Hanin Zoabi, a member of Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, and a passenger on the flotilla, called it a “humanitarian campaign for the 1.5 million Palestinian people who Israel put in jail for about the last four years without allowing building material, without educational material, without food into the Gaza strip.

“Israel destroyed 165 schools and more than 100 (factories) and destroyed tens of thousands of houses without enabling the Palestinians to rebuild their homes and their lives,” Zoabi said. “This is a very strong political message towards Israel and towards the Arab world that stood silent regarding what is happening in Gaza.”

A diagnosis of Israel – malignant narcissism. Is Munschausen’s syndrome by proxy a precursor of MN?

From the Daily Beast:

Despite the unprecedented humanitarian crisis facing Gazans, Israel’s blockade has gotten very little international attention. Despite a promise by the international community to pledge more than $4 billion of aid to help rebuild Gaza in 2009, almost none of that money has reached Gazans. Most Americans, it seems, could not care less about what is taking place in Gaza. Ask the average pundit on TV about it and the response will inevitably be, “Hamas.” End of conversation.

From Swedish Wire:

“We have the right to sail from international waters into the waters of Gaza,” said Greta Berlin, one of the flotilla’s organisers.

“The only illegal presence in the area is Israel,” she told AFP, adding the “Freedom Flotilla” was on schedule to arrive in the Palestinian enclave on Saturday with more than 10,000 tonnes of building and other supplies.

“Statement by the spokesperson of
High Representative Catherine Ashton
on the flotilla sailing to Gaza

The spokesperson of High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice
…President of the Commission Catherine Ashton issued a following statement today:

“We strongly urge that all involved act with a sense of restraint and responsibility and work for a
constructive resolution. The EU remains gravely concerned by the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
The continued policy of closure is unacceptable and politically counterproductive.

We would like to reiterate the EU’s call for an immediate, sustained and unconditional opening of
crossings for the flow of humanitarian aid, commercial goods and persons to and from Gaza.”

Weird headline considering the body of the story from Khaled Meshaal:

Hamas leader says group has no problem with US

“We don’t have a problem whatsoever with the United States or with American interests,” Khaled Meshaal told PBS television in an interview.

“America is a great state, a superpower,” he continued.

“But its interest should not be at the expense of the interests of others and the peoples of in the region.”

Israel was “the obstacle on the face of peace in the region,” he said, urging the administration of Barack Obama to “deal with this reality” rather than pressuring the Palestinians.

US support for Israel “complicates matters,” the Hamas leader added.

“If America wants democracy and human rights, it has to give the same rights to the people in the region,” he argued.

“The aid convoy is violent propaganda against Israel, and Israel will not allow its sovereignty to be threatened in any way, in any place – land, air or sea,” Lieberman said during a foreign ministry briefing on the aid convoy’s progress towards the shores of Gaza.

“There is no humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip,” Liebeman added. “Despite Hamas’ war crimes against Israeli citizens and the thousands of rockets fired at Israeli towns, Israel continues to respond in the most humane way possible.”

Lieberman stressed that Israel permitted thousands of tons of products to enter the Gaza Strip on a daily basis.

Where does Israel find these shills?

The president of the Swiss Rights for All Association pointed out that in case the Israeli side seized the flotilla ships and arrested supporters on their board, it would be taken to European and Swiss courts. According to him, “ECESG will assist in this process.”

He explains that the plans developed to confront an interception of the flotilla include, inter alia, the organization of demonstrations in major European capitals in front of Israeli embassies, in coordination with civil society organizations supporting the Palestinian cause, in addition to a series of protest sit-ins and other actions in many Western countries, particularly those participating in the Freedom Flotilla.

He went on to say that “organizers of the Freedom Flotilla have developed plans of action to use in the light of the scenarios expected to take place, particularly in view of the Israeli threat to use force so as to prevent the flotilla from achieving its humanitarian objective, i.e. the delivery of the more than 10,000 tons of aid to the population of Gaza who have been besieged for the fourth consecutive year.

Embassy of Israel in Canberra, Australia
6 Turrana St
Yarralumla ACT 2600
City: Canberra
Phone: +61 2 6215 4510 or +61 2 6215 4504
Fax: 02 6215 4555
Email: info@canberra.mfa.gov.il
Office Hours: The Consular Section can receive phone enquiries from 9:30am to 1pm Monday-Thursday, and 9:30am to 12pm on Friday.

“The source said that “the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan prepared an action plan in case the fleet meets Israeli naval forces commandos; helicopters would take the activists, fly over the fleet and then land in Gaza,” believing that the Israeli Navy will not dare intercept the helicopter and forced them to land while far from the beach to not to cause an international outcry.”

And from Today’s Zaman:

Ankara urges Israel for restraint towards gaza aid convoy
Volunteers from over 50 countries are on board ships in an international aid convoy heading to Gaza.
Denying that a convoy of aid ships which were set to sail for Gaza later in the day were part of a “political show,” Ankara on Thursday repeated its call on Israel to regard the convoy as a humanitarian mission and approach the issue with common sense.

After setting off from ?stanbul over the weekend, a Turkish passenger ferry with some 500 passengers docked in Antalya on Wednesday to wait for the other nine vessels in the convoy to gather in Greece and make their way to the meeting point. The ship was expected to depart from Antalya on Thursday evening. Volunteers from over 50 countries will be on board the ships, in an attempt to demonstrate a civilian reaction to the blockade in Gaza. “Giving a permit for the transportation of aid supplies that are needed in the region will constitute a positive step not only in Gaza, but also in regards to the resolution of the Middle East conflict,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Burak Özügergin told reporters in response to a question at a press briefing held on Thursday.

An Israeli military source said on Wednesday that Israel’s navy was ready to prevent the convoy of ships from entering the blockaded Gaza Strip.

The Palestinian territory has been under a tight Israeli and Egyptian economic blockade since 2007, when Hamas took over the territory after being elected in the 2006 elections. The blockade was enforced to put pressure on Hamas and to stop weapons being smuggled in.

“In accordance with the directions of the Israeli government, the Israel Defense Forces and the Israeli Navy are preparing to prevent the flotilla from reaching the Gaza shore,” the military source said, noting that naval forces had held a number of exercises to prepare to enforce the sea blockade.

In Ankara, Özügergin said that in addition to contacts with Israeli officials by Turkish Embassy officials in Tel Aviv, Ankara has also engaged in contact with Egypt and other countries in a bid to prevent any military action against the convoy. These contacts included “political-level” contact, he said, declining to elaborate on the level of the contact as he also highlighted that the convoy’s activity was “a non-governmental activity.”

“This is an activity organized neither by us nor by any other countries. We believe that the time has come now to respond to the needs of Gaza people. We also told the Israeli side that it would be useful if they approached the issue in this way,” Özügergin said, denying suggestions that an intention of creating a “political show” was behind the voyage.

“We do not want new tension in the region. We believe that if this assistance initiative is perceived as a humanitarian assistance activity, then undesired problems can be prevented,” he stressed.

An extraordinary situation has been going on for several years in Gaza, he said, adding, “When there is an extraordinary situation, it should be natural that societies give uncommon reactions.”

In Jerusalem, the Israeli military source said if the ships did not turn back after being given fair warning, they would be boarded by Israeli naval forces and taken to an Israeli port where the passengers and crew would be sent home and the goods transferred to Gaza.

If forces did board the ships, they would ensure that no “terror operatives or explosives” were on board, the source said.

The international flotilla, carrying some 10,000 tons of medical equipment, building materials and other supplies, is expected to reach Israeli waters in the next few days.

As demonstrated by U.S. civil rights and anti-war activists in the 1960s, the Reut Institute’s recommendation to “attack” and “sabotage” those who speak out for human rights is likely to be counterproductive. While state and federal governments used similar tactics in the 1960s and early 1970s to counter civil rights and anti-Vietnam War movements, campaigners were able to respond with broadly supported free speech movements and mass defense campaigns. As in the aftermath of the shootings by the National Guard at Kent State and Jackson State in 1970, these mass campaigns were often effective, not only at countering undemocratic government tactics but also at winning even more support for the activists’ underlying demands.

However, as demonstrated by the South African example, there is a more straightforward solution for the legitimacy crisis than the one presented by the report. Namely, the Israeli government will gain legitimacy by meeting the requirements of the law. Under this approach, the Israeli government will gain legitimacy by going further than the Reut report’s recommendation, and actually ending the occupation and providing equal rights for all living under Israeli government rule, as well as by implementing the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and villages and observing international law strictures against launching military attacks.

In the meantime, human rights workers who have been sharply critical of the Israeli government can take satisfaction from the fact that the highly respected Reut Institute has given its stamp of approval to many of their criticisms, even if it is also calling on the Israeli government to take illicit action against them.