Lieberman thanks top Egypt official over Libya-chartered Gaza aid ship
In a phone conversation with Omar Suleiman, Lieberman says Cairo's assistance aided in resolving situation without necessitating the use of force.
By Jack Khoury Tags: Israel news Gaza flotillaForeign Minister Avigdor Lieberman spoke to Egypt's intelligence chief on Thursday, thanking him for Cairo's cooperation in preventing the Libya-sponsored aid ship from breaking the Gaza blockade.
Speaking with the director General Intelligence Services, Minister Omar Suleiman, Lieberman said that the between the two countries led to positive results and that the situation was resolved without necessitating the use of force and without any injuries.
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Workers loading supplies onto the Libya-sponsored Gaza-bound aid ship on July 9, 2010. |
| Photo by: Reuters |
Lieberman also updated Suleiman on Israel's new policy regarding Gaza, and the
two agreed to meet during Suleiman's next visit to Israel, when Lieberman
will present him with new information.
The phone conversation between the two top officials came as the London-based A-Sharq al-Awsat reported that a deal had been struck between Israeli and Egyptian officials, enabling the ship to change course and dock peacefully at an Egyptian port.
Israel had warned the ship not to attempt to enter Gaza waters and according to the report, struck a deal with Egypt to avoid violent incident. The Amalthea thus unloaded its cargo in El-Arish, from where the goods will be trucked via the Rafah crossing to Gaza.
It was not initially clear on what persuaded the ships' passengers, members of the Libyan Gadhafi International association – led by Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi's son, Saif al-Islam Gadhafi - to agree not to sail to Gaza.
According to Thursday's report in A-Sharq al-Awsat, Israel has agreed to let Gadhafi's organization begin a project to rebuild the ruins in Gaza. His organization and the United Nations Works and Relief Association will soon begin to send some 50 million Egyptian pounds into the coastal territory to get the project rolling.
Gadhafi told the newspaper that the arrangement was reached between Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Egyptian intelligence chief Omer Suleiman, and that he himself was privy to every detail of the deal.
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It's no surprise that these idiots backed-down.
Israeli leaders acted with some common sense this time - I hope they learnt the lesson with the Flotilla fiasco. We jews tend to think after we did something and start bickering about it.
or bought and sold to profit whether political or financial. I hope it gets to those who really need it and is free.
Sometimes, Israeli politics can be very amusing.
the siege would be broken if everyone can enter gaza without israeli permission or agreement. this is obviously not the case. but ur attempt to ridicule israel is amusing.
Anyone can enter Gaza from the Rafah border without israeli permission
The haters always seem to conveniently forget that Gaza shares a border with (Muslim) Egypt, too.
not certain that it benefits Hamas and Iran in any way. Israel, U.S. and "moderate" arab states would prefer that any Gaza rebuilding be handled through the P.A. and U.N. rather than Hamas. Egypt is the logical transition point. Primary concern is that Libya could be as flaky as their leader.
Good deal for Egypt ! but if the blockade is legal why making deals ? are you going to make deals with others countries that will continue trying to stop blockade ? I don't think so & don't think you should make deal , you have all the right to check what passes your borders, just like others do. Offer other style of aids to help poor Palestinians without having to offers deals to countries.
London-based A-Sharq al-Awsat's report makes no sense. It is pure propoganda and repeating it in this paper only plays into their hands. We readers deserve better.
So far, Israel has decided to allow into Gaza all items except those fit for military use. 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 "flotillas" will become pointless. Here is a good way to end the "flotillas", just lift the rest of the "siege". And here is another reason: a legal opinion (by the UN's Human Rights Council): "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 ships going into Gaza is justified by security concerns. The ports of Ashdod (Israel) and El-Arish (Egypt) are near the Gaza strip and should be used instead.
pitty that you think that the siegre is the cause of palestinian low quality live, this is Not true, and even without the flotillas, pleastininan receive every day more help than meny other citiies in the world, Palestinians can not walk in their own country because they Do Not want their own Country, Free Gilad Shalid and then start to say about crimes, by the way, did you know that Islamics are bombing every day in any part in the world, and trying every day in Israel? please check what you believe, and be more fair
...then Gaddafi can rightly claim success. After all, the goods will now be unloaded and inspected by the Egyptians, and then allowed into Gaza via the Egyptian border crossing i.e. the goods will enter Gaza without the Israelis inspecting ANY of it but WITH Israel's approval. And ponder this: if "inspection by Egypt" is good enough for Israel in **this** case then why won't it be good enough for Israel in **every** future case?
they may decide to have the next ship sail to Ashdod instead. Egypt likes Gaza weapons smuggling no better than Israel.
You are right . Let Egypt take over the full resposibility for Gaza. Let Israel wipe its hands off Gaza.
Is that what you want? Really?
Gazan GDP is only 600$ per person. He is going to add all of a suddet %10 more. Saying is one thing doing is another. This is a show business. He says he would bring 50 million $ to Gaza What is he going to get in return?. And you buy it. Which country ever donate 50 million $ till today to Gaza? You and I'm here we'll see if he is going to bring the money to Gaza or not.
The Egyptians are not interested in assuming responsibility for Gaza. In fact, they blamed Israel for trying to shift this responsibility unto their shoulders. According to the UN and the rest of the world, Israel continues to occupy Gaza and is therefore responsible for its maintenance. Why unload this burden from a nation you worry about? This Lybian case required a special deal between Israel and Egypt, and Egypt no doubt received something in return for the favor, at least some good points with the US Congress.
I wish that Libya think, also, about the 40000 Libyan Jews that they expelled, and send them compensation (their share of Libyan oil) to be fair. Imed From Tunisia, for peace and justice...
.... like wanting the girl but passing her first to his neighbor....
All of a sudden the Colonel,s son got the message loud and clear ,stay away from Gaza,so who,s next to try their luck ?
They are still pulling a shipload of supplies from the Caspian Sea to the Med. Last heard 5000 donkeys were pulling the ship over the mountains to be joined by another 10.000 activists for the great launch, estimated in the year 2028 Have a nice day.
Greece. Then as a matter of honour Turkey will try again
Why don't you talk on your part. Why your country does not send a flottilla. I don't think Turkey will try again. Turkey has great problems today in his home. It would be insane for them to send a new flotilla. The PKK problem resembles to much to Israels HAMAS problem. Even if Turkey tries it will not end like previous incident.
All this makes Hamas stronger and stronger, is it what the international community wants???
a group of radical religious zealots with no regard for international law ... or Hamas? the choice is difficult to make (I kid, I kid, but seriously, Hamas is riding on a wave of popularity because they're the underdogs now. All they have to do is restrain the rockets, and the world will back them up. Good job, Israel, good job.)
Israel was always open to this civil humanitarian need but Hamas thieves so love the green movement of donated cash coming into Gaza that they want to be the first to rub their grubby hands on it. Remember the spirit of thieving Arafat who received hundreds of millions of sacrificial aid from the west but only budgeted a few hundred dollars for cheap wooden signs on undeveloped sites in Gaza promising the future building of this and that and then nothing ever materialized there except for growing mounds of weapons for his fight with Israel and even larger mound of cash in his Swiss accounts? Hamas supposedly came into power to do away with that type of corruption. Yea, right!
Looks like Iran is reaching out to it's friends wherever it can find them... But the end goal to destroy Israel has never changed here. Money will come from Libya to strengthen Hamas, but the root financier is still Iran.
to mention self-defense, the Holocaust and antisemitism in your tired argument of a post.
Quite the project - rebuilding ruins.
Pointed a boat full of aid at gaza, and gave Israel 90 hours to completely cave in and allow unlimited building supplies to be delivered through Rafah. In order to avoid having to arrest one of his sons. Israel's retreat from it's position on Gaza is almost complete. No point in having a naval blockade if Rafah is open to everything and anything. It is just being mounted now so Netanyahu can save face.
Sr Ghadaffi needed to be rehabilitated into teh arab fold once he cved to US demands over nukes. This was in teh cards and part of his "bring the brother home campaign" The projects will be administered, hamas will see very little of it unless tehy steal and hijack goods as tehy have done before. In which case i think teh publibicty will help to finish tehm off. This spells teh end of hamas as they dont get anything done but violence and killing gazans want substance over fluff. Hamas talks teh talk but doe not deliovery anything but more corruption and death gazans see this
Israel agreed to the deal in secret. They're gonna keep a policy of 'ambiguity' about it though, even as the cement trucks roll by the hundreds across the border... You see, all the friars will fall for a policy of ambiguity. Israel voters will believe anything...just keep telling them 'not one inch' and you can give away the store!
position ?
Complain when barak is too tough, complain when he helps teh palis out. talk about wishy washy. Must be a swedish thing
Israel is like butter ,alas.
As for the 50 million for the so-called building of Gaza,what a sham..For starters it is a DROP IN THE OCEAN,secondly if the Hamas was so desperate he would have done it ages ago but saw no reason because all's well over yonder. The whole thing is for the Colonel of ersatz Lybya is to present itself on the world stage. A load of BS is being read into it,by some here.
or , the ship wanted to stay alive and chose to do so
In short staying alive trumps it..
Is Israel finally getting the message. Violence does not serve their interests--it only serves to hasten the end of it,s very existance through the eventual arrival of a Bi National State. Having said all that--Israel should not think that Egypt will be taking over Israel,s responsibility as the occupier of Gaza.
Ftaer all they lost it in teh war. Israel tried to give it back but there was one fly in teh ointment. a little thing called palis. The true trash of teh middle east. egypt knew it and wanted nothing to do with them
It seems the true trash of the Middle East is now becoming clear for all the world to see...
This is the beginning,don't read MUCH INTO IT, But demented fools like you would love it no doubt. Nothing IS at it seems.if You think Israel would give in so easily you must be terribly naive? That you are WOULD NOT BE A SURPRISE
With supporters like you --Israel is indeed in deep trouble. Keep up your arguments they --are so---?????.
your post is the product of a confused mind. Eygpt is not interested in Gaza--Israel occupies it---so therefore it is Israel,s responsibility. Your self delusion will only serve to disappoint you.