M&F #364 - Does The Naval Blockade of Gaza Affect Hamas?

MYTH: "The naval blockade of Gaza does not affect Hamas and only hurts innocent civilians."

FACT:  Since the incident aboard the Mavi Marmara  on May 31, 2010, in which nine passengers were killed after attacking a boarding party of Israeli naval commandos,Israel  has come under increasing international pressure to lift its naval blockade of the Gaza Strip . Despite the furor, all the regional players continue to support the policy of preventing Hamas'  ability to import goods, and potentially weapons, without restriction. In June 2010, Yuval Diskin, head of the Shin Bet , stated that lifting the blockade would endanger Israel , giving Hamas  a new route by which to smuggle weapons. By Diskin's estimate, Hamas  has already stockpiled 5,000rockets . An end to the blockade would give Iran  an open door through which it could send Hamas additional weapons, including rockets  with greater range and accuracy. Hamas  already has the capability of reaching the suburbs of Tel Aviv ;  an end to the blockade would give  Iran  the opportunity to deliverrockets  that could place Israel's  population centers in jeopardy.386 Egypt  is equally committed to the blockade. Egypt shares a six-mile border with Gaza  and has significantly stepped up its efforts to prevent the smuggling of weapons and money headed to Hamas . Egypt's  efforts are beginning to have a serious effect on Hamas . While domestic goods are smuggled easily through the tunnels under the border, Iran  and other supporters ofHamas  have had difficulty smuggling money toHamas'  strongmen, creating a cash-flow crisis for the terrorist organization. Hamas  has begun to levy additional taxes on the Palestinians of Gaza , creating some pushback from Palestinians and driving a wedge further between the interests of the people of Gaza  and the Hamas  leadership.387 Palestinian Authority  President Mahmoud Abbas voiced his support of the blockade to U.S. PresidentBarack Obama  when they met at the White House on June 9, 2010. Abbas  stated that lifting the blockade would give Hamas  access to more weaponry. Though he supported the idea of an increase in the types of goodsIsrael  allowed into Gaza , he advocated making changes to Israel's  policy slowly, so that it could not be interpreted as a victory for Hamas .388 Israel  has said all along it does not want to punish the people of Gaza  and has been gradually loosening the restrictions on what it permits into the area. The government has indicated it intends to provide even more assistance in the future. Israel's  government announced it will investigate why five ships were peacefully brought to Ashdod  and their cargo unloaded and forwarded to Gaza  while one ship's passengers provoked a confrontation. Meanwhile, the unfortunate events at sea did not change any of the facts on the ground and should not be allowed to trigger a knee-jerk reversal of a policy that is saving Israeli lives. The necessity of the blockade was obvious shortly after the uproar over the flotilla  when Hamas  launched a series of rockets  into Israel . Hamas  remains an Islamic terrorist organization , backed by Iran , which is less interested in the creation of a Palestinian state than the destruction of a Jewish one. 386Amy Teibel, "Yuval Diskin Warns Against Lifting the Blockade,"The Huffington Post , (June 15, 2010). 387Herb Keinon, "Don't Undo Blockade, It Weakens Hamas,"Jerusalem Post , (June 14, 2010). 388Barak Ravid, "Abbas to Obama: I'm Against Lifting The Gaza Naval Blockade," Haaretz , June 13, 2010 Mitchell Bard is the Executive Director of the nonprofit American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise (AICE) and the director of the Jewish Virtual Library. He holds a Ph.D. in political science from UCLA and has been published in academic journals, magazines, and major newspapers. He has written and edited 18 books, including Myths and Facts: A Guide to the Arab-Israel Conflict, Second Edition, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Middle East Conflict, 1001 Facts Everyone Should Know About Israel, and Will Israel Survive?. His latest book is 48 Hours of Kristallnacht: Night of Destruction/Dawn of the Holocaust. Note: Also see "Fact Sheet #75: The Gaza Flotilla, June 7, 2010 on Jewish Virtual Library.

Investigate Turkish Treachery! and more..

 fresnozionism.org

Investigate Turkish Treachery!

I know I promised not to write more about this, but it will not go away.

Speaking to CNN’s Larry King [last week], Obama said, “You’ve got loss of life that was unnecessary. So we are calling for an effective investigation of everything that happened. I think the Israelis are going to agree to that — an investigation of international standards — because they recognize that this can’t be good for Israel’s long-term security.  — YNet

I don’t know what he means by ‘of international standards’, but I agree that there absolutely needs to be an investigation.


However — and I say this in all seriousness — it is not Israel which should be investigated. It’s quite clear what Israel did (you can watch the video if you haven’t already), and why it was done.


What needs to be investigated is the vicious attack on the boarding party: who financed and organized the perpetrators, how they got on the ship, and what their connection was to the Turkish regime.
Here are some facts:

1. An initial analysis of statements taken from passengers aboard the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara after it was towed to the port of Ashdod show that operatives belonging to the radical Islamic Turkish IHH led the violent confrontation with the IDF.
2. The statements confirmed that the violence met by the IDF soldiers was not spontaneous but rather an organized, premeditated action carried out by a hard core of 40 IHH operatives (among the 500 passengers). The operatives, who acted according to a clearly-defined internal hierarchy, boarded the ship in the port of Istanbul without undergoing a security inspection (as opposed to the other passengers, who boarded in Antalya after a full inspection).
3. The IHH operatives’ preparations included handing out walkie-talkies as they boarded the ship, taking over the upper deck, setting up a situation room for communications, and a briefing given to the operatives two hours before the confrontation by IHH head Bülent Yildirim, who was on board the ship and commanded his men. IHH operatives wore ceramic vests and gas masks, and were armed with large quantities of cold weapons which they had prepared from equipment found on board (knives, axes, metal cables, metal pipes used as clubs, wrenches, etc.). They were also equipped with box cutters which had been prepared on the upper deck in advance.
4. The passengers, including the IHH operatives, stated that there were close relations between the organization and Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan and that the Turkish government was involved in preparations for the flotilla. The statements reinforce the original assessment that the objective of the flotilla was not merely to bring humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, but focused on provocation and a violent confrontation with Israel.
5. According to statements from the passengers, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan maintains close contacts with IHH. The flotilla set sail with the full knowledge and agreement of Erdoğan, who expressed personal interest in its success and his intention to exploit it promote his status in Turkey and the Arab-Muslim world. Passengers said that before the flotilla set sail, Prime Minister Erdoğan constructed a scenario based on a possible confrontation with Israel which he could use to further his own needs. The statements were supported by descriptions found in files on laptop computers belonging to the passengers.

There’s much more. I think that only a thorough, impartial international investigation can determine the facts. And if it is determined that elements of the Turkish regime were responsible or even knew about the plan in advance, they should be held to account — perhaps by the International Criminal Court.


But even this may not be the worst of it. Barry Rubin, who has excellent connections in Turkey, writes,

There is a widespread story, which cannot yet be verified but seems to be more than a rumor, for why this tragedy might have happened. People ask: Why did the Israeli soldiers land on a ship where they should have expected to be received with a violent attack?
According to some people who are in a position to know, here’s the reason: Erdoğan assured Israel that the ship’s passengers were peaceful and there would be no violence. That’s why Israel approached taking and diverting the ship in the manner it did.

Keep in mind that Erdoğan went into a full-bore diplomatic and propaganda attack immediately after the incident. If this report turns out to be true, then this affair will make its mark in the annals of diplomatic treachery.

Turkish PM Erdoğan explains his motives.

UN WATCH: THE FLOTILLA OF THE HUNS WASN'T ON A HUMANITARIAN MISSION.......

This is one of the more excellent explanations of the Flotilla and the situation in Gaza and in the disputed territories I have seen to date. Just a guy with a camera and a computer, totally debunks the media's cooked up tripe about the "evil Jews" and poor innocent humanitarian flotilla aid workers. KGS



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