Iran sending Aid ships to Gaza. SubhanAllah!

[Masuma]

SOURCE

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

12:03 Mecca time, 09:03 GMT

Iranian ships carrying aid supplies are due to set sail for Gaza in the coming week, Iran's state news agency has reported.

The move is likely to further heighten tensions in the region.

Iran's semi-official Mehr news agency said the first ship carrying humanitarian aid will leave the port of Khorramshahr this week, heading towards Gaza.
"This ship will pass through territorial waters of Oman, Yemen and Egypt before it reaches Gaza. It is said that the ship contains only humanitarian aid and there are no peace activists on board, " the agency said.

A second vessel will be sent at a later date from the Turkish city of Istanbul to Gaza.
In January 2009, an Israeli warship approached an Iranian aid boat heading for the Mediterranean territory and told it to leave the area, 70kms from Gaza.


The ship went on to Egypt, which borders Gaza, but was refused permission to unload.

A Turkish flotilla of ships trying to break Israel's blockade of Gaza was stopped by Israeli naval vessels on May 31 and nine activists on one of the ships were killed when the Israeli military boarded it and gunfire broke out.

Israel says its troops were attacked with knives, metal poles and other objects.

At least someone is doing something! May Allah bless them for this and show them the right way! Ameen!

[Ğħαrєєвαħ]

SubhaanAllaah :)

Indeedy

[Life_Is_Short]

At least someone is doing something! May Allah bless them for this and show them the right way! Ameen!

Ameen, Now we all need is the rest of the Islamic world to stop living under a rock.

[DuncG]

Well, I hope they're going to do things thoroughly. One obvious point is to get independent inspectors to verify the cargo contains no weapons before they leave port - possibly with comprehensive video footage of the search. You could even invite the Israeli government to check it themselves, first - although I doubt they'd take the Iranians up on that offer. By making it crystal-clear before the boats leave that there is nothing with any offensive capability on-board, it removes the one objection of the Israeli government that has any reasonable grounds.

Another point would be the size of any further flotilla. If it's only a handful of boats then, quite predictably, the Israeli navy will just intercept them and take them to Ashdod again (there were a number of blockade-running attempts before the fateful one a few weeks ago). I wonder how many ships the Israeli navy can intercept at once? At some point they will either have to allow some through or will be forced to open fire with ship-to-ship weaponry - with, once again, a clear demonstration of their willingness to use disproportionate force to stop anyone doing what they don't want them to.

The other thing to do is to have reporters on board with direct, live video satellite links back to land - you know any recording material is going to be destroyed once the ships are boarded.

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[Dagless]

Well, I hope they're going to do things thoroughly. One obvious point is to get independent inspectors to verify the cargo contains no weapons before they leave port - possibly with comprehensive video footage of the search. You could even invite the Israeli government to check it themselves, first - although I doubt they'd take the Iranians up on that offer. By making it crystal-clear before the boats leave that there is nothing with any offensive capability on-board, it removes the one objection of the Israeli government that has any reasonable grounds.

The issue with this is that the Israeli's also don't allow in things like chocolate, seeds, nuts, paper, pens, children's toys, etc. (which is not only illegal but very cruel since Gaza is full of children). I don't think it would be wise to have another country look through these items and enforce an illegal blockade.

[Masuma]

Well, I hope they're going to do things thoroughly. One obvious point is to get independent inspectors to verify the cargo contains no weapons before they leave port - possibly with comprehensive video footage of the search. You could even invite the Israeli government to check it themselves, first - although I doubt they'd take the Iranians up on that offer. By making it crystal-clear before the boats leave that there is nothing with any offensive capability on-board, it removes the one objection of the Israeli government that has any reasonable grounds.

And this is the thing Israel would never agree to. Israel can only make a valid point out of this falsehood that the cargo contains weapons etc. How can it let this excuse go away like that?

But I pray that may the aid this time at least reach people of gaza.

But Israel, the tail of Satan it is, would feel no problem in inventing a new charge against aid ships, a new excuse no matter how bizarre it sounds, would serve them the purpose. :(

[DuncG]

Dagless,

I'm not saying that the other country should enforce the blockade exactly as Israel is doing, only that they should demonstrate unequivocally that there are no weapons on the ships. This is the propaganda line that Israel uses to justify the blockade, so it must be absolutely clear that any future ships pose no threat whatsoever. If Israel made any statement that they wouldn't allow a ship through because it was carrying certain foodstuffs or fabrics, then this could immediately be used to point out how unjust the blockade really is.

I know the blockade is really about the economic strangulation of Gaza, rather than primarily for protection. The Israeli government wants to depopulate the entire area - it would be interesting to find out how easy it is for a Palestinian to leave Gaza in comparison with how difficult it is for a Palestinian to enter.

An33za,

I agree that, of course, the Israeli government would think up a new excuse. But the more bizarre and inexplicable you force them to make it (by providing massive evidence that the ships carried no arms of any kind, for example) then the more obvious it's going to be to everyone else that the Israeli government is just talking rubbish. That should be the aim: to convince more fence-sitters that the blockade is deeply unethical.

[Dagless]

Dagless,

I'm not saying that the other country should enforce the blockade exactly as Israel is doing, only that they should demonstrate unequivocally that there are no weapons on the ships. This is the propaganda line that Israel uses to justify the blockade, so it must be absolutely clear that any future ships pose no threat whatsoever. If Israel made any statement that they wouldn't allow a ship through because it was carrying certain foodstuffs or fabrics, then this could immediately be used to point out how unjust the blockade really is.

They don't hide this. Their prohibited items list is available to the public and in the recent flotilla incident officials commented that no building materials were allowed.
Why should even weapons be prohibited? There should be no blockade full stop.

[Masuma]

Israel to allow aid cargo into Gaza

Wednesday, June 16, 2010
16:10 Mecca time, 13:10 GMT




Israel says an agreement has been reached with the United Nations to deliver thousands of tonnes of aid from a Gaza-bound aid flotilla that was attacked by Israeli naval commandos, to the blockaded Strip.
The country's military said on Tuesday that the UN will supervise use of the goods, including food, clothes and medicine.
Robert Serry, the UN Middle East envoy, told the Security Council that the UN was ready to take responsibility for delivery of the aid cargo "on an exceptional basis."


The world body "has obtained the consent of the cargo owners of the three Turkish-registered vessels to take possession of and responsibility for the entire cargo and ensure its timely distribution in Gaza for humanitarian purposes as determined by the UN," Serry said.

UN control
"The government of Israel has agreed to release the entire cargo to the UN in Gaza, again on the understanding that it is for the UN to determine its appropriate humanitarian use in Gaza."


Serry said he had reason to believe that the "de facto authorities" in Gaza, a reference to the Hamas group that controls the Strip, would allow the UN to determine where the aid went.


Nicole Johnston, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Gaza, said it would take a few days for the aid to reach its destination.


"The main sticking point had been Israel's unwillingness to allow construction material and cement into the Strip, they are usually banned items in Gaza as Israel is afraid of Hamas building bunkers.


"It is important to remember this aid is only a drop in the ocean compared to the needs of Gazans.


"People say that while they need aid, what they really need is for Israel's three-year blockade to be lifted."
Up until Tuesday Hamas had refused to accept Israel's conditions on how much of the aid was allowed in, as a protest against its siege on Gaza.

Israel to discuss blockade
Israel seized 10,000 tonnes of goods from the six-ship flotilla in a bloody raid on May 31, killing nine Turkish activists.
Also on Tuesday, Israeli media reported that the country's security cabinet were to meet to consider the possibility of easing the blockade on the Gaza Strip.
Both the public channel and Channel 10 private TV said that Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, under strong international pressure, had decided to "considerably" ease the blockade and to take steps to that end on Wednesday.
A senior Israeli official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said only that the 15-member security cabinet would "examine on Wednesday matters related to the Gaza Strip."

SOURCE

[Masuma]

Seems like now Israel has now less excuses. But it has still shown doubts about the Iranian aid ships. God knows what will happen.

[DuncG]

Dagless,

But I think the more exposure the prohibited items list gets, the better. It's just not widely reported, when it should be.

As for weapons being prohibited, the Israeli government position would be that if you allowed weapons in then they would be used to attack civilians in Israel (and the occupied territories, of course). At face-value, this is a reasonable position as the protection of innocent people is obviously an ethical thing to do (innocent being those that are unarmed and not engaged in direct violence). This is the position that garners the Israeli government so much support from its allies.

However, the position is, of course, still hypocritical as there is a free flow of arms into Israel and the IDF use these against the innocent population in Gaza (although they claim it's only targeted at those who are committing violence - a claim unsupported by the evidence). So whereas it's hypocritical for Israel to blockade weapons to other people, I think blockading weapons into the region is still justifiable. The caveat to that, of course, is that weapons should be blockaded from entering Israel just as equitably as they are blockaded from entering Gaza. But we all know that isn't going to happen in a hurry.

But I think at present it would be counter-productive to call for the weapon-blockade to be lifted. The recent flotilla has done more to push Israel towards easing the blockade against non-weapons than any attack ever would. By continuing to use peaceful means to bring into the media spotlight the hypocrisy of Israeli policy is by far the best course of action to take at present. If Gaza's economy can be revived then it would be far more difficult for it to be de-populated and thus the current, unethical Israeli government policy would be thwarted.

[Dagless]

As for weapons being prohibited, the Israeli government position would be that if you allowed weapons in then they would be used to attack civilians in Israel (and the occupied territories, of course).

Since they are "occupied" they are well within their rights to fight there.

However, the position is, of course, still hypocritical as there is a free flow of arms into Israel and the IDF use these against the innocent population in Gaza (although they claim it's only targeted at those who are committing violence - a claim unsupported by the evidence).

What they claim has been shown to be false many times. The ones killing most civilians, firing most weapons, breaking all ceasefires, are Israel.

But I think at present it would be counter-productive to call for the weapon-blockade to be lifted.

Many nations and the UN have called for the blockade of Gaza to be lifted for everything, no conditions. There is just no right for them to be controlling goods into Gaza, just as there is no right for them to build walls, kidnap civilians, control water, target food reserves, and generally make life hell.

The recent flotilla has done more to push Israel towards easing the blockade against non-weapons than any attack ever would.

The blockade is still in effect.

By continuing to use peaceful means to bring into the media spotlight the hypocrisy of Israeli policy is by far the best course of action to take at present.

As long as the US are behind them it will never happen. Not in the US or any western country anyway. Any crime can be justified with "they were terrorists".

[DuncG]

Dagless,

I agree, that within the occupied territories it is within the rights of Palestinians to attack military troops. However, attacks on civilians should still not occur. It would not be right to kill a child, even if they were a colonist on occupied territory.

I also agree that the blockade of Gaza should be lifted. However, what I'm focussing on is the only justification used by the Israeli government that has any merit (and that's not a lot of merit, as I've pointed out their hypocrisy in my previous post). The whole point about this situation is that the cycle of violence must be ended, otherwise the right-wingers on both sides will continue to maintain their positions of authority and the killing will continue. I don't want that to happen. The blockade may still be in effect, but the Israeli government is now under more pressure to lift it due to a peaceful demonstration that it ever was by an attack - further peaceful demonstrations, like this one planned by Iran, will only increase the pressure if they're carried out properly, as I've also described.

The US is the only western country of any real importance to this issue. The citizens of most european countries are generally aware of Israel's unethical position, it's the US's veto vote in the UN security council that effectively denies any effective international condemnation. So the point to target is the vast propaganda machine in the US that is pro-Israel. As I pointed out to An33za, the more absurd you make the excuses, the more fence-sitters you will convince - using the excuse 'they were terrorists' is going to ring hollow when you have comprehensive evidence that the ships in the next flotilla are not carrying weapons. This is a media battlefield as much as a physical one and having a media battle creates so many fewer casualties. Sure, it's a hard task considering the resources available to the propaganda machines in the US - but having the truth on your side always tends to give you an edge.