A day after Israeli commandoes raided an aid flotilla seeking to breach the blockade of Gaza, Israel held hundreds of activists seized aboard the convoy on Tuesday as news reports said activists may be planning a fresh attempt to ferry supplies to the Hamas-run enclave.
At the same time, the Israeli military said troops clashed with two militants who infiltrated from Gaza, killing them both. While such occurrences are almost routine along the volatile border between Israel and Gaza, the incident underscored the tensions seizing the region after Monday’s confrontation at sea, which strained relations between Israel and the United States just as American-sponsored proximity talks involving Palestinians and Israelis were getting under way.
The developments in Israel and Gaza came hours after the United Nations Security Council condemned “acts” leading to the loss of life in Israel’s operation in international waters on Monday that claimed the lives of nine civilians, many of them Turks. After hours of late-night negotiations, the Security Council urged an impartial inquiry ”” a call echoed in a separate forum by Russia and the European Union on Tuesday at a meeting of senior officials in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don.
North Korea gets a pass, but Israel is condemned. Welcome to the new reality.
North Korea got a pass?
Yes, North Korea got a pass. They torpedoed and sank a South Korean ship. Strangely, there was no UN Security Council condemnation.
Five or six months before the N. Koreans did that, they opened fire on a S. Korean ship in S. Korean territorial waters and the S. Koreans returned fire killing (I believe) 2 N. Koreans before the N. Korean vessel retreated back north. Strangely, there was no UN Security Council condemnation.
N. Korea is a signator on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Pact (Israel is not and is therefore not obliged to adhere to the treaty) yet they continue to publicly flaunt the treaty that they signed. Strangely, there was no UN Security Council condemnation.
There seems to be a double standard in operation.
Israel needs to prepare for the next two ships already in route to Gaza. Hopefully they will be able to deal with the people on board without shooting them all or doing other outrageous things even if their highly trained soldiers are attacked with nerf balls or even sticks. The public will be watching.
Some interesting facts about that Turkish humanitarian organization are discussed in this paper.
http://www.diis.dk/graphics/Publications/WP2006/DIIS WP 2006-7.web.pdf
And little searcher watch the videos of the incident before you spout off about nerf balls.
I suggest that the IDF warn the next group of ships very publicly to stay out of the territorial waters of Israel. They should offer an alternative port for them to land at and be searched, prior to proceeding to bring relief supplies to Gaza (as they did last time). If the ships fail to follow instructions, the IDF should then wait for them to cross about a mile inside the territorial waters of Israel and then sink them via missile or torpedo, and afterwards attempt to pickup the survivors. The kid gloves that they used last time only brought them more scorn. BTW, the reason I say they should completely sink the offending vessels is so that they will be physically inside Israel’s territorials waters for any objective observer to verify – then there can be no doubt of the facts.
No. 6: I haven’t heard any source contend that these vessels were in Israel’s territorial waters. They were 70 miles at sea when attacked. I haven’t seen any indication anywhere that they were believed to have any intent to enter Israeli waters. Not even Israel is saying that, as far as I can tell. They were headed for Gaza. The issue wasn’t that they were inside Israel’s jurisdiction. It was something else.
All of this is irrelevant — they weren’t IN the “territorial waters of Israel” (assuming that the water off of Gaza is the “terrirorial waters of Israel” which , of course, no one but Israel recognizes it to be). This ship was in international water. And Israeli commandos rappelled down with ropes from helicopters at 4 in the morning. At that point international law would permit the passengers to repel them with cannons if necessary. And the Israelis then killed nine passengers. This is just as illegal as if they had done it in New York Harbor. Anybody giving the Israelis a pass on this is no real friend of Israel.
Annex XI of the Oslo Accords states the Israel retains responsibility for the external security of Gaza. Therefore, the blockade of Gaza is within that perview, since the intent is to prevent weapons from being smuggled in. Since the Palestinian civil war and Hamas defacto takeover of Gaza and their subsequent attacks on Israel, Gaza and Israel have been in a state of armed conflict. That means that under international law it is lawful for them to blockade weapons and munitions from entering Gaza. The stated aim of the vessels in question was to “break the blockade”.
The San Remo Manual on International Law Applicable to Armed Conflict states the following: “Merchant vessels believed on reasonable grounds to be breaching a blockade may be captured. Merchant vessels which, after prior warning, clearly resist capture may be attacked.â€
There is no stipulation that about waiting for them to enter Israeli territorial waters. My advice to Israel was not legal advice, but rather general advise with a view toward public opinion.
I believe that Israel acted within the bounds of accepted international law.
BTW, isn’t it strange that N. Korea gets a pass for actually breaking treaties and international law, while Israel is condemned for acting within the bounds of international law while it defends itself from those that seek the total annihilation of Israel?
Real friends of Israel aren’t constantly on the lookout for ways to harm her.
Oh yes…read my previous posts carefully. I never claimed that the ships in question [i]did[/i] enter the territorial waters of Israel. I suggested that they wait until they do the next time.
The term “strawman” comes to mind…
The blockade of Gaza is not primarily intended to prevent arm smuggling. It is to make it so unpleasant for the residents of Gaza that they will re-think their election of Hamas and turn against them. They Israelis themselves will tell you this. And it’s working to this extent — they have reduced Gaza to abject misery.
Here’s a quote from the AP just “off the wire.”
Right — because they did not commit any actual crimes. And boarding the ship in international water and killing 9 passengers also did great damage to Israel’s vital interests. Turkey is the best friend they have in the Middle East and they’ve just [edited] and humiliated them. Egypt, which has been supporting the blockade because it is no friend of Hamas, has now announced they will temporarily suspend the blockade.
[Edited by Elf]
#11 You are wrong.
Read: http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Government/Law/Legal+Issues+and+Rulings/Gaza_flotilla_maritime_blockade_Gaza-Legal_background_31-May-2010.htm
#12 Your link is to the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Hardly a neutral source.
Items prohibited from entering Gaza include:
You may recall that when there was a breach of the wall blocking residents of Gaza from entering Egypt a year or so ago, everybody ran over to Egypt and came back with chickens. Goats were being pushed through the whole in the wall.
This is an economic and military blockade.
[This thread is over heating – please address the thread and if commenters wish to carry on their own exchange please will they consider continuing it off thread by private message or email – thanks – Elf]
Thank you Elves. I will refrain from further comments on this thread. A final note: I cited the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs to get a credible and insightful point of view on “why” the Israelis are blockading Gaza. Who better to give an account of why Israel is doing what is doing than the Israelis themselves?
I’m not sure why discussing the purpose and legitimacy of the Israeli blockade is “overheating.” The discussion was based on whether this was a legitimate blockade to keep out military material. The Israelis acknowledge that the blockade is both political and economic. Is that not what this thread is about? Also, the report says that the “activists” are being held, but I updated it with more recent info that says they are all being let go. Not sure why this is off-topic or “overheated”?? I will be happy to follow elf rules but please clarify what is permissible topic of this thread.