Israel to Turkey: Help us thwart upcoming Gaza flotilla
Israel's ambassador to Turkey reiterates Jerusalem's opposition to the naval 'provocation,' says Israel would allow the pass of humanitarian aid through other channels.
By Barak RavidIsrael contacted Turkey concerning a Gaza aid flotilla planned for May of this year, an Israeli official said on Tuesday, reiterating Israel's objection to a breaking of Gaza's naval blockade and its willingness to transfer aid to the Strip via legal channels.
The message came amid a Channel 2 report claiming that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was mulling the possibility of allowing the flotilla to reach Gaza if flotilla organizers agreed their vessels be checked by an international force.
 |
The Mavi Marmara, aboard which Israel's deadly raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla resulted in the deaths of 9 Turkish activists May 22, 2010 |
| Photo by: AP |
Security officials and the Foreign Ministry have been preparing feverishly for the expected arrival of another Gaza flotilla in late May. More than 1,000 leftists and pro-Palestinian activists are expected to take part in the flotilla, which sources say will include more than 20 vessels of various sizes.
Drawing lessons from the controversy over the raid on the Turkish Mavi Marmara ship last May, and from the recommendations made after the investigation of the incident by the Turkel commission, Israeli officials are preparing in advance for another such protest at sea.
In recent weeks, Jerusalem has engaged in a large-scale diplomatic effort aimed at pressuring heads of states in countries from which ships are expected to sail, to discourage their citizens from taking part.
The hope is that such an effort will head off a large-scale "sequel" to last year's flotilla. Furthermore, in the event that another military raid is called for, this time Israel wants to be able to claim that every possible effort was made to stop the ships peaceably.
In an interview to the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet on Tuesday Israeli ambassador to Turkey Gabby Levy said that Jerusalem had commenced talks with the Turkish government in an attempt to thwart the planned flotilla, saying that Israel had passed on the message that the flotilla was a "provocation" and must be stopped.
The Israeli envoy also said he met the general director of the Turkish Foreign Ministry, where he conveyed a similar message in person.
Levy reiterated that Jerusalem did not see any problem with the legal passing of humanitarian aid to the Hamas-ruled Strip, something that the Turkish Red Crescent was already doing.
Israel's ambassador to Ankara said that the missive Israel sent out to Turkey did not indicate whether or not the flotilla would be stopped by force, saying: "Our position in this matter is known and international law allows us to intervene if the ships pose a security threat."
Levy also said that Israel had already appealed several countries in the matter, including Greece, the United States, and Frace.
The Cyprus-headquartered international Free Gaza movement and other pro-Palestinian organizations plan to send more than 15 ships to Gaza.
A government briefing concerning with the planned flotilla held earlier Tuesday indicated that Israel's policy concerning the event has not changed, saying that that ships would be stopped by force if indeed they sailed to Gaza.
Why Facebook Connect?
Comment on Haaretz.com articles with your Facebook login, and share your thoughts on your own wall.
- Latest
- Most Viewed
- Most Rated
- Open all
" aid" was rubbish that Hamas refused to accept
There are 5 people only demanding it this way. Everyone else wants to see what is going to happen. You dont get they have marketed to the World that Israel is the enemy of choice due to you continually bombing GAZA. I said there was another way to deal with it. If you child rides their bike on the sidewalk off the sidewalk day and night and you know they going to flip the tire do you tell them 994 times. Finally say well they will survive let them learn maybe they wont flip the boat maybe they will flip the boat to killing. The answer is let it happen and watch and protect. You are marketed as the butchers of GAZA to the world. Okay there the truth. Instead of going along with helping them and rebuiding their life you are marketed as the butchers of GAZA even though it is only 5 Israeli. Even though they have attacked for years and years. I dont even think the original group there from the beginning of GAZA. The new people are trying to build lives. What gets me is one group drives in shoots the rockets they drive out the innocent human shielded people get bombed. One person wants them all killed over Shalit. Well hell no one in Israel how many life save mission for Shalit. 5 ten people got shot. 4 burned five were range wounded. It been every 3 months we go in for Shalit. Even the kids said submom it not so bad now they just torture once a month. We prayed with him sat there with him took his electrocution and still the more you shoot into GAZA not hand to hand the more they torture him. You never make the connections. You think in straight lines. Build a diagram architect style of what could happen. Called time jump anaylsts. What could happen. We get so frustrated with you. I just want to scream sometimes at the straight line thought and you never get it. The end affect will be good but you are marketed as butchers of Gaza this time not heros of saving the people who attacked we still dont know. Just want to throw blame. There I threw a coffee cup I threw paper at the wall I yelled at my troops I stomped and hurt my hip I am in a rage and my scar on my cheek is showing and next to my eye because my face is red. There and I never moved out of my seat. Morgandine Karoon Jaro Lamb
THIS IS BEAUTIFUL
and it must be stopped. The flotilla is a way to do that. Israel is in violation of international law and has no right whatsoever to dictate terms here. The open seas do not yet belong to Israel.
The UN should approve a - No Fly Zone- over Gaza by IDF aircraft. The death rate ratio of the past twenty years is 275 Palestinians for 1 jewish person.
the axis of European and Muslim anti-semites who are very selective in their moral outrage and causes they support. They claim to act on humanitarian grounds, yet Kurds or Darfurians don't feature for the European humanitarians.
No matter how much money will be spent, the occupation enterprise won't be able to sustain itself .The occupation and siege of the people living under Israeli occupation are so morally untenable that no amount of investment will pay off. Immoral wars never pay off.
I can't believe that the Gaza blockade was "designed for one purpose: to prevent the smuggling of heavy weaponry into the Strip." Depriving people of life's essentials designed to dehumanize them.
If these misguided fools have nothing better to do than support baby killers and child murderers maybe Israel should let the boats through - subject to full inspection by Israel. These flotillas have less to do with supporting Hamas than with pissing off Israel. Something tells me that their organizers would quickly drop the whole idea if Israel appeared not to give a damn.
Who has killed more innocent children and civilians in the region than the IDF??
are you talking about IDF?
the IDF actions in Gaza killing women and children and babies. Remember that massive bomb on the apartment complex on Shahadeh in which the IDF murdered 13 women children and elderly to teach a lesson?
It's impossible to divert world attention on Mavi Marmara incident by this announcement.
I wouldn't count on Turkish help, nor should they help. They feel aggrieved, rightly or wrongly. Let the ships through - the arms are getting through anyway. Let the activists have a little celebration - it will make them feel good; most mean well even if they are naive and often misguided
if israel and turkey were serious they would ask hamas to return shallit, lift the blocade, stop threats of annhilitating each other, and help form a peaceable viable palestine that is now split like a broken egg. more provocative flotillas are not needed. reason and dialogue is.
Israel has no shame when it comes to using other nations for their own purposes. I am surprised that they would go this far. Israel has yet to apologize for the last seagoing massacre. They should expect no help from Turkey. that is certain.
So far, following the Turkish flotilla incident, Israel has decided to allow into Gaza all items except those fit for military use. (It is not clear that this decision was fully implemented.) What remains of the "siege" is not allowing the Export of finished goods even if raw materials can come in, as well as the prevention of movement of Gazans in and out of that territory (irrespective of security considerations). The inability to export essentially destroys the Gaza economy, rendering the population destitute and in need of food relief. With exports, the Gazans will not be in need of relief and all future air/flotilla private initiatives will become pointless. Here is a good way to put an end to this problem once and for all: Just lift the rest of the economic siege, which actually achieved nothing positive. (The original intent was to have the Gaza people bring Hamas down.) And here is another reason: a legal opinion: "The [Goldstone] Report states that Israeli acts that deprive Palestinians in the Gaza Strip of their means of subsistence, employment, housing and water, that deny their freedom of movement and their right to leave and enter their own country, that limit their rights to access a court of law and an effective remedy, could lead a competent court to find that the crime of persecution, a crime against humanity, has been committed"- unhchr.ch/huricane/huricane.nsf/0/9B63490FFCBE44E5C1257632004EA67B?opendocument . In any event, the prevention of airplanes and ships from going into Gaza is justified by security concerns. Once the "economic siege" is lifted, there will be no humanitarian reason for air/flotilla incidents, and it will become acceptable to use military force against such "invaders".
A statement a person made against Israel or admits the reports were not true,and a known antisemitic is not worth mentioning! I guess you need to be their to see the truth. Lots of people put things out on the news or news papers, have agendas of their own, and have nothing to do with truth
The humanitarian aid is not the point, of course. The point is to focus international pressure on israel to change its policy. When Gandhi launched the Salt Marches, it was not because he wanted more salt in the Indian diet. When Martin Luther King was arrested for sitting in at "whites only" lunch counters, it was not because he was hungry for lunch.
Those are some horrendous analogies. Israel is defending itself from Hamas, whose charter is to destroy Israel. The best way to get Israel to remove the blockade is to stop importing weapons and shooting them at Israeli civilians.
The purpose of breaking the blockade is to open a channel to get weapons to Hamas. Israel allows humanitarian aid through but must first check for weapons. So you are equating Gandhi and Martin Luther King to Hamas? Get your priority straight.
What can be expected from Hamas? "Hamas would respect any peace deal reached between Israel and Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, provided it is approved in a global Palestinian referendum, the top Hamas official in Gaza said Wednesday March 23,2011. In a rare news conference for foreign media, Ismail Haniyeh, the prime minister of Gaza's Hamas government, staked out seemingly pragmatic positions. He said Hamas seeks dialogue with the West and wants to be "part of the solution, not the problem." (2 Dec. 2010)// Hamas had these positions for some years now. Hamas will even agree to peace, if the Palestinians vote for it. It can be assumed however that as long as Hamas is shunned by the world, they will remain rejectionists; after all, what else would be left for them? The key is within the Palestinian nation itself. Abbas and Hamas must resolve their differences first and present a unified front to the world. They will be wise to agree to this, even though Israel is trying to prevent it. Unity will strengthen the Palestinian position, and Israel will gain a more reliable peace partner. As long as Israel rejects Hamas, there will be projectiles coming over as a reminder.