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Israeli Navy Intercepts Lebanese Boat of Gaza Aid
JERUSALEM - The Israeli navy intercepted a ship delivering 60 tons of supplies to the Gaza Strip from Lebanon on Thursday in the latest bid to defy Israel's blockade of the militant-held territory.
A Lebanese journalist holds an anti-Israel placard during a protest in front of the Al Jazeera TV office in Beirut February 5, 2009, against the Israeli seizure of a freighter trying to break the blockade of the Gaza Strip. It was the first apparent attempt by a foreign ship carrying aid to reach the Palestinian enclave since Israel ended its 22-day offensive in the Gaza Strip two weeks ago. (Reuters/ Mohamed Azakir/Lebanon) The Israelis fired at the ship before boarding it and beating those on board, said reporters from Arab TV stations Al-Jadeed and Al-Jazeera who were on the vessel.
Gunfire could be heard in the background of the telephoned reports aired by their stations.
The Israeli navy said no gunshots were fired on the ship as it boarded and seized the vessel. The navy towed the ship, which set sail Tuesday from Lebanon, to the southern Israeli port of Ashdod where it could be seen moored at the quayside.
Lebanon's prime minister condemned the "blatant attack" and one of the organizers of the voyage called it a kidnapping. But Israel said the ship tried to slip past its navy after agreeing to sail to Egypt instead.
The Israeli military said those on board the ship, the Tali, would be handed over to Israeli immigration authorities _ and that the aid would be transferred to Gaza by land.
Israel has kept Gaza's cargo crossings largely closed since the Hamas militant group seized control of the coastal strip in June 2007.
Disagreements over opening the Gaza blockade led Hamas negotiators to leave talks in Egypt on Thursday on a long-term cease-fire with Israel. The Hamas team was later stopped at an Egypt-Gaza border crossing with millions of dollars and Euros in their suitcases, an Egyptian security official said.
The organizers of the aid ship, Lebanese leftist political and human rights activists, said 18 people were on board and that the cargo included medicine, food, toys and basic humanitarian supplies such as mattresses and blankets.
Among the passengers was 86-year-old Greek Catholic priest Hillarion Capucci who was serving as an archbishop in Jerusalem in 1974 when Israel convicted him of using his diplomatic status to smuggle arms to Palestinian militants. He was later released from jail at the intervention of the Vatican and deported.
The Free Gaza Movement, which did not organize the Lebanese voyage but has successfully sent several boatloads of activists to Gaza in the past said one of its British volunteers, Theresa McDermott of Edinburgh, was also on board.
Israel says the blockade of Gaza is a response to repeated Hamas rocket attacks on southern Israel and is necessary to keep arms from reaching Hamas. After Israel ended a three-week military offensive in Gaza last month with an informal cease-fire, Hamas has been trying to get the border crossings reopened as part of a long-term cease-fire.
But Egyptian efforts for a formal long-term deal took a downturn Thursday when a senior Hamas official said his delegation was leaving Cairo without an agreement because of differences over opening the border crossings.
Egypt is acting as mediator because Israel and Hamas do not have official contacts.
Hamas officials had said they are ready to commit to a cease-fire with Israel for at least a year in exchange for a full opening of Gaza's borders.
But Hamas negotiator Mohammed Nasr said Israel was trying to avoid fully reopening the Gaza borders. He said his group would wait for answers after the Egyptians talk to Israel.
The Hamas delegation later was stopped from returning to Gaza with $9 million and 2 million euros in their suitcases, an Egyptian security official said.
The official said the group initially refused to be searched by Egyptian authorities at the Rafah border crossing. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
The money stayed in Egypt while the delegation was allowed to return to Gaza, said another security official. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity, as they were not authorized to speak to the media.
The Lebanese ship was the latest in a string of vessels that tried to break the Israeli blockade. Israel has permitted several ships to reach Gaza but blocked others, including a Libyan freighter that was forced to turn around last December.
The Israeli military said the Tali's shipment had not been cleared by Israeli authorities. It said a naval patrol spoke by radio to the Tali and told its skipper the ship would not be allowed to enter Gaza. The two sides agreed that the vessel would instead sail to the Egyptian port of El-Arish.
But on Thursday morning, the ship tried to double back and slip past the navy, Israel said, raising concerns that it might be trying to smuggle arms into Gaza.
"As a result of the actions taken by the boat crew, an Israel navy force intercepted, boarded, and took control of the cargo boat, directing it toward (the port) of Ashdod, Israel," the statement said. "No gunshots were fired on board during the boarding and capturing of the cargo boat."
Interviewed on Army Radio after the ship was searched, however, a naval officer identified only as Lt.Col.A. said no weapons were found.
Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora said he strongly condemned "the blatant attack" on the ship and held Israel responsible for the safety of the passengers.
"This Israeli aggression is not surprising," he said. "Israel, which commits massacres against innocent civilians in Lebanon and Gaza, will not stop at committing an aggression in front of the world against a ship carrying humanitarian aid."
A Syrian Foreign Ministry statement sharply condemned what it called Israel's act of "maritime piracy."
AP Writers Zeina Karam in Beirut, Ashraf Sweilam in Rafah, Egypt and Sarah El Deeb in Cairo contributed to this report.
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20 Comments so far
Show AllIsrael is busy starving the people of Gaza to death. And they don't want to give any opportunity for Gaza to recover.
BTW, according to the Israel witch Tipi, there is no humanitarian crisis....must be nice of her to be living on Planet Zion.
Actually Tzipi and her Zionist comrades are correct, there is no humanitarian crisis, because, according to them, the Palestinians are not human.
But...but...the international community...the UN...Barack Obama...Hillary Clinton...????
A ship from Hizbollah-land, carrying at least one convicted terrorist, tries to run the Israeli blockade.
Someone I know in animal rights activism sent a quote from a military rabbi.
The authenticity of this cant be verified-it may have been on myspace, but it would back up something I once heard from an israeli soldier in which he said that arabs were evil, like animals. I couldnt understand how anyone could say animals are evil-except the human kind.
But as you can see, the bets solution to ending this supremacist violence would be to attack the idea that humans(any humans) are special in a good way.
The Torah states: "Annihilate the Amalekites from the beginning to the end. Kill them and wrest them from their possessions. Show them no mercy. Kill continuously, one after the other. Leave no child, plant, or tree. Kill their beasts, from camels to donkeys." Rosen stated that Amalekites are not a particular race, but rather all those who hate and oppose the Jews; Christians and Muslims.
The Israeli spokesman, Nachman Abramovic demonized Palestinian children stating "They may look young to you, but these people are terrorists at heart. Don’t look at their deceptively innocent faces, try to think of the demons inside each of them … I am absolutely certain these people would grow to be evil terrorists if we allowed them to grow… would you allow them to grow to kill your children or finish them off right now? … honost and moral people ought to differentiate between true humans and human animals. We do kill human animals and we do so unapologetically. Besides who in the West is in a position to lecture us on killing human animals.
After all, whose hands are clean?"
Human animal mentioned by Abramovic refers to the Judaic religious belief that Jews are Gods chosen people; the elite and the pure-blooded, while all others (non-Jews, Goyims, gentiles) are animal souls incarnated into human bodies to serve the Jews. Killing a human animal is just a sport like hunting deer or birds.
"To be humane is to be cruel, vicious and unrestrained, like humans.
To be inhumane is to be compassionate, restrained, moderate, like non humans."
Webber, I am going to go against my own stated decision to ignore the posts on CD regarding this entire issue as they have (not by everyone of course) degenerated into mindlessness and visciousness, unworthy of a progressive news site. Others have also made this statement in the past week or so. However, i cannot resist commenting here.
First of all, the Amalekites, are perhaps an ancient tribal people, (i will look it up)and the Torah itself, predates Christianity and Islam. So how could it apply to religions that hadn't emerged yet? Of course, "my space" is certainly a great place to fact find.
Being someone who has at least some knowlege base, i can tell you that the language you used, is not biblical. By the way, the torah is the 'old testament'. That would be not unlike saying that the Apostles said, "Force our beliefs on everyone for the next two thousand years, and torture them if they don't convert". That is how silly you sound and you have no reference points, so you don't even realize it.
And everything you said about being chosen and everyone else as being incarnated into human bodies to serve jews is so preposterous as to be unworthy of comment. Although i heard that aliens have become scientologists and are going to take over the neocortexes of Episcopalean guys' brains. I read that in the Havan'ah Gila and also in the national enquirer.
This is the most sarcastic i have ever been in a post, but i thought it was approprate for this one occasion. (i thought i should clarify that i am being sarcastic, lest a new urban legend emerge from this comment).
All that being said, israel is a country and not a religion. And it is a satellite military base for the u.s. It is dependent on the u.s for military aid, which goes from tax payers' pockets, via israel, and back to raytheon and a host of others too numerous to mention. Whatever has been going on in that criminal government is very bizarre and there are no words to adequately express my disdain and contempt for that rogue state. I hope that they are internationally censured and will no doubt self destruct.
The Ministry of Propaganda in Damascus, Teheran, and Cairo turn out these "Torah commentaries" by the truckload. It's their job to throw slander and to wait and see what sticks. Ignore them.
The Torah, which is part of the Old Testament for Christians, is full of old tribal brutality that reflects the culture of the time. You can also pick out interesting family stories, poetry and wise and beautiful passages. Religion is like an ink blot test. You see in it what YOU are.
Joe
It is time to kick the asses of all Israeli supporters in America! They have made we common folks hated throughout the world. Also would someone please explain the phrase "Israel has a special relationship with the United States." The relationship is more like a parasitic relationship whereas the Parasite (Israel) invades the body of the host (America) and feeds off of it to the detriment and demise of the host.
.
Americans would prefer to see two peaceful states in Israel-Palestine, as the UN mandated in 1948. This arrangement is acceptable to the Israelis, as well.
Palestinians require war to the last Israeli or the last Palestinian. In this case, America would prefer Plan B.
Hey readyto: Kiss my ass. If Israel can involve themselves in violence, they deserve the fn same. Now go screw your pompous self. I hope just one says a wrong word to me in front of a witness. I pray so.
Also readytotransform: every time someone mentions your first love ISRAEL, you turn on the USA. I don't mind it because it is true we sponsor that pariah Israel and deserve the criticism. My point is, you will turn on the USA for Israel. Now that is consistent with you zionists.
After further investigation and hourly updates, the "stupid American" quote by Israeli spokeswoman, Tzipora Menache, was posted in the Pakistan Daily and made the rounds. Apparently, he or she does not exist except in the collective world of ignorance and powered by IWrite out of Pakistan. Nevertheless, the content of the complete article is spot on, depending, of course, on what side of the sub-human security wall you reside:
http://www.daily.pk/world/americas/9334-israeli-spokesman -says-we-control-stupid-americans.html
An excellent reason for those of us who value truth over a good (self-flattering) story, to ignore Muslim-sourced "documents."
Where's the crime in trying to get humanitarian aid to the suffering people of Gaza? Killing will never ever result in peace among the people of the world. And, no, I am not a pollyana. I am a well educated 63 year old who has lived long enough to see the reality of war. There are NO WINNERS.
Peggy
I second that, Peggy!!
Pan
Let them eat Jam ,thats what the jews got in the Warsaw Ghetto and SO????
Gah, reporting like this just pisses me off. And I notice on this RSS feed that it's always AP/Reuters (the most MSM?) who are guilty of this.
"Gunfire could be heard in the background of the telephoned reports aired by their stations.
The Israeli navy said no gunshots were fired on the ship as it boarded and seized the vessel."
Now, I don't know about this particular boat, but every other aid boat that Israel has attacked has been *completely unarmed*. Assuming (and I am) that that's the case here, why not go one step further, do some real reporting, and draw out the logical implication?
1. "Gunfire could be heard in the background of the telephoned reports aired by their stations." We have a credible report of gunfire, fired by someone in this pitched battle.
2. "The Israeli navy said no gunshots were fired on the ship as it boarded and seized the vessel." Israel denies being the shooters, making the official Israeli story imply that they were fired upon. (Who else would have fired a gun? And at what else?)
But if 3. The relief boat from Lebanon was unarmed, as have been all other boats under distress from the Israeli Navy as they attempt to breach Gaza's port through international waters,
then
Conclusion: Israel is clearly lying.
Why leave in the implication that a probably unarmed relief boat fired on the Israeli Navy instead of directly calling out an Israeli government lie? The only way I could accept this is if it were false that the relief boat were unarmed (I doubt it). It's no excuse to say the fact was "unknown" either; we're talking about a journalist here, after all.
If my assumptions are false, I stand corrected.
Quote:"Interviewed on Army Radio after the ship was searched, however, a naval officer identified only as Lt.Col.A. said no weapons were found." If no weapons were found, but shots were heard, any intelligent, thoughtful human would also be able to deduce that the boat was unarmed. Israel is definitely not being entirely truthful in its reports and the press does NOT dig deeper to get at the truth.
Peggy