Tag: gaza

Free Gaza Leader: ‘We’ll Be Back – With Bigger Flotillas’

RAMALLAH – In an exclusive interview with IPS, Huwaida Arraf, the chairwoman of the Free Gaza (FG) movement, which tried to break Israel’s crippling blockade on Gaza, explains what happened on the night of May 31 when Israeli commandos raided the FG humanitarian flotilla, shooting nine people dead and injuring dozens more. Controversy surrounds the … Continue reading “Free Gaza Leader: ‘We’ll Be Back – With Bigger Flotillas’”

IDF Beatings, Abuse, Doctored Evidence Emerge

RAMALLAH – Although Israel successfully controlled news of its deadly commando raid on the Free Gaza (FG) flotilla during the first crucial 48 hours of media coverage, emerging evidence from witnesses and survivors is challenging the Israeli government’s version of events. These include claims of medical treatment being withheld; beatings and abuse of passengers who … Continue reading “IDF Beatings, Abuse, Doctored Evidence Emerge”

Drowning in the Law of the Sea

Within an hour after Israel commandos hijacked the Free Gaza Movement flotilla on the high seas and killed at least nine relief workers, Israel’s Foreign Ministry posted to its Web site a “legal background” to the attack. The short, 12-point statement makes a low-key, matter of fact argument why the law is on Israel’s side. … Continue reading “Drowning in the Law of the Sea”

Exodus 2010

On the high seas, outside territorial waters, the ship was stopped by the navy. The commandos stormed it. Hundreds of people on the deck resisted; the soldiers used force. Some of the passengers were killed, scores injured. The ship was brought into harbor; the passengers were taken off by force. The world saw them walking … Continue reading “Exodus 2010”

Flotilla Raid Fires Up Israel Lobby

BRUSSELS — Within three days of Israel’s attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla Monday, the pro-Israel lobby in Brussels was already seeking to deflect attention from the killing of nine peace activists in international waters. The European Friends of Israel, a grouping of parliamentarians, issued a statement Jun 3, which made no reference to the … Continue reading “Flotilla Raid Fires Up Israel Lobby”

Doubts Grow Over Israel’s Value as US Ally

Israel’s disastrous raid in international waters Monday on a Turkish-flagged flotilla carrying humanitarian supplies to Gaza has resurrected a long-running debate over whether Washington’s close alliance with the Jewish state really serves U.S. strategic interests. Ironically, one negative answer was provided in Jerusalem Tuesday by none other than the head of Israel’s vaunted foreign-intelligence agency, … Continue reading “Doubts Grow Over Israel’s Value as US Ally”

Israel Censors News on Deadly Flotilla Raid

TEL AVIV — Attempts by media to interview some of the hundreds of Free Gaza (FG) members, who were being deported from Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport, Wednesday, were thwarted by Israeli authorities. "No you will not be able to talk to them or interview them," Shahar Ariel, a deputy-spokesman from Israel’s ministry of … Continue reading “Israel Censors News on Deadly Flotilla Raid”

‘Mad Dog’ Diplomacy

Moshe Dayan, Israel’s most celebrated general, famously outlined the strategy he believed would keep Israel’s enemies at bay: "Israel must be a like a mad dog, too dangerous to bother."  Until now, most observers had assumed Dayan was referring to Israeli military or possibly nuclear strategy, an expression in his typically blunt fashion of the … Continue reading “‘Mad Dog’ Diplomacy”