The New Dark Age

* Israeli MP’s terror on aid ship
* Outlaws of the Mediterranean
* Robert Fisk: Western leaders are too cowardly to help save lives
* Israelis opened fire before boarding Gaza flotilla, say released activists
* Women in Black vigil: Jerusalem, 4 June 2010
* FT: Israel is lost at sea
* MK Hanin Zoabi: Israel wanted highest number of fatalities
* Hebrew University to Remove Judge Goldstone from its Board of Governors
* Free Gaza Calls for ‘Open, Independent’ Investigation Into Deadly Flotilla
Raid
* Mossad chief: Israel gradually becoming burden on US

Israeli MP’s terror on aid ship
www.israeli-occupation.org/2010-06-01/israeli-mps-terror-on-aid-ship/

Jonathan Cook: Haneen Zoubi said Israeli naval vessels had surrounded the
flotilla’s flagship, the Mavi Marmara, and fired on it a few minutes before
commandos abseiled from a helicopter directly above them… She added that
within minutes of the raid beginning, three bodies had been brought to the
main room on the upper deck in which she and most other passengers were
confined. Two had gunshot wounds to the head, in what she suggested had been
executions.

Outlaws of the Mediterranean
www.israeli-occupation.org/2010-06-01/merip-outlaws-of-the-mediterranean/

UN Special Rapporteur Richard Falk:  the raid is “clearly a criminal act,
being on the high seas.”  Storming a peaceful boat is akin to a home
invasion, with the aggravating circumstance that the invaded space in this
case was packed with goods intended to alleviate human suffering.

_______________

Robert Fisk: Western leaders are too cowardly to help save lives
www.israeli-occupation.org/2010-06-01/robert-fisk-western-leaders-are-too-cowardly-to-help-save-lives/

Has Israel lost it? Can the Gaza War of 2008-09 (1,300 dead) and the Lebanon
War of 2006 (1,006 dead) and all the other wars and now yesterday’s killings
mean that the world will no longer accept Israel’s rule?  Don’t hold your
breath.

Israelis opened fire before boarding Gaza flotilla, say released activists
www.israeli-occupation.org/2010-06-01/israelis-opened-fire-before-boarding-gaza-flotilla-say-released-activists/

“The operation started immediately with firing. First it was warning shots,
but when the Mavi Marmara wouldn’t stop these warnings turned into an
attack”…  ”We continuously told them we did not have weapons, we came here
to bring humanitarian help and not to fight”… “We were in international
waters. The Israelis acted like pirates… They took us hostage, pointing
guns at our heads; they descended from helicopters and fired tear gas and
bullets. There was absolutely nothing we could do… Those who tried to resist
forming a human ring on the bridge were given electric shocks.”

Women in Black vigil: Jerusalem, 4 June 2010
www.israeli-occupation.org/2010-06-01/women-in-black-vigil-jerusalem-4-june-2010/

June 5, 2010 marks 43 years since the Six-Day War and the beginning of the
occupation. Three and a half million Palestinians live under Israeli
occupation which denies their most basic freedoms. Gaza is hungry and under
siege, no one is allowed in or out. Families are expelled from their homes;
menacing walls keep apart families and friends, and separate farmers from
their lands. Freedom to travel is denied to thousands who are forced daily
to undergo humiliation and harassment at the checkpoints.

FT: Israel is lost at sea
www.israeli-occupation.org/2010-06-01/financial-times-israel-is-lost-at-sea/

Israel’s government has been pretending it is ready to negotiate for peace,
but that there is no one to negotiate with on the other side. The attack on
the blockade-busters lays bare the country’s slide into contempt for
international law, intolerance of dissent and wilful sabotage of viable
representation for Palestinians.

MK Hanin Zoabi: Israel wanted highest number of fatalities
www.israeli-occupation.org/2010-06-01/mk-hanin-zoabi-israel-wanted-highest-number-of-fatalities/

Arab Knesset member who participated in Gaza aid flotilla holds press
conference says, ‘It was clear from size of force that boarded ship that
purpose was not to stop sail, but to cause largest number of fatalities to
prevent future initiatives.’  ”There was not a single passenger who raised a
club. We put on our life vests. From where I was standing, I didn’t see any
clubs or anything of the sort. There were gunshots, I don’t know if they
were live bullets or not. There were gunshots fired from the ships in our
direction.

Hebrew University to Remove Judge Goldstone from its Board of Governors
www.israeli-occupation.org/2010-06-01/hebrew-university-to-remove-judge-goldstone-from-its-board-of-governors/

Hebrew University of Jerusalem will remove Judge Goldstone from its Board of
Governors, for the “technical” reason that he has not attended Board
meetings…   Substantial political pressure has been exerted by American
and European donors on Hebrew University President Professor Menachem Ben
Sasson and the university administration to remove Judge Goldstone following
the report issued by the UN Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict, which
Goldstone led.

Free Gaza Calls for ‘Open, Independent’ Investigation Into Deadly Flotilla Raid
www.israeli-occupation.org/2010-06-01/free-gaza-calls-for-open-independent-investigation-into-deadly-flotilla-raid/

Adam Shapiro: It is utterly absurd to think that we could face down a
military with the strength and the kind of technology and weapons that
Israel possesses. To even think for a second that we could use violence in
any way that would be to our advantage, it’s utterly absurd.  Israel has
always tried to portray its victims, whether they be internationals like
Rachel Corrie or Tom Hurndall or Palestinians, as — to present the victims
as the perpetrators. And I think we’re seeing the response of the world
today.

IOA Editor: Indeed. See our earlier comments on Israeli propaganda, past
and present

Mossad chief: Israel gradually becoming burden on US
www.israeli-occupation.org/2010-06-01/mossad-chief-israel-gradually-becoming-burden-on-us/

“Israel  is gradually turning from an asset to the United States to a burden,” said Dagan, speaking before the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense
Committee.

IOA Editor: A similar  assessment was made by Prof. Rashid Khalidi in a May 2010
interview with the IOA.  Separately, of course, there’s no discussion on the legality of sabotaging
the engines of ships docked in foreign harbors.

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stories, commentaries, and editor’s comments: www.Israeli-Occupation.org