For those who are home, and for those who are on the way. For those who support the historic and just return of the land of Israel to its people, forever loyal to their inheritance, and its restoration.
The soldiers of the little-known Underwater Missions Unit dive to the depths of the sea fixing vessels, recovering remnants of accidents and patrolling Israel’s coasts.
Yaheli Sa’ar IDF News 09 August '10
Leafing through the rich collection of photographs from the Underwater Missions Unit is a breathtaking experience. This is one of the few units whose routine activities remain a mystery to the general population. The photographs shown here were released by the unit on the occasion of Israeli Navy Week, and they reveal just a small piece of the big picture. Each image offers a rare glimpse into the extensive activities of the unit’s fighters.
Only a tiny number of soldiers in compulsory military service get to wear the octopus pin of the Underwater Missions Unit on their uniforms. The number is so small that the selections for the unit only occur once every two years. Whoever passes them will experience an exceptional military service. The soldiers of the Underwater Missions Unit are mobilized when an explosive device is discovered in the depths of the sea and they know how to disable it. They are also responsible for repairing external parts of ships inside the water. Additionally, they are the ones called up to search for debris and pull it out from the depths of the sea after maritime accidents.
“Our level of diving today is among the best in the world”, claims Unit Commander, Maj. Oren. “We go from project to project: from the renewed searches for the remains of Yakir Nave, the IAF pilot who crashed into the Sea of Galilee in the 60s, to the controlled explosion of explosive material left in the sea from the 40s. In many cases I find myself with three teams located in opposite ends of the country, when it is safe to say that 50% of the unit’s activities are not planned in advance. We are a small unit, one that is not very well known, but one that is extremely significant in wartime. If our enemies plant the water with mines, we have to clean it up”.
If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page. .
There comes a time When we need to make a show For the world, the Web and CNN There's no people dying, so the best that we can do Is create the greatest bluff of all
We must go on pretending day by day That in Gaza, there's crisis, hunger and plague Coz the billion bucks in aid won't buy their basic needs Like some cheese and missiles for the kids
We'll make the world Abandon reason We'll make them all believe that the Hamas Is Momma Theresa We are peaceful travelers With guns and our own knives The truth will never find its way to your TV
Ooooh, we'll stab them at heart They are soldiers, no one cares We are small, and we took some pictures with doves As Allah showed us, for facts there's no demand So we will always gain the upper hand
We'll make the world Abandon reason We'll make them all believe that the Hamas Is Momma Theresa We are peaceful travelers we're waving our own knives The truth will never find its way to your TV
If Islam and terror brighten up your mood But you worry that it may not look so good Well well well well don't you realize You just gotta call yourself An activist for peace and human aid
We'll make the world Abandon reason We'll make them all believe that the Hamas Is Momma Theresa We are peaceful travelers We're waving our own knives The truth will never find its way to your TV
We con the world We con the people We'll make them all believe the IDF is Jack the Ripper We are peaceful travelers We're waving our own knives The truth will never find its way to your TV We con the world (Bruce: we con the world...) We con the people (Bruce: we con the people...) We'll make them all believe the IDF is Jack the Ripper We are peaceful travelers We're waving our own knives The truth will never find its way to your TV The truth will never find its way to your TV
If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page. .
I am sorry to break the gloom, but I don’t think that the death of nine highly aware intruders into a war zone is actually a tragedy. The death by suicide bombing of an old woman in a mosque in Iraq or of more than 75 people at a volleyball game in Pakistan … these are true human catastrophes. But the fate of the Islamic jihadists was a mishap, nothing more than a mishap, and the relatives who love them should have kept them at home and on a short leash.
Nothing untoward occurred on the first five ships in the flotilla that were captured by Israeli commandos. A dispatch by Chip Cummins in today’s Wall Street Journal gives us salient details about the two different results. What happened on the flotilla’s largest vessel, the Mavi Marmara (chartered by the Turkish extremist group known as IHH), was that the passengers were heavily seeded with men who wanted to kill or at least hurt, be hurt or be killed. Unless you grasp this pious desire for heaven, you cannot actually feel the yen for blood. Nobody at all reliable, on the other hand, has charged that the Israelis who descended from helicopters onto the deck with paintball guns began the fighting. Nobody.
Presumably, when the Israeli commandos meet the coming Irish ship, now on the high seas with its symbolic offerings for Gaza, a slightly different scenario will ensue. Israelis learn.
But, for the moment—the long moment—the story is Turkey and its prime minister, the more-than-nutsy Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is dragging his country backwards, backwards, backwards. To long before the Ataturk era. Robert L. Pollock has a devastating column, “Erdogan and the Decline of the Turks,” also in this morning’s WSJ.
If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page. .
The BBC has provided space on its website for readers to complain that the Israeli naval raid off Gaza was "piracy" because it took place in international waters. A rather better use of the page would have been a piece informing its readers of the position in international law.
I am no expert in this field and I know that international law is open to interpretation. But here's an account posted anonymously in response to this excellent piece. I have retained the US spellings, perhaps the only clue to the identity of the author, "George".
1. A maritime blockade is in effect off the coast of Gaza. Such blockade has been imposed, as Israel is currently in a state of armed conflict with the Hamas regime that controls Gaza, which has repeatedly bombed civilian targets in Israel with weapons that have been smuggled into Gaza via the sea.
2. Maritime blockades are a legitimate and recognized measure under international law that may be implemented as part of an armed conflict at sea. (Examples: USA blockaded Cuba, UK blockaded The Falklands, the EU blockaded Yugoslavia)
3. A blockade may be imposed at sea, including in international waters, so long as it does not bar access to the ports and coasts of neutral States.
4. The naval manuals of several western countries, including the US and England recognize the maritime blockade as an effective naval measure and set forth the various criteria that make a blockade valid, including the requirement of give due notice of the existence of the blockade.
5. In this vein, it should be noted that Israel publicized the existence of the blockade and the precise coordinates of such by means of the accepted international professional maritime channels. Israel also provided appropriate notification to the affected governments and to the organizers of the Gaza protest flotilla. Moreover, in real time, the ships participating in the protest flotilla were warned repeatedly that a maritime blockade is in effect.
6. Here, it should be noted that under customary law, knowledge of the blockade may be presumed once a blockade has been declared and appropriate notification has been granted, as above.
7. Under international maritime law, when a maritime blockade is in effect, no boats can enter the blockaded area. That includes both civilian and enemy vessels.
If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page. .
I am posting updated links here for those who wish to follow. Top post will be the most recent. Yosef
I will be switching back to regular posts after this final Youtube.This one in particular is going to cause positions to be lost. How can you drop your chayalim one by one into a situation like this?
idfnadesk — May 31, 2010 — Early this morning, IDF Naval Forces boarded six ships attempting to break the maritime closure of the Gaza Strip. This happened after numerous warnings from Israel and the Israeli Navy that were issued prior to the action. The Israel Navy requested the ships to redirect toward Ashdod where they would be able to unload their aid supplies which would then be transferred over land after undergoing security inspections.
During the boarding of the ships, the demonstrators onboard attacked the IDF Naval personnel with live fire and light weaponry including knives and clubs. Additionally one of the weapons used was grabbed from an IDF soldier. The demonstrators had clearly prepared their weapons in advance for this specific purpose.
As a result of this life-threatening and violent activity, naval forces employed riot dispersal means, including live fire.
According to initial reports, these events resulted in over ten deaths among the demonstrators and numerous injured, in addition, more than four naval personnel were injured, some from gunfire and some from various other weapons. Two of the soldiers are moderately wounded and the remainder sustained light injuries. All of the injured, Israelis and foreigners are currently being evacuated by helicopter to hospitals in Israel.
Reports from IDF forces on the scene are that it seems as if part of the participants onboard the ships were planning to lynch the forces. The interception of the flotilla followed numerous warnings given to the organizers of the flotilla before leaving their ports as well as while sailing towards the Gaza Strip. In these warnings, it was made clear to the organizers that they could dock in the Ashdod sea port and unload the equipment they are carrying in order to deliver it to the Gaza Strip in an orderly manner, following the appropriate security checks. Upon expressing their unwillingness to cooperate and arrive at the port, it was decided to board the ships and lead them to Ashdod.
IDF naval personnel encountered severe violence, including use of weaponry prepared in advance in order to attack and to harm them. The forces operated in adherence with operational commands and took all necessary actions in order to avoid violence, but to no avail.
JPost: At least 15 activists dead, dozens hurt in flotilla clashes.IDF says soldiers were met by well-planned lynch, concealed handguns, knives, bats, metal pipes in Gaza flotilla raid; 5 Navy commandos wounded; Al Jazeera broadcasts footage. 12:56 P.M.
IDF Spokesperson: 5 soldiers injured during flotilla mission - 2 severely and 3 moderately. 12:35 PM
Intelligence and Terrorism Information CenterPortrait of IHH:IHH, which plays a central role in organizing the flotilla to the Gaza Strip, is a Turkish humanitarian relief fund with a radical Islamic anti-Western orientation. Besides its legitimate philanthropic activities, it supports radical Islamic networks, including Hamas, and at least in the past, even global jihad elements.
Ynet:Gaza flotilla ships transported to Ashdod. IDF spokesperson says fighters who raided vessels headed to Gaza 'attacked with clubs, long knives.' Army reports more than 10 passengers killed in operation. Dozens injured, including four soldiers 10:51 A.M.
IMRA: IDF: Soldiers were met by well-planned lynch six Navy commandos wounded Upon boarding the ships, the soldiers encountered fierce resistance from the passangers who were armed with knives, bats and metal pipes. The soldiers used non-lethal measures to disperse the crowd. The activists succeeded in stealing the weapon from one of the IDF’s soldiers and reportedly opened fire, leading to an escalation in violence.
idfnadesk — May 30, 2010 — The Israeli Navy addresses a ship nearing the Gaza shore , offering it to dock at the Ashdod Port and transfer its supplies under the ship's crew's supervision. The ship refused to comply.
If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page.
IMRA Sarah Weiss Maudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs 26 May '10
A maritime blockade has been imposed by Israel off the coast of Gaza because Israel is currently in a state of armed conflict with the Hamas regime that controls Gaza.
Transcript:
Interviewer: Today we are with Sarah Weiss Maudi. She is the Israel Foreign Ministry's expert on maritime and humanitarian law. Sarah, we would like to ask you a few questions about Gaza. First of all, why is it that Israel can prevent ships from reaching Gaza?
Ms. Weiss Maudi: The reason why ships can't come into Gaza currently is because a maritime blockade is currently in effect off the coast of Gaza. Such a blockade has been imposed by Israel because Israel is currently in a state of armed conflict with the Hamas regime that controls Gaza. Hamas has repeatedly bombed civilian targets in Israel proper with weapons that have been smuggled into Gaza by various routes, including the sea. Under international maritime law, when a maritime blockade is in effect, no vessels can enter the blockaded area. That includes both civilian vessels and enemy vessels. Any vessel that violates or attempts to violate the maritime blockade may be captured or even attacked. Maritime blockades are a legitimate and recognized measure under international law, and may be implemented as part of an armed conflict at sea.
Interviewer: So this is a recognized maritime practice?
Ms. Weiss Maudi: Exactly. Various naval manuals, including the naval manuals of the US and UK recognize the maritime blockade as an effective naval measure that can be implemented in times of armed conflict. And those manuals give various criteria for making a blockade valid, including the requirement to give due notice of the blockade. Israel, in accordance with the requirements of international law, has publicized the existence of the blockade currently in effect and has published the exact coordinates of the blockade via the accepted international professional maritime channels.
Interviewer: Okay. So this blockade should not surprise anyone.
Ms. Weiss Maudi: Exactly.
Interviewer: Now, let's talk about the transfer of supplies over land. Why can Israel decide what goes in and what can't?
If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page. .
The BBC breaks out the violins for Gaza fishermen, who are restricted from sailing too far from the Gaza coast.
But their biggest threat isn't the Israeli navy. It's the terrorists who sent explosive barrels floating onto Israeli shores this week. YNet News writes:
The source stressed that even without Israel's involvement, the explosive barrels could have put Gaza fishermen in danger, had they exploded next to them.
"The terror activists who sent the explosive charges into the sea knew in advance that they could also be hurt. Today of all days, when talking about the Goldstone Report and morality, we must look at what the other side is doing," he said.
Forty years ago this Christmas eve, five small boats showing almost no lights slipped out of Cherbourg harbor into the teeth of a Force 9 gale which kept even large freighters from venturing out.
Built for the Israel Navy, the vessels had been embargoed at the beginning of the year by French president Charles de Gaulle. Their empty berths on Christmas Day and the absence of any announcement about the embargo's termination prompted media inquiries, which failed to elicit convincing explanations. "Where are they?" asked a banner headline in a local newspaper.
In the news doldrums of the holiday season, the international media scented an outlandish story: Had Israel stolen back its own boats? A television team flew out over the North Sea to see if the boats were headed for Norway, to which they had ostensibly been sold; others flew out over the Mediterranean.
The boats were indeed on the run. Battered by towering waves as they crossed the Bay of Biscay, they dropped anchor in a Portuguese cove alongside an Israeli freighter fitted out as a refueling ship, one of several support vessels deployed along the 5,150-km. escape route. When the boats entered the Mediterranean, British maritime monitors on Gibraltar signaled "What ship?" A Lloyd's helicopter circled the silent vessels but saw no identity numbers or flags. The British monitors, guessing the boats' destination from the media reports, flashed "bon voyage" in salute to Nelsonian flair.
UPDATE: The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs published the MFA NewsFlash Newsletter today, Nov. 11 (free registration), with the article “Documented proof of Iranian complicity in arms smuggling to terrorists” as the top story, crediting Bob Owens’ Confederate Yankee blog for helping identify the source of Iranian rockets captured by American forces in Iraq that match those captured among the 500 tons of ordnance captured from the MV Francop.
————————
This morning, I was contacted by the Israeli Foreign Ministry about a photo I had blogged about on July 15, 2007, regarding a Shiite rocket attack on U.S. forces in Iraq.
The rockets recovered by the Israeli Navy last week, bound for terrorists in Lebanon, are identical to those Iran provided to Shiite militias targeting American soldiers in Iraq. There are numeroussimilar reports of Iranian weapons being shipped to the Taliban in Afghanistan, including one cache uncovered just two months ago.
During the summer of 2007, the escalation of violence from Shiite militias peaked in Iraq, and the government of Iran was implicated for supplying late-model weapons directly to these groups. Some of the most damning evidence came in July 2007, when 34 Iranian rockets were recovered by elements of the U.S. Army’s 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team on July 12 after an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) discovered 46 launchers. Twelve rockets from that location had been fired at Forward Operating Base Hammer one day before.
I asked for and obtained photos of the rockets and launchers from Multi-National Forces-Iraq (MNF-I) Public Affairs, and subsequently published a post to my personal blog.
Among the photos published on Confederate Yankee was this close-up photo of an Iranian 107mm rocket on a crude launcher, its markings plainly visible:
It was manufactured in 2006 in Iran, and was thought to have been shipped to Shiite militias for use against American forces shortly before being captured.
This morning, the Israeli Foreign Ministry was attempting to verify the source of the photo, which I provided to them.
As the tale of the “New Karine A” develops, one alarm bell it sets off concerns the ease with which the arms transshipment was brought off in plain sight. The ship the Israelis caught with the arms was M/V Francop, a freighter operated by Cyprus-based United Feeder Services. The crew onboard didn’t know what they were carrying, and didn’t carry it from Iran anyway: they picked their cargo up in Damietta, Egypt. The Israelis had tracked Francop from Beirut to Damietta and knew the cargo was loaded there. That means the arms themselves were shipped from Iran to Egypt by other means. Sounds like a story we’ve heard before about Port Sudan and overland convoys to Gaza, right?
Not really. The port of Damietta is neither a remote spot in the desert nor a sleepy Sudanese port. It’s one of Egypt’s premier seaports, located on the Mediterranean near the entrance to the Suez Canal. Damietta has some distinctive claims to fame: it’s in a heavily promoted Egyptian free-trade zone and is operated by DIPCO, an international consortium of private maritime-service companies whose pathbreaking development project at Damietta serves as a model for a global trend toward the private development and operation of ports.
Private administration of customs and cargo verification, the functions that might detect arms shipments, is not unusual. But under these conditions, transshipments ofcargo through free-trade zones — shipments offloaded only to await further transportation to another country — are especially likely to receive a hand wave. The port operator’s priority is to tally containers and assess fees, not to break open containers and inspect their contents. Damietta’s convenient location in the eastern Mediterranean means that transshipments represent a large majority of its container traffic. Most of what stops there is merely waiting onward transportation and interests neither Egypt nor the port-services operator.
A big shipment from Iran, meanwhile, would raise no eyebrows in Damietta. Iran’s state shipping line, IRISL, was one of the first shipping companies to contract with DIPCO for services in Damietta, and two of IRISL’s subsidiaries make regular stops there. Containers bearing the IRISL logo are routinely present.
It would be hard to dream up a set of circumstances more conducive to perfunctory supervision of cargo. But these same circumstances represent a cash cow for Egypt. Private companies optimizing the profitability of port operations are a moneymaker, not only for growing economies but also for the Middle Eastern nations in which many of the companies (like DIPCO’s leader, Kuwait & Gulf Lines Ltd.) are based. The beneficiaries of this trend will kick hard against any inefficiency introduced by the administration of UN sanctions. Ultimately, intermediate transshipment ports aren’t going to represent effective pressure points for arms interdiction. The most effective pressure point would, as usual, be Iran itself, and that reality demands not so much administrative meticulousness as political will.
The Israel Navy intercepted the "Francop" cargo ship, which was laden with roughly 500 tons of weapons hidden amongst civilian cargo. The 36 weapons containers were sent from Iran and meant for the Hezbollah terrorist organization in Lebanon. For further information on how the interception occurred and what was uncovered.
I visited Hevron in November 2000 after the outbreak of the Rosh Hashanah War to see what could be done to assist in the face of the growing daily attacks on the community. After returning to work for the community in the summer of 2001, a bond and a love was forged that grows to this day. My wife Melody and I merited to be married at Ma'arat HaMachpela and now host visitors from throughout the world every Shabbat as well as during the week. Our goal, "Time to come Home!"
.jpg)
.jpg)
Posts
