5 June, 2010 – Al Jazeera
Douglas Guilfoyle, a maritime legal expert at the University College of London, discusses whether Israel’s raid on the Gaza aid flotilla – and it’s blockade of Gaza – are legal under international law.
Day: June 5, 2010
If World Governments Will Not Confront Israel, What Path Should Civil Society Take? By Thalif Deen
4 June, 2010 — Inter Press Service
UNITED NATIONS – If, as expected, the U.N. Security Council remains politically impotent and refuses to penalise Israel for the killings of nine pro-Palestinian civilians on a ship carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza, what is the next course of action?
Israeli commandos on Monday stormed six ships carrying hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists on an aid mission to the blockaded Gaza Strip, killing 9 people and wounding dozens after encountering unexpected resistance as the forces boarded the vessels.
A global civil society campaign to de-legitimise Israel? Formal or informal sanctions by individual states? Worldwide arrest warrants?
How Israel planned the Flotilla attack
5 June, 2010 — The Real News Network
As the MV Rachel Corrie ship is dragged to Israel, TRNN investigates Israel’s plan for Flotilla attack.
As the MV Rachel Corrie, the last boat in the Free Gaza Movement’s Flotilla, is being dragged to Israel’s Ashdod port after being boarded and taken over in the early hours of Saturday, Israel continues to react to its Flotilla attack. Protests have been taking place throughout Israel and the occupied Palestinian Territories. In the meantime, The Real News’ Lia Tarachansky investigates how Israel prepared for the Flotilla attack, and how the media repeatedly portrayed a connection between the activists and terrorism. After the attack, Israel went on the offensive to prove there was indeed a connection to terrorism. The IDF published a press release saying the activists on board the Mavi Marmara ship that was the site of at least 9 deaths on Monday morning were actually al Qaeda mercenaries. When Tarachansky and journalist Max Blumenthaul questioned the IDF for evidence of this allegation, the IDF said it didn’t have any and changed the title of the press release to “attackers of the IDF soldiers found without identification papers.”
What happened to us is happening in Gaza by Iara Lee
5 June, 2010 — San Francisco Chronicle
In the predawn hours of May 31, I was aboard the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara, part of a convoy of humanitarian vessels aiming to deliver aid to besieged civilians in Gaza, when we were attacked in international waters by a unit of Israeli commandos.
Our ship had been inspected by customs agents in Turkey, a NATO member, who confirmed that there were no guns or any such weapons aboard. Indeed, the Israeli government has produced no such arms. What was aboard the ship were hundreds of civilian passengers, representatives of dozens of countries, who had planned to deliver the flotilla’s much-needed humanitarian materials for the Gazan people. These Palestinians have suffered under an illegal siege – first imposed by Israel in 2005 and strictly enforced since early 2009 – which Amnesty International has called “a flagrant violation of international law.”
Proof emerges IDF audio of radio communication with Mavi Marmara is fabricated
4 June, 2010 — Ali Abunimah
UPDATED: EARLIER VIDEO RELEASED BY ISRAEL PROVIDES FURTHER PROOF OF AUDIO FAKERY
Today, Israel released what it claimed to be the audio of a conversation between Israeli naval vessels and the Turkish-owned ship Mavi Marmara which occurred prior to the Israeli assault that killed at least 9 passengers and injured dozens more in the early hours of 31 May in international waters in the eastern Mediterranean. This audio clip, which the Israelis titled “Radio Transmission from Mavi Marmara to Israeli Navy” appears to be fabricated.
The following is a transcript of the audio:
ISRAELI SHIP “This is the Israeli Navy, you are approaching an area which is under a naval blockade”
MAN’S VOICE 1 “Shut up, go back to Auschwitz.”
WOMAN’S VOICE “We have permission from the Gaza Port Authority to enter.”
MAN’S VOICE 2 “We’re helping Arabs go against the US, don’t forget 9/11 guy”
On hearing the recording Adam Shapiro, co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement, identified the woman’s voice as that of his wife Huwaida Arraf, chair of the Free Gaza Movement. However, Arraf was not aboard the Mavi Marmara. She was aboard one of the small passenger vessels in the six-boat flotilla, called Challenger 1. She recounted what she experienced on Russia Today, among other major media outlets (video below). It would appear that Israel has once more been caught fabricating evidence in its desperate effort to justify its violent assault on the Free Gaza Flotilla, a civilian convoy carrying humanitarian aid to the blockaded Gaza Strip.
ISRAELI MILITARY FORCIBLY STOPS AID BOAT TO GAZA – AGAIN
5 June, 2010 — Free Gaza
Off the Gaza coast, 5 June – Just before 9am this morning, the Israeli military forcibly siezed the Irish-owned humanitarian relief ship, the MV Rachel Corrie, from delivering over 1000 tons of medical and construction supplies to besieged Gaza. For the second time in less then a week, Israeli naval commandos stormed an unarmed aid ship, brutally taking its passengers hostage and towing the ship toward Ashdod port in Southern Israel. It is not yet known whether any of the Rachel Corrie’s passengers were killed or injured during the attack, but they are believed to be unharmed.
The Corrie carried 11 passengers and 9 crew from 5 different countires, mostly Ireland and Malaysia. The passengers included Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mairead Maguire, Parit Member of the Malaysian Parliament Mohd Nizar Zakaria, and former UN Assistant Secretary General, Denis Halliday. Nine international human rights workers were killed on Monday when Israeli commandos violently stormed the Turkish aid ship, Mavi Marmara and five other unarmed boats taking supplies to Gaza. Prior to being taken hostage by Israeli forces, Derek Graham, an Irish coordinator with the Free Gaza Movement, stated that: “Despite what happened on the Mavi Marmara earlier this week, we are not afraid.
The 1200-ton cargo ship was purchased through a special fund set up by former Malaysian Prime Minister and Perdana Global Peace Organisation (PGPO) chairman Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. The ship was named after an American human rights worker, killed in 2003 when she was crushed by an Israeli military bulldozer in the Gaza Strip. Its cargo included hundreds of tons of medical equipment and cement, as well as paper from the people of Norway, donated to UN-run schools in Gaza.
According to Denis Halliday: “We are the only Gaza-bound aid ship left out here. We’re determined to deliver our cargo.” The Rachel Corrie had been part of the Freedom Flotilla, a 40-nation effort to break through Israel’s illegal blockade, before being forced to drop off late last week due to suspicious mechanical problems.
The attack on the Rachel Corrie may spell trouble for Israel’s relationship with Ireland. The Irish government had formally requested Israel allow the ship to reach Gaza. On 1 June, the Irish parliament also passed an all-party motion condemning Israel’s use of military force against civilian aid ships, and demanding “an end to the illegal Israeli blockade of Gaza.”
Nobel Laureate Mairead Maguire summed up the hopes of this joint Irish-Malaysian effort to overcome Israel’s cruel blockade by saying: “We are inspired by the people of Gaza whose courage, love and joy in welcoming us, even in the midst of such suffering gives us all hope. They represent the very best of humanity, and we are all privileged to be given the opportunity to support them in their nonviolent struggle for human dignity, and freedom. This trip will again highlight Israel’s criminal blockade and illegal occupation. In a demonstration of the power of global citizen action, we hope to awaken the conscience of all.”
—
Passengers aboard the Rachel Corrie include:
Ahmed Faizal bin Azumu, human rights worker, Malaysia
Matthias Chang, attorney, author & human rights worker, Malaysia
Derek Graham, Free Gaza Ireland
Jenny Graham, Free Gaza Ireland
Denis Halliday, former UN Assistant Secretary General, Ireland
Mohd Jufri Bin Mohd Judin, journalist, Malaysia
Shamsul Akmar Musa Kamal, PGPO representative, Malaysia
Mairead Maguire, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Ireland
Abdul Halim Bin Mohamed, journalist, Malaysia
Fiona Thompson, film-maker, Ireland
The Hon. Mohd Nizar Zakaria, Parit Member of Parliament, Malaysia
For More Information, please contact:
Free Gaza Cyprus: Greta Berlin or Mary Hughes
tel: +357 99 187275 or +357 96 383 809, friends@freegaza.org
Free Gaza Ireland: Niamh Moloughney
tel: +353 (0)85 7747257 or +353 (0)91 472279, freegazaireland@gmail.com
Perdana Global Peace Organisation, Malaysia: Ram Karthigasu
tel: +60 1222 70159, ramkarthigasu@gmail.com
Israeli Occupation Archive has posted 8 new items 5 June, 2010
* Israel arrests Free Gaza chief * Noam Chomsky Interview: speaking of truth and power * Graham Usher: No change at the UN * British survivor of Gaza flotilla raid: ‘Israelis ignored SOS calls’ * Hamas officials given one month to leave Israel * Charles Glass: The Gaza Flotilla and Israels Many, Many Rights * Sasha Polakow-Suransky: Time for Peres to come clean * Merav Michaeli: Nothing to investigate – Everyone knows what was wrong about the flotilla attack
BREAKING: MV Rachel Corrie approached rapidly by Israeli navy and more By Jesse Bacon
5 June, 2010 — The Only Democracy?
BREAKING: MV Rachel Corrie approached rapidly by Israeli navy
I was interviewing Mairead Maguire, Irish Nobel Peace Laureate, when the MV Rachel Corrie was rapidly approached by the Israeli Navy, 65 miles from Gaza. We ended the call to keep the line clear. Hopefully the whole world really is watching.
Listen here: Mariead Maguire
The New Dark Age 