Lieberman: "There is no humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip"

Tell us where??

 

http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=177444

Hamas raids, closes NGO offices
By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
06/04/2010 05:06

Hamas’s security forces on Monday and Tuesday raided the offices of several non-governmental organizations in the Gaza Strip and confiscated equipment and furniture, drawing sharp condemnations from human rights groups.

The sources said the raids were carried out by agents belonging to Hamas’s Internal Security apparatus without court permission.

Hamas spokesmen in the Gaza Strip on Thursday refused to comment on the raids.

 

It's only in Israel where a commando unit can conduct a military operation against civilians in international waters and then claim self-defense. Anywhere else in the world that's people defending themselves from an illegal action. Once again it's a might makes right scenario for the pathetic Israeli leadership.

 

What does Hamas being a bunch of morons have anything to do with what's going on.

I dont think you'll find too many people that defend what Hamas does on a daily basis. The issue is whether the blockade and border controls are effective at reducing the legitimacy of Hamas and whether it is creating a humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

 

It's about the Palestinians, where is the outrage???

 

Israel made some tactical mistakes and basically botched this operation, to their own detriment (which, again, continues to undermine the image of Israel as an invincible force among the Arabs). In fact, this single episode may end up being the catalyst to either outright lifting the blockade on Gaza or, more likely, watering it down and creating enough 'loopholes' to render it ineffective.

Having said that, however, the diplomatic smackdown Israel is getting from all corners of the world is disingenuous to say the least and, frankly, little more than a manifestation of the frustration with the overall progress of the 'peace process' in the Holy Land, or more accurately the lack thereof; it is global 'venting' of anger directed mostly at the Israelis. Over the past decade or less, the whole world has become far less tolerant of the Arab-Israeli conflict, and the blame is increasingly being assigned to the Israeli side for what is perceived to be their lack of genuine interest in a fair peace settlement. The death of Arafat, and the rise of Abbas to the mantle of PA leadership, was also a primary marker for that shift in global attitude towards the conflict, and yes that has included the U.S.

Although I do think Israel has essentially shot itself in the foot here having completely botched that operation, I do see most of the criticism Israel is getting as nothing more than political grandstanding and calculated rhetoric designed to exploit the situation for other purposes. This is incredibly obvious in the case of Turkey and PM Erdogan...Turkey is playing a calculated political game in furtherance of its grand ambitions in the region, and this is evident given their sudden interest (and I do mean sudden interest) in the Palestinians' plight. Turkey is positioning (or perhaps I should say re-positioning) itself as the 'leader' of the Muslim world and more specifically in the Arab-Muslim world, which is part of their overall strategic shift and re-orientation to the East. It is a realignment of interests, of sorts. But that's a whole other story, and it's certainly a fascinating one to watch unfold. Let's just say that Turkey is not acting altruistically here in support of the downtrodden Palestinians.

We certainly do live in very interesting times. The geopolitical tectonic plates are shifting faster than anyone could have projected just five years ago, and -- as has been the case throughout history -- these shifts tend to follow periods of global economic turmoil/challenges.

 

Israel is under constant rocket attacks from the terrorist groups that hide amongst the Palestinian civilians. It is justifiable that they want to inspect any type of cargo that goes into enemy territory.

As for the legality, I do not claim to know whether it was legal for the Israeli commandos to board the flotillas in international waters. Some legal experts cite it was illegal whereas others claim it was a legal boarding. It appears to be a gray area. In my opinion, it is a moot point because I feel the outcome would have been the similar had it happened in Israeli waters. It's just this is used to discredit the IDF when it is not the real issue at hand.

 

It is interesting to see the following facts about the Israeli embargo of Gaza that are different from the "consensus" defense of the embargo to use Ottomaton's word. BTW this is from a liberal who still identifies as a Zionist.

*************
The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations greeted news of the flotilla disaster by repeating a common “pro-Israel” talking point: that Israel only blockades Gaza to prevent Hamas from building rockets that might kill Israeli citizens. If only that were true. In reality, the embargo has a broader and more sinister purpose: to impoverish the people of Gaza, and thus turn them against Hamas. As the Israeli newspaper Haaretz has reported, the Israeli officials in charge of the embargo adhere to what they call a policy of “no prosperity, no development, no humanitarian crisis.” In other words, the embargo must be tight enough to keep the people of Gaza miserable, but not so tight that they starve.

This explains why Israel prevents Gazans from importing, among other things, cilantro, sage, jam, chocolate, French fries, dried fruit, fabrics, notebooks, empty flowerpots and toys, none of which are particularly useful in building Kassam rockets. It’s why Israel bans virtually all exports from Gaza, a policy that has helped to destroy the Strip’s agriculture, contributed to the closing of some 95 percent of its factories, and left more 80 percent of its population dependent on food aid. It’s why Gaza’s fishermen are not allowed to travel more than three miles from the coast, which dramatically reduces their catch. And it’s why Israel prevents Gazan students from studying in the West Bank, a policy recently denounced by 10 winners of the prestigious Israel Prize. There’s a name for all this: collective punishment.

......
As Haaretz detailed in a remarkable investigative report last summer, the embargo is not merely arbitrary (Gazans can import cinnamon, but not chocolate), it is corrupt. When Israeli farmers have surplus supply, they seek loopholes for the goods they wish to sell. Israeli officials allow Gazans to import Israeli products, but not the materials necessary to make those products themselves, since that would threaten Israel’s hold on the Gazan market. As the Israeli human-rights group Gisha has noted, Gazans can buy Israeli-made tomato paste, but cannot buy the empty cans necessary to preserve and market their own, which would compete with Israeli suppliers./

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-...disaster-gaza-embargo-us-supporters-to-blame/

 

Great post.

 

"Shut up, go back to Auschwitz" - your islamist "peace activists" at work

<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/pxY7Q7CvQPQ&hl=de_DE&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/pxY7Q7CvQPQ&hl=de_DE&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>

In response to a radio transmission by the Israeli Navy warning the Gaza flotilla that they are approaching a naval blockade, passengers of the Mavi Marmara respond, "Shut up, go back to Auschwitz" and "We're helping Arabs go against the US, don't forget 9/11"

In the early hours of the May 31st 2010, IDF soldiers boarded the ships of the "Free Gaza" Flotilla, after the ships refused to redirect their course. Aboard the Mavi Marmara, the soldiers encountered serious violence when, in a pre-planned attack, the activists on board attempted to lynch the soldiers with knives, metal rods and stole two of their guns. As a result 7 soldiers were injured and 9 demonstrators were killed.

 

How does the link you posted show that?

 

Although I agree that this is most likely a fake, I would caution against using sources that publish articles like this one:

http://info-wars.org/2010/06/05/bar...el-are-lifetime-members-of-the-same-gay-club/

 

The link Mathloom posted shows absolutely nothing, except a vague statement that the IDF video is fake. No proof, nothing. And, as LScolaDominates rightly points out, the source is an absolute joke. Desperate much in your propaganda war, Mathloom?

 

What valid reasoning? They admit she was on one of the ships. She might have been on the same frequency. Who knows on what ship she was, but she was definitely there. How does that "prove" that anything in that video is fabricated. Would you doubt that there are Israel haters and anti-semites on these ships? I wouldn't doubt for one second that someone on these ships would say that.

 

Fixed that for you. In either case, what difference does it make from which ship this statement came, and how does that make the video "fabricated" as you and your lunatic fellows from that crazy lunatic website you quoted say? Someone from one of the ships replied that to the request to board and inspect the ship. Doesn't sound like a "peace activist" to me when the response is "shut up and go back to Auschwitz".

Now, it doesn't excuse shooting people with possibly excessive force either, but your attempts to make it seem like it didn't happen make you look very, very, very biased (as if that was new).