Tag: palestine

World Says Gaza Blockade Must Go

RAMALLAH — Under intense international pressure Israel declared last week that it would ease its crippling blockade on Gaza by permitting an additional but limited number of daily items, including food, into the coastal enclave. Following Israel’s deadly assault on the Free Gaza (FG) flotilla several weeks ago in international waters, during which nine activists … Continue reading “World Says Gaza Blockade Must Go”

Advantage Hamas After Flotilla Fiasco

RAMALLAH — Israel may allow soft drinks, juice, canned fruit, salads, biscuits, and potato chips into the Gaza Strip from next week. What should be an unremarkable event is making news headlines and portends unseen consequences. After four years of a crippling Israeli blockade, which has reduced the poverty-stricken territory to a humanitarian basket-case, the … Continue reading “Advantage Hamas After Flotilla Fiasco”

New Footage Depicts Attack on Mavi Marmara

Blasts from a megaphone accompany the sounding of alarms, a woman’s voice repeatedly pleading, "We are civilians, we have no guns…we need help for people…please don’t attack." Brazilian-American filmmaker Iara Lee, a passenger on board the Mavi Marmara, managed to smuggle an hour of footage taken during the May 31 attack on a six-ship humanitarian … Continue reading “New Footage Depicts Attack on Mavi Marmara”

Israel’s Cult of Victimhood

Why are Israelis so indignant at the international outrage that has greeted their country’s lethal attack last week on a flotilla of civilian ships taking aid to Gaza?   Israelis have not responded in any of the ways we might have expected. There has been little soul-searching about the morality, let alone legality, of soldiers invading … Continue reading “Israel’s Cult of Victimhood”

As Israel Kills and Maims, Outrage is Directed at Helen Thomas 

Whenever Israel commits yet another atrocity, its defenders are quick to redirect public attention away from the grisly crime scene.  Currently, there are headlines about allegedly anti-Semitic comments made by senior White House correspondent Helen Thomas. Pundits across the land evince outrage at her off-the-cuff 25-second statement made to a man who appears to be … Continue reading “As Israel Kills and Maims, Outrage is Directed at Helen Thomas “

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”