Isreal Attacks Aid Flotilla to Gaza

[hasan]

and ...

An Israeli-Arab lawmaker’s decision to join hundreds of activists on a pro-Palestinian flotilla has elevated her from relative political obscurity, transforming her into the poster child for the growing rift between Israel’s Jewish majority and its Arab minority.

Unapologetic for defying Israel’s Gaza blockade and being on board the boat where pro-Palestinian activists clashed with Israeli commandos during last week’s raid on the flotilla, Hanin Zoabi has received death threats, was nearly assaulted in parliament and faces high-level calls to strip her of Israeli citizenship. In an interview, Zoabi said she has no regrets. She says she was on a different part of the ship, far away from the violence that left nine Turks dead and dozens wounded after the naval troops rappelled onto the boats in international waters and attacked and the activists. She further enraged Israelis by accusing the military of sparking the bloodshed.

“The Israeli military is like a rapist that gets scratched and then blames the victim,” she told The Associated Press. “Israel acts like a bully. Its barbaric behavior violates international laws.” Zoabi’s participation on the blockade-busting flotilla was widely seen as a provocation in Israel even before the violence. Israel considers Gaza’s Hamas rulers to be “terrorists,” and announced ahead of time that it would not allow the flotilla, led by a Turkish charity, to reach the territory.

But when it emerged that Zoabi was on the ship carrying the Turkish activists involved in the violence, she faced a wave of accusations of treason. The charges have highlighted the schism between Israeli-Arabs and their Jewish counterparts as Israel is facing widespread condemnation over the incident and is still struggling with the seemingly untenable peace process with the Arabs.

[hasan]

and ...

The European Parliament in its vote on Thursday condemned a deadly Israeli raid on a flotilla heading for Gaza and a blockade imposed on that territory by the Jewish state. The resolution condemns Israel for its military operation on the Gaza-bound flotilla carrying humanitarian aid. Israeli commandos shot dead eight Turkish activists and an American on board the Turkish Mavi Marmara ship on May 31. The resolution was approved in a roll-call vote, with 470 votes in favor, 56 against and 56 abstentions. The resolution, drafted jointly by political groups in the EP, says the Israeli attack was a breach of international law. It calls for a prompt international and impartial inquiry into the raid and asks European countries to raise this demand.

It urges Israel to lift immediately its illegal blockade on Gaza and asks EU countries to raise this demand, urging the EU Member States to take steps to ensure the sustainable opening of all the crossing points to and from Gaza. At the same time, Member of European Parliaments called on EU High Representative Catherine Ashton to submit an EU plan to the Quartet to help end the blockade.

To address Israel’s security concerns, MEPs proposes international monitoring of the crossings, including the re-activation of the EU Border Assistance Mission (EU-BAM). Parliament calls on Hamas to stop all attacks against Israel immediately, and also to free Gilad Shalit, the Israeli sergeant kidnapped by Hamas in 2006 and held incommunicado ever since. It also points out the need for more financial and economic assistance to Palestine. Noting that recent developments caused serious damage in Turkish-Israeli relations, the resolution says European Parliament encourages Turkish government’s diplomatic and political efforts for taking the pressure off Palestinian people and for the Middle East peace process.

The EU also previously condemned the attack with a strongly-worded statement. Many leaders of European countries also expressed their condemnation against Israel for its reckless attack to Gaza-bound aid flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to Gazans with an aim to break years-long blockade. Israel agreed on Thursday to ease its land blockade on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, hoping to quell growing worldwide outrage following a deadly raid on an international flotilla bound for the Palestinian territory.

18 June 2010, Friday

[hasan]

and ...

According to a senior executive from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), propaganda launched by Israel aimed at portraying Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as the reason for the current tension between the two countries is a provocation paving the way for non-democratic actions within Turkey.

Adana deputy Ömer Çelik, the AK Party’s chairperson for external affairs who led a delegation for talks in the United States last week, held a press conference in Washington on Saturday after wrapping up talks with US officials and opinion leaders in a bid to explain Turkey’s perspective on foreign policy.

“At the moment, Israel is not only explaining itself in regards to international law and politics but is also trying to be justified in the attack against the Mavi Marmara vessel solely through propaganda activities,” Çelik was quoted as saying by the Anatolia news agency, referring to the deadly May 31 raid by Israeli naval forces that led to the deaths of nine people on an aid flotilla in the eastern Mediterranean.

The Israeli navy took control of a six-ship convoy trying to run the Jewish state’s blockade of Gaza and forced it to dock in an Israeli port. Nine people were killed aboard one vessel, the Turkish Mavi Marmara, provoking international outcry. Israel said its commandos acted in self-defense.

“Israel is making propaganda [arguing] that the current problem is not stemming from Turkey but is stemming from Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan,” Çelik noted, when asked whether certain criticism conveyed to their delegation during their talks in Washington were targeting Turkey or the AK Party in particular.

“We know what this kind of propaganda activity means. Those who know about Turkish history also know well that these propaganda activities provoke coups or undemocratic ways by some circles,” Çelik said.

As Çelik delivered these remarks in the US capital, in Jerusalem, a member of the Israeli Cabinet delivered a statement putting the blame on Erdoğan for the deterioration of ties between Turkey and Israel.

“The Turkish people aren’t the enemy, but Erdoğan is Israel’s enemy,” Israeli Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov was quoted as saying on Saturday by English-language Israeli daily Haaretz. The daily noted that his remarks were in response to Erdoğan’s comments that Turkey’s problem is with the Israeli government, not with the Israeli people.

Misezhnikov is a member of the far-right Yisrael Beiteinu. The other coalition partners of the Israeli government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are Netanyahu’s hawkish Likud Party and the Labor Party led by Defense Minister Ehud Barak.

A senior Labor party figure, Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, meanwhile, said on Saturday that there were serious errors made by decision makers in respect to the flotilla raid operation and suggested that the matter should have been brought before the Security Cabinet.

“There were errors, even critical ones, the operation was not presented before the Security Cabinet, which did not ask the necessary questions,” Ben-Eliezer was quoted as saying on Saturday by Ynetnews, an English-language Israeli news portal.

In Washington, Turkish Ambassador to the United States Namık Tan reiterated that Israel could repair its relationship with Turkey -- which he said Ankara still valued -- if it complied with Turkish demands that Jerusalem apologize for the raid.

“Israel’s current policy is leading the country to global isolation,” Tan said on Friday at the first annual conference on Turkey held by the Center for Turkish Studies at the Middle East Institute. “Not only that, Israel is on the verge of losing one of its closest friends [Turkey],” Tan added at the conference, titled “Turkey’s New Geopolitics: Challenges and Opportunities.”



21 June 2010, Monday

[Nawawi619]

Nonsense, Iran makes it a habit of shipping missiles in with humanitarian aid.

If anyone is to blame, its the persians.

Your reply is nonsense. Attacking a floatilla that has food, supplies, and other aid has nothing to do with Iran. Full blame is on the Israeli government for illegally blockading Gaza. Human Rights organizations are unanimous in this.

[hasan]

and ...

The Association of Human Rights and Solidarity for Oppressed Peoples (MAZLUM-DER) stated during a press conference on Monday that Israeli commandos shot at activists on the Mavi Marmara from their helicopters, according to autopsy reports. Yasin Dıvrak, a lawyer for MAZLUM-DER, said the autopsy reports prepared by the Council of Forensic Medicine (ATK) proved that Israeli soldiers, contrary to their claims of self-defense, aimed to kill and started to shoot even before descending onto the Mavi Marmara, which was carrying humanitarian aid to the under-siege Gaza on May 31.

During the Israeli raid, nine peace activists were killed and dozens more injured. Israel claims that its soldiers attacked passengers in self-defense because some of the passengers assaulted Israeli soldiers with sticks and knives after they descended onto the ship. The autopsy reports also showed that the corpses of the activists were washed before being sent to Turkey and some alcohol had been found in their bodies.

The press conference was held by MAZLUM-DER İstanbul branch Chairman Cihat Gökdemir, lawyers Dıvrak and Selçuk Kar and the deputy chairman of the association, Gülden Solmaz. Dıvrak said: “All the deaths occurred due to injuries caused by firearms. The ATK reports show that the bodies have been washed, so it was not possible to find any traces of chemicals or gun powder. We wonder why Israel washed the bodies of those who were killed.”

Dıvrak added that since the bodies had been washed and all the clothes were extremely dirty it was not possible to determine the shooting range.

“Most of the bullets did not stay in the bodies but entered and exited the bodies. Some bullets exited the skull but entered [the body] again,” he stated.

Dıvrak underlined that a very unusual bullet was found in the brain of activist İbrahim Bilgen. He said this bullet surprised doctors because they have never seen this kind of bullet before. “Israel claims that the soldiers were attacked and that they were defending themselves. But the autopsy reports show that this is not true. Most of the bullets came from above and entered the skulls. It is obvious that the bullets came from the choppers,” he said.



30 June 2010, Wednesday

[hasan]

and ...

Israel will not cooperate with a team of experts appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council to investigate a commando raid on an aid flotilla that was trying to break a blockade of Gaza. Citing a senior official, Israeli daily Haaretz said on Sunday that the Foreign Ministry, the Defense Ministry and the Prime Minister’s Office all appear to agree that cooperating with the investigation committee would only confer legitimacy upon the UN Human Rights Council, which Israel claims is biased against it.

“This is an unnecessary committee,” the unnamed official was quoted as saying, “which is the product of an obsession with Israel.” Israel has not yet made an official statement about the UN fact-finding team, announced on Friday. While announcing the appointment of experts to the investigation committee, the UN Human Rights Council also called on all parties to cooperate.

“The expertise, independence and impartiality of the members of the mission will be devoted to clarifying the events which took place that day and their legality,” Thai Ambassador Sihasak Phuangketkeow, the current council president, said on Friday. “We call upon all parties to fully cooperate with the mission and hope that this mission will contribute to peace in the region and justice for the victims.”

The 47-country council voted to set up the independent inquiry on June 2 to look into what it called a violations of international law in Israel’s commando attack on May 31, in which eight Turkish and one American activists were killed.

The fact-finding team comprises three independent experts -- Sir Desmond de Silva of Britain, a former chief war crimes prosecutor at the UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone; Karl Hudson-Phillips of Trinidad and Tobago, a former International Criminal Court judge; and Mary Shanthi Dairiam of Malaysia, a women’s rights activist.

The three-member committee is expected to travel to Israel, Turkey and Gaza in August to interview witnesses and gather information before reporting back to the council in September. The council opens a three-week session in Geneva on Sept. 12. It is not clear whether Israel will allow the fact-finding team to visit.

Israel, which has a long history of rejecting UN probes as one-sided, has rejected Turkish demands for a formal apology and an international investigation and launched an internal probe instead. A separate Israeli military inquiry released on July 12 found intelligence and operational errors in the raid but defended the use of force against activists on the Mavi Marmara.

On Friday, Israel agreed to release the Mavi Marmara and two other Turkish ships that were part of the flotilla. Talks to return the ships had been previously held up by Israel’s demand that the owners not sail them against the blockade, which it says will help prevent arms smuggling to Hamas in Gaza.



26 July 2010, Monday

[hasan]

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Israel decided on Monday to cooperate with an investigation proposed by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon into a deadly raid on a Gaza aid flotilla, officials said. Senior members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet voted “to allow the panel access to material gathered” by two Israeli committees conducting separate probes into the May 31 incident in which eight Turkish citizens and one American were killed.

Ban had proposed an independent international panel led by former New Zealand Prime Minister Geoffrey Palmer and which would include representatives from Turkey, Israel and the United States, according to Israeli officials.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has told UN Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon that his country would agree to an international inquiry on the commando attack on May 31 during a recent trip to New York, according to a Monday report by Israel Radio.

Ban has been urging Israel to agree to the “prompt, impartial, credible and transparent investigation conforming to international standards” that the UN Security Council called for on June 1 -- a call that has been fully supported by Turkey from the beginning.

Ban said last month that Israel’s own investigation into the flotilla raid “is important” but won’t have “international credibility.” He said that’s why he was continuing to urge the Israeli government to agree to an international panel under a third party “in which both Turkey and Israel would actively participate.”

Contact between UN headquarters in New York and Ankara concerning their joint call on Israel to give consent to an international investigation has visibly intensified in the last few days.

As of Saturday, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu and Ban held a telephone conversation during which they discussed developments concerning the planned international inquiry into the Israeli raid, diplomatic sources in Ankara told the Anatolia news agency, without elaborating. Davutoğlu and Ban most recently met late last month in Kabul during the July 20 Kabul Conference.

Diplomatic sources told Anatolia that as of Sunday, Ban and Davutoğlu had a second telephone conversation, briefly noting that the topic of the conversation was the investigation commission planned to be established in line with the UN Security Council’s call.

Also noteworthy is that the UN has been repeatedly visited by a series of high-level Israeli leaders since the May conflict to press its case, said a report in the WorldNetDaily (www.wnd.com) over the weekend.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with UN chief Ban to discuss a variety of issues in July and Ehud Barak, while in New York City, has seen Ban three times since the flotilla incident, the report stated. Barak met Ban for almost an hour on July 30 and at one point both dismissed their staff for a highly unusual private conversation, WorldNetDaily reported, citing a UN source.

“Shortly afterwards, Barak avoided reporters, secretly leaving the UN compound through an underground garage. It was at that meeting that Barak told Ban that Jerusalem would allow a UN investigation to go forward, say UN sources. Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman headed a high-level but low-keyed visit to New York City in June, whereupon senior officials quietly met UN staff about the flotilla attack. At the same time, foreign ministry sources said that Lieberman also convened a meeting of all senior Israeli diplomats in North America to ‘strategize’ on policy pertaining to the flotilla incident,” the report said.

The report noted that “visits to the UN by top-level Israelis may normally amount to just three or four a year, but since the flotilla incident, five visits by senior Israeli officials have been made in just two months.” According to WorldNetDaily, diplomats say the unusual number of Israeli consultations shows just how serious the government of Benjamin Netanyahu is taking the UN’s insistence on forming its own international review panel.



03 August 2010, Tuesday

[hasan]

but ...

Security experts have warned that remarks by Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak accusing Turkey’s intelligence chief of being a supporter of Iran is an indication of new intelligence skirmishes on the horizon between Turkey and Israel.

They also pointed out that the statements are not only discourteous but also an effort to delegitimize the Turkish government.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, according to Israeli Army radio, in a meeting of his Labor Party expressed concerns over the appointment of Hakan Fidan as the chief of the National Intelligence Organization (MİT).

“Turkey is a friendly country, a strategic ally, but the nomination in recent weeks of a new chief of the Turkish secret service who is a supporter of Iran worries us,” he was quoted as saying.

Barak added that the appointment could result in “the Iranians having access to secret information,” in a recording of his remarks broadcast by military radio. Right after the Mavi Marmara flotilla incident on May 31, which resulted in the killing of eight Turks and one American by Israeli soldiers, critical articles about Fidan appeared.

The Israeli authorities claimed that the main reason for the deathly interception was Israel’s lack of intelligence on the passengers aboard the Mavi Marmara. The Israeli authorities never said this openly but hinted that their lack of intelligence was an outcome of the non-cooperative attitude of the Turkish side.

Fidan, before being appointed as the head of MİT in May, represented Turkey at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and served as an undersecretary for foreign affairs to the prime minister.

Turkey is trying to resolve the international standoff over Iran’s nuclear program with diplomacy and Fidan’s former position was a key instrument in these efforts.

Israel has viewed Turkey’s efforts with suspicion, especially a deal brokered with Iran and Brazil in May that would have seen Iran ship some of its low-enriched uranium to Turkey in exchange for high-enriched uranium.

Professor Mustafa Kibaroğlu from Bilkent University, an expert on nuclear issues and security, told Today’s Zaman that Israel is making Fidan a target and trying to portray him as someone acting independent of the Turkish state. “Fidan held important positions in a critical atmosphere; he participated in the indirect Israel-Syria meetings under Turkish mediation. But Israel is trying to portray him as someone who acted independently of the state,” Kibaroğlu, who was Fidan’s master’s and doctorate thesis academic adviser, said.

Kibaroğlu added that Fidan, as a hardworking and gifted person, can contribute to the security of Turkey but that Israel is giving the impression that it has something against him personally.

“Israel is also making Fidan a target by claiming that he is a supporter of Iran. They are giving the massage that Israeli security is under threat due to Fidan. This is something very dangerous,” Kibaroğlu underlined.

Sedat Laçiner from the International Strategic Research Organization (USAK) said a political maneuver is behind Barak’s statements.

“Israel is trying to weaken the Turkish government and trying to marginalize it. The easiest way to do this is to try to pretend that there is a link between it and organizations such as Hamas or to try to present it as a supporter of Iran. Now they are trying to do that with the head of MİT,” Laçiner told Today’s Zaman.

Strategist Nihat Ali Özcan underlined that the statement is coming from Barak, not from Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who is considered an enemy of Turkey.

“What we can understand from this statement is that there is a crisis between the intelligence services of the two countries. This statement is not only a sign of discourtesy but an indication of new intelligence skirmishes,” he told Today’s Zaman.



03 August 2010, Tuesday

[hasan]

getting warmer ... what is Israels problem ? ... the problem is the fear that secrets will expose Israels dirty laundry to the world, by provocation Israel thinks by pre-empting they will trivialise the issue if and when those secrets come out ... man up and take it like a man ... apologise for peace sake ... and dont undermine Turkeys honour when it comes to its foreign policy in your region, Turkey does not need Israels secrets to be exposed for a World opinion and it will never play dirty (All praise to Allah) to win over hearts and minds ...

Diplomatic tension between Turkey and Israel over recent Israeli accusations against Turkey’s new intelligence chief escalated again for the second time this week as Israel’s ambassador in Ankara was summoned to the Foreign Ministry in protest of renewed Israeli criticism.

Diplomatic tension between Turkey and Israel over recent Israeli accusations against Turkey’s new intelligence chief escalated again for the second time this week as Israel’s ambassador in Ankara was summoned to the Foreign Ministry in protest of renewed Israeli criticism.

Ambassador Gaby Levy was summoned to the Foreign Ministry after Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak insisted on Wednesday on his earlier accusation that the new head of the National Intelligence Organization (MİT), Hakan Fidan, was a “friend of Iran” who might betray Israel’s secrets. Diplomatic sources told Today’s Zaman that Levy met on Wednesday with Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioğlu, who asked for clarification on Israel’s motives in repeating the controversial accusations.

“What is Israel’s problem?” Levy was asked at the meeting, sources said, adding that the Israeli envoy was also warned, “If Israel does not quiet down, then Turkey will start talking.”


Barak angered Turkey by attacking Fidan at a private forum on July 25. His remarks were later leaked to the press, prompting the Turkish Foreign Ministry to summon Levy to convey Ankara’s displeasure on Monday afternoon. Two days later, on Wednesday, Barak made on-the-record remarks repeating his claims. “It’s appropriate simply because it’s true, and it really troubles us,” he told Israel Radio when asked about his July 25 remarks. “At the end of the day, I simply pointed out something factual,” he said. “We have no interest in aggravating anything, and I hope that Turkey has none either.”

Before being appointed to his current post in May, Fidan became MİT deputy undersecretary in April. His last post before his new career at MİT was at the Prime Ministry as a deputy undersecretary. He made many little-publicized visits to various countries with the prime minister’s then-chief adviser on foreign policy, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu. He accompanied the prime minister on all his visits abroad and meetings with leaders of other countries.

At the time, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan expressed his confidence in the new MİT head, saying: “The organization’s primary task concerns foreign intelligence, and our new undersecretary will beyond doubt take necessary steps in this field. … MİT is the first source we consult in foreign intelligence. Thus, I believe the organization should become more active in foreign intelligence.”

“These kinds of expressions concerning a Turkish official are unacceptable. Furthermore, such comments are in clear violation of the international legal principle of non-intervention and non-interference in the internal and external affairs of states,” a senior diplomat told Today’s Zaman, quoting the warning message delivered to Levy on Monday.

“Barak’s remarks have an artificial ground and -- at best -- they apparently stemmed from ignorance,” the diplomat told Today’s Zaman on Tuesday. Barak’s remarks about the MİT chief reflected long-simmering tensions between Israel and Turkey that boiled over when Israelis commandos killed eight Turks and one Turkish-American aboard a ship attempting to break Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip on May 31.

While balking at Ankara’s insistence that it apologize for the killings, Israel has tried to mend fences by scrapping a travel advisory that had kept its holiday travelers away from Turkish resorts and agreeing to a UN probe of the incident.

Three impounded Turkish ships from the Gaza flotilla were towed to home ports on Friday after Israel dropped its demand that the owners first sign guarantees that they would not try to break the blockade again, an Israeli official said.

Ankara has welcomed the UN investigation into the flotilla interception, announced on Monday, but have since been irked by American assertions that it would not be a “substitute” for two internal Israeli probes that Ankara considers too limited in scope.



07 August 2010, Saturday