CHILDREN OF GAZA: SHOCKING DOCUMENTARY ON ISRAEL'S INHUMAN TREATMENT

While condemnations and calls for action still reverberate around the world, and while the world bickers over the rights and wrongs of the Israeli blockade on Gaza, hundreds of thousands of children continue to bear the brunt of it. 

Shown below is a shocking, yet touching, five-part documentary on the extent of Gazan children's sufferings at the hands of the inhuman Israelis.

For the source of the documentary and background information, click here.

CHILDREN OF GAZA

By Jezza Neumann
07 June, 2010
Countercurrents.org
A Must Watch Documentary
First Broadcast Monday 15 March 2010 - Runtime 48 Minutes

In December 2008, the Israeli Defence Force attacked Gaza. Around 300 children were among the 1,300 Palestinians that were killed.

After the ceasefire, BAFTA-winning filmmaker Jezza Neumann arrived in Gaza to follow the lives of three children over a year.

Surrounded by the remnants of the demolished Gaza Strip and increasingly isolated by the blockade that prevents anyone from rebuilding their homes and their lives, Children of Gaza is a shocking, touching and uniquely intimate reflection on extraordinary courage in the face of great adversity.

PART 1

PART 2

PART 3

PART 4

PART 5

Read here for more information on the 800,000 children of Gaza.

ISRAEL BANS THE BASICS OF LIFE

The unsuccessful attempts by the Freedom Flotilla ships and the Rachel Corrie to deliver humanitarian aids to Gaza mean that the Gazans continue to be deprived of the basic necessities of life. Watch the following video entitled "Israel Bans The Basics of Life" to understand what such deprivation means to the people of Gaza.

The Rachel Corrie was reported to be the 10th attempt of "Breaking the Siege" campaign to deliver humanitarian aid to besieged Gaza, a humanitarian duty the UN had poorly and almost not delivered. Five of these trips were successful, while the rest had suffered from Israeli piracy and kidnapping.

This has not deterred pro-Palestinian activists to launch a campaign to send another aid ship to the Gaza Strip in their continuing efforts to break the siege. As reported here, two non-governmental groups, the Free Palestine Movement and Reporters Without Limits plan to send a ship, which will carry educational supplies for the children of Gaza, from a Lebanese port next week. Many more will follow.

MALAYSIANS ON RACHEL CORRIE ARRIVED SAFELY IN JORDON

UPDATE: 

Here's a Reuters' photo of the Malaysians on the Rachel Corrie, who are posing with our national flag upon their arrival in Amman, Jordan today. Click here for the report.

ORIGINAL POST:

Latest report from The Star:

KUALA LUMPUR: The six Malaysians on board the seized MV Rachel Corrie arrived safely in Jordan at about 5pm Sunday after Israeli authorities expelled them early Sunday.

Like the 12 Malaysians captured by Israelis on Monday's raid on the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara, the six are expected to board a flight home to Malaysia as soon as possible.

One of the six, journalist Shamsul Akmar, said that Israeli authorities had confiscated their cameras, laptops and mobile phone SIM cards.

As Malaysia has no diplomatic contact with Israel, the six would try to get their possessions back through the Thai embassy in Israel, he said.

“Generally, we were well treated,” said Shamsul.

Read the rest of the report here.

Meanwhile, the 12 Malaysians on Mavi Marmara arrived home today:

SEPANG: The 12 Malaysian volunteers, who were on board a humanitarian aid ship attacked by Israel while on its way to blockaded Gaza, returned home on Sunday.

They arrived at 5.40am at KLIA and were greeted by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, his officers, Foreign Ministry representatives and the volunteers' family.

The volunteers, who were accompanied by Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman and several ministry officers, arrived from Istanbul by a Malaysia Airlines flight.

They had taken off from the Queen Alia International Airport in Jordan at 11.20am (4.20pm Malaysian time) on Friday and flown to Istanbul where they were on transit until Saturday evening.

Read the rest here.

Syukur Alhamdulillah.

A CALL FROM GAZA

Reproduced below is a statement from The Free Gaza Movement (with slight editing):  

CALL FROM GAZA TO THE CITIZENS OF THE WORLD TO BREAK THE SIEGE

Written by Free Gaza Team - 06 June 2010

Besieged Gaza, Palestine, 5.6.2010

One-and-a-half years after the Israeli army perpetrated a massacre upon the population of Gaza, Apartheid Israel commits another crime against partisans of Palestine in international waters. The world is moved at the plight of Palestinians and their supporters. All of the seven crossings between Gaza and Israel, including the Rafah Crossing—the only access Gaza has to the external world—remain hermetically sealed.

We request that the citizens of the world oppose this deadly, medieval blockade. We no longer rely on governments. The failure of the United Nations and its numerous organizations to condemn such crimes proves their complicity. Only civil society is able to mobilize to demand the application of international law and put an end to Israel's impunity. The intervention of civil society was effective in the late 1980s against the apartheid regime of South Africa. Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu have not only described Israel’s oppressive and violent control of Palestinians as Apartheid, they have also joined this call for the world’s civil society to intervene again.

We, therefore, ask people of conscience and civil society organizations to put pressure on their governments until Israel is forced to abide by international law and international humanitarian law. Without the intervention of the international community which was effective against apartheid in South Africa, Israel will continue its war crimes and crimes against humanity, as articulated by the Goldstone report.

We call on civil society organizations worldwide to intensify the anti-Israel sanctions campaign to compel Israel to end its aggression.

Signatory Organizations:

The One Democratic State Group
University Teachers' Association
Arab Cultural Forum
Palestinian Students’ Campaign for the Academic Boycott of Israel
Association of Al-Quds Bank for Culture and Info
Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlements
International Solidarity Movement
Palestine Sailing Federation
Palestinian Association for Fishing and Maritime
Palestinian Network of Non-Governmental Organizations
Palestinian Women Committees
Progressive Students Union
Medical Relief Society
The General Society for Rehabilitation
Gaza Community Mental Health Program
General Union of Palestinian Women
Afaq Jadeeda Cultural Centre for Women and Children
Deir Al-Balah Cultural Centre for Women and Children
Maghazi Cultural Centre for Children
Al-Sahel Centre for Women and Youth
Ghassan Kanfani Kindergartens
Rachel Corrie Centre, Rafah
Rafah Olympia City Sisters
Al Awda Centre, Rafah
Al Awda Hospital, Jabaliya Camp
Ajyal Association, Gaza
General Union of Palestinian Syndicates
Al Karmel Centre, Nuseirat
Local Initiative, Beit Hanoun
Union of Health Work Committees
Red Crescent Society Gaza Strip
Beit Lahiya Cultural Centre
Al Awda Centre, Rafah

The above statement made reference to the Goldstone Report. Readers can read the report in its entirety here to understand the untold suffering of the Gazans  as a result of the draconian Israeli's seige of Gaza. Notwithstanding the many contentious claims pertaining to the report, it has played a key role in the effort to specifically target Israeli troops in both boycott movements and law-fare attacks. The siege is an human tragedy, if at all we need such reminder. 

RACHEL CORRIE UPDATES 2

UPDATE:

According to a statement from Ygal Palmor, spokesman for the Israeli foreign ministry as reported in the British newspaper The Guardian here, the Rachel Corrie passengers from Ireland and Malaysia would be deported immediately. The Irish passengers would be offered flights from Ben Gurion airport; the Malaysians – whose government has no diplomatic relations with Israel – would be taken by bus to the land border with Jordan. If they refused to comply with summary deportation, they would be taken to a detention centre until their case could be heard by a court, Palmor said. All those deported would be refused entry to Israel for around 10 years, he added.

If correct, then it's good news. Is our government aware of this? Or is it just another Israeli media spin?

 
ORIGINAL POST:

In my previous post, I've posted updates from early morning yesterday up until the time the Israelis took control of the Rachel Corrie ship. Now it seem certain that the Israeli navy had boarded and seized control of ship - apparently without the violence that characterized the bloody attack on the Mavi Marmara earlier - and diverted to Ashdod Port where it has reportedly docked.

 Israeli military vessel leaves the navy port of Ashdod to meet the Gaza-bound Rachel Corrie

Reuter's photo of Israeli Defence Force boats approaching the Rachel Corrie

According to the passengers' account reported here, their cameras and cell phones have been confiscated and they would be allowed to fly out to their homelands today. Despite an initial tense standoff, the passengers, including six Malaysians, are reported to be unharmed although their actual conditions have yet to be confirmed. There is so far no news of when or whether they will be released, notwithstanding the aforementioned report.

Watch here the latest videos from the Witness Gaza website:

Video showing the Israelis soldiers boarding the Rachel Corrie

The Rachel Corrie before the departure to Gaza; also narrates the draconian siege of Gaza, Israeli atrocities and the sufferings of the Gazans.

As expected, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gloated (and spinned) on the peaceful ending to a standoff between the  Israeli navy and  Rachel Corrie. He said: "We saw today the difference between a ship of peace activists, with whom we don't agree but respect their right to a different opinion from ours, and between a ship of hate organised by violent Turkish terror extremists" (emphasis added). Read his statement here. What a spin! The bloody attack on the Mavi Marmara demonstrated that it was the Israelis that showed utter disrespect for others and that the only evidence of hate came from the Israelis attackers themselves.

The Free Gaza Movement has issued a statement that it remains undeterred by the Rachel Corrie setback and that it will be back with another humanitarian mission to Gaza in the next couple of months:

Therefore, we are putting Mr. Netanyahu on notice that we are returning in the next couple of months with another flotilla, that his actions and the actions of his soldiers have energized thousands of people who have stepped forward with offers to help and participate on the next voyage. We’d also like to remind Mr. Netanyahu that siezing our ship, the Rachel Corrie, is yet another violent act from a long series of violent acts against civilians that Israel has committed this week.

Click here for the full statement.

Will the Perdana Global Peace Organisation organise another mission?

Meanwhile, watch the following video of the Israelis bloody attack on the Mavi Marmara. This is reportedly the whole video without Israel's edits/tampering.

RACHEL CORRIE UPDATES

1.40 AM

Organisers of the MV Rachel Corrie trip to Gaza said they lost contact with the ship. Audrey Bomse of the Free Gaza Movement said: "The situation is we lost all contact with the boat. We assume this was sabotage by the Israelis." Read the report here. Probably the Israelis had sabotaged (jammed) the communication channels.

 3.20 AM

The same Israeli commandos who launched the assault on aid ships Mavi Marmara bound for Gaza will also try and stop the Irish aid ship Rachel Corrie. Their plan is to board the Rachel Corrie.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made clear late Thursday that the ship will not be allowed into Gaza but will be boarded and brought to an Israeli port.

The Israelis have asked that Rachel Corrie would voluntarily sail to Ashdod Port rather than be boarded.

Read the report here.

The same is reported in The Jerusalem Post here. In addition, Netanyahu said he was considering letting more goods into Gaza.

4.20 AM

The Israeli and Irish governments have agreed to divert the Rachel Corrie ship to the Israeli port of Ashdod instead of the coast of Gaza. But passengers on board the Rachel Corrie have rejected the proposed agreement. Read the report here. It looks like a standoff is imminent. I can't imagine what the consequences will be.

But according the the Haaretz here, following the passengers' rejection of the agreement, Israel's forum of seven high ranking ministers have decided to go ahead with the plan to stop the ship and take it over, as was done with the Mavi Marmara previously. Trouble brewing?

May Allah protect the passengers.

5.15 AM

According the Christian Science Monitor report here, the Israel is mulling over easing the blockade on the Rachel Corrie ship now heading nearer to Gaza.

Are the Israelis softening their stand? Most the reports quoted above are from Israeli and western media. So, knowing their media spin, we have to view them with caution. Further, the Los Angeles Times report here and the Arab News here are expecting a showdown.

Whatever happens, may Allah protect the passengers. 

The best minute-by-minute update is through Google News, apart from direct contact with the Malaysian passengers which other bloggers may have.

3.30 PM

According to the Free Gaza Movement report here, the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) has been contacted by the Rachel Corrie ship at about 9.30 am KL time (about 3.30 am Rachel Corrie time). Reportedly the ship had been followed by Israeli ships for about 2 hours, and that 2 other ships were approaching from the port side. The equipment on board had been jammed by the Israeli navy, and that they expected their satellite phone to be jammed soon as well. The line was reportedly bad, and the IPSC were unable to determine the exact location of the Rachel Corrie relative to their destination.

Another report here said the Rachel Corrie was just a few dozen miles (kilometers) from the Gaza Strip, and was being tailed by three Israeli naval boats.

Both the above reports seem to be consistent with A Voice's post here. A Voice has direct contact with the Malaysian passengers on board the Rachel Corrie.

Incidentally the Free Gaza Movement is also updating minute-by-minute through its freegazaorg twitter here (see below).

According to the twitter report, which remains unconfirmed, the Rachel Corrie was stopped in international waters at about 10.30 am and a request to ship to identify was issued, but there was no boarding of the ship yet. The ship still refused a second call to go to Ashdod.

It sure look like a standoff with neither side refusing to yield. Let's pray nothing untoward happens.

5.30 PM

Latest update from A Voice:

MV Rachel Corie had been intercepted by the Israeli Navy at around 2:45 pm Malaysian times. It is being towed away to the Israeli Port of Ashdod, the same destination the Israeli had offered for landing but was rejected.

The Free Gaza Movement's freegazaorg twitter has provided the same report, although it said the Rachel Corrie has been forcibly seized by the Israeli navy and is being towed to Ashdod; all on board are reported to be safe. It also reported the Israeli navy have denied that they have boarded. Possibly the ship has just been towed without the Israeli boarding. Maybe, but you never know with the Israelis. After all, they have lied before with regard to the attack on the Mavi Marmara.

6.15 PM

Press Release by Minister of Foreign Affairs as reported by The Free Gaza Movement:

Malaysia strongly demands Israel to ensure the safety of all the humanitarian activists onboard the cargo vessel MV Rachel Corrie that was seized by the Israeli Defence Force early morning of 5 June 2010.

Malaysia also demands for Israel not to take any drastic and violent military action on the unarmed passengers of the Rachel Corrie. All the humanitarian activists on board the Rachel Corrie should be given the necessary assistance to ensure their safety. Malaysia also calls on Israel to ensure a safe passage for the vessel to Gaza to deliver the humanitarian cargo. In this regard, Malaysia urges the International Community to persuade Israel to allow the humanitarian vessel to reach Gaza safely.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is closely monitoring the developments as there are six Malaysians on board the Rachel Corrie.

Dato' Sri Anifah Aman
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Malaysia
5 June 2010

According to reports here and here, the Israelis had in fact boarded and taken control of the Rachel Corrie, allegedly with the permission and compliance of the passengers.

MORE ISRAELI ATROCITIES AND PROPAGANDA REVEALED...AND RACHEL CORRIE

More news of eyewitnesses' account of Israeli atrocities on board the Mavi Marmara have filtered through the international media.

Israel killed more than 9, threw wounded into sea, witnesses say

Planes carrying 520 aid volunteers and nine dead bodies of activists killed by Israeli security forces on Monday returned home on Thursday, with many claiming mistreatment at the hands of Israeli military officers and other officials and additional allegations that not everyone has returned.

Activists say some people who were initially on the flotilla are missing. They are also telling stories of horror, carnage and pure barbarism at the hands of Israeli officials. In a shocking account, Humanitarian Aid Foundation (İHH) President Bülent Yıldırım, who returned on Thursday, said a photographer, whose first name was Cevdet, was shot in the forehead by a soldier one meter away from him. “Our Cevdet [Kılıçlar], he is a press member. He has become a martyr. All he was doing was taking pictures. They smashed his skull into pieces. We soon made out that these were real bullets they were firing. Rubber bullets also kill because you shoot at very close range, between one-and-a-half and two meters.”

Kevin Ovenden of Britain, an activist on the ship that arrived in İstanbul on Thursday, also said a man who had pointed a camera at the soldiers was shot directly through the forehead with live ammunition, with the exit wound blowing away back of his skull...

...Another witness, Yücel Köse, who was on the ship Gazze repeated Yıldırım’s allegations of missing people. “The Mavi Marmara was bombed right in front of our eyes. They threw the wounded into the water,” he said. Köse said the soldiers were upset when some of their men were held by activists aboard the Mavi Marmara...

People thrown into the sea

Activist İdris Şimşek, who also arrived on Thursday, claims that four wounded activists were thrown into the sea. Şimşek also stated that there was immense psychological pressure on the activists. Şimşek said they expected some harassment but had no inkling of what would happen, noting that they were not expecting an armed attack. He also mentioned that there were no weapons, including a small Swiss army knife that some foreign press organs claimed was on the ship. He stated, as many other activists have, that the person who was waving a white flag to surrender was shot by soldiers. He said that he saw many people lying in puddles of blood after the soldiers opened fire...

[Emphasis added]

Read the full report here.

As expected, the Israeli government is continuing its relentless media spin.

The Israeli government's media madness

For weeks the Israeli government has bombarded journalists with statements, press releases and videos - all professing that Gaza is not suffering a humanitarian crisis, there is no shortage of goods entering the Strip and even mocking the suffering of people in Gaza by recommending restaurants to visit in the coastal territory.

It also went so far as to claim those on board the Freedom Flotilla had links to al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations. They showed us edited video clips of military footage supporting their version of events as to what happened onboard the Mavi Marmara -  reports that are now widely discredited by eyewitness accounts.

That is the Israeli narrative of events and it is certainly within their rights to espouse it.

But the most recent video distributed on Friday by the Israeli government press office (which belongs to the Israeli prime minister's office and is responsible for accrediting foreign journalists) is distasteful and insulting to those killed and injured on the Freedom Flotilla, and quite frankly disturbing - especially since it was made by the Jerusalem Post's deputy managing editor, Caroline Glick, who also moonlights for the American Center for Security Policy in Washington, DC.

Read the full report here.

Meanwhile, the Gaza-bound vessel MV Rachel Corrie, with six Malaysians on board, is on its way. Read the Free Gaza Movement report here. May God be with them.

According to a report here, the vessel is due to arrive in Gaza at 8 am on Saturday (Gaza time). However, Israeli Prime Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, said that the ship would not be allowed to reach the blockaded area. He stated: "We shall not allow the ships to reach Gaza. Not now and not later on. We intend to direct the Rachel Corrie ship to the Ashdod port and transfer its civilian goods to Gaza following a security check." Read further reports here and here. Let's pray for their safety.

Watch the latest video updates on Witness Gaza website. Hopefully, it will show updates on the Rachel Corrie trip. You can also get updates from the Free Gaza Movement website here.

ISRAEL'S INTERNATIONAL PIRACY AND TERROR

Here's a good and must-read write-up of the serial terrorist Israeli army's bloody attack on the Freedom Flotilla ships on 31 May 2010:

Israel's International Piracy and Terror
By Dr. Elias Akleh

June 1, 2010 

As expected by many, the serial terrorist Israeli army attacked on May 31st 2010, the "Freedom Flotilla" ships with gas bombs and live fire, murdering at least 19 humanitarian international activists, 16 of them Turks including one MP, and injuring 29 others. The Israeli navy, then, kidnapped the 700 humanitarian activists and their ships to Israel.

Since the declaration by the humanitarian activists that they intend to challenge the illegal Israeli siege of Gaza in order to deliver humanitarian aid to starved and sick Palestinian civilians, the Israeli officials and military had threatened to intercept the Freedom Flotilla, and send the activists back. When activists insisted on going through with their journey Israelis declared that such journey is considered a provocation to Israeli laws and a threat to its security. Later on, the Israelis announced that the organizers of the flotilla are pro-Hamas and pro-Al Qaeda terrorists attempting to smuggle weapons to Gaza, and that every passenger on the flotilla is a potential terrorist. I wonder if this includes the Israeli citizens who joined the flotilla volunteers.

The Israeli attack against the Freedom Flotilla was pre-meditated and pr- planned by the Israeli military headed by its defense minister, Ehud Barak, and approved by its prime minister, Netanyahu. Five large tents were erected at the Israeli port of Ashdod to hold humanitarian activists hostage. Three Israeli military ships loaded with 300 specially trained Israeli commandos accompanied by military helicopters and associated attack speed boats, headed to intercept unarmed humanitarian ships. This was the biggest Israeli naval battle since its illegal establishment in 1948.

Once again Israel had lived up to its infamous terrorist reputation. Israel’s 62 years old history is full of terrorism, genocide, wars, violations of all human rights, breaking of all national laws, and war crimes that would fill large volumes. Israel’s latest terror attack on the Freedom Flotilla is an international compounded crime. To start with, the Israeli navy attacked the ships in the international water. They attacked unarmed civilians. They attacked a humanitarian mission to aid people in need, similar to any humanitarian missions to a devastated area like Haiti for example, which gives the mission a special protection status by international law. The Israelis killed unarmed humanitarian activists. They kidnapped all the activists and took them hostages. They took the ships and put their hands on all the goods they carry similar to what they had done in the past with previous "Break the Siege" ships.

To cover their crime and war crimes against Gaza and the illegal siege the Israeli have just committed international crimes against representatives from 40 different countries including members of parliaments. Besides the crimes of murdering different internationals the Israelis have committed an act of piracy in the international waters.

The Israelis, as usual, portrayed themselves as the perpetual victims claiming that they had to kill the activists in an act of self-defense. They want us to believe that the humanitarian activists had come from 40 different countries with a conspiratorial plan to attack the Israeli well-armed navy, and that these activists had illegally boarded the Israeli battle ships using military helicopters and shooting live fire and gas grenades. The poor Israeli soldiers could do nothing but defend themselves. This reminds of me of Golda Meir’s statement: "We could never forgive the Palestinians for making us shoot their children."

Israel’s justification for boarding the Freedom Flotilla because they don’t know what these vessels carry is a childish justification. There are hundreds of vessels in the Mediterranean, whose contents are not known to the Israelis. Does that mean that they have the right to board all of them?

The Israeli occupation of Palestine and the Israeli genocidal war crimes against Palestinians, especially the illegal and lethal siege of Gaza, are being increasingly recognized and opposed by many nations. The unremitting "Break the Siege" campaigns had exposed Israel’s genocidal plan against Palestinians, and are gaining more international support.

Israel’s criminal attack against the Freedom Flotilla is meant to terrorize other possible future humanitarian internationals out of organizing or participating in more humanitarian "Break the Siege" campaigns. Their special emphasis on the Turkish vessel came as a revenge for Turkey’s courageous opposition of Israel’s war crimes against Palestinians, and Turkey’s successful mediation in the Iranian nuclear crisis.

Israel’s siege of Gaza and its attack on Freedom Flotilla are clear indications that Gaza is still under the Israeli occupation. Israeli so-called withdrawal from Gaza, September 2005, is just a redeployment of Israeli forces rather than a withdrawal as Israelis like us to believe. Israel still controls every aspect of life in Gaza. Israel wants us to believe that its siege of Gaza is a response to capturing their soldier, Shalit, who was, in fact, participating in the siege at the time of his capture. Palestinians have the right to defend their lives from the terror of such soldiers. On the other hand, Israel does not want us to remember the 10 thousand Palestinian prisoners, including women and children, who were kidnapped and snatched from their families by the Israeli terrorist army after midnight.

The Freedom Flotilla is the 9th attempt of "Breaking the Siege" campaign to deliver humanitarian aid to besieged Gaza, a humanitarian duty the UN had poorly and almost not delivered. Five of these trips were successful, while the rest had suffered from Israeli piracy and kidnapping. The volunteers came from 40 different countries including European countries and from the US. They include some members of parliaments of these countries. These volunteers, unlike some of their bought pro-Zionist governments, represent the humanitarian cumulative compassion of many nations, and their courageous will to help their human needy brothers and sisters. They are not terrorists, as Israel claims, rather they represent civilized humanity.

The Israeli piracy and criminal attack against the ships have ignited a spontaneous global intifada, whose anger has echoed through the Middle East, Asia, Europe, Africa, and the US. Thousands of protesters against Israeli terror walked through the capitals of major countries towards Israeli consulates. Governments of many countries, especially those with citizens among the flotilla volunteers, summoned the Israeli ambassadors to protest the attack.

Turkey-Israeli relationship is destined to suffer a great deal by this Israeli piracy. Turks have surrounded the Israeli consulates in Istanbul and Ankara, and the house of the Israeli ambassador and vowed not to leave until the Turkish vessels and Turkish volunteers are released. Turkey has summoned the Israeli ambassador to protest the attack and has called back its own ambassador from Israel. Turkey had also cancelled three joined military exercises with Israel. The Prime Minister, Erdogan, had called Israel’s attack "state terror".

An urgent meeting of the Security Council was called by Arab governments, yet the US, as usual, came to Israel’s rescue and had sabotaged the issuance of any resolution against Israel. The US called of "impartial investigation" of the matter. Such an investigation is a waste of time. It is as clear as the sun that Israeli forces had forcefully and illegally boarded the flotilla ships. Israelis are the aggressors not the victims. They were armed to the teeth attacking unarmed humanitarian activists.

American rescue of Israeli terror is not surprising, since the American administration is a full partner in imposing siege on Gaza. "The Gaza Bombshell" report by Vanity Fair explains how the American administration had conspired to topple the democratically elected Hamas government in Gaza. The administration is also paying the Egyptian Mubarak’s government to join into the siege against Gaza, and to build the steel wall and watch towers on the Egyptian border with Gaza.

Most of the American congress members are more loyal to Israel than to their own country. They spend the tax money of their citizens to subsidize Israeli illegal colonies and roads on usurped Palestinian land to provide almost-free homes to Israeli extremists while American tax payers are losing their homes. They vote to spend billions of dollars to provide free education to Israeli students, and full free medical coverage to every Israeli Jewish citizen, while American schools are facing budget cuts and crowded class rooms, and American citizens cannot afford to pay for any medical coverage of their own. They give Israel billions of dollars worth in financial aid and military technology. Such support to terrorist Israel is the major cause for increasing anti-American sentiments around the globe.

Israel’s attack against the Freedom Flotilla is grave piracy, and an act of terrorism that is violating all international laws. It demonstrates to us that Israelis consider themselves above the law, and that their own laws are supreme laws that no one should even challenge.

Those countries claiming to be partners in fighting global terror should also join in fighting Israeli terror. Those countries, which are fighting Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean, should also fight Israeli piracy in the Mediterranean.

Source: Uruknet Info

And to quote the words of Adam Shapiro (click here for his article), an American human rights activist who was describing his thoughts about Israeli soldiers serving in the Occupied Territories in 2002 (emphasis added):

[Israel's] Occupation is based on dehumanization. That is how soldiers are able to do what they do – they are taught and encouraged not to see the Palestinians as humans...when they are serving in the Occupied Territories, or flying their planes and helicopters and bombing cities, they leave their own humanity behind, and therefore are unwilling and unable to see the humanity in the people they are oppressing...When Israel finally understands that the occupation is the root cause of the conflict here, and acts accordingly to remove it and allow the Palestinians to live in freedom, the words we need to use to explain and understand our world will once again have meaning. Until then, "human" will remain a word with meaning but without application, and the suffering of a people will continue.

That's a fitting explanation of why the Israelis have acted with such impunity against the Palestinians. The Palestinians are inhuman and deserve to be oppressed. In reality, it's the Israelis who are inhuman! There are no other words to describe the nature of the Israeli state.

PEMBUNUHAN KEJAM ISRAEL DI LAUT DAN PUTARBELIT MEDIA YAHUDI & BARAT

Sudah tersebar luas berita-berita dari blog dan media massa (tempatan dan antarabangsa) tentang serangan Angkatan Tentera Israel (Israeli Defence Forces atau ringkasnya IDF) ke atas kapal Mavi Marmara (milik Turki), satu daripada 6 kapal konvoi Freedom Flotilla yang membawa sukarelawan dalam perjalanan membawa bekalan bantuan kemanusiaan ke Gaza, Palestin. Pembunuhan kejam pasukan IDF ini (“Israeli Butchery At Sea” mengikut artikel  di sini) telah membangkitkan bantahan dan kutukan antarabangsa, termasuk di Malaysia kerana penglibatan warga-warganya dalam konvoi tersebut.

Kekejaman tentera Israel ini terserlah apabila, mengikut berita kenyataan saksi (eyewitness account) dari pertubuhan The Free Gaza Movement yang turut mengambil bahagian dalam kumpulan bantuan terlibat, pembunuhan berlaku ketika sukarelawan sedang tidur. Kenyataan The Free Gaza Movement seperti berikut:

Under darkness of night, Israeli commandoes dropped from a helicopter onto the Turkish passenger ship, Mavi Marmara, and began to shoot the moment their feet hit the deck. They fired directly into the crowd of civilians asleep. According to the live video from the ship, two have been killed, and 31 injured. Al Jazeera has just confirmed the numbers. 

Streaming video shows the Israeli soldiers shooting at civilians, and our last SPOT beacon said, “HELP, we are being contacted by the Israelis.” 

We know nothing about the other five boats. Israel says they are taking over the boats. 

The coalition of Free Gaza Movement (FG), European Campaign to End the Siege of Gaza (ECESG), Insani Yardim Vakfi (IHH), the Perdana Global Peace Organisation, Ship to Gaza Greece, Ship to Gaza Sweden, and the International Committee to Lift the Siege on Gaza appeal to the international community to demand that Israel stop their brutal attack on civilians delivering vitally needed aid to the imprisoned Palestinians of Gaza and permit the ships to continue on their way. 

The attack has happened in international waters, 75 miles off the coast of Israel, in direct violation of international law.

Lihat juga video dari laman web Witness Gaza di sini. 

Hakikatnya, Israel telah menyerang tanpa provokasi konvoi Freedom Flotilla tanpa senjata yang membawa bantuan kemanusiaan ke Gaza. Kapal-kapal tersebut mengibarkan bendera negara-negara asing seperti Turki dan Amerika Syarikat, yang bererti mereka tidak terletak di bawah kuasa Israel selama mereka berada di perairan antarabangsa. Kapal-kapal itu dianggap wilayah berdaulat negara-negara yang mengibarkan bendera masing-masing (these ships are considered sovereign territory of the nations whose flags they fly). Oleh itu, Israel tidak mempunyai hak undang-undang untuk mengeluarkan perintah kepada kapal-kapal itu, atau untuk menaiki dan merampasnya.

Di bawah undang-undang antarabangsa, apabila sesuatu negara merampas kapal-kapal negara lain dan membunuh para penumpang dan krewnya di perairan antarabangsa, ini merupakan satu tindakan pengistiharan perang. Oleh kerana Israel telah menyerang dan merampas kapal-kapal yang membawa bendera negara-negara asing (Amerika, Turki) di perairan antarabangsa, maka ia juga merupakan serangan ke atas negara-negara tersebut iaitu Amerika, Turki dan juga NATO.

Israel tidak memiliki kuasa undang-undang atas kapal-kapal dari negara-negara lain di perairan antarabangsa. Israel tidak boleh mengeluarkan arahan untuk kapal berbendera asing di perairan antarabangsa. Menjejakkan kaki ke atas mana-mana satu kapal tanpa izin dari kaptennya secara teknikal merupakan tindakan pengistiharan perang (setting foot on any one ship without the permission of the captain is technically an act of war).

Apa yang berlaku sekarang ialah usaha bersepadu (baca propaganda) Israel, dengan bantuan media barat, untuk memutarbelit (media spin) kejadian pembunuhan beramai-ramai orang yang tidak berdosa. Antara spin mereka (komen saya dalam warna merah):

1. Jurucakap IDF, Avital Leibovich, mendakwa bahawa pegawai-pegawai tentara Israel telah memberi amaran sebelum menaiki kapal Mavi Marmara. Mengikut Leibovich, sebaik saja tentera Israel menaiki kapal itu mereka telah diserang oleh aktivis-aktivis tidak bersenjata dan dirampas senjata-senjata mereka. Kenyataan ini boleh lihat dalam video di sini.

2. Leibovich seterusnya memberitahu wartawan: “We found ourselves in the middle of a lynching. We didn’t look for confrontation but it was a massive attack. What happened was a last resort.” Dakwaan “lynch mob” ini juga dilaporkan dalam akhbar-akhbar Israel Jerusalem Post dan Haaretz.

Dakwaan-dakwaan di atas disangkal oleh gambar video di sini. Oleh sebab komando Israel terlibat dalam tindakan yang menyerupai “piracy on the high seas,” maka para sukarelawaan berhak melindungi kapal-kapal dan kargo mereka.

3. Untuk menyokong dakwaan di atas, IDF telah menyiarkan video bertajuk “Demonstrators Use Violence Against Israeli Navy Soldiers Attempting to Board Ship” yang menunjukkan mereka diserang setelah menaiki kapal berkenaan.

Dakwaan ini tidak masuk akal kerana ia tidak menyebut fakta bahawa tentera Israel telah menaiki kapal yang berada di luar wilayahnya secara agresif dengan bantuan helikopter tentera dan ashkar IDF bersenjata berat, sebelum para aktivis melakukan sesuatu. Realitinya, video tersebut tidak membuktikan apa-apa kerana ia diambil jauh di udara dan hanya melihatkan pergerakan orang seperti semut, dan dengan itu tidak apa yang boleh ditafsirkan darinya. Komen-komen telah dipadamkan dari video itu untuk mencegah orang dari membuat kritikan. Mengikut kenyataan seorang warwatan di dalam laporan Al Jazeera di sini, video tersebut hanya menyiarkan apa yang Israel mahu orang lain lihat; ia tidak menunjukkan apa yang berlaku sebelum atau selepas 60 saat dari kejadian serangan.

4.  Mengikut kenyataan Menteri Pertahanan Israel, Ehud Barak, di dalam laporan Jerusalem Post di sini, walaupun ia menyesal atas kehilangan nyawa, penganjur-penganjur bantuan kemanusiaan bertanggung jawab penuh ke atas kejadian serangan IDF yang mengorbankan nyawa. Maksudnya pihak Israel meletakkan kesalahan bukan kepada diri tetapi kepada orang lain (penganjur). Sementara itu, Perdana Menteri Israel Benjamin Netanyahu memberi sokongan penuh kepada tentera Israel dan Laksamana Tentera Laut Israel Eliezer Marom memuji “keberanian” komando-komando IDF, seolah-olah mereka adalah pahlawan berani (brave heroes).

Mereka bukanlah "brave heroes", sebaliknya mereka adalah penjenayah perang. Mereka telah membunuh dengan kejam orang yang tidak bersalah yang berusaha membawa makanan dan bekalan ke Gaza (Gaza telah berada di bawah kepungan Israel selama tiga tahun terakhir). Kumpulan hak asasi manusia telah menggelar situasi ini sebagai "hukuman kolektif" (collective punishment), yang menyerupai pengganasan tentera rejim Nazi semasa Perang Dunia 2 ke atas bandar-bandar dan penduduknya sebagai balasan terhadap serangan kumpulan-kumpulan penentang. Mana-mana tentera yang membunuh orang yang tidak berdosa tidak boleh dipanggil wira berani!

5. Dalam laporan akhbar Haaretz di sini, Perdana Menteri Isreal, Benjamin Netanyahu, mengatakan bahawa tentera Israel berhak melepaskan tembakan demi untuk membela diri, maksudnya mereka memiliki hak untuk mempertahankan diri (right to self-defense).
 

Adakah Netanyahu bermaksud para sukarelawan yang membawa bekalan yang sangat-sangat diperlukan oleh penduduk Gaza tidak langsung mempunyai hak untuk mempertahankan diri atau rakan-rakan mereka, selepas diserang di perairan antarabangsa oleh komando (pengganas) Israel? Menyerang kapal-kapal berbendera asing di perairan antarabangsa bukanlah "membela" diri; ia merupakan tindakan perang (act of war) dan kapal-kapal tersebut, ketika diserang, tentu sekali mempunyai hak mempertahankan diri. (Attacking foreign-flagged ships in international waters is not "defending" yourself; it is an act of war and such foreign-flagged ships in international waters, when attacked, can reasonably be expected to defend themselves).

6. Untuk menyokong hujah “self-defense”, Israeli telah menggunakan propaganda spin mereka. Satu daripadanya adalah laporan akhbar Haaretz di sini. Laporan ini pada asalnya menunjukkan gambar seorang sukarelawan (didakwa aktivis sayap kiri) yang berada atas kapal dan memegang pisau selepas tentera Israel menaiki kapal pada 31 Mei 2010. Perhatian: Malangnya gambar ini telah dibuang sehari selepas disiarkan. Bagaimana pun, ia boleh dilihat di sini - skrol ke bawah untuk cari tajuk “Israeli Propaganda Resorts To Misleading Photo To Claim Self-Defense.”
 

Perhatikan dari gambar di sebelah kanan yang mendakwa sukarelawan tersebut memegang pisau untuk menangkis penyerang Israel. Faktanya, tentera Israel menyerang kapal berkenaan pada jam 4.00 pagi, iaitu dalam keadaan yang masih gelap. Tetapi tingkap di bahagian belakang gambar menunjukkan siang hari. Jadi gambar ini diambil pada siang hari!

7. Dakwaan yang paling menggerunkan ialah Israel telah memberitahu Amerika and Britain bahawa konvoi kapal terlibat membawa senjata nuklear. Israel mendakwa senjata nuklear ini telah dicuri oleh sukarelawan untuk melancarkan serangan teroris ke atas Israel. Ancaman senjata nuclear inilah yang mecetuskan serangan Israel ke atas konvoi kapal. Dakwaan ini terkandung dalam artikel di sini.

Dakwaan ini disangkal oleh penulis artikel yang sama. Mengikut penulis tersebut, senjata nuklear yang dicuri itu sebenarnya telah berada dalam tangan Israel selama 18 tahun. Dakwaan palsu senjata nuclear dicuri  ini telah digunakan oleh Israel secara berulangan di masa-masa lepas dan dalam scenario yang berbeza-beza. Ia digunakan oleh tentera Israel dalam kejadian serangan ke atas konvoi kapal pada 31 Mei 2010 untuk mengukuhkan lagi dakwaan “self-defense” mereka.

Propaganda memutarbelit fakta melalui media ini bukanlah perkara baru. Ia sudah pun digunakan oleh rejim Israel berkali-kali dalam serangan-serangannya ke atas Palestin di masa lepas, yang akhirnya akan dilupai. Perkara yang sama akan turut terjadi kepada serangan pada 31 Mei 2010 – ia akhirnya akan lenyap dan dilupai. Israel tidak akan mengundur atau mengakui kesalahan mereka. Walau pun berhadapan dengan kutukan di serata dunia, Israel akan terus berkeras mendakwa bahawa mereka adalah benar dan orang lain salah. Ketiadaan rasal kesal atau bersalah inilah yang menyemarakkan api kemarahan dunia. Namun mereka tidak kisah. In the end, the Israelis will get away with murder - repeatedly!