Report: Israel attacks flotilla, 10 die

[msxyz]

I don't believe for a moment the claim about weapons found aboard.

The organizers goal was too provoke Israel into an embarassingly stupid response (though, they surely obtained more than they bargained for!) but having weapons onboard would have been totally dumb.

I mean, even if nobody thought that a merry band of pacifists and activists would have triggered such a hostile response, the least any country would do is to stop the ships in their NATIONAL waters and have them searched.

And if it's true that the ships were boarded in international waters, resistance by the ship crew and occupants is justified.

[empty]

One thing makes me wonder; "elite Israeli Commandos letting activists capture their guns" I've heard many official lies before, but this one is priceless.

According to Sky News up to 19 dead. A massacre...

"Israeli commandos have stormed an international aid convoy bound for Gaza leaving up to 19 dead in what has been condemned as a "massacre"."

[Castout]

I love the idea of the Jewish people having their own state that is Israel and I believe golden times in terms of financial and economic success is upon them or will be in a relatively short time but for God sake Israel doesn't care about its international standing and countries that don't care about their international reputation is called rogue nations.

I hope Israelis own people condemn this.

If there were weapons why not show them to the media?

Lying will only make it worse.

[Rhodes]

A portuguese news paper refers that "El Mundo" says:
"There were 759 participants in this initiative aimed at bringing the boat to Gaza 10 000 tonnes of aid. Among these were 20 deputies, a former U.S. congressman, a Nobel Prize for Peace, a Holocaust survivor and several journalists."
(google translation from portuguese)

Any other news paper confirmed this?

[Happy Times]

Ship full of leftists, islamists and soldiers in a "peace cruise", what a freak show!

Seems the Israelis have casualties also, they should have torpedoed these terrorists.

[Skybird]

German paper Die Welt points to an official paper by the Israeli mission to the EU, on the background of this operation. I translate that paper afterwards.

Die israelische EU-Mission hat ihre Sicht zur „Gaza-Solidaritätsflotte" in einem Hintergrundpapier erläutert. Das Papier wurde offensichtlich vor dem israelischen Militäreinsatz verfasst. WELT ONLINE dokumentiert die Erklärung:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eine Flotte aus sechs ausländischen Schiffen ist aus europäischen Häfen mit dem Ziel Gaza-Streifen aufgebrochen, mit ungefähr 600 Menschen, und 10.000 Tonnen Baumaterial und Arzneimitteln an Bord. Diese Flotte ist im Grunde ein politisch motiviertes Medienereignis, organisiert von Anti-Israel-Aktivisten und extremen Islamisten unter einem Vorwand, den die Organisatoren als humanitäre Aktion darstellen wollen. Israel hat den Organisatoren der Flotte angeboten, die Fracht über den israelischen Hafen Aschdod nach Gaza zu transportieren. Seit Januar 2009 ist mehr als eine Million Tonnen an Hilfslieferungen in den Gaza-Streifen gebracht worden. Allein im ersten Vierteljahr 2010 wurden fast 100 000 Tonnen Hilfsgüter zur Verfügung gestellt, darunter 48 000 Tonnen Lebensmittel. Seit dem Waffenstillstand im Januar des vergangenen Jahres sind 133 Millionen Liter Kraftstoff von Israel in den Gaza-Streifen gebracht worden – das ist mehr als genug um den Tank jedes Autos und jedes Lastwagens in Israel zu füllen. Israel hat Lebensmittel, Medikamente, Kleidung und Schulbücher für alle Bewohner des Gaza-Streifens geliefert, aber die Hamas verlangt Zement für ihre Bunker. Israel transportiert Woche für Woche 15.000 Tonnen echter Hilfsgüter in den Gaza-Streifen. Einer Flotte, die angeblich 10000 Tonnen Zement an Bord hat, geht es also um etwas ganz Anderes. Internationale Hilfsorganisationen schicken ihre Hilfslieferungen über etablierte israelische Routen, während Publizity-Suchende lediglich das Thema menschlicher Hilfe missbrauchen, um Aufmerksamkeit für ihre eigenen Medienaktionen zu bekommen Israel möchte erneut betonen, dass, falls das israelische Angebot zurückgewiesen wird, es alle ihm zur Verfügung stehenden Mittel einsetzen wird, um die Schiffe daran zu hindern, sowohl israelisches als auch internationales Recht zu verletzen. Zwischen Israel und der Hamas, die die Kontrolle über den Gaza- Streifen übernommen hat, besteht ein bewaffneter Konflikt. Derzeit besteht eine Seeblockade vor der Küste des Gaza-Streifens. Diese Tatsache ist unter Berücksichtigung der Anforderungen des internationalen Rechts, ordnungsgemäß bekanntgemacht worden. Demzufolge ist es allen Schiffen, einschließlich zivilen Schiffen, strikt untersagt, in das von der Blockade betroffene Gebiet zu steuern.

The paper obviously was written before the Israeli military operation began.

A flotilla of six foreign ships has left european harbours heading for Gaza, with roughly 600 people and 10,000 tons of construction material and drugs aboard. This flotilla basically is a politically motivated media event, organised by anti-Israel activists and extremist Islamists, covered by a pretence that the organisers want to demonstrate to be a hmanitarian aid effort. Israel offered the organisers of this action to transport the goods via the harbour of Aschdod to Gaza. Since January 2009, more than a million tons of supplies have been brought to Gaza. In the first quarter of 2010 alone, 100,000 tons of supplies had been brought to Gaza, amongst them 48,000 tons of food. Since the armistice in January 2009, 133 million liters of fuel were brohght from Israel to Gaza - that is more than enough to fill the tank in every car and truck within all Israel. Israel delivered food, drugs, cloathing and school books for all inhabitants of Gaza, but hamas demands cement for its bunkers. Week for week, Israel transports 15,000 tons of supplies into Gaza. A fleet that is loaded with 10,000 tons of cement, obviously has different intentions (than aid). International aid organisations use established Israeli supply routes, while publicity-junkeys just abuse the issue of humanitarian aid to gain more media attention for their own purposes. Israel proclaims that if its offer to transport these goods gets rejected, it will use all tools and options available to it to hinder these ships to break both Israeli and international law. Between Israel and the Hamas, that has taken over control over Gaza, a state of armed military conflict exists. Currently, a state of blockade from the sea exists offshore the coast of Gaza. This fact has been correctly announced under explicit recognition of all demands ruled by internatonal law. therefore, all ships are strictly prohibited to steer into the sea area affected by that blockade.

[L.T]

They can uphold the blocade, they can sink the ships, BUT THEY HAVE TO DO IT IN NATIONAL WATERS!!

Israel imposes a national blocade for national resons thats pretty ok with me....

But they simply cant attack ANY ship in International waters....

40 years ago Israel would have been in a state of war with Turkey from the second the first commando placed hes foot in the deck..

They should be darn glad that the Turks are going by Diplomacy.....

And remember. Any ship attacked in Internationals water have the RIGHT to deffend them self....So even if the activists shot first they had the RIGHT to do it because the ship was in INTERNATIONAL waters....

If the Israeli navy had waitet until national waters they would have all right to do anything to enforce the blocade.....

I dont have anything against Israel or any arab from any country my beef with this is about national / International waters and who have the right to do what in what waters....

If alowed by a majority of nations Israel have opend Pandaros box, If alowed to do this, we have to alow the somaly pirates to do there stuff...

Boarding any ship in international waters without being in a state of war is PIRACY!!

L.T

[Happy Times]

Originally Posted by L.T

They can uphold the blocade, they can sink the ships, BUT THEY HAVE TO DO IT IN NATIONAL WATERS!!

Israel imposes a national blocade for national resons thats pretty ok with me....

But they simply cant attack ANY ship in International waters....

40 years ago Israel would have been in a state of war with Turkey from the second the first commando placed hes foot in the deck..

They should be darn glad that the Turks are going by Diplomacy.....

And remember. Any ship attacked in Internationals water have the RIGHT to deffend them self....So even if the activists shot first they had the RIGHT to do it because the ship was in INTERNATIONAL waters....

If the Israeli navy had waitet until national waters they would have all right to do anything to enforce the blocade.....

I dont have anything against Israel or any arab from any country my beef with this is about national / International waters and who have the right to do what in what waters....

If alowed by a majority of nations Israel have opend Pandaros box, If alowed to do this, we have to alow the somaly pirates to do there stuff...

Boarding any ship in international waters without being in a state of war is PIRACY!!

L.T

The Israelis probably view them as terrorists and they are not far from the truth.

[L.T]

Originally Posted by Happy Times

The Israelis probably view them as terrorists and they are not far from the truth.

I know im going abit over the top now..

So if i meet a finnish sailing boat in international waters and i belive that all finnish men are posible school yards shooters its ok that i attack and sink that finnish sailing boat??

I know thats a harsh way to put it but that scenario explains pretty good what will happen if we act on what we think and belive in....

You can think or belive all you want, you can like Jesus or manitou it dosent matter...

You can enforce your laws made by your belives in YOUR COUNTRY and in YOUR NATIONAL waters.....

international waters are NO GO exept in a state of war. Israel have not declared war at the vestbank or at the Gaza strip. Israel are NOT in a state of war with the paleastine people, they are fighting the same kind of war we (most euro countrys) are fighting in afghanistan.

And the above realy dont matter because like it or not, Israel attacked a TURKISH ship and we all know that Israel and Turkey are not IN A STATE OF WAR.......well not yet....

I quoted those two Israeli papers only to give back a bit of a balnce to a thread that already has a very strong anti-Israeli undertone and bias.

Thats funny, most of the comments are about the Israeli government being so stupid and arrogant that they didn't wait until ships were within their claimed jurisdiction before they went playing silly buggers in front of the worlds cameras.

I claim that the PR fallout over this incident was the primary purprose behind assembling and sending out this flotilla.

Wow, you really think so?
Thats amazing, whodathunk a publicity stunt would be a publicity stunt.
Though the PR crowd must be wetting themselves laughing as not in their wildest dreams could they have expected the isreali government to be quite so stupid as they were.

but the Palestinian agendas as well of which thy are not only totally uncritical, but are actively engaged in glossing over them and preventing them from becomeing an object of objective analysis.

I think your hatred for anything remotely to do with muslims prevents any objective analysis on your part.

edit to add[QUOTE]an official paper by the Israeli mission to the EU, on the background of this operation. I translate that paper afterwards.
[/QUOTE]
An official statement from one party to the incident, the party that happens to have just screwed up massively. Take note of two words they used as justification in their own statement, two words they have just chosen to entirely ignore.

[Happy Times]

Originally Posted by Castout

I love the idea of the Jewish people having their own state that is Israel and I believe golden times in terms of financial and economic success is upon them or will be in a relatively short time but for God sake Israel doesn't care about its international standing and countries that don't care about their international reputation is called rogue nations.

I hope Israelis own people condemn this.

If there were weapons why not show them to the media?

Lying will only make it worse.

I would call Israel a sovereign nation, they actually look out for their nations and citizens interest.
Something very rare these days in the western world.