s Envoy to the Middle East, Tony Blair, to the Israeli decision has been overwhelmingly positive. The Israeli government’s switch from a list detailing only the items that are allowed for import to the Gaza Strip to a list of items that are not permitted has been perceived as a positive step, the assumption being that all items not on the list will be allowed to enter Gaza. In this context, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) wishes to reaffirm its position on the illegal Israeli-imposed blockade of the Gaza Strip.

Israel has subjected the occupied Palestinian territory, including the Gaza Strip, to strict closures for more than two decades. Israel has continuously tightened the closure on the Gaza Strip following the Hamas takeover of the Strip in June 2007. For more than three years now Israel has applied the most extreme form of closure to the Gaza Strip, declaring its territory to be a “hostile entity”, effectively cutting off the 1.5 million inhabitants of Gaza from the outside world. Palestinian civilians are deliberately and systematically denied access to the most basic needs, such as food, medicine, electricity and other necessary commodities. Palestinians are not allowed to leave Gaza, and only a miniscule number of foreigners is permitted to visit Gaza. Goods are not allowed to be exported, and imports have been reduced to a very limited number of items, entirely incapable of fulfilling the population’s needs. Palestinian civilians in Gaza are deliberately deprived of their fundamental human rights, such as the freedom of movement and the right to health, education, and access to work.

The recent decision to “ease” the closure by permitting more commercial and humanitarian goods to enter the Gaza Strip — a decision which was only taken in response to increased international pressure — does not in any way alter the basic situation. Palestinians in Gaza are denied numerous fundamental human rights, including the right to life, the right to the highest attainable standard of health, the right to freedom of movement of persons and goods, the right to adequate shelter. At the most basic level, the closure continues to violate the right of the people of Gaza to live in human dignity.

The recently published lists, which have been effectively sanctioned by the international community through statements welcoming the Israeli decision, represent and institutionalization of the siege of Gaza, which is a form of collective punishment, a policy illegal under international law, as recently reaffirmed by the ICRC. PCHR is gravely concerned that Israeli policy concerning Gaza is simply shifting to another form of illegal blockade, one that may become internationally accepted and institutionalized, as Palestinians in Gaza may no longer suffer from the same shortage of goods, but will remain economically dependent and unable to care for their own population as well as socially, culturally and academically isolated from the rest of the world.

Recommendations

PCHR calls for an immediate end to the illegal closure imposed on the Gaza Strip, by way of opening unconditionally all border crossings of the Gaza Strip, to ensure the freedom of movement of all Palestinians. This opening must also apply to the import of goods necessary for restarting the economy and the export of goods. In order to achieve this, the International Community must act decisively to ensure the full lifting of the illegal closure. As High Contracting Parties to the Four Geneva Conventions of 1949, individual States are under an obligation to ‘ensure respect’ for the Geneva Conventions ‘in all circumstances’. The closure policy itself is illegal: any proposal must be based solely on the requirements of international law.

The root cause of Israel’s illegal closure is the impunity that it has been granted by the International Community. Israel cannot continue to be allowed to act as a state above the law. All those responsible for the commission of international crimes must be held accountable. In this regard it is essential that the recommendations contained in the Report of the UN Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict (the Goldstone Report) are implemented; they offer a concrete procedure through which the rule of law can be restored.

Please find PCHR’s Position Paper on the Easing of the Closure here.

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How to kill an economy

In 2000, there were over 120 textile factories scattered across the West Bank, now only the Herbawi Factory remains.

In 2000, there were over 120 textile factories scattered across the West Bank, now only the Herbawi Factory remains. (Palestine Chronicle)

Nicole Johnston, 5 July 2010

First close down the borders and refuse to allow any exports out.

Then ban the importing of any raw material for factories and businesses.

Force the commercial class to rely on expensive underground smuggling tunnels to procure what the community needs. This in turn enriches the tunnel owners.

Prevent businesspeople from travelling abroad.

And then, if the economy still has a breath of life left in it, go to war. Bomb the region and destroy its factories.

Finally refuse to allow any building material in so that those businesses cannot be rebuilt.

De-development

The result is the economy goes backwards in a process called de-development.

Businesses close, jobs are lost and families become dependent on food aid.

This is what has happened in Gaza.

It is suffering from a four year old siege, the destruction from Israel’s war and now a continued siege, with no sign of any real abatement.

While a few more products have entered Gaza since Israel killed nine people on board the Gaza-bound aid ship, the Mavi Mamara, raw materials for businesses have not.

And in some respects the blockade on business is getting worse.

Now Gaza’s manufacturers have to compete with Israeli products.

And Israel’s goods are cheaper and better quality because they are not produced under siege.

Truckloads of Israeli biscuits are entering Gaza. Israel says this is part of its so-called decision to “liberalise” the siege.

Al-Awda biscuit factory

This could put a company like Al-Awda biscuits in Gaza out of business.

Its owner, Mohammed al-Tilbani, has to depend on tunnels to bring in sugar, flour, cocoa. Imports are banned by Israel. So everything he needs for his factory is carried through a dirt underground passage.

The costs are high, the quality poor and the goods often arrive damaged and unusable.

Al-Tlibani started his business with nothing. Now he has a biscuit and ice cream factory. He could operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Imagine the jobs this would create in Gaza where unemployment is greater than 40 per cent.

But since the siege, his 350 employees have only worked up to eight days each month. This is barely enough money to keep their families alive.

As for the ice cream factory, with electricity cuts of eight to 16 hours a day, it is too difficult to keep the ice cream frozen and this part of the factory permanently running.

So al-Tilbani is watching his hard work fall apart.

Before the siege he planned to open another factory, for chips. He travelled abroad, bought the machinery and shipped it to Israel.

Cruel joke

But since Israel imposed the blockade he has not been allowed to import the equipment to Gaza. It is stuck in a warehouse in Israel.

Destroy the businesses and destroy the job market. This collective punishment of Gaza’s population is illegal under international law, but it continues.

Somehow the al-Awda factory has managed to stay open throughout the siege. But now it faces its greatest challenge – competition from Israeli biscuits.

The Israeli biscuits have the advantage. Israeli factories can import anything they like and now they can also export into the strip. It is likely this will displace the local product which only has one market, Gaza.

The biggest market for Al-Awda biscuits used to be the West Bank.

It seems like a cruel joke. Israel attempts to assuage the international community by “easing” the siege.

So it allows Israeli goods to be sold inside Gaza; while blockading goods made in Gaza.

This is one more step in killing an economy.


  • Nicole Johnston is a Doha based reporter. She has been with the network almost five years with stints in London, Kenya, Jerusalem and Gaza. Prior to Al Jazeera, Nicole was a reporter with ABC Australia for 7 years. This was first published on Al Jazeera blogs

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A Broomstick Can Shoot

Uri Avnery

Uri Avnery, 3 July 2010

A victory is a victory. A big victory is better than a small one, but a small victory is better than a defeat.

This week we won.

Immediately after the Turkel Commission was set up to investigate the flotilla incident, Gush Shalom filed a petition to the Supreme Court of Justice against its appointment. We demanded its replacement by a full-fledged State Commission of Inquiry. The court hearing was fixed for last Wednesday. But on Tuesday afternoon, the Attorney General’s office called our lawyer, Gabi Lasky: the Prime Minister had decided at the last moment to increase the powers of the commission, and the government was about to confirm the change. Therefore, the Attorney General asked us to agree to a postponement of the hearing for ten days.

Not a single Israeli newspaper had published a word about our application – something unthinkable if it had been the initiative of a right-wing organization. But after the change, it became impossible to ignore it anymore: almost all papers pointed out that our application had played an important role in Netanyahu’s decision.

Jacob Turkel and his friend, Jacob Neeman, the Minister of Justice who appointed him, had come to the conclusion that they would be defeated in court. That’s why Turkel demanded an enlargement of the number of the commission members as well as its powers.

At the beginning, the commission had not been accorded any legal standing at all. Netanyahu just asked three nice people to find out if the government’s actions were consistent with international law, nothing more. Now, it seems, it will be given the legal standing of a “Government Commission of Inquiry”, but definitely not of a “State Commission of Inquiry”. There is a huge difference between the two.

The institution called a “State Commission of Inquiry” is uniquely Israeli. It is based on a special law, which all of us can be proud of.

It has an interesting historical background. In the early 60s, the country was riven by controversy about the Lavon Affair, concerning a number of terrorist attacks carried out by an Israeli spy-ring in Egypt. The operation miscarried, the members of the ring were caught, two were hanged, and the question arose: Who Had Given The Order? The Minister of Defense, Pinhas Lavon, and the chief of army intelligence, Binyamin Gibli, blamed each other. (Later I asked Yitzhak Rabin about it and he told me: “When you are dealing with two pathological liars, how can you know?”)

David Ben-Gurion passionately demanded a “Judicial Commission of Inquiry”. It became almost an obsession with him. But at the time, Israeli law did not know such a creature. Emotion flared, the government fell, and the lawyer of the Labor Party, Jacob Shimshon Shapira, accused Ben-Gurion of fascism.

It seems that Shapira felt remorse for this accusation, and so, when he became Minister of Justice soon after, he worked out an exemplary bill for the appointment of a “State Commission of Inquiry”, which would resemble a regular court. He proposed that such a commission would have the power to summon witnesses, have them testify under oath (with the usual penalties for perjury), cross-examine them, subpoena documents, etc. Also, that the commission would warn in advance any persons whose interests could be harmed by its findings and accord them the right to be represented by a lawyer.

As a member of the Knesset at the time, I submitted two amendments that seemed important to me. The proposed law did provide that the Supreme Justice would appoint the members of the commission, but left it to the government to decide upon the setting up of a commission and its terms of reference. I argued that this would open the door to political manipulations, and proposed to confer upon the Supreme Court also the power to set up a commission and set its terms of reference. My amendments were voted down. The present affair shows how necessary they were.

The law provides an alternative – the appointment of a “Government Commission of Inquiry”, which enjoys a far lower standing. It differs from a “state” commission in one extremely important aspect: its members are not appointed by the Chief Justice, but by the government itself.

That is, of course, a huge difference. Anyone with an elementary grasp of politics understands that he who appoints the members of a commission strongly influences its conclusions in advance. If a settler from Qiryat-Arba is appointed to head a commission about the legality of the settlements, its conclusion may not be quite the same as those of a commission chaired by a member of Peace Now.

That has been proven in the past. After the Sabra and Shatila massacre, Prime Minister Menachem Begin initially refused to appoint a State Commission of Inquiry. However, under the intense pressure of Israeli public opinion he was compelled to do so, and the commission removed Ariel Sharon from the Ministry of Defense. Ehud Olmert remembered this and drew the conclusion: after Lebanon War II he obstinately refused the set up a “State Commission” and agreed merely to a “Government Commission”, whose members he appointed himself. Not surprisingly, he got away almost unscathed.

The appointment of the Turkel commission was greeted by the Israeli public with unveiled cynicism. The same media which had almost unanimously supported the attack on the flotilla, were now united in their attack on poor Turkel and his commission. They joked about the advanced age of its members, one of whom can move only with the assistance of a Filipino helper. All commentators agree that the commission was not set up to clarify the affair, but only to help President Barack Obama to obstruct the appointment of an international inquiry commission.

All agreed that this is a ridiculous commission without teeth, that its composition is pathetic and the terms of reference marginal. It seems that Judge Turkel himself felt ashamed. After accepting the appointment on Netanyahu’s terms, this week he threatened to resign if his powers were not extended. Netanyahu gave in.

Jacob Turkel, 75, is a decent person, born in the country, son of immigrants from Austria (Turkel, actually Türkel, is a German name meaning “little Turk” -  rather ironic for a person charged with investigating the attack on a Turkish ship). He is religious, and his record as a judge discloses a rightist orientation. For example: he decided that the criminal behavior of the extreme rightist Moshe Feiglin was not “dishonorable”, thus enabling him to run for election. He refused to condemn Rabbi Ido Alba for incitement, after the rabbi had pronounced that killing non-Jews is approved by the Jewish religion. He decided to acquit Binyamin Ze’ev Kahane, the son of Meir Kahane, from a charge of incitement. When Ehud Barak was prime minister, Turkel decided that he was not entitled to conduct peace negotiations because of approaching elections. And so on.

Netanyahu’s decision to enlarge the powers of the commission, so that it will be able to summon witnesses, is far from what is needed. The commission will be unable to investigate how and by whom it was decided to impose the blockade on Gaza, how it was decided to attack the flotilla, how the operation was planned and how it was carried out. We therefore see no reason to withdraw our Supreme Court petition to disband the Turkel commission and to appoint an official State Commission of Inquiry. The more so since Turkel himself, a week before his appointment, had also called for the appointment of a State Commission of Inquiry.

The chances? Not the best. The Supreme Court can interfere in this matter only if we prove that the government’s decision is “extremely unreasonable”. And indeed, in the past, State Commissions of Inquiry have been appointed for far less important matters than this affair, which has undermined the Israeli public’s confidence in the army and the government, aroused the entire world against us and dealt a heavy blow to our relations with Turkey. If this is not a matter of “public interest”, as the law demands, what is?

A Jewish joke tells about a woman who dropped a dish of meat in the toilet bowl. When she asked the rabbi whether it was still kosher, he replied: “kosher but stinking”. The court may decide in this spirit.

Turkel and his colleagues can, of course, surprise those who appointed them and arbitrarily enlarge the scope of their inquiry. Such things have already happened in the past. As another Jewish saying goes: “If God wills, even a broomstick can shoot.” But chances are slim.

This affair has much wider implications than the flotilla incident. It is worthwhile to dwell on them.

Most of Israel’s critics, especially abroad, see the country as a one-dimensional monolith. As they see it, all its (Jewish) citizens are marching in lockstep behind their rightist government, consumed by a dark ideology, supporting occupation and settlements and committing war crimes. This, by the way, is a mirror image of the admirers of Israel in the world, who also see Israel as a one-dimensional monolith, with all citizens marching proudly behind their brave and determined leaders – Binyamin Netanyahu, Ehud Barak and Avigdor Lieberman.

The truth is far removed from both these caricatures. It is enough for a foreign visitor to stay a few weeks in Israel and come in contact with its population, to see that reality is far, far more complex. (Indeed, I dare say that anyone who has not done so cannot possibly understand what’s happening here.)

All human societies are complex and many-faceted, and Israeli society, with its unique past, is more complex than most. The flotilla affair – relatively small but very typical – shows this again.

The demand to reveal the truth about this affair is a part of the battle for Israeli democracy, for the standing of the Supreme Court, and indeed concerns the essence of the state.

Some see this struggle as a battle between two big blocs – on one side, the nationalist, religious, militaristic, anti-democratic right, and on the other, the liberal, democratic, secular, peace-loving left.

Anyone with such a picture in his head imagines something like the battle of Waterloo, when two big armies clash on the battlefield and one overcomes the other. But the struggle for Israel is more like a medieval battle, when the clash of two armies turns into a melee of thousands of duels, one to one, and can go on for a long time.

The battle for Israel is indeed composed of hundreds of thousands of small battles, which are being fought out in a thousand and one different arenas. All Israeli citizens are involved – either actively or passively, judges and professors, army officers and politicians, voters and soldiers, activists and onlookers, journalists and youth idols, laborers and tycoons, rabbis and the anti-religious, environment activists and social activists – everyone of us, by his deeds and omissions, takes part in this battle over the character of our state.

The struggle against the occupation and against the settlements is a part of this war. The war itself is for the personality of Israeli society, a society still in the making. This war is far from decided. Anyone who believes that the end is foreseeable, that this or that “must” happen, thus and not otherwise, is mistaken. A defeat in one battle, and even in a series of battles, will not be decisive, because there will be more battles in the days to come. When millions of people are involved – men and women, young and old, Jews and Arabs, Westerners and Orientals, orthodox and secular, rich and poor, old-timers and new immigrants, all the vast spectrum of Israeli society – nothing is certain in advance.

The controversy over the Turkel commission, as well as the fight for freeing Gilad Shalit and all the other struggles taking place in Israel at this moment , must be seen in this light – as small fragments of a big, long and continuous struggle , in which our acts of commission and omission will decide the future of our state.

This, after all, was the aim of the entire historic exercise of creating Israel: to take our fate in our own hands and be responsible for the consequences.

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Britain more interested in saving Israelis from garden shed rockets than British citizens from Israeli pirates

Stuart Littlewood

Stuart Littlewood, 3 July 2010

Liberal Democrat party leader Nick Clegg is Britain’s deputy prime minister.

A month ago, while reports were coming in that Israeli gunboats had “intercepted” the Free Gaza flotilla 90 miles out to sea and told the humanitarian workers they would be boarded and towed to an Israeli port, I emailed Clegg: “Where is the Royal Navy when it’s needed to protect life and limb of the 30-odd British nationals?”

Ministers received advanced warning of Israel’s threats to stop the flotilla “by any means”. What was needed was firm intervention. Just for a change the British people wanted their government to do them proud on the international stage and protect those brave souls on their peaceful mission to bring relief to Palestinians whose lives have been made a living hell by the bully-boys of the Middle East.

They were, after all, only doing the right thing… doing what the West’s cowardly governments wet their pants at the very thought of doing.
Back in December when the parties were warming up for the general election, Clegg wrote in The Guardian:

“…And what has the British government and the international community done to lift the blockade? Next to nothing. Tough-sounding declarations are issued at regular intervals but little real pressure is applied. It is a scandal that the international community has sat on its hands in the face of this unfolding crisis.

No doubt the febrile sensitivities of the Middle East have deterred governments, caught between recriminations from both sides. No doubt diplomats have warned that exerting pressure on Israel and Egypt may complicate the peace process.

But surely the consequences of not lifting the blockade are far more grave?”

He certainly talked the talk. Would he walk the walk if given the chance?

Well, he now has the chance, and his reply has just arrived.

“The Government was very clear in its disapproval of the Israeli actions which ended in such heavy and tragic loss of life.

“We have underlined the need for a full, credible, impartial and independent investigation into the events of 31 May. We have made clear that we want to see a process that ensures full accountability and commands the confidence of the international community, including international participation.

“Israel’s announcement of an inquiry headed by former Supreme Court judge Yaakov Tirkel is an important step forward. We welcome the appointment of Lord Trimble as an international observer. Clearly it is very important that this is a truly independent inquiry and a thorough investigation that the international community can respect.

“These events have captured the world’s attention, but they should not be viewed in isolation. They arose from the unacceptable and unsustainable blockade of Gaza, which is a cause of public concern here in the United Kingdom and around the world. It has long been the view of the Government that restrictions on Gaza should be lifted – a view confirmed by UN Security Council Resolution 1860, which called for the sustained delivery of humanitarian aid and called on states to alleviate the humanitarian and economic situation persisting there.

“It is essential that there is unfettered access – not only to meet the humanitarian needs of the people of Gaza, but to enable the reconstruction of homes and livelihoods and permit trade to take place. The Palestinian economy, whether in Gaza or the West Bank, is an essential part of a viable state of Palestine which we hope will one day exist alongside Israel in peace and security.

“A solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict is firmly in the national interests of the UK, as well as those in the region. We want the new generation of Palestinians to grow up in hope, not despair… We want the next generation of Israelis to live free from the fear of rocket fire… Whilst we cannot deliver this for either side ourselves, as friends to both Israelis and Palestinians we will seek to buttress the diplomatic initiative of President Obama’s Administration and the proximity talks…”

So no, he won’t walk the walk.

It is pointless calling for the blockade to be lifted. You have to smash it… with warships “exercising” nearby. Israel’s promise to “ease” it is purely cosmetic. I hear that incoming goods have risen by a miserable 7 or 8% while the block on exports remains. That’s all the West’s feeble hand-wringing has achieved.

Clegg’s choice of words is revealing… “the interception by Israeli forces”. It was nothing less than a dead-of-night military assault with guns blazing and a pre-planned execution of civilians on a wanted list. His whole reply might as well have been scripted by Tel Aviv. It probably was, because it turns out to be word for word the same as the communication sent to other complainants by Israel’s great friend now doubling as Britain’s under-secretary of state in charge of Middle East affairs, Alistair Burt.

Clegg can call for “a full, credible, impartial and independent investigation” until he’s blue in the face, but he won’t get one. He welcomes the appointment of Trimble to this farce. Why? Trimble is a founding member of a new international “Friends of Israel Initiative”.

The context for Israel’s crimes on the high seas is, of course, the racist regime’s belief that it can act with impunity. It never gets rapped for lawless conduct thanks to the abject failure of the international community – especially Britain, whose mandated responsibility Palestine once was – to enforce international and maritime law and the numerous UN resolutions (not just 1860).

UN Security Council Resolution 1860 (America abstained on Israel’s orders, according to Olmert) calls for the sustained reopening of crossing points on the basis of the 2005 Agreement on Movement and Access. There is still no sign of Israeli compliance.

Clegg claims that “we” are friends to both Israelis and Palestinians. Bollox. British governments have spent the last 93 years betraying the Palestinian people, and continue to do so while slavishly supporting the Israeli regime in its programme of occupation, oppression, ethnic cleansing and collective punishment. Our last government and now this Coalition won’t even acknowledge the Palestinians’ right of self-determination or their democratic choice of government. Britain, to its shame, is complicit in those crimes.

To make matters worse, Labour and Conservative leaders are anxious to change our laws of universal jurisdiction to provide a safe haven for Israel’s killers while denying visas to Palestinian footballers.

And please, Mr Clegg, spare us this endless nonsense about rockets. At least as many state of the art US-supplied Israeli missiles were launched into Gaza, usually from US-supplied F-16s, as garden-shed whizz-bangs were lobbed into Israel. And Israeli air-strikes and armoured incursions continue on a daily basis. Furthermore, no rockets come out of the West Bank, yet the West Bank continues to be occupied, sealed and under severe movement restrictions. Clearly, this is not about rockets or even about Hamas, which has already agreed to recognise Israel within its pre-1967 borders in accordance with the international community’s position.

It’s a well-known fact that America is a dishonest broker, so aligning Britain with the puppet Obama’s diplomatic “initiative” simply hands Israel even more time to establish irreversible facts on the ground.

But the British public are wising up. They are beginning to know the score. Prime minister Cameron is a self-declared Zionist. Foreign secretary Hague has been a Friend of Israel since the age of 15. Under-secretary of state Burt is not just a Friend of Israel but an OFFICER of the Conservative Friends of Israel organisation.

The Knesset’s stooges roost happily in Westminster.

And Cameron has just put his name to a G8 leaders’ statement calling for the release of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit but not the freeing of thousands of Palestinians abducted and rotting in Israeli jails.

Burt, in his letter, talks of our pledge of £26.8 million for humanitarian aid and early recovery activities in Gaza. Is that supposed to purge our negligence? The Palestinians wouldn’t need £millions of British taxpayers’ money year after year if they were left in peace. All this aid simply subsidises and reinforces the Israeli occupation at our (the public’s) expense.

Now that Clegg is in a position to actually kick government ass, I hoped the Liberal Democrats would have a moderating effect on the rabid Conservative Zionists who devote so much of their energies to the service of Israel.

Instead, Nick and his party appear to have fallen in with them.

  • Stuart Littlewood is author of the book Radio Free Palestine, which tells the plight of the Palestinians under occupation. For further information please visit www.radiofreepalestine.co.uk

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State Terror, Israeli Style

Israeli Pirate Flag Silwan - (June 26 2010, Rebecca Fudala)

Stephen Lendman, 1 July 2010

Ongoing since its May 14, 1948 “Declaration of Independence,” Israel systematically reigned terror against Palestinians and neighboring states, always claiming self-defense – bogus then, bogus now, historian Ilan Pappe describing Israel as a “settler Prussian state: a combination of colonialist policies….manifested in the dominance of the army over political, cultural and economic life,” then adding:

“You probably have to be born in Israel, as I was, and go through the whole process of socialisation (sic) and education – including serving in the army – to grasp the power of this militarist mentality and its dire consequences. And you need such a background to understand why the whole premise on which the international community’s approach to the Middle East is based, is utterly and disastrously wrong,” so much so that Israel is slowly self-destructing, preventable only by an entirely new mindset.

Public discourse won’t admit it or that Palestinians “lost 80% of their homeland” in a few short months, about 800,000 of them either dispossessed or massacred. Then in 1967, “they lost the remaining 20%,” not recovered after 43 years, nor have they received any measure of justice, Cast Lead and Gaza’s siege the most extreme recent examples.

On May 31, no wonder Israeli commandos attacked peaceful activists trying to deliver humanitarian aid to Gazans. Defense Minister Ehud Barak once commanded a similar unit, and Benjamin Netanyahu’s eldest brother, Yonatan (a martyr and national hero), led 100 commandos in Operation Entebbe, the July 4, 1976 hostage rescue mission at Uganda’s Entebbe Airport.

That was heroic, not murdering unarmed, peaceful activists in international waters, an unconscionable crime, one the Turkish-based Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief (IHH) calls a premeditated terrorist attack in a newly issued report titled, “Palestine Our Route, Humanitarian Aid Our Load Flotilla Campaign Summary Report,” saying:

“While Israel continues to distort the truth….this report provides information about (the flotilla’s) purpose and content,” its humanitarian mission, and “the Israeli attack it was subjected to, the way in which the attack took place and the losses” as a result.

Why Gaza?

Under embargo since Hamas’ January 2006 election and a suffocating three year siege, 1.5 million Gazans (900,000 in eight refugee camps), have suffered months under a humanitarian nightmare, slow-motion genocide, acknowledged by Pappe and international law expert Francis Boyle, citing the provisions of the 1948 Genocide Convention, saying prior to the siege:

“Israel has indeed perpetrated the international crime of genocide against the Palestinian people (and a) lawsuit would….demonstrate that undeniable fact to the entire world,” more than ever today after Cast Lead and Gaza’s strangulation under siege.

Why a Humanitarian Aid Flotilla?

It tried “to pierce the blockade….with 9 ships full of humanitarian aid….to bring some (relief) to the people of Gaza, who have lived for many years in such deprivation….People from South America, Africa, the Balkans, Central Asia, the Middle East….the Far East (and North America) came together, people with different languages, religions and races, all came together to bring (desperately needed) aid….”

Items included were 10,000 tons of:

– food;

– clothes, towels, bedding, shoes, fabrics, carpets, kitchenware, quilts, blankets, couches and beds;

– ultrasound scan devices, x-ray equipment, electric patient beds, dentistry units and gear, doppler echocardiography devices, regular and electric wheelchairs, electric scooters for the disabled, stretchers, deambulators, autoclaves, mammography devices, microscopes, blood circulating and hemodialysis machines, radiology monitors, crutches, ENT units, cat scan machines, operating beds, gynecological couches, and various medical supplies;

– medicines;

– 750 tons of iron;

– 100 precast home units;

– tiles, timber, fiberboard, cage, plumbing supplies, electric equipment, plastic window frames, glass, steel cables, measuring tools, hand carts, nails, mountings, bathroom fittings, paint, power distribution units, ladders, insolation materials, and other construction supplies;

– 3,500 tons of cement;

– 50 tons of ceramic tile adhesive;

– units compromising 16 children’s playgrounds;

– two truckloads of wood;

– two electrical power generators;

– electric hand tools, machines, ovens, and other hardware supplies;

– power units (one of 35 kws, five of 85 kws, one of 100 kws, two of 145 kws, six of 150 kws, and three of 165 kws;

– another 80 one, two and five kws power units;

– an ETC;

– two desalination units; and

– 20 tons of paper.

Israel confiscated the entire cargo, claiming it would deliver select items through the UN, meaning only permitted foods, fabric items, and some medicines, most everything in all categories strictly prohibited – thousands of non-military items in total.

Summary of Events – the Mavi Marmarra Mother Ship

Its 600 passengers were attacked in international waters after its Turksat satellite frequency and satellite telephone communications were blocked to prevent massacre reports getting out and connections to other ships.

Late at night, Israeli ships surrounded the Mavi Marmarra, including one or two submarines, after which helicopters circled overhead. After warning passengers, “masked, armed soldiers….tr(ied) to grab onto the boat with heavy grappling irons,” at the same time live fire began, including high frequency sounds, machine guns, and loud noises resembling gas bombs, after which soldiers descended from helicopters, shooting before landing on deck.

There was no provocation, and no warning was given. Unarmed civilians were attacked, some at point blank range, at least nine of them murdered in cold blood, some shot in the head multiple times, perhaps more as bodies were dumped overboard, and some passengers remain missing. Dozens more were injured, at least 20 seriously. Everyone was taken prisoner.

The few Israeli soldiers hurt were treated by the ship’s doctor. Confirming video showed it. On board, after hearing about civilian deaths, IHH President, Bulent Yildirim, told passengers over a loud speaker to sit in the lounge and not resist, except for medical workers continuing their work. He, in turn, removed his white shirt, waved it at soldiers, asking for a ceasefire. He was ignored.

Despite good faith efforts, “the Israeli soldiers, who had surrounded the lounge, continued” firing live rounds – even at medical workers treating their own injured comrades. A doctor providing aid was shot in the arm.

More soldiers boarded the ship with specially trained K9 dogs. Passengers were searched and handcuffed. Their possessions, including passports were confiscated. Women were seated on benches, men forced to kneel uncomfortably on deck. No one was allowed “to fulfill their most basic needs.” It became a “long war of nerves….”

Throughout the ordeal, soldiers were hostile and abusive, “trying to agitate (passengers) to create problems.” In control of the ship, they took it (and the others) to Israel’s Ashdod Port, a trip taking 10 hours, passengers not knowing their destination or fate once they arrived.

En route, “Some of the wounded were purposefully mistreated, kicked and hit with weapons, while others were shot at, despite being wounded. Some wounded people” weren’t taken to the hospital. Although bleeding and needing treatment, they were kept on board, doctors not allowed to help them.

At Ashdod, passengers were taken off in handcuffs, accompanied by policemen. Interrogations and security checks followed, including strip searches down to underwear, fingerprinting, and photographing. Then a health check, after which participants were told told to sign “certain documents,” to be released. Otherwise, they faced prison and confinement for at least two months for entering Israel illegally despite being taken there forcibly.

Most refused, were put on freezing cold buses, taken to Beer Sheva prison, and placed in two to four-person cells, separated from others, given no information about them or allowed to make phone calls. Instead they were told: “This is now your home, forget going back.”

Requests to meet consular officials were refused. Sleep was denied for two nights. Harassment was punishing, including repeated (day and night) interrogations to state their names, and explain where they came from, and why – besides being forced to “carry out every type duty,” including “carrying things, distributing things, (and) cleaning up after dinner, etc.”

After nearly a day, consular officials got in. Then by noon the next day, passengers began being released to be deported. Others waited an extra day, some longer. The entire procedure was made as arduous, demeaning, and degrading as possible, the slightest reaction met by blows.

Some participants “who had left the prison unharmed arrived at the airport with injuries.” Others before and during detention were seriously beaten, some tortured. Five stayed behind hospitalized too injured to leave. The whereabouts of six or more remains unknown. Likely they’re dead, murdered in cold blood.

Events on Other Ships

On May 30 evening and throughout the early morning May 31 hours, before the Mavi Marmarra massacre, the Defne was harassed, told to change course, and abandon its mission, what it and other vessels refused to do.

At 6:10 AM, commandos stormed the ship, took it to Ashdod, imprisoned its passengers, confiscated their possessions and the cargo. No one on board was killed, nor on other vessels who were treated like Defne’s, all personal property and aid items seized, the entire ordeal (from boarding to imprisonment to deportation) made as uncomfortable and painful as possible, a lesson Israelis hoped would intimidate others from coming, an experience emboldening participants to come back, undaunted by their intimidating experience.

Eight of the nine known dead were Turks. The ninth was a Turkish American. Most of those wounded were also Turks or of Turkish or Arabic origin. Clearly they were identified in advance. Commandos had names and photos of assassination targets, ordered by top Israeli officials, including IDF commanders to commit cold-blooded murder.

A Final Comment

Besides violating maritime law in international waters, Israel massacred as many as 15 or more passengers in cold blood, injured dozens more, some seriously. In addition, ship communications were cut off, participants illegally arrested, repeatedly interrogated, initially denied consular contact, intimidated, imprisoned, and treated horrifically for two – three days, including harassment, humiliation, and physical abuse involving beatings, in some cases torture.

Further, their passports and personal possessions were stolen. Permission “to fulfill their basic needs” was denied. Humanitarian aid cargo was confiscated. Individual testimonies bore witness to Israel’s lawless, callous, and degrading treatment.

Mevlut Yurtseven, the Mavi Marmarra’s doctor, said dozens were wounded, at least 20 seriously. “They forced the wounded to stand up and tried to make them walk. They did not bring stretchers. Because I protested (I) was handcuffed.”

Press TV – UK’s Hassan al Banna Ghani said “They set attack dogs against me and another (UK) volunteer. They gave us nothing to eat for 20 hours on the ship. They stole our personal belongings and damaged them.” Volunteers were treated violently.

UK emergency aid worker Nur Choodhury explained “We were physically abused: kicked, slapped, pinched, and elbowed. Our hands were tied tightly with cables; this was extremely painful and caused us to lose feeling in our hands.” They were prevented from using toilets or phoning families.

Sema Islek, a Turkish nurse, called their “psychological oppression and physical torture….very great.” Turks and other Muslims were treated the worst, former German MP Norman Paech said “Israeli soldiers displayed openly raci(st) behavior….treat(ing) us much better than the Turkish and Arab passengers.”

Those waging war on peace will lose, the report concluded, legal professionals already enlisted to represent families of those killed, the injured, and everyone imprisoned, tortured, abused, robbed, and subjected to cruel and humiliating treatment – crimes against humanity by a nation mocking democratic freedoms, defiling the rule of law, affording rights solely to Jews, and endorsing racism, extremism, violence and torture as official state policies, including against peaceful activists bringing essential humanitarian aid to Gazans in desperate need.

The report’s final comment wondered what kind of a world they’d be “if other countries….follow(ed) the path of Israel….? What kind also when leaders committing these crimes aren’t held accountable, world leaders turning a blind eye, some providing active support, making them culpable – complicit in crimes of war and against humanity, including against activists bringing humanitarian aid.

  • Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.

http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour/