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Freedom Flotilla: MV Rachel Corrie Bravely Heads for Gaza
Six British and Irish citizens on board ship which is still bound for Gaza, despite Israel insisting it will not be allowed to dock
A ship carrying aid to Gaza is still heading for the blockaded settlement, despite Israel insisting it will not be allowed to dock.
MV Rachel Corrie, which was named after a 23-year-old American killed in Gaza in 2003, is still bound for Gaza. (Photograph: Niall Carson/PA) The MV Rachel Corrie, which was part of the original Freedom Flotilla intercepted by the Israeli military, leaving nine activists dead, is due to arrive in Gaza at 8am on Saturday, organisers said today.
The ship fell behind the original fleet after suffering mechanical problems, but has been sailing towards the Israeli coast since yesterday.
There were earlier reports that the Rachel Corrie had turned back, but a spokesman for the ship confirmed this morning that it was still bound for Israel.
Martin O'Quigley, from the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign, which is working with the Free Gaza Movement, which organised the ship, said he spoke to two people on board at 7.30am this morning.
"They're 150 miles from Gaza, and they should be approaching the exclusion zone at 8am tomorrow morning," O'Quiqley said.
"They're about 80 miles from the previous interception point."
O'Quigley said he had spoken to both Máiread Maguire, the Nobel peace prize laureate, and Jenny Graham, from the Free Gaza Movement, two of a total of 11 passengers on the ship.
The Corrie is attempting to defy the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, who said yesterday that the ship would not be allowed to reach the blockaded area.
"We shall not allow the ships to reach Gaza. Not now and not later on," the Israeli news website ynet reporting him as saying.
"We intend to direct the Rachel Corrie ship to the Ashdod port and transfer its civilian goods to Gaza following a security check."
The Rachel Corrie, which is funded by the Free Gaza Movement, is carrying 11 passengers, including the Scottish Captain Eric Harcis. In addition to the six British and Irish citizens there are also five Malaysians travelling on the ship, including an MP and three journalists, organisers said.
The ship is attempting to reach Gaza four days after the Freedom Flotilla was intercepted, leaving eight Turkish nationals and one Turk with a US passport dead.
The Rachel Corrie is carrying school supplies, printing paper, children's shoes, wheelchairs, sports equipment and fire extinguishers, organisers said. Israel bars cement and other building materials from entering Gaza, saying that they are often used for building tunnels to smuggle in weapons and explosives.
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69 Comments so far
Show AllIsrael should blow it to kingdom come, as it is an act of aggression meant to aid and abet the Muslim terrorists in Arab-occupied Gaza.
http://www.davidbenariel.org/
Davy Baby 8:39 Boy are you subtle, did you do well in in charm school?
Being an ignorant Goyim, pray tell who are the nasty Arabs (Palestinians) occupying Gaza from? The Jews that were there, among others, 2,000 years ago?
I sincerely hope you have no children.
Who invented letter bombs, and suicide vests?
The same Zionist terrorist gangs Stern and Irgun (Rahm Emmanuels father) who blow up the 99 British, Palestinians and Jews in the King David hotel.
At least I can take solace in the fact that there is one nation more corrupt, ingnorant and violent than the USA.
"Who invented letter bombs, and suicide vests?" Who did invent them? The Tamil Tigers of Sri Lanka supposedly invented the suicide vest, but I can remember it as far back as the 1950s.
If the Iraelis were as "ignorant and violent " as you claim , there would be no Gaza.
It would be a barren wasteland . Just allowing Hamas and the Palistinians to exist shows that the Jews are more tolerant than you .
Excuse me, INDIVIDUALTERRY: lend me your ears...
I think there's a big aquifer under that there "barren wasteland. "
( which is why neither Egypt nor Israel are going to walk away quietly from that piece of land.)
Sadly, the telling comment in the article re: the Palestinians was that "They have to SMUGGLE IN...."' Wasn't that what the Warsaw Poles had to do?
Taking a cue from the U.S. and the recent underpants bomber, I suppose underwear is now banned in GAZA. ( notice it is called Gaza, and not yet the GAZA-BEN-GURION Condominium Association.
I do believe that certain people in Israel are ignorant of the power of public opinion when it shifts to the underdogs of the 21st century ( the Plaestinians.)
You said, "Allowing Hamas and the Palestinians to exist..".....that is a violent comment, if you really think about it.
However, the CIA, Hamas and Mossad have all been violent terrorists ( and some still are) ..... and this division of righteousness all starts by calling another group of humans, THE OTHER.
David's post is the kind of childish, hysterical remark that people who have no courage or morality make when confronted by folks who do.
q
David's post is a perfect example of what the Zionist regime represents: a violent, racist mentality that should never be allowed to exercise power anywhere.
Violent racists with nukes.
The Israeli government has proven that they have no respect the lives of non-Israelis and no respect for international law. What is to stop them from using nukes?
I hope you are right.
The only act of agrression is what Israel is doing to the Palestinians. Why are you Israeli's such damn cowards and theives? Steal land that doesn't belong to you, and then murder the people on the land as well, all in the interests of so called "security". It makes me sick to see how the US has no balls to stand up to these thugs. You want peace in the Middle East? Then have the US withdraw the 5 billion dollars it gives to welfare Israel and you will see how fast they will be peaceful. And one more thing, David, your comment just shows what an uncaring douchebag you really are.
Just wondering whether this post is serious, or is this a failed attempt at hyperbolic irony. I, and reasonable, humane people everywhere, pray it is the latter.
In 1947 the British announced a Blockade of their Palestinian Mandate. This was prompted in part by Israeli terrorist groups such as Haganah and Irgun and the Stern Gang that had been killing Civilians all over the region.
The ship , The Exodus arrived off shore filled with Jewish Refugees from war ravaged Europe , many of them survivors of the death camps. The British boarded that ship and three Refugees killed. This led to international outrage with World and JEWISH leaders the world over condeming the act.
From a legal standpoint, and given the Exodus was a ship filled with Illegal refugees rather then food and medicines, the British had a stronger moral and legal ground on which to stand.
I suppose one David Ben Ariel feels the British should have blown that ship to Kingdom come?
An excellent analogy
I have seen much more egregious things said here. Flagging any opposing view simply because it doesn't agree with you is more a neocon tactic than a liberal one.
This was obviously a provocative post, but could we be a bit more judicious with the flagging.
The best way to accomplish that would be to make the flagging a public thing. Just make it a comment that everyone can see rather than just the administrator. I'd like to know the reason a comment is flagged.
The above provocative post is just another troll, or a failed joke/attempt at irony.
On edit; I looked at the website he referred to in his post. Batshit crazy little mofo this one is.
I totally agree. All three paragraphs!
Agreed. The comment should stand as it is. It is more honest and typical than is usually obvious.
All those who do not think that Israel has a genocidal agenda in Gaza should have attended the demonstration recently in San Francisco.
The genocidal comment here only punctuates emphatically what we saw and heard with our own eyes from the Zionist counter demonstrators, more gargoyles than human in both word and gesture.
One would have actually had to be in attendance to take in the full force of the repellent awfulness.
It was tantamount to a violation of one's very human spirit. But then nothing could be less surprising.
That's Israel.
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2010/06/01/18649499.php
I've thought about this, too, and I agree that the anonymous "blackballing" of a comment, particularly those apparently arising from self-indulgent venting of personal pique, is particularly aggravating.
Having to do this openly might give a flagger pause, even if the flagger's identity is protected.
I raise the latter point because if someone flagged a comment without sufficient cause, others wouldn't be able to resist rebutting the lame flagging. And that could spiral into a recurring distraction, i.e. subthreads arguing over the validity of the flagging.
Given the primitive technical capabilities and administrative ambivalence toward comments in the first place, my edumacated guess is that they'd just as soon leave bad enough alone.
It's like CD's version of "don't ask/don't tell". ;)
Don't know "about act of aggression". But it WAS an "act of provocation". So was Selma.
I'm trying to understand which 10 commandments you read...?
Will Obomber allow this ship to also be Hijacked?
At this point in time defendeding Obomber is about as reasonable as defending Baby Bush.
BDS BDS BDS Support Evergreen College in their Divesture attempt.
FRANCIS BOYLE
Professor of international law at the University of Illinois College of Law in Champaign, Boyle said today: "The Israeli attack on the Gaza flotilla violated the SUA Convention [Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Maritime Navigation], to which Israel, Turkey, Ireland and the USA are all parties. This convention was pushed by the USA in reaction to the Achille Lauro hijacking and the murder of Leon Klinghoffer."
Excellent point.
not really, they do not compare
Why?
I have. I've also seen the autopsy reports of those shot on the Turkish ship. Close range gunshots to the back of the head is usually the result of an execution.
So how is it different from the Achille Lauro? I suppose one difference is that when Leon Klinghoffer was murdered, he wasn't murdered by soldiers.
The Turkish ship was trying to deliver humanitarian aid to a part of the world that is suffering. They were not 'intentionally putting herself in harm's way'. They expected that they'd be stopped, boarded and escorted to Israel to be deported. What they got was a violent act of piracy on the high seas.
Have the Isrealis returned the luggage of the passengers yet? No, they have not. Did they seize and edit video from the reporters who went with the convoy without paying for it? Yes, they did.
I'd hate to see you on a jury that had to decide a rape case. From your statement above you'd be the sort who believes that a woman asks to be raped because she was female; and thus inherently provocative...
I stand by my comment, the two incidents are night and day different. The Turkish ship understood running the blockade would result in no good outcome other than making a political statement, her mission was accomplished. I can of course understand that this incident is of extreme importance to all parties involved,one party feels wronged as does the other.
This of course has nothing to do with about personal comments about what someone may or may not do in a criminal trial where there are no facts given.
Israel is making a fool of itself around the world. A heavily armed Israeli army stopping unarmed civilians delivering humanitarian aid to a blockaded enclave doesn't look good.
Not to worry, we have a Nobel Peace Prise recipient as President,
I am sure he will use his peace makeing capabilities
to solve every violent act while he is in office.
The Zionist occupations of Gaza and the West Bank are illegal, therefore any blockade of either territory is illegal. The Palestinians remaining in both occupied territories have a right to use violence or nonviolence to defend themselves against ethnic cleansing and mass starvation, therefore any attempt by Israel to use a blockade to interdict weapons, as well as food or medicine, is also illegal.
All those opposed to Zionism and racism in general should applaud the heroic efforts of those on the Rachel Corrie, whether they use violence to resist an illegal Israeli attack, or whether they choose to remain nonviolent and let the Zionists confiscate their ship, together with its vital humanitarian supplies.
Who would have refused to help the Jews in the Warsaw ghetto by smuggling them whatever they wanted? Who condemned them for violently resisting Nazi ethnic cleansers? Only the Nazis and their racist accomplices.
Spot on, Ostrogoth. I love the simplicity of your argument.
What happened to the Turkish navy escort? It's about time a government stood up against the bad guys.
ground round said "What happened to the Turkish navy escort? "
The Turkish government said they would escort any future Turkish flagged ships. I noticed the article neglected to mention that the Rachel Corrie is an Irish flagged ship and that the government of Ireland had made a formal request to Israel to allow it to reach Gaza.
My thoughts for the well-being of all those courageous heroes and heroines on board the MV Rachel Corrie - may they reach Gaza (Palestine); may they remain unharmed; may the world make sure they are safe; may "Israel" (sic) be condemned by the world community.
Reversing brainwashing that we have all endured is hard work but necessary. And we have ALL been brainwashed by powerful forces to "believe" things that are against are best interests as a human community. I try to have compassion for evil-doers while also insisting on justice for the oppressed and harmed.
May the world rise up and end this insanity once and for all - long live Palestine!
If Israel is crazy enough, there could be another bloodbath on the Rachel Corrie, yet as far as I can tell, except for Furkan Dogan, the 19-year-old US citizen, the names of the victims, plus the names, locations and conditions of the injured, have not been released. Is that true? Who are these martyrs?
Whoever they are, the lives of nine of the most compassionate and caring individuals on the planet were just obliterated. May the lives of the courageous people on the Rachel Corrie be protected.
The names have in fact been released of all of the dead. This done by a Turkish Agency.
http://lawrenceofcyberia.blogs.com/news/2010/06/putting-names-to-faces.html
BTW this list does not include the injured and a number of witnesses claim that more were killed and their bodies thrown overboard by the Commandoes.
I am amazed that there are such caring and courageous people in the world. Reminds me of Raoul Wallenberg facing down the Nazis in Hungary, with nothing but his care and courage. Reminds me of Rachael Corrie facing down an Israeli bulldozer, with nothing but her care and courage. It makes me feel ashamed of my lack of such courage. Careful complainers, that what most of us on the CommonDreams site. We are not care-full about the plight of others, but care-full about our own safety in an era when no one is any longer safe.
"Care and courage"
I like that.
I like the way these two deceptively simple ideas necessarily go together.
And when they do, they change the world.
I think of it as challenge to power based on principle.
Everyone is over-reacting to an obvious troll.
This David person should by now be reveling in the success of his provocative post and planning to do more.
Lets have a serious discussion on this very important issue and ignore immature taunts.
Spot on!
Viva Rachel Corrie!!!
This flotilla idea goes a long way to show what small donations, and a few hundred people can do. The expeditions to come should do everything they can to be non-violent, because violence is what the US and Israel are good at. The deaths will not be in vain, anymore than the deaths at Kent State were, but there don't need to be any more, and activists should do everything they can to prevent it. The free Gaza movement should keep up the momentum, exploiting new ways to expose the criminality of the siege, using new and creative methods to draw attention to it.
"Israel bars cement and other building materials from entering Gaza, saying that they are often used for building tunnels to smuggle in weapons and explosives."
Just as Israel bars food, medical and school supplies, because they are "often used" to foster and improve the lives of Palestinians, who one day MIGHT build tunnels to smuggle in weapons and explosives.
The importance of the MV Rachel Corrie:
The arguments for boycott, divestment and sanctions as well as arguments related to internatonal law on the high seas and international law regarding sovereignty are all excellent arguments.
But of all the arguments to end the Isaraeli siege of Gaza--and all the ways to make those arguments--I think the actions of this flotilla most closely embodies and addresses the fundamental issue at hand and therefore makes the strongest argument.
The closest and most simple analogy I can think of to describe this is when the school bully takes your lunch.
That bully may well give you plenty of reasons for his actions. And the bully may even actually believe in those reasons and the righteousness of his position.
But merely pressuring the bully indirectly (through peers or parents), and arguing the merits of the bully's rationalizations alone(international law)--or at least making those things the primary argument, is in effect, accepting the premise of the bully's fundamental argument--which is injustice.
And that acceptance is an avoidance of the stronger argument.
Well done comment
"But merely pressuring the bully indirectly (through peers or parents), and arguing the merits of the bully's rationalizations alone(international law)--or at least making those things the primary argument, is in effect, accepting the premise of the bully's fundamental argument--which is injustice." –(gregsdiary)
Correct.
An "injustice" which exponentiates itself with impunity, proudly, almost with a barely suppressed glee, reveling in itself – is fully transmogrified into an evil which cannot be 'addressed', only ended.
Since the whole concept of "International law" is little more than a chimaera and a grotesque fallacy, it follows that 'arguments' based on it are disingenuous at best, since it does not exist except as a monument to its own meaninglessness.
The poster here is also correct that 'arguments' or 'pressure' on Israel whether in the form of sanctions, diplomatic admonishments, boycotts are all of little consequence and finally, moot.
But in the domain of the 'symbolic' and the image– the MV Rachel Corrie has already defeated the fascist blood state.
There is nothing to 'argue about' when discussing the Zionist obscenity. Nothing to be disputed or debated that does not degenerate into sophistry and obscene justifications of the inhuman.
Israel as a state practitioner of unrepentant terror should cease to exist–be forced not to exist– as a geopolitical entity and be dismantled with extreme prejudice, its leaders jailed, if not executed– for crimes against humanity.
Anything less is chaff in a wind blowing straight out of Hell. Laced with the sanguinary drift and odor of blood.
Israel, a violation of the life force itself– intolerably vulgarizing, denigrating and trivializing the immeasurable contributions to the human project by history's great Jews everywhere.
Carlos Marx, Leon Trotsky and Marcel Proust come immediately to mind.
Having said that, Onward MV Rachel Corrie!
This most closely resembles Gandhi and the Dandi Salt March where people just kept coming and no matter what the British did, they just kept coming, until the illegitimacy of British rule was exposed by their brutality and the Indians' persistence in standing up for what was right and their non-violence.
Description of Salt March. http://english.emory.edu/Bahri/Dandi.html
Real video of Salt March. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yE6MNIKbNXc&feature=fvw
Movie section on Salt March. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XarpddX1BI&feature=related
Gandhi's non-violence speech. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yMcNubXqc4&feature=fvw
For you, I guess, justice means: rocket attacks on Israeli citizens.
"For you, I guess, justice means: rocket attacks on Israeli citizens."
In other words:
justice = rocket attacks on Israeli citizens
or in a similar way:
justice = letting terrorists get away
I think that's how the mainstream media have successfully framed the issue regarding justice and injustice.
Not much of a choice is it?
No wonder there are so many willing to accept injustice.
Maybe people should question the "choices."