Fairy tales, fables and the Gaza siege

...The entire world, certainly Israel, lined up to make Gaza the jewel of the Middle East, a paradise on earth. But the Palestinians chose to turn it into a hell of terrorism, firing rockets at Israeli civilians and digging tunnels to use for acts of mass terrorism. The withdrawal from Gaza itself was conducted under fire, and afterward the entire Strip became the base for an ongoing war crime against Israeli civilians -- first under Abbas, and two years later under the Hamas regime.

Uri Heitner..
Israel Hayom..
14 August '14..

According to the reports out of Cairo, one of the main issues in the negotiations, maybe the biggest one, is Hamas' demand to remove the Israeli blockade on Gaza. The Palestinian narrative of the "siege" has taken roots in the public consciousness, to the point where we have also fallen into the trap. Is Gaza really under a siege?

The "siege" narrative was born after Israel's disengagement from Gaza in the summer of 2005 to replace the Palestinian narrative of "occupation," as an excuse for terrorism against Israel. After the withdrawal from Gaza, when the settlements were uprooted and every last trace of every last Jew eradicated, the Palestinians couldn't cling to their claim of "occupation." So ever since they have painted Gaza as an area under a "brutal siege."

This claim has to be examined starting from the disengagement. Israel withdrew and responsibility for Gaza was transferred to Palestinian Authority, under President Mahmoud Abbas. The entire world, certainly Israel, lined up to make Gaza the jewel of the Middle East, a paradise on earth. But the Palestinians chose to turn it into a hell of terrorism, firing rockets at Israeli civilians and digging tunnels to use for acts of mass terrorism. The withdrawal from Gaza itself was conducted under fire, and afterward the entire Strip became the base for an ongoing war crime against Israeli civilians -- first under Abbas, and two years later under the Hamas regime.

Only after 10 months of continual rocket fire following the abduction of IDF soldier Gilad Schalit did Israel declare the Gaza Strip a hostile entity and partly close the crossings and enforce a maritime closure on it. Open border crossings are standard between nations at peace. It's obvious that from the moment Gaza became a hostile entity all the crossings would be closed, exactly like the border crossings between Israel and Syria, for example, are closed. It's obvious that there can be no argument about this.

But Israel did not actually close the crossings at all. The opposite: even when the shooting on Israel was heaviest, including the Protective Edge War, 300 trucks laden with the best of goods crossed from Israel into Gaza daily. The terrorist tunnels intended to be used to murder Israelis were built with concrete and construction materials that Israel supplied. Even when the Palestinians shot at the crossings, Israel continued to let the trucks through. Israel kept on supplying electricity to Gaza, without pause, even after the Palestinians repeatedly shot at the Ashkelon power plant.

The Reasoning Behind the Maritime Blockade on Gaza - موقف جيش الدفاع الاسرائيلي من القافلة البحرية

idfnadesk
Jun 26, 2011

Since January 2009 Israel has imposed a maritime closure on the Gaza Strip for the purpose of protecting the security of Israel's Citizens.

Five Steps is a short video explaining the reason for the closure and it's practical implications.



الرائد أفيخاي أدرعي
المتحدث بلسان جيش الدفاع الاسرائيلي للاعلام العربي

Spokesman Major Avichai Adraee, Head of the Arabic Desk of the Foreign Press Division, addresses the planned flotilla which overtly declares its intention to sail to the Gaza Strip, governed by the Hamas terrorist organization.



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C-704 Missile Would Have Increased Strategic Capability for Gaza Terror Organizations

IDF Blog
24 March '11

http://idfspokesperson.com/2011/03/24/strategic-missile-would-have-increased-strategic-capability-for-gaza-terror-organizations/

Last week, the Israeli Navy intercepted 50 tons of sophisticated weapons concealed in civilian cargo containers aboard the “Victoria”, which left Syria and was en route to Alexandria, Egypt. Of the 50 tons, the most strategically significant weapons found were 6 C-704 missiles.



Currently, there are no known C-704s held by Hamas or any other terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip. With a range of 35 kilometers, this anti-ship missile would have been used to threaten IDF and civilian activity off Israel’s southern coast, as well as natural gas resources vital to the livelihoods of Israeli citizens.

The attempt to disguise weaponry as civilian cargo on the “Victoria” has been linked to the Iranian government, both in terms of documents found on-board the ship, and other known attempts by Iran to arm various terrorist organizations.

The recent barrage of rockets and mortar shells fired from the Gaza Strip towards Israeli communities underscore the importance of the naval blockade towards Gaza, and the grave security implications had the Israeli Navy not intercepted the “Victoria”.

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New wave of pro-Hamas ships to set sail for Gaza

Robin Shepherd
robinshepherdonline.com
06 September '10

Less than a week after Hamas terrorists murdered four Israeli civilians in a calculated attempt to scupper peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority in Washington, it has emerged that a flotilla of up to 20 “aid” ships to Hamas-run Gaza is to be launched in the next weeks and months by a group called European Jews for a Just Peace (EJJP).

The Jerusalem Post reports today that the IDF is preparing for the “mother of all flotillas” in which other NGOs will join EJJP presumably in an attempt to recreate the public relations disaster for Israel which ensued after the boarding of the Mavi Marmara in May this year.

Indeed, one of those NGOs is the self same IHH — The Turkish jihadi organisation — which violently attacked Israeli soldiers boarding the Mavi Marmara. The resultant loss off life among the activists — nine dead in all — was widely blamed on Israel and forced the Israeli government drastically to reduce the sanctions regime against Gaza, thus bolstering Hamas. It now appears that the flotilla movement has sensed that its tactics have worked and is looking not only to give another public relations boost to Hamas but to enhance its ability to carry out acts of terror.

(Read full post)

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Blockade on Gaza: Legal Expert Ruth Lapidoth

Legality of the Israeli Blockade of the Gaza Strip. A discussion by Prof. Emeritus and Israel Prize Laureate in Legal Studies Ruth Lapidoth.


From: TheJerusalemCenter
27 June '10

The Legal Basis of Israel's Naval Blockade of Gaza
By Ruth Lapidoth, Professor Emeritus of International Law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem

-The relations between Israel and Hamas are in the nature of armed conflict. Nowadays no formal declaration of war is needed. Hence the rules of the laws of armed conflict apply. This means that Israel may control shipping headed for Gaza - even when the vessels are still on the high seas.

-The rules of naval warfare have not been fully codified in a treaty and are in the nature of binding customary rules. They can be found in the relevant manuals of Western armies (in particular the U.S. and Britain) and in the San Remo Manual prepared by a group of experts.




-In order to be legal, a blockade has to be declared and announced, effective, non-discriminatory, and has to permit the passage of humanitarian assistance to the civilian population. In addition, the San Remo Manual of 1994 includes two conditions: first, the state which applies the blockade may decide where and when and through which port the assistance should reach the coast. In addition, the state may require that a neutral organization on the coast should verify who is the recipient of the assistance. In Gaza, for instance, does it reach the civilians or Hamas?

-A ship that clearly intends to breach the blockade may be stopped already when it is still on the high seas. Stopping the flotilla heading for Gaza in international waters 100 kilometers from Israel was not illegal; in time of armed conflict, ships intending to breach the blockade may be searched even on the high seas.

-Israel is within its rights and is in full compliance with international law because it has fulfilled all of the above-mentioned conditions for a lawful blockade. E.g., in January 2009 Israel notified the relevant authorities of its intention to establish a blockade of the Gaza coast.

(Please read the full article by clicking here)

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We Con the World - The Gaza flotilla crew speaks!

Caroline Glick
carolineglick.com
03 June '10

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



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Interception of the Gaza flotilla: Legal aspects

IDF MAG Corp
Posted before Shabbat

Introduction

For several years, the State of Israel has been engaged in an ongoing armed conflict with terrorist organizations operating in the Gaza strip. This armed conflict has intensified after Hamas violently took over Gaza, in June 2007, and turned the territory under its de-facto control into a launching pad of mortar and rocket attacks against Israeli towns and villages in southern Israel.

The State of Israel took different measures to defend its citizens from the terrorist attacks originating from the Gaza strip. Initially, all feasible steps were taken in order to avoid using extensive military force, including diplomatic and economic military measures, as well as relatively limited military operations. When these measures proved ineffective, and the barrage of rockets against the Israeli civilian population continued, and even intensified, the State of Israel had no choice but to take an extensive military action - Operation "Cast Lead".

The entire activities of Israel in this armed conflict are governed by the Law of Armed Conflict (also known as: International Humanitarian Law).

The Naval blockade on Gaza

According to the Laws of Armed Conflict, a state party to an armed conflict has the right to establish a naval blockade on its enemy's coast for security reasons. A naval blockade means preventing the passage (entry or exit) of all vessels to or from the ports and coastal areas of the enemy, irrespective of the kind of cargo carried by these vessels.

The power to impose a naval blockade is well established under customary international law. It is a common practice, and even the Charter of the United Nations, when enumerating the different actions which can be taken by the Security Council in order to maintain or restore international peace and security, explicitly mentions the naval blockade among these measures (Article 42 of the Charter).

(Read full article)

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'We had no choice'

Yaakov Katz
JPost
04 June '10
Posted before Shabbat

When St.-Sgt. S. fast-roped down from an air force Black Hawk helicopter onto the Mavi Marmara Turkish passenger ship on Monday morning, he did not expect to be landing in what he called “a battlefield” and facing off against a group of “murderous mercenaries.”

The 15th and last naval commando from Flotilla 13 (the Shayetet) to rappel down onto the ship from the helicopter, S. said on Thursday that he was immediately attacked by what the IDF has called “the mob of mercenaries” aboard the vessel, just like the soldiers who had boarded just before him.

Looking to his side, he saw three of his commanders lying wounded – one with a gunshot wound to the stomach and another with a gunshot wound to the knee. A third was lying unconscious; his skull was fractured by a devastating blow with a metal bar.

As the next in the chain of command, S., who has been in the Shayetet for three and a half years, immediately took charge.

He pushed the wounded soldiers up against the wall of the upper deck and created a perimeter of soldiers around them to begin treating their wounds, he said. He then arranged his men to form a second perimeter, and pulled out his 9 mm. Glock pistol to stave off the charging attackers and to protect his wounded comrades.

The attackers had already seized two pistols from the commandos, and fired repeatedly at them. Facing more than a dozen of the mercenaries, and convinced their lives were in danger, he and his colleagues opened fire, he said. S. singlehandedly killed six men. His colleagues killed another three.

On Thursday, S. sat down with The Jerusalem Post at the Shayetet’s base in northern Israel for an exclusive interview, during which he described the dramatic events aboard the Mavi Marmara on Monday; he is being considered for a medal of valor.

(Read full story)

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Prime Minister Netanyahu's Speech on the Gaza Flotilla Issue

Barry Rubin
The Rubin Report
03 June '10


I intended to edit Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to make it shorter. Yet it is so full of common sense and clear statements that the entire text should be read. Here it is: BR

Once again, Israel faces hypocrisy and a biased rush to judgment. I’m afraid this isn’t the first time.

Last year, Israel acted to stop Hamas from firing thousands of rockets into Israel’s towns and cities. Hamas was firing on our civilians while hiding behind civilians. And Israel went to unprecedented lengths to avoid Palestinian civilian casualties. Yet it was Israel, and not Hamas, that was accused by the UN of war crimes.



Now regrettably, the same thing appears to be happening now.

But here are the facts. Hamas is smuggling thousands of Iranian rockets, missiles and other weaponry – smuggling it into Gaza in order to fire on Israel’s cities. These missiles can reach Ashdod and Beer Sheva – these are major Israeli cities. And I regret to say that some of them can reach now Tel Aviv, and very soon, the outskirts of Jerusalem. From the information we have, the planned shipments include weapons that can reach farther, even farther and deeper into Israel.

Under international law, and under common sense and common decency, Israel has every right to interdict this weaponry and to inspect the ships that might be transporting them.

This is not a theoretical challenge or a theoretical threat. We have already interdicted vessels bound for Hezbollah, and for Hamas from Iran, containing hundreds of tons of weapons. In one ship, the Francop, we found hundreds of tons of war materiel and weapons destined for Hezbollah. In another celebrated case, the Karine A, dozens of tons of weapons were destined for Hamas by Iran via a shipment to Gaza. Israel simply cannot permit the free flow of weapons and war materials to Hamas from the sea.

(Read full speech)

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