Activists send new boat to challenge Gaza blockade

[YumYum]

This is a brilliant move by the Free Gaza Movement. This boat is coming from Italy.

JERUSALEM – Pro-Palestinian activists said Tuesday they had sent another boat to challenge the Gaza blockade as Israel faced outrage abroad and questions at home over its botched raid on an aid flotilla in international waters that ended with soldiers killing nine activists.

The raid provoked the most ferocious international condemnation of Israel since its war with the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip a year and a half ago and appeared likely to increase pressure to end its blockade that has deepened the poverty of the 1.5 million Palestinians living in the strip. The U.N. Security Council condemned the "acts" that resulted in the deaths and called for an impartial investigation.

Greta Berlin of the Free Gaza Movement, which organized the flotilla, said another cargo boat was off the coast of Italy en route to Gaza. A second boat carrying about three dozen passengers is expected to join it, Berlin said. She said the two boats would arrive in the region late this week or early next week.

"This initiative is not going to stop," she said from the group's base in Cyprus. "We think eventually Israel will get some kind of common sense. They're going to have to stop the blockade of Gaza, and one of the ways to do this is for us to continue to send the boats."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/ml_israel_palestinians

[catdd]

Great. Keep the pressure on them.

[specsaregood]

When Israel is hurting in the public relations department and maybe hesitant of screwing around with another aid ship......that is when you smuggle the nuke in....just saying....

[angelatc]

I posted this in a seperate thread, but it's a very good article: http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2010/06/01/flotillas_and_the_wars_of_public_opinion_98988.htm l

[healthpellets]

When Israel is hurting in the public relations department and maybe hesitant of screwing around with another aid ship......that is when you smuggle the nuke in....just saying....

wow. the contempt for Israel here is astounding. you really want Hamas to have a nuke?

[specsaregood]

wow. the contempt for Israel here is astounding. you really want Hamas to have a nuke?

Not really no. Way to jump to conclusions. But if I was an enemy of Israel? Sure this is when I would do it (smuggle in something serious that is)

[Dr.3D]

Not really no. Way to jump to conclusions. But if I was an enemy of Israel? Sure this is when I would do it (smuggle in something serious that is)

And people wonder why Israel is trying to keep those boats away from their shores.

[Liberty Star]

And people wonder why Israel is trying to keep those boats away from their shores.

Because those boats have US Navy veterans of USS Liberty on them?



This is breaking news on RT:

YouTube - 'Israel is a Lunatic State' - Finkelstein on Gaza Flotilla Attack (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eB_CKL5h2_8&feature=channel:)

[sarahgop]

sink the boats.

[lester1/2jr]

sarah- totally. peace sucks

[specsaregood]

This is breaking news on RT:

The women of RT are the best.

[constituent]

sink the boats.

right after they petition the united nations to oust kim jong il, of course...

[freshjiva]

I can't wait to hear Hannity and Levin run their mouths about how Israel has the right to defend herself and was justified and that "we need to stand by Israel" blah blah blah.

Like someone else said here, the hypocrisy is nauseating. If Iranian forces did this to an American or even a European ship, they'd be calling for Ahmadinejad's head. Oh wait, they already are.

Sometimes neoconservatives irritate me even more than Obama-loving liberals...

[DAFTEK]

Just turned on our Israel owned channels, Faux News & Communist News Network, guess what? No talk of any of these events.... It's like we live on a different planet here in the states. The BP spill is so conveniently placed in this event.. :rolleyes:

I hope more countries send aid with military escorts, id like to see what IDF will do then. Loony?? perhaps...

[Bruno]

Just turned on our Israel owned channels, Faux News & Communist News Network, guess what? No talk of any of these events.... It's like we live on a different planet here in the states. The BP spill is so conveniently placed in this event.. :rolleyes:

I hope more countries send aid with military escorts, id like to see what IDF will do then. Loony?? perhaps...

CNN was just discussing it a minute ago, and had on an American who was on one of the ships.

[RM918]

And people wonder why Israel is trying to keep those boats away from their shores.

We might as well blockade our shores because there 'might' be nukes on them. Hell, I expect it sooner or later.

[DAFTEK]

CNN was just discussing it a minute ago, and had on an American who was on one of the ships.

Hmmm, we must have different CNN channels...

Had this been an Israel flotilla the MSM would be on fire 24/7, they are talking about GM bailout, just saying.... :rolleyes:

[georgiaboy]

I posted this in a seperate thread, but it's a very good article: http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2010/06/01/flotillas_and_the_wars_of_public_opinion_98988.htm l

+1

[pcosmar]

Egypt opens Gaza border.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704875604575280230648120058.html?m od=rss_whats_news_us

Egypt, which has enforced the blockade with Israel since Hamas militants seized control of Gaza three years ago, said it was opening the border for several days to allow aid into the area, the Associated Press reported.
http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/middle-east/Egypt-Opens-Border-with-Gaza-Strip-Following-Israeli-Assault-on-Aid-Flotilla-95311269.html
The folks paid the ultimate price, but they have success.

[DAFTEK]

I posted this in a seperate thread, but it's a very good article: http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2010/06/01/flotillas_and_the_wars_of_public_opinion_98988.htm l

+1

Good article for the many brainwashed sheep on this forum to read..

[Imaginos]

YouTube - 'Israel is a Lunatic State' - Finkelstein on Gaza Flotilla Attack (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eB_CKL5h2_8&feature=player_embedded)

[ninepointfive]

RT, has some better news than most of our networks. I've seen some great clips posted here.

[Shredmonster]

+1

Good article for the many brainwashed sheep on this forum to read..

Totally agree. I don't get a lot of these people on here - many people have opinions not based on the facts.

They name call. The generalize. I thought just liberals did this.

I joined this forum thinking it had some clear thinkers on here. Some are and some are not.

Honestly I am shocked at the ignorance.

[kahless]

You guys are selectively changing the channel since Foxnews showed the video repeatedly of when the Israeli troops were being lowerd by helicopter onto the ships. As they landed the soldiers were being savagely beaten with clubs and being thrown overboard head first. I can't see how these solidiers could have survived that.

Seems everyone including the UN jumped on the anti-Israel bandwagon before knowing all the facts.

[literatim]

You guys are selectively changing the channel since Foxnews showed the video repeatedly of when the Israeli troops were being lowerd by helicopter onto the ships. As they landed the soldiers were being savagely beaten with clubs and being thrown overboard head first. I can't see how these solidiers could have survived that.

Seems everyone including the UN jumped on the anti-Israel bandwagon before knowing all the facts.

Did you miss the live news feeds that showed Israelis firing on the ships prior to trying to board it? Ah, of course you didn't. You are only watching the Zionist owned media outlets in America.

The fact is, Israeli invaded a sovereign vessel on international water and killed passengers aboard. This is an act of piracy and an act of war against the countries those vessels belong to.

[Trigonx]

Totally agree. I don't get a lot of these people on here - many people have opinions not based on the facts.

They name call. The generalize. I thought just liberals did this.

I joined this forum thinking it had some clear thinkers on here. Some are and some are not.

Honestly I am shocked at the ignorance.

I am shocked at the ignorance as well.

I never thought soo many people on here would be cheering Israel on after it massacred 20 people for trying to help the Palestinians who are being systematically killed off.

[angelatc]

You guys are selectively changing the channel since Foxnews showed the video repeatedly of when the Israeli troops were being lowerd by helicopter onto the ships. As they landed the soldiers were being savagely beaten with clubs and being thrown overboard head first. I can't see how these solidiers could have survived that.

Seems everyone including the UN jumped on the anti-Israel bandwagon before knowing all the facts.

Israel isn't claiming that the soldiers were thrown overboard, so I'm not sure why you are. One guy was thrown to a lower deck.

Israel isn't claiming any soldiers died, so again, not sure why you would claim that.

There is footage of those same soldiers firing on a ship flying a white flag. Where's your indignation over that?

[kahless]

Israel isn't claiming that the soldiers were thrown overboard, so I'm not sure why you are. One guy was thrown to a lower deck.

Israel isn't claiming any soldiers died, so again, not sure why you would claim that.

There is footage of those same soldiers firing on a ship flying a white flag. Where's your indignation over that?

Just pointing out the one sided hypocrisy.

1. One guy was thrown to the lower deck head first. I wonder if he is still alive or what kind of condition he is in. (I said overboard since that is what the subtitle said in the video).

2. As they lowered the men onto the ship I watched the video that showed the soldiers being savagely beaten with clubs. Again, I do not know what happened to them but from what I saw it would amaze me that they are not either dead or in serious condition.

3. It seems they violated a naval blockade trying to provoke an attack from Israel. Seems they got their wish. If they followed procedure this probably would not have happened.

4. If there were terrorists with suspect cargo violating orders from our Navy or the Russian Navy I wonder if we see all this indignation that we are seeing in this forum.

[Reason]

Occupation_101.avi (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2451908450811690589&hl=en#)

[Vessol]

Is the Turkish Navy going to escort them?

[TruckinMike]

Because those boats have US Navy veterans of USS Liberty on them?



This is breaking news on RT:

YouTube - 'Israel is a Lunatic State' - Finkelstein on Gaza Flotilla Attack (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eB_CKL5h2_8&feature=channel:)


Is Israel acting like a lunatic state or has it become a lunatic state...

Question of the year.

TMike

[MelissaWV]

Just pointing out the one sided hypocrisy.

1. One guy was thrown to the lower deck head first. I wonder if he is still alive or what kind of condition he is in. (I said overboard since that is what the subtitle said in the video).

2. As they lowered the men onto the ship I watched the video that showed the soldiers being savagely beaten with clubs. Again, I do not know what happened to them but from what I saw it would amaze me that they are not either dead or in serious condition.

3. It seems they violated a naval blockade trying to provoke an attack from Israel. Seems they got their wish. If they followed procedure this probably would not have happened.

4. If there were terrorists with suspect cargo violating orders from our Navy or the Russian Navy I wonder if we see all this indignation that we are seeing in this forum.

None of the soldiers died. The video does say "thrown overboard," but you don't see it. It's amazing what captions can do! There are two soldiers of which I have seen explicit video being "thrown" anywhere. One of them is thrown from an upper deck to a lower deck. There are multiple confirmations of this. The drop is about 30 feet and he fell unconscious. He seems to be the most serious injury of the bunch. The other one is the one who was "thrown overboard." In reality, if you just watch the video he looks like he was thrown into a lifeboat.

The weaponry alleged in all of those captioned videos includes slingshots, metal rods, chairs, "large metal objects" (which are actually the aforementioned chairs), knives, firebombs (only indicated in one video and I've not heard any real confirmation of it from anywhere else), stun grenades (though official accounts seem to indicate Israelis were the ones who had access to stun grenades, NOT the activists), and guns that were taken from the commandos. The commandos themselves were allegedly initially only armed with paintball guns (though I've yet to see a shot of the boat that shows paint, or an activist with paint on them), and handguns.


Most of the dead were believed to be Turks, and the wounded included seven soldiers, two of whom were apparently shot with weapons taken from soldiers by the activists.

I would add that I stumbled across an interesting quote:


But an Israeli Defense official said only marines were capable of the takeover 120 km (75 miles) in the choppy Mediterranean, timed for darkness to surprise the activists and deprive attendant journalists of spectacular pictures.

I had been wondering why the raid took place at 4am. There I have it. It was to "surprise" the activists (though non-nightvision footage clearly shows there were already people on deck and there were lights on, so they weren't going to be surprised) and to avoid journalists getting footage.

[charrob]

I hope more countries send aid with military escorts, id like to see what IDF will do then. Loony?? perhaps...


http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs339.ash1/29120_132345013445791_100000108791083_373318_30042 78_s.jpg

the Irish are sending their ship, the Rachel Corrie, but do not have a military escort for their ship; however, they are warning Israel that Irish citizens better not be hurt in any way...

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2010/0601/breaking33.html