EU And Others Raise Doubt On Flotilla Raid Inquiry By Israel

European Union governments tonight raised questions about the credibility of Israel's inquiry into the assault on the Gaza flotilla, while announcing that Israel was expected shortly to relax its blockade of the Gaza Strip.

From Haaretz: The government's efforts to avoid a thorough and credible investigation of the flotilla affair seem more and more like a farce.

The reasons for these doubts are numerous. One of the international observers, David Trimble, joined 'Friends of Israel' on the eve of May 31st, the day the Flotilla was attacked and the day Israel was on the offensive flooding news channels with lies. His Noble Prize is a fig leaf to his many biases. He should resign. The other observer, Ken Watkin, is a retired Canadian military lawyer.
Both observers will only sit at the inquiry without rights to participate in discussions and vote.

Israel's Gaza blockade breaks law, says ICRC

Israel's Gaza blockade breaks law, says ICRC

Now Available: Full 60' Raw Footage From The Mavi Marmara Tells Israel's Lies

The whole story is still missing but a core story has emerged that contradicts Israel's spin. Israeli soldiers fired at the ship and wounded activists before boarding illegally the ship. Also, activists had no weapons but only sticks and slingshots.  


The sticks were used when activists were expecting the soldiers to force the cabin door where activists and wounded (some of them probably already dead) retired leaving the deck after the shots were fired by the soldiers.  


They used the slingshots to shoot marbles at the Israeli soldiers who were trying to descend on the ship from the helicopter and that was before the soldiers boarded the deck. 

Slingshots and marbles are elementary and essential items for children in the ME growing in a rural or a poor environment. And it was notably childish to direct slingshots at Israeli soldiers armed to their teeth. Slingshots are very popular children items in the ME, even for girls. As a child you have to be able to use them and even some time to make them. As a girl myself growing in rural Lebanon, making a slingshot was part of my childhood initiation. It is a ritual. You have to find the correct wood part, most of the time from a tree, symmetrical. Then you carve out the part and tie an elastic into it. And to practice, you use stones and you practice under the guidance of other children who acquired the skill. The slingshot is used bychildren to hunt some birds, and then to play...If you are a child in rural Lebanon and other parts of the ME and you don't know about slingshots you risk loosing face. It is the same for marbles, a child doesn't leave the house if he doesn't have his little bag of marbles, he won't be able to play with other children...How many marbles a child possesses and how rare and nice they are is a sign of the child's place and influence among his peers...


Haroon Siddique, The Guardian: Activist releases new footage

On Democracy Now: Interview with Iara Lee who shot the video and later smuggled it from Israel.

US Senator says 'it makes sense to strangle Gaza' economically until it votes the way Israel wants

SCHUMER:The Palestinian people still don’t believe in the Jewish state, in a two-state solution. More do than before, but a majority still do not. Their fundamental view is, the Europeans treated the Jews badly and gave them our land — this is Palestinian thinking [...] They don’t believe in the Torah, in David [...] You have to force them to say Israel is here to stay. The boycott of Gaza to me has another purpose — obviously the first purpose is to prevent Hamas from getting weapons by which they will use to hurt Israel — but the second is actually to show the Palestinians that when there’s some moderation and cooperation, they can have an economic advancement. When there’s total war against Israel, which Hamas wages, they’re going to get nowhere. And to me, since the Palestinians in Gaza elected Hamas, while certainly there should be humanitarian aid and people not starving to death, to strangle them economically until they see that’s not the way to go, makes sense.

Link to the source article where you can also watch a video of Schumer speaking before a Jewish audience.

Finally US visual media are asking: what's life like under the Israeli blockade in Gaza?

It is the equivalent of the French legendary movie 'Les enfants du Paradis' finally dubbed in English. Better late than never...

Watch this short documentary from NBC...

Spontaneous Boycotts of Israel Flourishing...

A French movie distributor refuses to air an Israeli movie.

Israelis banned from Madrid's gay pride march.

Usually, Israel's response is a legal challenge. However, this time my impression is that the boycotts will be numerous. If we are many to show our indignation at Israeli brutalities, ugly occupation and impunity, Israel will need an army of lawyers to challenge the boycotts...We therefore need more initiatives along this line, civil boycotts, peaceful resistance and perseverance...This is the only thing that will bring peace to the ME...The countries who support Israel will not be able to keep their allegiance under international civilian outrage. Let's repeat the campaign against the Apartheid...

A New Testimony From A Flotilla Activist

Iara Lee: What Happened to us is happening in Gaza.

From Max Blumenthal A Glimpse Into Israeli Collective Madness

Israeli Brutalities Continue Unabated

In an attempt to provoke Hamas into a military action and deflect attention from the flotilla, Israel killed four Palestinians off the Gaza coast. This followed an air strike on Gaza in which there is at least one casualty.

In another way AhmadiNejad is playing his own provocation. I am stunned how much AhmadiNejad's actions match those of actual Israeli leaders...

There was an illegal action taken by Israel in international waters resutling in the loss of the lives of civilians and there is an illegal occupaton and blockade going on against the people of Gaza. Israel is defying the international community and we need a clear condemnation of its actions. What we don't need right now is Hamas sending their usual non life threatening rockets into Israel and AhamdiNejad showing muscle, but if the international community does not condemn Israel, Hamas might end up biting the bait and AhmadiNejad might end up provoking an escalation, both actions Israel will be praying for because in the present state of international affairs they would be a gift to the murderous zionist state...

Israel Forced To Apologize For YouTube Video Mocking Activists

The YouTube clip, set to the tune of the 1985 charity single We Are the World, features Israelis dressed as Arabs and activists, waving weapons while singing: "We con the world, we con the people. We'll make them all believe the IDF is Jack the Ripper."
...The clip features a group led by the Jerusalem Post's deputy managing editor Caroline Glick, wearing keffiyehs and calling themselves the Flotilla Choir. The footage is interspersed with clips from the recent Israeli raid on the Gaza-bound aid ship, the Mavi Marmara.
The clip has been praised in Israel, where the mass-circulation daily Yediot Aharonot said the singers "defended Israel better than any of the experts"
...Government spokesman Mark Regev said the video reflected how Israelis felt about the incident. "I called my kids in to watch it because I thought it was funny," he said. "It is what Israelis feel. But the government has nothing to do with it."

As Incredible and surreal as it is, Israelis are proud of this offensive video which is still on YouTube, see for yourself:

The Israeli Army Had Also To recognize That They Doctored The Audio Exchange Between Them And The Flotilla Published On Their Website.

I don't know why Helen Thomas had to lose her job for remarks taken out of context and why Israelis never apologize for their offenses and crimes but on the contrary get away with it all.

What Is Not Allowed In Gaza: A Poem

BY RICHARD TILLINGHAST For The Irish Times
Richard Tillinghast is an American poet who lives in Co Tipperary. He is the author of eight books of poetry, the latest of which is Selected Poems (Dedalus Press, 2010 ), as well as several works of non-fiction.

No tinned meat is allowed, no tomato paste,

no clothing, no shoes, no notebooks.

These will be stored in our warehouses at Kerem Shalom

until further notice.

Bananas, apples, and persimmons are allowed into Gaza,

peaches and dates, and now macaroni

(after the American Senator’s visit).

These are vital for daily sustenance.

But no apricots, no plums, no grapes, no avocados, no jam.

These are luxuries and are not allowed.

Paper for textbooks is not allowed.

The terrorists could use it to print seditious material.

And why do you need textbooks

now that your schools are rubble?

No steel is allowed, no building supplies, no plastic pipe.

These the terrorists could use to launch rockets

against us.

Pumpkins and carrots you may have,

but no delicacies,

no cherries, no pomegranates, no watermelon, no onions,

no chocolate.

We have a list of three dozen items that are allowed,

but we are not obliged to disclose its contents.

This is the decision arrived at

by Colonel Levi, Colonel Rosenzweig, and Colonel Segal.

Our motto:

‘No prosperity, no development, no humanitarian crisis.’

You may fish in the Mediterranean,

but only as far as three km from shore.

Beyond that and we open fire.

It is a great pity the waters are polluted –

twenty million gallons of raw sewage dumped into the sea every day

is the figure given.

Our rockets struck the sewage treatments plants,

and at this point spare parts to repair them are not allowed.

As long as Hamas threatens us,

no cement is allowed, no glass, no medical equipment.

We are watching you from our pilotless drones

as you cook your sparse meals over open fires

and bed down

in the ruins of houses destroyed by tank shells.

And if your children can’t sleep,

missing the ones who were killed in our incursion,

or cry out in the night, or wet their beds

in your makeshift refugee tents,

or scream, feeling pain in their amputated limbs –

that’s the price you pay for harbouring terrorists.

God gave us this land.

A land without a people for a people without a land.

Belfast Protest Against The Seizure Of The Rachel Corrie By Israel

The Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness described the Israeli intervention as a "raid" and said it was a "completely unacceptable and unjustified use of force".
"The Rachel Corrie should have been allowed to proceed to Gaza without Israeli aggression," he said.

"This is an attack on an Irish flagged vessel and it demands a strong response by the Irish government."
Mary Hughes, one of the founders of the Free Gaza movement, which has been organising aid shipments, condemned Israel's actions.
She added: "We are totally outraged that they have once again gone into international waters and violently boarded the boat, and force people to go to Israel when all we wanted was to be left to get to Gaza."

US Representative Dennis Kucinich Expresses his Outrage At Israel's Actions In A Letter To Obama

Read The Letter Here.

Flotilla Audios Doctored By Israel And Reported As Facts By The Israeli Press

From Max Blumenthal.

The IDF’s propaganda is increasingly unbelievable, yet the media is enthusiastically playing along. This audio, which purports to show flotilla passengers telling the IDF to “go back to Auschwitz,” appears to have been doctored by the IDF General Press Office or someone connected to it.

Israel Admits It Altered Flotilla Audio.

BUT THER CLARIFICATION IS ANOTHER LIE writes Max Blumenthal.

Henning Mankell's Flotilla Raid Diary

4.30: I’ve just dropped off when I am woken again. Out on deck I see that the big passenger ferry is floodlit. Suddenly there is the sound of gunfire. So now I know that Israel has chosen the route of brutal confrontation. In international waters.

Autopsies Reveal Intensity Of Israeli Brutalities On Flotilla Activists

According to the scientists at the ATK, Dogan, who held US and Turkish citizenship was shot five times – from close range in the right side of his nose, in the back of the head, in the back and twice in the left leg.

The oldest victim was 60-year-old Ibrahim Bilgen, a Turkish politician, engineer and activist who was married with six children. He had been shot once in the right temple, once in the right side of his chest, once in the back and once in the hip.

Cetin Topcuotlu, a 54-year old former Taekwondo champion who worked as a coach for the Turkish national team, was shot three times – once in the back of his head, once in his hip and once in his belly. His wife, Cigden, who was with him on the Mavi Marmara said at his funeral on Thursday she would take part in further flotillas to Gaza with her son.

Activists Shot In The Head At Close Range.

More Israeli Brutalities. Naomi Klein: Blinding The Witnesses.

The Rachel Corrie Forcibly Stopped And Seized By Israel

(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.

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.

...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

Source: The Free Gaza Movement 

The Israeli Attack On The Flotilla Was Planned And Revealed To The Israeli Press In Advance

By Max Blumenthal.

The MV Rachel Corrie Will Reach The Previous Interception Point By Tomorrow

This is the latest from the Boat.

And this is the previous info.

An Archival Website Devoted To The Gaza Freedom Flotilla

Click on the title to go to the website.

New Flotilla Survivors' Accounts Paint A Picture Of Cold Blood Murderers

Sarah Colborne who was on the Mavi Marmara (video)

Transcript for Sarah Colborne's testimony before the press.

Swedish crime writer Henning Mankell who was aboard the Swedish ship Sofia: "I think the Israeli military went out to commit murder," Mankell said. "If they had wanted to stop us they could have attacked our rudder and propeller, instead they preferred to send masked commando soldiers to attack us. This was Israel's choice to do this.''


Shane Dillon, the Irish national who was steering the Challenger I, speaks.


In the Guardian Linda Grant compares the flotilla attack to the Exodus attack:

The events early this week of the boarding of the Gaza aid flotilla should have jogged the memories of Israel's political leaders and its military. The sight of Israeli politicians, diplomats and army spokespeople trying to assert a more complicated story than that of innocent civilians brutally murdered by an act of piracy has not washed with the public. No amount of showing videos of the peace activists attacking the abseiling Israeli soldiers will answer the question: what were the soldiers doing there in the first place and why would the passengers not defend themselves against their attackers, exactly as the refugees had done in 1947?

Glen Greenwald writes in Salon how Israeli propaganda shaped US media coverage.

The most disturbing in all this is that the US expects Israel who seized all evidence from the ship, and edited it from propaganda purposes, to conduct and independant investigation!
More importantly, calling for an investigation is hoping for the fury Israel's actions have provoked to fade...

Israel's Twisted Logic

Ex US ambassador Edward Peck who was on one of the flotilla's ships offers his testimony of the attack on the flotilla to keith Olberman:

Did Israel deliberately murdered civilians aboard Freedom Flotilla?

From this detached account of facts by the Free Gaza team, it looks like Israel deliberately murdered civilians aboard the Freedom Flotilla. This is why they don't want an international investigation, and this is why, having confiscated all video recordings by the journalists that were on the ships, they are able to broadcast their own story, so much fabricated that it is altering their sense of reality...

Photo credit

Israel and its US ally reject international investigation of the Gaza flotilla attack

The picture above is taken from the Figaro website. It shows young people from Gaza throwing flowers   to the sea to honor the activists who were shot to death by Israeli soldiers.

If they reject an international investigation so they must have something to hide. Their PR machine is in full gear blaming the activists for what happened but hey who violated international law? And who was in a defensive position, Israel or the activists? And why Israel has the 'right to defend itself' and not the activists who were attacked illegally on their ship?

And as Patrick Cockburn writes in Counterpunch: ''these PR campaigns are Israel's greatest weakness, because they distort Israelis' sense of reality.''

And the world might like to hear from the activists: Jonathan Cook writes about the experience of an Arab-Israeli MP who was aboard the ship that was attacked.

What goods does Israel bar from the Gaza strip?

Click on the image to see a sample compiled by The Economist.

And read here readers' comments on the logic or the illogic of the blockade.
Cowishan61 wrote:

''The list does not compute. It isn't intended to. The objective of a list is to demonstrate power. More important, to demonstrate lack of power. To emphasize impotence by grinding one's face into an assortment of petty, illogical regulations.''

Chirangu wrote:

''There is some method to the 'madness' for some of the items:

1) Canned and dried fruit can be stockpiled, whereas fresh fruit and frozen fruit cannot (especially given the power outages Gaze is prone to having). If Israel wants to really clamp down, large stores of preserved foods are not going to help them.

2) Fishing rods and and ropes for fishing allow the people to provide their own food, rather than be dependent on foreign help. Fishing could also be a livelihood for some.

3) Same thing for bolts of cloth vs. clothes. The fabric could provide jobs for tailors.

4) It will take longer to raise chicks to adulthood, when they lay eggs and procreate, and are large enough to make a meal.

5) Banning livestock but permitting feed allows the people to maintain the animals they have, but not rapidly increase their numbers. I suppose animals could also be used to smuggle in drugs and explosive substances like humans do.

6) I don't know why chemical fertilizer is permitted, considering it can be used as an explosive.

I think this is why "The Economist" arranged them this way, to make it clearer.''

This sample is ample proof that the Gaza blockade is inquisitorial and persecutory designed to hurt.

Irish Aid Boat Rachel Corrie Heading For Gaza

UPDATE, June 3: Pressure is building on Israel to not intercept the Rachel Corrie. Irish nationals who are on the ship are strongly backed by their government who threatened Israel of unspecified consequences (bad) if it intercepts the ship. And today Irish are calling Irish americans to put pressure on Israel via the US government. Irish are sensitive to this issues having starved under colonial occupation.

UPDATE, June 3: The Free Gaza Movement will load the Rachel Corrie with celebrities and journalists and send it to Gaza with a support ship.

UPDATE on the boat, June 2: The Guardian is reporting that the boat, which was originally due to join the flotilla, stopped in Crete today to see whether it will be delayed to join a new flotilla or whether it is going to sail tomorrow. The Guardian gives no link to this news item, it cites Steph Oliver. We don't know who is Steph Oliver and the Guardian coverage of the whole affair is appalling and propagandist for Israel. One thing is sure, from now on, the Free Gaza movement should not publicize the timing of its boats heading for Gaza.

''We will not stop, we will go again...'' read the Twitter page of the Free Gaza Movement yesterday.

This time, the Irish government is closely monitoring Israel's intervention and warned that any attempt to intercept the boat will result in dire consequences for Israel.

We are all Irish...

Obama's Oxymorons

Obama's reactions to the Israeli raid on the Gaza flotilla, the violation of international law and the subsequent massacres of civilians: know the facts...

Obama's and the US's vote on Turkey's proposition for an international inquiry on the raid at the UN security council: No international inquiry...

How would Mr. Obama like to know the facts without an international inquiry ? He would like Israel to make its own investigation into its own crimes. Looking at previous and present reactions coming from Israel, me think that Obama thinks that those among us who are disgusted at Israel's impunity and its backing by the US are morons...I don't think so, however, I think that Obama's thinking on this issue is an oxymoron...

Read this from Glen Greenwald, Salon, on the strong pro-Israel reactions, no matter what, of US lawmakers.

Around The world, One Clear Message To Israel And Its US Ally: Enough Injustice

I hope the message will be heard.

But it doesn't seem to be the case right now. Read this piece from Glen Greenwald, Salon: Israel and the US are in full denial.

Read UN report: 61% of the Gaza population is food insecure because of the Israeli blockade. Not to mention the homes that have been flattened by Israel in 2008 and that are still in ruins, because Israeli checkpoints don't let construction material enter into Gaza.

Read here in French from Alain Gresh: Israel, l'impunité jusqu'à quand?

''A clear message was being sent to us...that our lives were in danger''

Up to now, with activists detained, the world heard only the Israeli version of May 31st events about the Israeli attack on aid ships sailing to Gaza: poor Israeli soldiers, confronted with men armed with clubs and slingshots, and I kid you not, marbles...First Israel said that activists had weapons on the ship but eventually they changed their version and said that activists took the soldiers' weapons and threatened them.


Anyway we know on which side the dead were...


And we know that Israel was determined not to let the ships enter Gaza, including sabotaging two boats of the flotilla, and ultimately attacking those that weren't sabotaged, and it succeeded...


Now that activists are starting to be freed after interrogation, we have their own version of the tragic events, and it is one in which Israeli soldiers opened fire before landing on the boat.


This is from Mihalis Grigopoulos who was steering one of the ships:

"We did not resist at all, we couldn't even if we had wanted to. What could we have done against the commandos who climbed aboard? The only thing some people tried was to delay them from getting to the bridge, forming a human shield. They were fired upon with plastic bullets and were stunned with electric devices.

"There was great mistreatment after our arrest. We were essentially hostages, like animals on the ground.

"They wouldn't let us use the bathroom, wouldn't give us food or water and they took video of us despite international conventions banning this."

This is from Haneen Zuabi, member of the Knesset, who was aboard the Turkish ship:

"They were dinghies and choppers. At 4:30 am the forces landed quickly. I did not hear any warning from the ships, because noise was coming from the ships and the choppers. Within 10 minutes there were already three bodies. The entire operation took about an hour."

"There was not a single passenger who raised a club. We put on our life vests. There were no clubs or anything of the sort. There were gunshots, I don't know if they were live bullets or not. There were gunshots fired from the ships in our direction.

"A clear message was being sent to us, for us to know that our lives were in danger. We convened that we were not interested in a confrontation. What we saw was five bodies. There were only civilians and there were no weapons. There was a sense that I many not come out of it alive. Israel spoke of a provocation, but there was no provocation."

More here...

And while there was international outrage, Israelis were chanting outside the Turkish embassy in Tel Aviv...

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition is comprised of: Free Gaza Movement (FG), European Campaign to End the Siege of Gaza (ECESG), Insani Yardim Vakfi (IHH), Ship to Gaza Greece, Ship to Gaza Sweden, The Perdana Global Peace Organization, and the International Committee to Lift the Siege on Gaza, with hundreds of groups and organizations around the world supporting the effort.

Witness Gaza

From the Free Gaza Movement website a useful link.


The Freedom Flotilla Coalition is comprised of: Free Gaza Movement (FG), European Campaign to End the Siege of Gaza (ECESG), Insani Yardim Vakfi (IHH), Ship to Gaza Greece, Ship to Gaza Sweden, The Perdana Global Peace Organization, and the International Committee to Lift the Siege on Gaza, with hundreds of groups and organizations around the world supporting the effort.