Zudem schreibt die taz, dass mindestens 40 der „Aktivisten“ nach Angaben von Freunden und Verwandten gewaltbereit gewesen seien, 3 der Toten hatten den Wunsch, als „Märtyrer“ zu sterben.

Quelle: #taz#

Zugleich will der UN-Menschenrechtsrat eine Ermittlungskommission in den Nahen Osten entsenden. Der Menschenrechtsrat ist eine Organisation, die gerade erst Ende Mai Libyen als Mitglied aufgenommen hat und regelmäßig Resolutionen mit der Mehrheit der islamischen Staaten ablehnt, die sich gegen Menschenrechtsverletzungen in islamischen Staaten richten. Die UN setzt damit die gegen Israel gerichtete Politik fort.

Zum Menschenrechtsrat #Wiki#

MYTH

“The flotilla bound for Gaza was on a humanitarian mission.”

FACT

Israel and Egypt have imposed an embargo on the importation of weapons and certain dual-use items into the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, Israel has allowed regular convoys of humanitarian supplies into Gaza, provided Palestinians access to medical care, continued to provide most of Gaza’s electricity, and transferred funds for the ongoing activity of international organizations and to pay the salaries of Palestinian Authority workers. Photos that appeared in a Palestinian newspaper showed bustling marketplaces full of consumer goods and fruits and vegetables.³⁷⁸

Hamas has nevertheless allied with various critics of Israel to promote the idea of a humanitarian crisis in Gaza for the purpose of embarrassing Israel and stimulating international pressure onJerusalem to end its blockade. The latest provocation involved the mobilization of a flotilla of ships, which was advertised as an aid mission, but behaved in a manner that showed their true interest was to achieve a propaganda victory through a public confrontation with Israeli forces.

In the days before the ships left Turkey, the Israeli government informed the organizers of the mission that they would not be allowed to enter Gaza because it was a closed military zone. They were told that they would be welcome to dock in the Israeli port city of Ashdod where, after inspection to ensure no weapons or prohibited articles were included in the cargo, the goods would be handed over to the UN for delivery to Palestinians in Gaza. The organizers of the mission refused. They made clear that this mission was not about delivering aid, but was in fact a political demonstration to “break the siege on Gaza.”³⁷⁹

One of the organizations that organized this “humanitarian mission” is a radical Islamic, Turkish organization called IHH. This organization has publicly supported al-Qaeda and has ties toHamas, the terrorist organization that has taken control of the Gaza Strip, calls for the destruction of Israel, and launched thousands of rockets and mortars onto Israeli civilians.

When six ships approached Israeli waters off the coast of Gaza in the early hours of May 31, 2010, Israeli naval forces met them in international waters. The ships were again told that they would not be allowed to sail to Gaza. If they attempted to continue on their course, they were informed they would be boarded and redirected to Ashdod.

When confronted with the Israeli naval blockade, five of the six ships complied and sailed on to Ashdod after being boarded by Israeli naval personnel. As an Israeli journalist witnessed, and videos confirmed, when Israeli naval personnel boarded the Mavi Marmara, however, they were ambushed by passengers on deck, wielding clubs, bats, pipes, and knives.³⁸⁰ The naval forces that boarded the ship, carrying non-lethal paintball guns as their primary weapons, were savagely beaten. Though they were carrying live-ammunition handguns as their secondary weapons, they were instructed not to use them, unless met with deadly force. The passengers wrestled one of the Naval commandos to the ground, stripped him of his handgun and threw him over the side, where he landed on a lower deck, 30 feet below, and suffered serious head trauma. At this point the commandos asked for permission to open fire if attacked. They fired on passengers who attacked them, some of whom had handguns that they had taken from commandos. One passenger opened fire with a rifle. Only after 30 minutes of melee and gunfire was exchanged, were the Israelis able to get to the bridge and take control of the ship.³⁸¹ Nine passengers were killed in the fighting and seven Israeli soldiers were wounded.

It is clear the purpose of this mission was not to deliver goods to Gaza, but rather to initiate a violent confrontation with Israel. As the flotilla left Turkey, the passengers chanted songs about reaching martyrdom and the murder of Jews.³⁸² On May 27, Greta Berlin, a spokesperson for the flotilla stated that “this mission is not about delivering humanitarian supplies, it is about breaking Israel’s siege.”³⁸³ Israeli soldiers found crates of weapons aboard that ship from which passengers armed themselves in preparation of Israelis coming aboard.

Israel’s soldiers sought to avoid a confrontation from the outset by offering to take the aid from the ships and make sure it reached the Palestinians. They also took every precaution to try to avoid violence and none transpired on five of the six ships; it was only in response to being attacked and their own lives put in danger that the soldiers responded with live fire. Tragically, lives were lost, but this could have been easily avoided if the passengers had not attempted to lynch Israel’s soldiers. Whether Israel could have handled the situation differently, or been better prepared for an ambush, were questions raised by Israelis immediately after the incident. There is no doubt, however, about the necessity of preventing Hamas from obtaining weapons through unfettered access to the Gaza Strip.

If a flotilla of ships from a foreign nation showed up on America’s shores with humanitarian aid for impoverished Americans, it would not be allowed to simply land anywhere it wanted and unload its cargo. The ships would probably also be stopped by the U.S. Navy and its cargo certainly inspected. Israel has even greater justification for its  naval embargo, as Israel andHamas are in an ongoing state of conflict. International law provides for the right to impose and enforce an embargo and to do so, if necessary, from international waters.³⁸⁴ Smugglers have often tried to bring weapons to Hamas by way of the sea and Israel has the right to prevent this. The embargo is literally a matter of life and death for Israel, whose citizens endured three years of rocket and mortar attacks which originated in Gaza, perpetrated by Hamas.

Die Quelle ist #hier# zu finden.

Und #hier# ist eine deutsche Übersetzung des Textes zu finden.

„Ships forcing their way into Gaza will do nothing to aid the people there. Existing land crossings are more than capable of meeting their needs. International aid organizations and the private sector of Gaza ensure that all the necessary food, medicine and clothing are provided to the Strip via Israel.

In a typical week, 15,000 tons of supplies enter Gaza. Truckloads of meat, poultry, fish, dairy products, fruits, vegetables, milk powder, baby food, wheat and other staples arrive in Gaza on a daily basis. Building materials are also shipped in, when monitored by International organization so as not to be commandeered by Hamas for the fortification of bunkers.

Since the ceasefire in January 2009, well over a million tons of humanitarian supplies entered Gaza from Israel - that is almost a ton of aid for each man, woman and child in the Strip.

The land crossings remain the most efficient system to transfer goods to Gaza, and the flotilla organizers are well aware of this fact. The organizers also know that since December 2008, their ships have been denied permission to land.

Israel has invited the organizers of the flotilla to use the land crossings, in the same manner as all the reputable international organizations.

However, they are less interested in bringing in aid than in promoting their radical agenda, playing into the hands of Hamas provocations.  While they have wrapped themselves in a humanitarian cloak, they are engaging in political propaganda and not in pro-Palestinian aid.

If the organizers were truly interesting in providing humanitarian aid – as opposed to engaging in publicity stunts – they would use the proper channels to ensure delivery of any supplies.“

Der Artikel ist #hier# zu finden.

Israel hat über den Gaza-Streifen eine Blockade verhängt, um die Zufuhr von Waffen zu verhindern. Denn Israel wurde immer wieder direkt und indirekt aus dem Gaza-Streifen angegriffen. Ein Durchbrechen der Blockade muss dann aber als Versuch gewertet werden, diese Angriffe zu unterstützen. Genau das aber haben diese seltsamen Friedensfreunde versucht. Angeblich wollten sie nur humanitäre Hilfe leisten. Nur warum sollte das ausgerechnet mit Schiffen passieren, wo doch Israel ausdrücklich verkündet hat, ein Durchbrechen der Blockade verhindern zu wollen? Vor dem Start des Konvois hat Israel sogar angeboten, die Hilfsgüter über den Landweg in den Gaza-Streifen zu transportieren. Aber nein, die Friedensfreunde wollten unbedingt per Schiff reisen. Somit wird deutlich, dass es nicht um humanitäre Hilfe ging, sondern um eine politische Aktion für die Hamas, die den Gaza-Streifen kontrolliert. Hamas ist aber ein erklärter Feind Israels, diese Terrorgruppe will die Vernichtung Israels. Was konnte Israel anderes unternehmen, als den Konvoi aufzuhalten?

Warum kam es zu der Eskalation auf den Schiffen? Wer humanitäre Hilfe in Krisengebieten leisten will, sollte alles vermeiden, was nach Parteinahme aussieht, um die Hilfe nicht zu gefährden. Die ganze Organisation und der Zweck des Konvois widersprechen diesem Grundsatz, die Schiffe dienten nur einer Partei. Zudem sollten Helfer jeden Anschein von Gewalttätigkeit vermeiden. Die bisher veröffentlichten Bilder zeigen, dass die Schiffsbesatzungen Gewalt einkalkuliert hatten und sich bewaffnet hatten. Sie waren nicht nur zur Gewalt bereit, sie haben auch Gewalt angewendet.  Was sollten die Soldaten denn tun? Jeder von uns hätte sich auch gewehrt. Die Toten sind zu bedauern, doch Israel musste sich wehren.

Was wäre wohl geschehen, wenn eine Demonstration der Linken und Gutmenschen blockiert worden wäre?

Quelle: #FN#

Zugleich sind weitere Spekulationen gegen Griechenland im Gange.

Die Luxemburgische Finanzmininster ist der Meinung, dass die EU gar keine andere Wahl hätte, als Griechenland zu helfen. Pläne über einen Hilfsfonds über 25 Milliarden Euro für Griechenland liegen bereits vor.