More ships are on the way.The Rachel Corrie, chartered by the Malaysian NGO Perdana Global Peace Organization, headed by former Prime Minister Mahatir Mohamad, accompanied by two other ships, should reach Gaza in forty-eight hours or so.
It is currently some 300 kilometers from the coast. On Board the Rachel Corrie are, among others, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Mairead Maguire, and former UN Assistant Secretary General Denis Halliday.
The Rachel Corrie is named after the young American activist killed by the Israelis in the Gaza Strip in 2003 as she was striving to prevent the demolition of Palestinian homes.
Altogether, the flotilla, also known as the Freedom flotilla, consists of nine ships, including the Turkish vessel, the Mavi Marmara, sponsored by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition.
The ships contain 10,000 tons of humanitarian cargo, accompanied by some 700 to 800 activists from 40 countries.
The organizers’ motivations were made clear from the start, we’re trying to break the blockade of the Gaza Strip and tell the world that Israel has no right to starve 1.5 million Palestinians, Greta Berlin, of the Free Gaza Movement, told The Guardian.
The humanitarian cargo consisted of generators, water purification equipment, 20 tons of paper, pens and crayons, prefabricated homes, dentistry equipment, sports equipment, wheelchairs and chocolate.
Israel denounced the flotilla as a political provocation, and claimed that if the mission’s purpose were truly humanitarian, the organizers should accept its offer and deliver the cargo to an Israeli port. The Israeli authorities would then proceed to screen the aid and then transfer the goods it deemed admissible into Gaza.
If they were really interested in the well-being of the people of Gaza, they would have accepted the offers of Egypt or Israel to transfer humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza. Instead, they have chosen a cheap political stunt, Mark Regev, an Israeli government spokesman, told AP.
The organizers dismissed this offer as both ridiculous and offensive. Their blockade, their ‘official channels,’ is what is directly causing the humanitarian crisis in the first place, they told The NYT.
Israel insistently denied that there was any humanitarian crisis in Gaza, on the contrary.
There is no humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. Despite Hamas’ war crimes against Israeli citizens and the thousands of rockets fires at Israeli towns, Israel continues to respond in the most humane way possible, the Israeli Foreign Minister, Avigdor Lieberman told Haaretz.
Two days later, he reiterated to the media that Israel is conducting itself in the most humanitarian manner, and allowing the entrance of thousands of tons of food and equipment to Gaza, according to aljazeera.
There is no shortage of fuel, there is no shortage of medication, there is no shortage of any necessities in the Gaza Strip, claimed military spokeswoman Avital Liebovitch.
The intensive Israeli media campaign to convince the world that all was well in Gaza led the Jerusalem Post columnist Larry Derfnert to tartly retort, in a piece called ‘Rattling the cage: Living it up in Gaza’, don’t you just wish you lived in Gaza? Don’t you just envy those people who get to raise their kids amid such abundance? Look at all the stuff they’ve got: «truckloads of meat, poultry, fish, dairy products, fruits, vegetables, milk powder, baby food, wheat and other staples arrive in Gaza on a daily basis », said the Foreign Ministry in advance of the «Freedom flotilla», due to either reach Gaza or get intercepted by the navy today…
I only wish somebody would treat us Israelis like we treat people in Gaza.
It’s too bad; we’d give the world a real lesson in how to show appreciation.
In fact, living conditions have continued to deteriorate in the Gaza Strip since the embargo was imposed (2006) and then reinforced (June 2007, after Hamas foiled a Palestinian Authority coup, supported by both the Israelis and the US, and was driven out of the Strip), and in particular, since the 2009 war on Gaza destroyed much of the territory’s infrastructure and economy.
Since the siege began, the latter has lost 100,000 jobs.
The Israelis only authorize 81 items into the Strip, and the list of approved items changes constantly.
Until recently, the Israeli had refused to acknowledge that such lists even existed, much less publish them, so that no one knows with any certainty what is authorized and what is not.
On May 6, 2010, Gisha, the Legal Center for Freedom of Movement, a NGO that seeks to defend the freedom of movement of Palestinians, and especially Gazans, petitioned an Israeli court, under the Freedom of Information Act, to compel the state to publish these lists, and won its case.
Yet, if the authorities were forced to recognize that such lists did in fact exist, they refused to reveal their content. They also confirmed the existence of a document called «Food Needs in Gaza-Red Lines», which examined the minimal amount of calories needed to sustain Gazans, presumably to better calibrate the embargo on certain food stuffs.
The state argued that to reveal the documents would harm national security and foreign relations.
It is not clear why Israel, instead of promoting transparency, chooses to invest so many resources in the attempt to conceal information. How is the disclosure that Israel forbids the entry of sage and ginger, yet allows in cinnamon, related to security needs? It is also hard to imagine how disclosing this information would harm Israel's foreign relations, unless the State is equating fear of harm to Israel's image with fear of harm to its foreign relations, wrote Tamar Feldman in Gisha‘s petition.
Perhaps the refusal to disclose the contents of the lists is part and parcel of the siege strategy imposed on Gaza. Are not the Israelis simply saying the following:
«the list has no logic to it. On the contrary, it simply reflects our whims of the moment, so that you should not forget the following incontrovertible truth: you are all at our mercy, we shall do with you what we like, when we want, and you have no other option but to accept it, or submit and do our bidding», the object of the siege always having been to prod the Gazans to overthrow the Hamas regime.
Frozen meat, fish and vegetables are allowed, but not fresh meat.
Fruits are authorized, but not fruit preserves, dried fruit, seeds nuts or biscuits and candy. Chocolate, honey and instant coffee are banned, because they are considered luxuries by Israel. Apparently, the Gazans do not deserve «luxury» items.
Paper, newspapers, writing instruments and toys are also not authorized, presumably for the same reasons.
Plastic, tar, wood, cement and iron, all required to rebuild what Israel destroyed during its war on Gaza are prohibited…
Such were Gisha’s conclusions, since, again, Israel refuses to publish the official lists…
The embargo is also intended to promote Israel’s economic interests.
It bans the entry of tin cans, which would allow Gaza’s tomato growers to market their products, but authorizes the entry of packaged tomato paste made in Israel.
The state’s rationale in imposing the embargo is quite clear, the limitation on the transfer of goods is a central pillar in the means at the disposal of the State of Israel in the armed conflict between it and Hamas, even if it fails to undermine Hamas, and instead penalizes the entire Gazan population.
There are enough quantities of basic food items in Gaza. But because there is a ban on raw materials needed for production and a ban on exporting finished products, people don't have enough money to buy things. That's why 80 percent of Gaza residents are dependent on international assistance, Sari Bashi, of Gisha, told AP.
The economic impact of the embargo, compounded by the widespread destruction provoked by the 2009 war on Gaza have had devastating consequences.
70% of Gazans live on less than a dollar a day.
71% receive food assistance.
98% of Gaza’s industrial activity has been destroyed.
6,400 homes damaged or destroyed in last year’s war have not been rebuilt due to the ban on construction materials. The Gazans are reduced to using bricks made of mud to rebuild their homes.
The Strip’s water and sanitation infrastructure have not been rebuilt for the same reasons. As a result, 60% of Gazans do not have regular access to water.
The electricity network can only meet 70% of the territory’s demands.
Gaza’s healthcare system is also in parlous condition.
15 of its 27 hospitals, 43 of its 110 healthcare facilities were destroyed in last year’s war and never rebuilt. As a result, the infant mortality rate is 30% higher than in the West Bank.
Very often journalists ask me whether I define the crisis in Gaza as humanitarian and I give this reply: It’s far beyond humanitarian. It’s much more serious. You can address a humanitarian crisis with medicines and food; this is far more serious. It’s a crisis of the economy first of all - people are very poor. It’s a crisis of the institutions and it’s a crisis of the infrastructure. This requires years to fix, Filippo Grandi, commissioner-general of UNRWA (the United Nations Relief and Works Agency) told IRIN.
In light of these facts, Israeli claims that Gazans have everything they need is disingenuous, and disgraceful…
Yet, collective punishment is clearly the objective of the embargo, a fact recognized by the UN which last year stated Israel imposed a blockade amounting to collective punishment and carried out a systematic policy of progressive isolation and deprivation of the Gaza Strip.
Israelis hold all Gazans responsible for the fact that Hamas is still in power, and that Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier, is still in its hands.
Some Israeli officials readily admit it, sometimes we ask (the Israelis) why some things are banned. Release Schalit and make Hamas step down and then we'll lift the blockade, Raed Fattouh, a Palestinian official told AP.
Israel is determined to maintain the siege until its goals have been met.
As a result, early Monday morning, Israel commandos intercepted the Freedom Flotilla in international waters, a fact confirmed by the Israeli military.
The operation turned violent on the Mavi Marmara.
The Israelis indicated that nine activists had been killed in the altercation.
According to Jamal Elshayyal, an Al Jazeera reporter who was on the ship, Israeli commandos used live ammunition during the operation.
In addition, he said that a white flag had been raised and that none of the passengers was using firearms.
The Free Gaza Movement claimed that Israeli troops opened fire on sleeping civilians as soon as they set foot on the ship.
How could the Israeli military attack civilians like this? Do they think that because they can attack Palestinians indiscriminately they can attack anyone?, Greta Berlin, of the Free Gaza Movement told REUTERS.
The Israelis vigorously denied these accusations and claimed that Israeli soldiers were in fact ambushed and had no other choice but to retaliate.
During the interception of the ships, the demonstrators onboard attacked the IDF naval personnel with live fire and light weaponry including knives and clubs. Additionally one of the weapons used was grabbed from an IDF soldier. The demonstrators had clearly prepared their weapons in advance for this specific purpose.
As a result of this life-threatening and violent activity, naval forces employed riot dispersal means, including live fire, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared in a statement carried by The Guardian.
The IDF posted videos on YouTube purporting to show its soldiers being attacked by the activists.
Greta Berlin disputed the Israeli version of events.
This is a lie…We never thought they would be any violence, she told The NYT.
We never thought Israel would be stupid enough to kill 10 people and wound at least 30. We are all civilians. Every one of us is a civilians who is trying to break Israel’s blockade of one and a half million Palestinians, she added.
Customs officials in Turkey denied the accusation that there were weapons on board the ship, dismissing them as complete nonsense.
Forty-two passengers boarded in İstanbul and 504 passengers got on the ship here. They were screened. We spotted no weapons and there is no such record in our logs. We did not notice anything suspicious about the Mavi Marmara. Had our officers had any suspicions, they would have reported it, a customs official told Today’s Zaman.
The Israelis accused the activists of being responsible for the violence and deaths.
In addition, Dany Ayalon, Israel’s deputy foreign minister, accused the Turkish human rights organization IHH, which was operating the Mava Marmari, of having well-documented ties to Al-Qaeda and international jihad, according to TIME.
Before the flotilla entered Israeli waters, rumor had it that the organizers [of the aid initiative] had links with the al Qaeda terrorist network, Arthur Avnon, Israeli Ambassador in Denmark, told a local network.
The Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief (IHH) is an Islamic charity group based in Istanbul.
It was founded in the 1990s to support Muslims in Bosnia. It has since been active in Pakistan, Ethiopia, Lebanon, and the Palestinian territories, among other places.
We don't have anything against Israel. Our only aim was to carry aid to the people of Gaza. But for Israel, regardless of your religion or your nationality, if you help the people of Gaza you will be declared a terrorist, Serkan Nergis, a spokesman for IHH told REUTERS.
The reactions in Turkey, Israel’s erstwhile ally, were particularly harsh.
Israel appears to have lost its mind, a professor at Istanbul’s Bilgi University, Soli Ozel, told TIME.
There is no aspect to this action by the Israeli government that is acceptable or excusable. I never expected this lunacy, this cruelty. As someone who lives in this region, it makes me afraid, wrote Ertugrul Ozkok, a columnist for the Turkish daily Hurriyet.The Turkish prime Minister, Tayyip Erdogan, who interrupted a visit to Latin America to deal with the crisis, was especially scathing, this action, totally contrary to the principles of international law, is inhumane state terrorism. Nobody should think we will keep quiet in the face of this, ynet reported.
Monday night, the UN Security Council met in an emergency session to examine the situation. The Turks were pushing for a statement that would clearly condemn Israeli behavior as a violation of international law.
The US refused to support a motion that would accuse solely Israel of being responsible for the bloodshed.
The Turkish Foreign Minister, Ahmet Davutoglu likened the attack on the flotilla to banditry and piracy; it is murder by a state, according to The NYT.
The UN statement regretted and condemned the violence without assigning any blame or responsibility, a sign that the US had prevailed in its discussions with the Turks over the wording of the statement. The Security Council deeply regrets the loss of life and injuries resulting from the use of force during the Israeli military operation in international waters against the convoy sailing to Gaza. The Council, in this context, condemns those acts which resulted in the loss of at least ten civilians and many wounded, and expresses its condolences to their families.
Yet, the UN also stressed the need for a full investigation of the violence that led to the death of nine activists.
The Security Council takes note of the statement of the UN Secretary-General on the need to have a full investigation into the matter and it calls for a prompt, impartial, credible and transparent investigation conforming to international standards.
In addition, it reiterated its demand for an end to the embargo. The Security Council stresses that the situation in Gaza is not sustainable. The Council re-emphasizes the importance of the full implementation of Resolutions 1850 and 1860. In that context, it reiterates its grave concern at the humanitarian situation in Gaza and stresses the need for sustained and regular flow of goods and people to Gaza as well as unimpeded provision and distribution of humanitarian assistance throughout Gaza.
In all probability, the UN’s bland, predictable statement will have little effect, if any at all, on the conflict at hand.
After all, two previous resolutions have been ignored.
If a prompt, impartial, credible and transparent investigation is to be entrusted to the Israelis themselves, then we shall have to satisfy ourselves with the official Israeli version of events currently available.
This is what always happens when the IDF investigates the IDF.
The IDF investigation into the abuses committed by the Israelis during the Gaza war has led to only one soldier having to face criminal charges…for stealing a credit card…
The pressure to lift the siege of Gaza may grow, however, because of Israel’s botched and brutal assault on the flotilla.
Britain’s ambassador to the UN placed the violent storming of the Turkish ship into its proper context, these events are clearly very serious, but we cannot view them in isolation . . . Israel’s restrictions on access to Gaza must be lifted. The current closure is unacceptable and counter-productive, Sir Mark Lyall Grant told the Security Council.
Similarly, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security policy, Catherine Ashton emphasized the EU’s stance on the issue three days before the attack.
The continued policy of closure is unacceptable and politically counterproductive.
We would like to reiterate the EU's call for an immediate, sustained and unconditional opening of crossings for the flow of humanitarian aid, commercial goods and persons to and from Gaza, she said.
What exactly happened on that ship and the others we do not yet know except that nine people were killed. None were IDF soldiers, all were activists.
We do not know, for we have had as of yet only one version of events, Israel‘s.
Until those who witnessed the assault are free to go where they please and say what they like, that will be the only version of events available.
For the time being, they are incommunicado.
480 activists are currently detained in Beersheba.
Forty-eight are to be deported, and forty-five, mostly Turks are still in hospital.
One activist, an American, managed to say a few words to AP upon his arrival in Israel, before being spirited away by security guards. I'm not violent. What I can tell you is that there are bruises all over my body. They won't let me show them to you, he said.
Where does that leave Israel and Gaza?
The siege on Gaza has become an obsession.
Its actual effectiveness is no longer the issue.
That Hamas has not been overthrown, and hardly been weakened, if at all;
that Gilad Shalit is still detained by the Islamist organization is, for practical purposes, irrelevant.
It is weakness, or the mere appearance of weakness that is Israel’s obsession.
Relenting on Gaza, reviewing its policies on the issue of Gaza, drawing the appropriate conclusions that the siege has failed and is transforming itself into a diplomatic nightmare for Israel is simply inconceivable.
For that would be seen as a sign of weakness, Israel believes, and thus, presumably embolden its numerous enemies, Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas, to name but a few.
This obsession has dire ramifications, for it is self-defeating.
We are no longer defending Israel. We are now defending the siege. The siege itself is becoming Israel's Vietnam, wrote Bradley Burston in Haaretz.
Just last week, Qatar proposed to restore diplomatic relations with Israel in exchange for the opportunity to undertake reconstruction projects in Gaza.
Israel rebuffed the Gulf state, which would have alleviated its diplomatic isolation in the region. It would also have helped convince the international community that it is genuinely interested in the welfare of the Gazans.
Monday’s tragic incident is primarily a criminal Israeli blunder.
Nevertheless, we cannot evade our own responsibility.
We have been tolerating, and thus tacitly supporting the Gaza siege, and the insidious victimization of 1,5 million people for over three years.
Perhaps the death of nine activists will jolt us out of our shameful complacency.
If so, they will not have died for nothing…
(the photograph above is by Jim Hollander EPA)
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