Israel has attacked Gaza Flotilla (dead and wounded)

[Helen Reyes]

The Mediterranean Massacre
Israel as the blond beast
by Justin Raimondo, June 02, 2010

Birthed by leftist Zionists who sought to build an egalitarian community in the midst of a desert, the modern state of Israel has taken on the characteristics of its neighbors – gone native, so to speak, both culturally and politically. The large scale infusion of North African and Asiatic populations has changed Israeli society irrevocably, so that, today, the rise of a thuggish fascist demagogue like Avigdor Lieberman, the former bouncer turned Foreign Minister, is all too believable.

Er, what? North Africans and Asiatics are innately, what, pro-fascist, uncivilized? Bollocks. Israel has marched remorselessly to the far-right because its US sponsors wanted it to.

what kind of mental processes allow a person to make such arguments?

Quite.

Contempt for Israel's butchery shouldn't blind us to grotesque nonsense like this from Raimondo.

Agree, but I think his point is basically that Israel is damaging that fragile thing known as civilisation, the rule of law, respect for human rights, on a global scale, witness the transfer of the use of torture from Israel to the United States in the last decade, right down to the level of technique.

I think the Palestinian MK has it right: this was a death-squad operation with a kill-list and orders to inflict maximum fatalities while not sinking the vessels outright. The cover stories are too visible: paint-gun lies, faked footage, "lynch mobs" etc. Israel had its own cover story for domestic consumption going into this, that the vessels carried terrorists associated with Hamas, Hezbollah, al Qaeda, insert name here. The initial arrests were supposed to be on the pretext of illegally entering Israel, then Israel would decide which prisoners to keep for terrorism charges, propaganda campaigns or ransom.

This plan was scrapped at the last minute.

Obviously some wires got crossed, the commandos were supposed to attack the peace campaigners within Gazan waters, which is not Israeli territorial waters, but Israel would pretend they were.

There is nothing legal about Israel murdering foreign nationals in international waters. Israeli internal discourse is trying to say when an "embargo" is in place it is legal to intercept violators on the high seas. This is a provisional agreement among groups of nations for dealing with specific situations, as I understand the scope of international law on the issue. Somali "pirates," for example: groups of nations agree it is legal to intercept suspected Somali pirate vessels in international waters within a defined space. Israeli has no international embargo against Gaza, they only had Egyptian complicity in sealing the Gaza ghetto, and they don't even have that now. On the contrary, the international community doesn't recognize Gaza's incorporation into Israel. The legal argument fails under any scrutiny, but the point is comfort Israelis, and not to defend Israel in the court of international opinion.

Netanyahu, Liebrman, Barak are open to indictments for war crimes, crimes against humanity and simple conspiracy to commit mass murder. I'm sure leaders in the IDF and Shin Bet are also indictable on same. If I understand it correctly, if even one EU country issues arrest warrants, they can be apprehended anywhere in the EU.

CIA agent Soetoro's wait-and-see attitude is interesting because I'm expecting the number of dead to grow once bodies dumped overboard are factored in. It's also interesting to remember that in Germany East German border guards were sentenced for firing on civilians trying to flee decades earlier. It is NOT legal to shoot people for violating international borders, no matter how much Israel would like to drag this standard of civilisation into the mud, too. Nor is it legal to shoot people in international waters, or in no-man's-lands or disputed territories. (Israel's policy of ghettoizing Gaza through long lists of prohibited imports is also illegal. Where did the Likkudniks get the idea of limiting Gazans' food supply to bare survival levels? Could it perhaps be the Third Reich's policy of limiting the food allowed per Jew in the ghettos under the pretext of wartime rationing?) CIA agent Soetoro's recent irruptions over the Arizona illegal immigrant check program, objections of violations of privacy or targeting minorities, look very odd in comparison to his silence over the deliberate, pre-planned targeting and murder of an American citizen and others on American and other vessels on the high seas. Perhaps his lack of US citizenship explains his reluctance to stand up for other American citizens.

[Magda Hassan]

The Gaza Flotilla: How Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Fakes Photos of Seized Weapons

June 2, 2010 by politicaltheatrics
Filed under Israel/Palestine, Recent Articles, Western Imperialism

13 Comments


The following is a repost, due to the amazing hard work of one Ibn Kafka. He has taken the liberty of translating the original post from French into English.
On the Israeli ministry of foreign affairs’ Flickr page, the pictures of the so-called weapons seized on the ships taking part in the Gaza Freedom Flotilla provide ample evidence of the deviousness of those darned anti-semitic terrorists. Be forewarned: the following pictures are not for the faint-hearted.

Exhibit A: bulletproof vests

Selon l'armée israëlienne, ce sont des armes

A slight snag though: two commentators, probably anti-semitic, point out that this photo really is from February 2006:

Blue says: In addition, IsraelMFA has to be careful with the date settings of their cameras! This picture looks like it was taken on Feb 7, 2006.. Wth?

goplayer2008 says:
EXIF data
Date and Time (Modified): 2010:06:02 10:37:58
YCbCr Positioning: Co-sited
Exposure Program: Aperture-priority AE
Date and Time (Original): 2006:02:07 04:49:57
Date and Time (Digitized): 2006:02:07 04:49:57

Exhibit B: An Axe

-



Ceci est une arme de destruction massive

An axe on board a ship? Good grief.
Another commentator, probably anti-semitic as well, notices that the picture dates from 2003:

Embra says:
Tiff data: Taken on January 1, 2003. Oops!

Horror knows no bounds-Exhibit C: Pepper Spray.

Futés ces Turcs pour utiliser des sprays au poivre toujours sous emballage

The comments display the usual hateful fanaticism one can expect from islamo-fascists:

deepvisual says:
wow
they managed to use them while they were still in their wrappers… damn those Turks are clever..
Posted 3 hours ago.

Embra says:
Tiff data: Taken on January 1, 2003.
Posted 53 minutes ago.

docteur_nic says:
My mom must be a turrurrist. She used to carry one of those in her purse.
Posted 45 minutes ago.

Again, be forewarned: this post isn’t for the faint-hearted.

Which leads us to Exhibit D: A Keffieh, kitchen knives, a Saudi flag, and and some CD-roms.

Do not faint just yet, because here is exhibit E: an electric saw – on a ship! Really, those terrorists really are beyond the pale.

Another anti-semitic commentator spews his hateful bile:

barneygale says:
Hi. Just to confirm that the EXIF metadata points to this photo being taken in 2006:
barney@benchwood:~$ identify -verbose farm5.static.flickr.com/4047/4662965686_a91f8 bab2e_o_d.jpg | grep Date
exifateTime: 2010:06:02 10:38:47
exifateTimeDigitized: 2006:02:07 05:52:19
exifateTimeOriginal: 2006:02:07 05:52:19

Please bear with me, because here comes Exhibit F: night vision equipment, of course utterly useless on high seas.

Allow an antisemitic islamo-fascist to point out that picture’s original date:
Date and Time (Original): 2006:02:07 05:20:56 Date and Time (Digitized): 2006:02:07 05:20:56 Finally, the smoking gun as it were: aa butterfly knife of sorts, with a blade slightly shorter than a thumb, a weapon ideally suited for use against marine commandos armed with high-velocity firearms:

If all this hard evidence isn’t enough to convince you of the legitimacy of the Israeli action, I rest my case.
PS: Hurry up visiting that Flickr page, as I fear that some photos might be withdrawn soon…

[Mark Stapleton]

AhHAH!

CAUGHT!

Nice post Magda.

[Helen Reyes]

The Francophones forgot to post the photo of "ballistic slingshots." To be fair, the Israeli photo of CD-ROMs, kaffiyas, wooden dowels and the Ginzu knife collection was later supplemented with one large ceremonal daggar of the Yemeni type, apparently without sharpened edges, although that is purely supposition on my part.

So far, the reports of violence against the international IDF peacekeepers on duty seem to have been confirmed in multiple instances: on one ship water was sprayed on IDF peacekeepers lowered by rope from helicopters, and in once case at least, an IDF peacekeeper was forced into the drink because of the extreme pressure of the water current. In another instance, not completely confirmed at press time, someone and perhaps several people refused to move out of the way of IDF peacekeepers, and had to be physically moved and beaten up for good measure. Unconfirmed reports continue to circulate of crazed peace protestors weilding wooden sticks and of a person who used a chair, most likely to deflect what was legitimate and legal gunfire aimed at their person.

Oh, and the paint-ball guns. What if the Lebanese Hezbollah/Hamas/Berkeley peacenik terrorists planted evidence to frame the IDF peacekeepers for using chemical/biological weapons contained in small spherules shot from paint-guns? These terrorist groups are known to have access to a wide arsenal of chem/bio agents and this would not be beyond the realm of possibility. We already know they've faked EXIF data in the photographic evidence.

[Peter Presland]

If the tone and content of recent Debka File articles is any guide (and, from long-term monitoring of it, I think it is), then Zionist Israel is sinking into ever deeper psychosis.

The following are the top 5 featured articles on today's RSS feed:

Poised on the Brink They Have Burned Most Bridges

Turkey builds up and holds ready for action against Israel a large air, sea and marine force in the Turkish sector of Cyprus should Israel stand by its refusal to lift the Gaza blockade and stop Turkish boats bound for the enclave.

They Walked into a Turkish Trap

Israel blinded itself to the changing winds in Ankara after pro-Islamic Recep Erdogan succeeded in gaining control of Turkey's armed forces. This enabled Turkish intelligence to lay a trap for Israel.

Erdogan Has Three Follow-up Scenarios Ready

The Turkish leader is sinking millions of dollars to build a large new flotilla for blowing Israel's blockade sky high and tightening the international diplomatic siege around Israel.

Political Lynch in Broad Daylight, Wilst Washington Stands by

Amid his charm offensive for American Jewry, Obama lets Israel down in the international arena - especial in its war on terror and nuclear weapons.

The Flotilla Indirectly Altered the Middle East Balance of Strength

Hamas suddenly discovered that its most effective weapon against Israel is not the Iranian missiles but Turkish block-busting ships and their propaganda impact.

[Helen Reyes]

Meanwhile, in Iceland...

http://grapevine.is/News/ReadArticle/Ice...-Each-Year

Iceland Imports 732 Million ISK in Israeli Goods Each Year

4.6.2010 Words by Paul Nikolov

In light of a possible trade embargo with Israel, research done on just what kind of trade Iceland engages in with the country brought to light that Iceland imports some 732 million ISK in Israeli goods every year.

According to data from Statistics Iceland, the largest category of imported goods from Israel are basic industrial products, such as chemicals, plastics, and sanitary products. After this, Iceland imports furniture and scientific instruments from Israel, followed by machine and vehicle parts. In all, these imports total 732 million ISK each year.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Össur Skarphéðinsson said that a trade embargo against Israel is possible in light of an Israeli commando attack against a convoy of boats loaded with aid for civilians in Gaza that left anywhere from nine to nineteen dead, and many more injured.

In a new poll conducted by Vísir, when asked "Should Iceland reduce imports from Israel?", 81.1% said yes, while 18.9% said no.

[Peter Lemkin]

http://sweetsilence.vox.com/library/post...-dead.html



....Rachael Corrie is coming back to haunt Israel for her [Israel's] sins....again!



http://www.rachelcorrie.org/

[THE GOOD, THEY DIE YOUNG!].......
RACHAEL CORRIE....PRESENTE!!!!!!

[Myra Bronstein]

Emphasis mine. Thank goodness for Al Jazerra.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/04...00720.html

[URL="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/04/al-jazeera-reporter-israe_n_600720.html#"]
[/URL]Al Jazeera Reporter: Israel Fired On Gaza-Bound Ship Before Boarding (VIDEO)

First Posted: 06- 4-10 12:02 PM | Updated: 06- 4-10 12:06 PM



A reporter and producer for the Arabic news organization Al Jazeera who was on board the Gaza-bound aid flotilla during Monday's deadly raid gave a firsthand account of the grisly scene aboard the ship to the network Thursday.

According to Jamal ElShayyal's account of the raid, the Israeli military had fired on the Mavi Marmara before boarding the ship. "It was evident there was definitely fire from the air, because one of the people who was killed was clearly shot from above -- he was shot, the bullet targeted him at the top of his head," ElShayyal said. "There was also fire coming from the sea as well." This account differs from the one given by the Israeli military.

The reporter also describes being mistreated by officials alongside other civilians before his Thursday release.

[Keith Millea]

http://www.counterpunch.org/amiri06042010.html
Weekend Edition
June 4 - 6, 2010
Sabotaging Peace

The Real Motive Behind the Gaza Flotilla Attack

By RANNIE AMIRI
Worldwide outrage and condemnation of Israel’s brazen, unprovoked attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, which killed at least nine activists and injured dozens, was predictable and justified. Many remained puzzled, though, as to why Israel thought it necessary to send in elite, rappelling commandos to confront an unarmed civilian flotilla carrying 10,000 tons of humanitarian aid to the beleaguered territory. The six-ship convoy was co-sponsored by a Turkish humanitarian organization and sailed under Turkey’s flag when it was raided in international waters.

The consensus was that Israel was “sending a message.” Anyone who dared challenge its naval blockade and siege of Gaza would meet a similar fate.

This is a correct yet superficial analysis. The real motive behind the Israeli assault is far more sinister: to deliberately undermine (if not entirely abort) consequential, substantive peace talks with the Palestinians and Syrians, and repay the Turks for negotiating a nuclear fuel-swap deal with Iran (which significantly set back Israel’s case for military intervention).

In essence, it was done to sabotage peace.

“We have to set up a dynamic state bent upon expansion,” David Ben Gurion famously stated. And peace, stability and diplomacy are obstacles to Zionism’s tenets of land acquisition and subjugation of indigenous peoples.

There have been recent calls to advance the indirect, United States-mediated proximity talks taking place between the Israeli government and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. This now seems unlikely.

The opening sentence of a May 31 Associated Press report inferred similarly:
“Israel's bloody, bungled takeover of a Gaza-bound Turkish aid vessel is complicating U.S.-led Mideast peace efforts, deepening Israel's international isolation ...”

That was exactly the intent. Israel can easily wither “international isolation” to the degree the U.S. protects it from meaningful sanction. Israel actually covets isolation; it permits it to operate in “nothing to lose” mode. Expropriation of Palestinian land accelerates and reckless behavior goes unchecked.

Additionally, the attack effectively severs relations with Turkey. Israel wants no part of a non-military solution to the Iranian nuclear issue like the one just brokered by Turkey and Brazil. Turkey’s role in mediating between Syria and Israel, for all the perfunctory plaudits the latter gave it, was actually unwelcome and is now off the table as well.


It would not be the first time Israel deliberately provoked a crisis at the expense of civilian lives to further its expansionist agenda, justify war, or use as a campaign issue:

• Six weeks before Israel’s 1996 elections, Prime Minister Shimon Peres launched operation “Grapes of Wrath,” a two-week military blitz in Lebanon conducted in the midst of a two-decade occupation of the south. During it, the Israelis massacred 106 civilians that had sought shelter at a United Nations compound in Qana.
  

• In September 2000, four months before his election, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (accompanied by 1,000 riot police), paraded through the Haram al-Sharif compound in Jerusalem, which includes al-Aqsa mosque—the third holiest site in Islam—leading to the Second Intifada.
  

The United Nations Human Rights Commission, in a resolution titled “Grave and massive violations of the human rights of the Palestinian people by Israel,” condemned “the provocative visit to Al-Haram al-Sharif on 28 September 2000 by Ariel Sharon, the Likud party leader, which triggered the tragic events that followed in occupied East Jerusalem and the other occupied Palestinian territories, resulting in a high number of deaths and injuries among Palestinian civilians.”

Sharon then campaigned on putting down the intifada he instigated.

• 1,500 Lebanese were killed, one million displaced, and the country’s civil infrastructure decimated during Israel’s failed bid to destroy Hezbollah in the July 2006 war. The conflict started after two Israeli commandos were caught snooping around the Lebanese border town of Aitaa al-Chaab. After years of repeated, illegal violations of Lebanese airspace failed to provoke a response, the soldiers’ capture was the pretense needed to initiate the disproportionate Israeli onslaught.
  

• The flimsy rationale upon which the 2008-2009 Gaza invasion was based was previously discussed.
  

The latest Israeli operation against 700 activists delivering humanitarian supplies to Gaza is only the latest in a series of criminal endeavors meant to quash any hope for peace, negotiation or conflict resolution between Israel, its neighbors and the Palestinians.
Mission accomplished.

Rannie Amiri is an independent Middle East commentator. He may be reached at: rbamiri [at] yahoo [dot] com.

[Ed Jewett]

A Hasbara brigade music video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOGG_osOoVg&feature=player_embedded#!