“Our boat was rammed three times, twice in the front and one on the side,” McKinney told CNN Tuesday morning. “Our mission was a peaceful mission. Our mission was thwarted by the aggressiveness of the Israeli military.”Actually, mission accomplished. What we tend to forget is that war is many-faceted. There is the military component. And then there is the information component. McKinney, a longtime anti-Israel advocate and former congresswoman from Georgia, understands the power of information.
The mission was NOT a peaceful mission. Entering a war zone, even with relief supplies, to not only give aid and comfort to one side, but also to weaken another, is an act of aggression itself. The existence of an organization like the International Red Cross was an attempt at a non-aligned relief organization in times of war. In this case, Israel is forced to deal with the unarmed occupants (as far as they know) is a nonlethal manner.
That said, anyone entering a war zone expecting to be greeted with rose petals is truly an idiot. Which McKinney is not. Her goal was to give Israel a black eye. Israel Matzav, however, has some interesting details:
The moonbats on the boat have accused Israel of 'piracy on the high seas.' But their understanding of international law is incorrect.We must recognize "humanitarian efforts" for what they are: a war on Israel. I have nothing against, and in fact desire, ending the suffering in Gaza. But not at the expense of the Israeli people.
The movement's spokeswoman Greta Berlin told Israel National News that the incident occurred approximately 50-60 miles off the Gaza coast, in international waters. Any vessel can be legally required to identify itself in order to prevent it from entering prohibited territory although its passengers cannot be arrested in international waters, explained Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor.
They're also claiming that the Navy gunboat rammed the yacht, but Palmor shows that contention is ridiculous as well:
The Free Gaza boat, dubbed the Dignity, collided with a Navy boat, but Berlin said the activists on board have pictures to prove it was rammed, an allegation that Palmor said is ridiculous. "If we wanted to hit it intentionally, everyone would have drowned," he told Israel National News.Ministry spokesman Yossi Levy was quoted by a CNN correspondent on board the 60-foot vessel as saying that the collision occurred when a Navy boat tried to turn around. Free Gaza claimed that at least half a dozen Navy boats surrounded the Dignity.The activists reported they did not have enough fuel to return to Cyprus and that the Navy did not allow the boat to proceed to Egypt but is allowing the vessel to sail to Lebanon after originally ordering it to turn back to Cyprus.
While Israel allowed earlier 'mercy missions' to land, the government has apparently now had enough of this nonsense.
Defense Ministry spokesman Shlomo Dror said "the time has come to put a stop to these anarchists" who he said are not bringing any significant amount of
humanitarian supplies. He pointed out that Israel has opened Gaza crossings for
hundreds of tons of aid despite the ongoing rocket and mortar attacks on Israel.
More than 120 trucks entered Gaza Sunday and Monday, and 100 more are expected to reach the area Tuesday.
Free Gaza is a coalition of several groups, including the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), Israel Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) and Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR). All of those groups are financed by European governments.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment