By Stephanie Nebehay

Israel’s naval blockade of the Gaza Strip violates international law, a panel of human rights experts reporting to a U.N. body said on Tuesday, disputing a conclusion reached by a separate U.N. probe into Israel’s raid on a Gaza-bound aid ship.

The so-called Palmer Report on the Israeli raid of May 2010 that killed nine Turkish activists said earlier this month that Israel had used unreasonable force in last year’s raid, but its naval blockade of the Hamas-ruled strip was legal.

A panel of five independent U.N. rights experts reporting to the U.N. Human Rights Council rejected that conclusion, saying the blockade had subjected Gazans to collective punishment in “flagrant contravention of international human rights and humanitarian law.”

The four-year blockade deprived 1.6 million Palestinians living in the enclave of fundamental rights, they said.

“In pronouncing itself on the legality of the naval blockade, the Palmer Report does not recognize the naval blockade as an integral part of Israel’s closure policy toward Gaza which has a disproportionate impact on the human rights of civilians,” they said in a joint statement.

An earlier fact-finding mission named by the same U.N. forum to investigate the flotilla incident also found in a report last September that the blockade violated international law. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says the blockade violates the Geneva Conventions.

Israel says its Gaza blockade is a precaution against arms reaching Hamas and other Palestinian guerrillas by sea.

The four-man panel headed by former New Zealand Prime Minister Geoffrey Palmer found Israel had used unreasonable force in dealing with what it called “organized and violent resistance from a group of passengers.”

Turkey has downgraded ties with Israel over the incident.

Richard Falk, U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories and one of the five experts who issued Tuesday’s statement, said the Palmer report’s conclusions were influenced by a desire to salve Turkish-Israeli ties.

“The Palmer report was aimed at political reconciliation between Israel and Turkey. It is unfortunate that in the report politics should trump the law,” he said in the statement.

About one-third of Gaza’s arable land and 85 percent of its fishing waters are totally or partially inaccessible due to Israeli military measures, said Olivier De Schutter, U.N. special rapporteur on the right to food, another of the five.

At least two-thirds of Gazan households lack secure access to food, he said. “People are forced to make unacceptable trade-offs, often having to choose between food or medicine or water for their families.”

The other three experts were the U.N. special rapporteurs on physical and mental health; extreme poverty and human rights; and access to water and sanitation.

Article courtesy Reuters – Photo courtesy Gulf News

By Ahmed Moor

Israel is under pressure. The decline of American influence in the Middle East has combined with the Arab revolutions, Turkey’s regional ascendancy and the Palestinians’ statehood bid at the UN, to erode its global position.

Additionally, an increased awareness of Israeli apartheid around the world has worked to undermine the historically sufficient “security” argument used to justify the occupation of Palestine. It has been a short 20 years since the theatrical Arafat-Clinton-Rabin lawn party, and Israel has already traversed most of the distance to comprehensive global isolation.

Israeli analysts were right in their assessments of the consequences of the revolution in Egypt. In that country, most people are sensitive to the Palestinian point of view. Many of them believe that Zionism, which is Jewish nationalism in historical Palestine, is only the most recent iteration of European colonialism.

They are unsympathetic to the argument that it was necessary to ethnically cleanse Palestine in order to establish Israel. Moreover, they believe apartheid – the system by which Israel governs the Occupied Territories - is an atrocity.

For decades an imperious Egyptian dictatorship worked to protect Israel from popular opinion in Egypt. Its primary inducement was American money – about $2bn of it annually. But the revolution capsized Hosni Mubarak’s American jackboot and today Israel is forced to confront the irrepressible Egyptian call for Palestinian freedom.

Now Hosni Mubarak is on trial and the Egyptian-Israeli relationship is being similarly scrutinised. The Israeli ambassador’s recent flight from Cairo is a reasonable indication of where the relationship stands today. It is also probably a forward indicator.

History blindsided the Israelis in February; there was nothing they could do to preserve their strongman in Cairo. With Turkey, however, Israel’s political leadership worked with bizarre zealousness to undermine a reliable ally. By orchestrating a series of moves that showcased Israel’s contempt for Turkish lives, pride, property and humanitarian concerns, Tel Aviv succeeded in poisoning the only normal relationship it had with a Muslim-majority country.

Significantly, this occurred as Turkey sought to play a greater leadership role in the region.

Ignoring all the signals

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan signalled in 2009 – during Israel’s war on Gaza, which killed 1,400 Palestinians – that Israeli attacks on civilians would not be tolerated. The following year, Israeli commandos killed eight unarmed Turkish civilians and an American on international waters. The Turkish response was to demand an apology and compensation for the victims’ families. The Israelis refused, further incensing the Turkish leadership.

The relationship between the two countries worsened in recent weeks with the leak of a UN report on the flotilla. The report had been pushed by the Americans, who sought to use it as a vehicle for mending Ankara’s relationship with Tel Aviv. Significantly, it was to have been published after the Israelis apologised for the deaths of eight of the nine civilians (Obama has not asked Netanyahu to apologise for killing the American teenager).

Absent the apology, however, the report appeared to absolve Israel of its responsibility for the deaths, even going so far as to justify its illegal maritime siege of the Gaza Strip. The Turks reacted angrily and instructed the Israeli ambassador to return to Tel Aviv. The Israeli diplomatic mission was formally downgraded, and Turkey suspended all military ties between the two countries. Ankara also announced that Turkish naval vessels would accompany the next humanitarian mission to Gaza. The move is a direct challenge to de facto Israeli control of the Eastern Mediterranean.

Tel Aviv’s serial miscalculations vis-a-vis Ankara can be attributed to a myopic analytical scope.

The Israelis failed to successfully interpret macro-level developments in Europe and their impact on Turkey’s regional alignment; the advantages of joining the European Union have steadily declined as the financial crisis has grown more severe.

Simultaneously, the prospect of playing a regional leadership role has grown to outweigh the bit-player role Europe seemed to offer. NATO, of which Turkey is a member, has decreased in strength and influence, permitting the Turkish leadership to exercise greater national autonomy.

It is understandable, then, that the Israelis have reacted to an insistent Turkey with bewilderment. Historically, US influence in both Ankara and Cairo insulated the Israelis from the consequences of their boastful and bellicose self-regard.

Today, however, hegemonic decline means that for the first time in decades Washington cannot rescue Israel’s leaders from their own bad decisions. That reality continues to go unrecognised in Israel, where the leadership persists in making bad decisions.

Last week, for instance, Israeli Major General Eyal Eisenberg threatened the region with “all-out total war“ and the “possibility of weapons of mass destruction being used“ (Israel is the only country in the region with nuclear armaments). More recently, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman suggested that Israel ought to arm and support PKK terrorists in Turkey.

Meanwhile, the Palestinians are taking action on their own behalf.

The Palestinian observer delegation at the United Nations formally submitted its bid for statehood this week – a move that has long been anticipated by observers. The Americans, who still enjoy defending Israeli belligerence, have promised a veto. Despite that, the vote will result in greater Israeli isolation internationally due to widespread recognition that apartheid is wrong.

Most indications suggest that Israel’s increased global isolation will continue apace. The new Egyptian leadership – no matter who it is comprised of – will continue to object to Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians. An increasingly assertive Turkey will not be mollified by American entreaties and will continue to apply pressure on behalf of the Palestinians, who will pursue their right to freedom through international forums.

Indeed, the only way for Israel to gain acceptance in the broader Middle East is by ending the occupation. But that is a decision the Israelis don’t appear ready to make.

Ahmed Moor is a Palestinian-American freelance journalist based in Cairo. He was born in the Gaza Strip, Palestine.

Article courtesy English Al Jazeera.net

Turkey’s naval forces would escort Turkish humanitarian aid ships bound for the Gaza Strip, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish prime minister has said, following Israel’s refusal to apologise for its deadly raid on an aid flotilla heading to the besieged Palestinian territory in May 2010.

“We have humanitarian aid to be sent there. And our humanitarian aid will not be attacked anymore, as happened to the Mavi Marmara,” he told the Al Jazeera on Thursday.

“Turkish warships will be tasked with protecting the Turkish boats bringing humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.”

Israeli commandos boarded the Mavi Marmara, the ship which aimed to break Israel’s naval blockade, and killed nine people – eight Turks and one US citizen of Turkish origin – in international waters, causing a diplomatic row between the two countries.

Erdogan also said that Turkey would closely monitor international waters and had taken steps to prevent what he called Israel’s unilateral exploitation of natural resources in the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

Responding to Erdogan’s interview, Dan Meridor, Israel’s intelligence minister, told Israel army radio: “These remarks are grave and serious, but we have no wish to add to the polemic.

“It is better to stay quiet and wait – we have no interest in aggravating the situation by replying to such [verbal] attacks.”

Opposition critical

Turkey’s opposition too criticised Erdogan’s comments on Friday.

Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party, said Turkey’s Red Crescent was already sending aid to Gaza without breaching the blockade.

He called on Erdogan to “justify” in parliament the threats to send warships to escort aid ships.

Turkish-Israeli relations hit a low last week after a UN report on the deadly Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound aid ship said that Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza was legitimate but its raid on the flotilla trying to break the blockade was “excessive and unreasonable.”

Turkey has since expelled top Israeli diplomats, cut military ties with the country, pledged to lobby other nations in support of the Palestinians’ statehood bid at the UN in September and promised increased Turkish naval patrols in the Mediterranean.

Israel has expressed regret for the loss of lives aboard the flotilla, but has refused to apologise, saying its forces acted in self-defence.

Turkey, however, is still seeking an apology in order to normalise a relationship once seen as a cornerstone of regional stability.

Article and photo courtesy Al Jazeera

By PCHR

The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) strongly condemns the report of the Panel of Inquiry (Palmer Committee) established by the UN Secretary-General to investigate the attack on Mavi Marmara, one of the ships of the Freedom Flotilla, while it was in international waters and headed to the Gaza Strip, carrying humanitarian aid for Gaza’s civilian population. PCHR believes that the Committee prioritized political considerations over the rule of international law and the rights of victims, while legitimizing the policy of collective punishment represented in the blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip.

According to unofficial excerpts published by New York Times on 01 September 2011, the report concludes that the naval blockade of Gaza is legal as a matter of international law. Consequently, it does not demand Israel to apologize for the crime it committed against human rights defenders who were attempting to transfer humanitarian aid to Gaza, which left 9 civilians dead and injured at least 50 others. The report considers that Israel used excessive force against the Freedom Flotilla, and urges it to compensate families of the victims. PCHR believes that the recommendations of the report do not commensurate with the crimes it addresses. Forensic medical reports have indicated that the majority of victims were shot several times from short ranges. PCHR reiterates that the attack against Mavi Marmara is a hideous crime, in which excessive and lethal force was used, killing and wounding dozens of international civilian solidarity activists on board on the Freedom Flotilla.

PCHR believes that the Panel of Inquiry, established by UN Secretary-General Mr. Ban Ki-moon on 02 August 2010, which started its mission on 10 August 2010, is purely political, and consequently, its conclusions are purely political. It is not expected to provide legal opinions, like when it claims that the blockade imposed by Israel on Gaza is legal as a matter of international law. The Panel was comprised of Mr. Geoffrey Palmer, former Prime Minister of New Zealand, as Chairman; Alvaro Uribe, former Columbian President, as Vice-Chairman; the Israeli Joseph Itzhar, as a member; and the Turkish Sűleyman özdem Sanberk, as a member. Several civil society groups in Columbia and Latin America accuse the Panel’s Vice-Chairman, Alvaro Uribe, of perpetrating serious human rights violations in his country over several years.

PCHR further believes that the Panel of Inquiry lacks professionalism as its conclusions contradict various legal opinions issued by many international legal experts and UN bodies concerned with human right and international humanitarian law, which have all considered that the blockade imposed by Israel on the Gaza Strip is illegal and constitutes a form of collective punishment, prohibited under Article 33 of the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War. It is also a war crime, the recurrence of which must be prevented by all parties, including the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention. PCHR views the mobility of international humanitarian organizations and human right defenders is logical to break the illegal blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip since mid 2007, when Israel imposed a total siege and closed all border crossings of the Gaza Strip after Gaza International Airport had been completely destroyed in 2000.

In light of the above, PCHR condemns the initial findings concluded by Palmer Committee, which contradict the position of the international community towards the blockade impose on the Gaza Strip, particularly international reports addressing the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including the Gaza Strip, including, inter alia, reports of the UN Human Rights Council and the UN Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories. The findings of the report of Palmer Committee are also in contradiction with the Goldstone Report prepared by the Inquiry Mission on Gaza Conflict established by the UN Human Rights Council to investigate the Israeli military offensive on the Gaza Strip in 2008-2009, which considered the blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip illegal. They are further in contrast with the legal opinion issued by the ICRC, a preeminent organization for interpreting international humanitarian law, which indicated that the closure policy constitutes a form of collective punishment against the civilian population in the Gaza Strip, and an explicit violation of Israel’s obligations under international law.

Accordingly:

1- PCHR totally rejects the findings of the report of Palmer Committee considering it is politicized and disregards for the international law. PCHR calls upon all international organizations to condemn the report, and not to deal with the findings that contradict with international law and human rights standards.

2- PCHR emphasizes that this report will bring more pains and suffering for 1.6 million Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip under an illegal siege that violates the international humanitarian law and human rights law.

3- Reiterates that the blockade is illegal as it constitutes a violation of international law, as confirmed by the UN bodies, including the UN Human Rights Council, reports of the UN Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian Territories, reports of the ICRC and reports of international human rights organizations, including the International Federation for Human Rights, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

4- PCHR calls upon the international community to intensify efforts to stop the policy of collective punishment against the population of the Gaza Strip and lift the blockade that has been imposed for the past five years.

5- PCHR calls for opening an international criminal investigation into this crime based on the available legal evidence and documents, including the forensic medical reports of victims.

6- PCHR supports the move of the Government of Turkey to the International Court of Justice, as the highest international judicial body to consider this crime, and reminds of its Advisory Opinion on the wall in the West Bank issued in July 2004, which considered the siege imposed on the Occupied Palestinian Territory a form of collective punishment prohibited under the international law. PCHR calls upon all States and international organizations to support the Turkish move in this regard.

Article courtesy Palestinian Center for Human Rights

By SARAH PRICE
Guest Writer

The Free Gaza Movement’s tenth attempt to break the four-year Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip was thwarted by the Israeli Navy Monday night.
The Freedom Flotilla II originally included 11 ships from more than a dozen countries, but after weeks of delays due to damage to the boats, believed to be sabotage, and Greek authorities relenting to Israeli pressure not to allow the boats to sail for Gaza (Greece had been the point of departure for the previous nine boats), only the Dignité/Al-Karama, a yacht originating in Corsica, France, made it out of the Greek sea space, after declaring its destination to authorities as Alexandria, Egypt. The boat changed course once it was in international waters, a move they were legally allowed to make, according to Free Gaza organizers. Greece is believed to have looked the other way in regards to allowing the yacht to leave port, following international condemnation for blocking the rest of the flotilla. The boat departed the Greek island of
Kastellorizo late Saturday and publicly announced on Monday that it intended to reach Gaza Port within 24 hours.

The Dignité was carrying 16 passengers, including the captain, Yannick Voisin, two crew members and three journalists, when four Israeli Navy ships surrounded it in international waters, approximately 50 nautical miles outside of Gaza. The Navy reached the boat by radio, demanding to know its destination. Voisin replied that they were headed to Gaza Port in Gaza City, and the Navy demanded that they turn back or change their course, as they were headed

toward a blockaded area. They then shut down their communication devices and internet access, and all contact with the boat was lost. The Israeli Defense Force, which had previously threatened violence against the participants of the flotilla should they approach Gaza, ordered the Navy to board and commandeer the boat, which was then rerouted to Ashdod in Israel, where the activists were arrested, and are awaiting deportation.

The Free Gaza movement launched its first ships in August 2008, with the goal of breaking the Israel-imposed blockade on the Gaza Strip. The first two boats, the Free Gaza and the Liberty, dealt with interference to their navigation system during the journey, but made it safely to shore. The boats carry aid to the strip, but one of the movement’s founders, Greta Berlin, says the aid is not the point of the flotillas.
“Israel says they don’t occupy Gaza anymore, so we are challenging that statement, because it’s not true,” she says.

Israel removed its settlements from Gaza in 2005, but still controls its sea, air and land borders, as well as the flow of goods and people in and out of the territory, which have been severely
restricted. Israel claims the blockade of the strip, imposed in 2007, is due to security measures as a result of the Hamas takeover of Gaza in June of that year.

“We just started as two little boats, but the movement has created an international sea change,” says Berlin.

After the success of the first two boats, three more also succeeded in reaching the Gaza shore, but the four that followed were met with violence. Three were rammed by naval ships and towed into ports. But the Israeli handling of the Turkish Mavi Marmara, headed to Gaza on May 31, 2010, was a turning point in international involvement in the conflict.

Israeli soldiers boarded the ship in international waters, and the confrontation left nine activists dead and dozens injured. Israel’s response to the situation came on the heels of a brutal attack on Gaza the previous year, killing approximately 1400 and injuring 5000, including hundreds of children, and international governments started to speak up.

Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, which rules the West Bank, formed a unity government earlier this year, which is expected to hold elections in the autumn. They have jointly approached the United Nations, seeking recognition of an independent state, a measure that has been endorsed so far by 130 of the 192 member states. The United States, however, has threatened to impose sanctions on the Palestinians if they follow through with the bid, expected to be brought up in September.
In the meantime, the Free Gaza Movement vows to continue to send boats to Gaza until the siege is completely lifted.
“We still have nine ships ready to go,” says Berlin. “That’s one thing Israel forgot, that, this time they did not destroy or confiscate the boats. So we will regroup and send them out again. This time they will come from around the Mediterranean and may even come from the UK, Sweden and Ireland. The more Israel tries to stop us, the more determined we become.
“We do not see this stoppage as a failure but rather a PR disaster for Israel, as people are beginning to see what the bully of the Mediterranean is capable of doing to civilians.”

Courtesy BBC news

Organizers said that, despite the opening of Gaza’s Egyptian border, the territory remained under “unlawful blockade” by the Israelis.

Fifteen ships will leave for Gaza from various Mediterranean ports in the second half of June, a spokesman said.

Israel accuses activists of provoking last year’s bloodshed.

Fighting had ensued when its marines boarded the lead aid ship, the ferry Mavi Marmara, in international waters before dawn on 31 May 2010.
Israel’s assault on the ship drew widespread foreign criticism and strained its relations with Turkey, one of its few partners in the Muslim world.

A four-man UN panel appointed in August to look into the affair has yet to report back.

Istanbul’s central Taksim Square became a sea of Palestinian and Turkish flags on Monday night as thousands of demonstrators gathered to mourn the nine dead activists and condemn Israel.
Bulent Yildirim, chairman of the Turkish Islamic charity IHH which was in charge of the Mavi Marmara, said he had received about one million applications from volunteers wanting to take part in the next flotilla.

“We are not sailing to death,” he told Reuters news agency.

“We are making use of the right provided by the United Nations and Geneva Convention. We are going there to establish a corridor to deliver humanitarian aid.
Vangelis Pisias, the Greek coordinator of the new flotilla, told reporters that Israel’s blockade remained intact.

“Israel still prevents Palestinians from using their sea, and controls and severely restricts all goods entering and exiting Gaza,” he said.

Huseyin Oruc, another senior member of the IHH, said about 1,500 activists from about 100 countries would board the vessels, which would also carry humanitarian aid, medical equipment, school supplies and construction materials, including up to 700 tons of cement.

The activists were speaking to reporters aboard the Mavi Marmara, which is moored at Istanbul.

By DR. HANAN CHEHATA
Courtesy Middle East Monitor

The first anniversary of Israel’s horrific assault on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla is fast approaching. As most people will remember, nine peace activists were killed by Israeli commandos when the soldiers boarded the Mavi Marmara in international waters. The ship was carrying hundreds of international humanitarians and peace activists en route to break Israel’s siege of Gaza. The flotilla, of which the Marmara was a part, was nowhere near Israel’s territorial waters and, therefore, had every right to be there. Nevertheless, Israeli troops were ordered to surround the ship with helicopters and navy vessels, board the ship and open fire indiscriminately on the people standing on deck. According to the Head of the Israel Defence Force’s Southern Command, the commandos would have had no option but to open fire on civilians due to the “air-drop” boarding tactic used. Apart from the nine activists who were gunned down in cold blood, more than fifty people were wounded. The survivors were then basically kidnapped, subjected to abuse, taken to Israel against their will and held illegally in Israeli prison cells. This act of unjustifiable brutality was heavily condemned in the United Nations Human Rights Council Report which is so graphic and explosive that it reads like a thriller; the facts are beyond belief.

It’s almost a year later and history looks set to repeat itself if the world does not sit up and take notice. Another flotilla is due to set sail for Gaza in May and it is vital for it to do so. Despite the eyes of the world focusing on Gaza last May, the siege has still not been lifted. After being virtually imprisoned by Israel for over 4 years, 1.5 million Palestinians are still trapped in Gaza (over half of them children) in what British Prime Minister David Cameron – a good friend of Israel   referred to as a “prison camp.” It is extremely difficult, if not impossible, for Palestinians to leave Gaza, and deaths are reported regularly when patients are not allowed to leave the Strip for treatment elsewhere. Similarly, few people are allowed into Gaza, with politicians, charity workers, journalists, Palestinians and non-Palestinians denied access by Israel, and the border with Egypt only now starting to be open a little more often, but still on an extremely limited basis, following the overthrow of Israel’s buddy Hosni Mubarak.

While Israeli authorities, the jailers of Gaza, argue that they have “eased” the siege since the massacre last May and that there is therefore no need for another “humanitarian mission”, this is completely misleading and, indeed, beside the point. While it is true that Israel, as a result of extremely bad publicity and international pressure, has now eased the siege slightly by letting in small amounts of chocolate, crisps, pasta, jam and other common household items that were forbidden in the past, there are still plenty of items which are banned from entry into Gaza; exports are even more limited. Items which are still banned include basic building materials such as cement, wooden beams, thermal insulation materials and so on which are vital in order to rebuild the thousands of homes, hospitals, schools and factories that were destroyed and damaged during Israel’s assault on Gaza during “Operation Cast Lead” in the winter of 2008-9.

In addition, the latest flotilla is about more than taking in humanitarian and medical aid; it is about breaking the siege itself, in all of its forms, including restrictions on the free movement of people. Nowhere else in the world are people herded into such a small strip of land and denied the right to leave or to have people visit them. Gaza is one of the most densely populated places on the planet and the only place in the world to endure such a barbaric medieval-style siege. It remains almost completely isolated from the outside world and the flotilla activists hope to bring some normalisation to the situation by visiting the territory.

Freedom Flotilla 2 is thus the latest and largest attempt to break the siege on Gaza. It will set sail in May to commemorate the first anniversary of the Mavi Marmara’s fatal voyage; Britain 2 Gaza is the UK partner in this mission. It is being brought together by 5 British campaign groups: Friends of Al-Aqsa, the British Muslim Initiative, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, the Stop the War Coalition and the Palestinian Forum of Britain (PFB). This humanitarian mission will be made up of similar initiatives from around 20 countries, including Canada, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey and the USA.

Israel is now doing everything it can to see that this mission fails even before it has left port. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has threatened to “act firmly” using “force” against the flotilla in May. He has also asked UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon to help him stop the Freedom Flotilla from setting sail. To his credit, Mr. Ban responded by telling Netanyahu that the siege should be lifted.

Despite massive pressure, threats of violence and ultimatums against individual flotilla members and the organisations involved, Freedom Flotilla 2 is determined to set sail in May. There is a strong determination to help free the people of Gaza from the illegal shackles that Israel has placed on them and which the rest of the world has apathetically allowed to stay in place. Worldwide public opinion may be that the siege is illegal and most people may even be opposed to the immoral siege, but Israel pays no heed to world opinion and continues to breach international law and UN Resolutions on a daily basis. The general public has little choice but to attempt to break the siege as part of a voluntary humanitarian initiative.

This will be the largest seaborne mission to attempt to reach Gaza since the siege began in 2007. Israel’s claim that the flotilla is “Islamist” is ridiculous given that it is being supported by Muslim, Christian and Jewish peace groups. It has the backing of people and organisations from all walks of life, including politicians, academics (such as Noam Chomsky and Norman Finkelstein) and NGOs.

The Britain 2 Gaza initiative can be followed via its Facebook page, which will be updated with all of the latest information as and when it is available.

By: Gail Alfar
In February, Austin welcomed Huwaida Arraf.  Huwaida chairs the Free Gaza Movement, which is the organization behind the Gaza Freedom Flotillas.  She was aboard the 2008 Free Gaza Boats, and also aboard the 2010 Freedom Flotilla that was attacked by Israeli commandos in International waters on May 31, 2010.  She is also the co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement.

A fundraising dinner for the U.S. Boat to Gaza was attended by some in the Austin community as well as by students from the PSC at University of Texas-Austin.  Huwaida was given a lavish welcome by the students with mouth watering food including many Palestinian specialties.

Haithem El-Zabri of the Palestine Online Store asked Huwaida Arraf what the most important thing was that we could do to help the Free Gaza Movement.  Huwaida conveyed two ideas: (1) If you are Palestinian, then let your voice be heard, and (2) Join or participate in the BDS (Boycott, Divest, and Sanctions) movement.

One attendee mentioned that Caterpillar (which is one aspect of the BDS movement) has seen larger profits, in other words, BDS has not affected that company’s revenue, and so what would be the inherent value of a campaign like BDS?  Huwaida agreed, but also acknowledged that today, when most people Google “Caterpillar” it is hard not to see results come up explaining Caterpillar’s complicity in the occupation.

Huwaida’s message to two of the dinner’s attendees who were of elementary school age was “Always believe that you have the power to make change.” and “You are as strong as you believe you can be.  Always believe.”  These two young children were proud to have an autographed photo of Huwaida in Turkey holding the Palestinian flag about to embark on a voyage to Gaza.

The present voyage, “The Audacity of Hope” is set to depart this month (April), from the East Coast.  This ship will sail with numerous courageous American human rights advocates on board, and bear the U.S. flag. The ship sails with the goal to break Israel’s siege on Gaza and call on the U.S. Government to stop enabling the illegal Israeli siege and to join the people in insisting that Israel be held accountable for its illegal attacks on Palestinians as well as internationals — whether in Gaza, the West Bank or East Jerusalem, whether on land or at sea, and whether Israel chooses to acknowledge its own culpability or continues, to defend the indefensible.  According the Israeli online journal “ynet.com,” Israel threatens to disperse trained attack dogs aboard the next flotilla, saying “The IDF is learning from its experience with the flotilla to the Gaza Strip, and when the next flotilla – if there is one – is boarded by the navy, the soldiers will be assisted by attack dogs from the Oketz unit. The dogs will be the first to board the decks, to prevent harm to soldiers from hostile elements on board.” (July 10, 2010)

As governments continue refusing to hold Israel accountable, the people in the International Community, (including some Israelis), are exerting pressure on Israel that is becoming increasingly unbearable for the pariah nation to withstand.

Figures within Israeli society are emerging, such as Joseph Dana and Max Blumenthal, that are helping to bring justice to Palestinians ever the more near.  Huwaida Arraf , with joint USA-Israeli citizenship, is a key figure in Palestine Solidarity.    It is likely, but not confirmed yet, that she may be the spokesperson in Jerusalem when the Audacity of Hope sails Gaza this month.

By Stuart Littlewood – London

The European Campaign to End the Siege on Gaza (ECESG) has issued a press release to remind everyone that what promises to be the largest flotilla yet, comprising 15 ships carrying passengers from 12 European states as well as Latin America, Africa, Asia, Canada and the United States, is due to sail for Gaza in late May.

Gaza Flotilla Ship

Passengers will include hundreds of peace advocates, including parliamentarians and human rights activists, and representatives of more than 40 media institutions.

Campaign organisers say that Israel has responded by threatening to once again use deadly force to stop the flotilla, including snipers and attack dogs. According to the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz, Israeli Defense Forces chief-of-staff Gabi Ashkenazi has warned that “if the IDF is faced with a similar situation in the future, there may be no alternative to deploying snipers to minimize troop casualties.”

The Jerusalem Post reports that the IDF will deploy attack dogs from its Oketz canine units.

The release says Israel’s deputy foreign minister, Danny Ayalon, is summoning foreign diplomats to Jerusalem to urge them to work with Israel to stop the flotilla from taking place. According to the Irish Times, he justified his call for co-operation by claiming the flotilla would violate international law.

“There is nothing in international law that supports Israel’s four-year-long blockade of Gaza, or its attacks on humanitarian shipments in international waters,” says the campaigners’ spokesman Rami Abdo.

Funny how HMS Cumberland and HMS York magically appeared in the Mediterranean during the Libyan crisis to protect the victims of Qaddafi. HMS York unloaded tons of medical supplies and other humanitarian aid for the Benghazi Medical Centre. Where were these ships when British nationals on the Mavi Marmara and the Dignity and other vessels were being assaulted in international waters and terrorized by Israeli thugs, abducted and thrown in their stinking jails?

Why weren’t they bringing life-saving aid to Gaza’s hospitals after Israel’s indiscriminate ‘Cast Lead’ blitzkrieg on innocent civilians?

Israel still bombs, strafes and blockades Palestinians in Gaza with impunity on a daily basis, so when the Libyan crisis dies down can we expect to see HMS York load up with more supplies and sail for the Gaza Strip, along with the rest of the NATO fleet, where the humanitarian crisis continues unabated?

I have asked my MP to find out what the British Government is planning to do to safeguard British subjects (and indeed the other humanitarians) sailing with this latest flotilla on its peaceful mission to Gaza. Do ministers agree, I wanted to know, that the Cumberland and York should be made available to escort the mercy mission and protect it from Israeli psychopaths, who have amply demonstrated their eagerness to resort to lethal force and total lack of civilised restraint?

Of course, one letter isn’t enough. A thousand may not be enough. Let’s hit all MPs and MEPs in Europe with an avalanche demanding that they discover their backbone and do the right and honourable thing by the Palestinians in Gaza.

Tomorrow 40 foreign ministers from all over descend on London for a summit chaired by William Hague to:

• Strengthen and broaden the international community’s commitment to implementing UNSCRs 1970 and 1973 [a no-fly zone and another jolly bombing-fest].

• Reaffirm the importance of urgent humanitarian assistance…

• Call for a political process which helps create the conditions in which the people of Libya can chose their own future.

What a pity they aren’t as passionately committed to UN Resolutions 194, 242 and all the other solemn pronouncements that they signed up to but Israel still defies.

It’s certainly a busy week in London. On Wednesday the Chatham House think-tank. aka the Royal Institute of International Affairs, holds a conference on the theme ‘Sixty Years of British-Israeli Diplomatic Relations’. One of the agenda items asks ‘Are we there yet? 60 years of bilateral relations and the search for common ground’.

President of the delinquent entity, Shimon Peres, is attending and Hague will be there to deliver a keynote speech and no doubt stand guard over Mr Peres to ensure he is not slapped with a universal jurisdiction arrest warrant.

(Courtesy Palestine Chronicle)