June 3, 2010
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Peace Aggressors on the High Seas
Peace aggressors stage an ambush for Israeli commandos. Israel warns the 6 ships not to sail to Gaza and attempt to break the internationally recognized blockade on Hamas in Gaza. 5 ships are taken peacefully to be inspected for weapons, but the Marmara ship proves to be a carefully planned PR scheme by the IHH an organization accused of sponsoring terror under the guise of humanitarian aide. Armed with video cameras, stun grenades, swords and slingshots, these self proclaimed “peace activists” prove to be trained fighters.
Comments (34)
“attempt to break the internationally recognized blockade
on Hamas in Gaza.”
is it really internationally recognized blockade?
ugh, i clicked submit before i finished…
anyway, from all the sources i viewed, including this RT cross talk video (http://www.youtube.com/user/RussiaToday#p/u/3/G81256_g7ks), I don’t think the blockade is internationally recognized…
in fact, from my observation, many international bodies seems to be condemning the blockade for quite some time, just that they never do more than voice out the condemnation all these while…
of course, i’m not sure if the US recognize the blockade made it to be internationally recognized
It was wrong. A total bloodbath.
That wasn’t an “internationally recognized blockade” and those were aid workers, not terrorists. A nobel laureate died, volunteers bringing food and medicine to people.
Anyone who can attempt to justify this…well…I don’t even know what to think of that.
@lotta_valdez - It was not a total blood bath. The IDF were attacked right away boarding the ship. All the rest of the ships it was totally peaceful.
Israel needs to do this to protect themselves. Many of the ships bring weapons to Gaza. Weapons that are used to kill innocent Israelis
@maniacsicko - This is not American. This is a video done by a wonderful Israeli.
Israel had EVERY right to board that ship. If it would have diverted its course and submitted to inspection, none of this would have happened. If I had been in charge of the IDF I would have ordered that ship sunk.
@maniacsicko - I agree. Also, it’s not a blockade on “Hamas in Gaza.” Say it like it is, it’s a blockade on Gaza.
But I am beginning to really question the “aid” flotilla.
But some of the photos uploaded on the IDF’s Flickr of the “weapons” on board are marked as “taken in 2006″ which confuses me. Also they’ve been making a big deal out of the people on board the ship having bullet-proof vests as if that’s evidence of them being terrorist. uhh, hello. If I was going somewhere like that, I’d wanna be bullet-proof.
But yeah. I’m not too sure about the whole “aid” part because of that video footage. I’m just not sure what to think at all really.
I’m upset that there is no straight story. I feel like we’re being robbed of the truth.
But either way, Israel committed a crime by boarding the ship in international waters. If they wanted to do this right, they should have waited until the ship enters Israeli waters and then checked it. But they didn’t. That can’t be ignored.
@Kristenmomof3 - Israel does the same thing; kills innocent Palestinians. I’m not saying it’s right to kill innocent Israelis (it’s very wrong), but Israel is not 100% innocent in this. Both sides are making grave mistakes.
@GeoCachingFan - I am sure you have also heard that the same group is now sending 2 more ships. They have been very clear in their statements that they do not care about getting aid to Gaza…they just want to break the block aid.
It is easy to get actual aid to Gaza if that is really the point, which it is not.
@maniacsicko - @lotta_valdez - @OhItWontBeForever -
Your comment reply was incomplete.
@OhItWontBeForever - not sure what happened. Half of the comment disappeared.
@OhItWontBeForever - Both sides have made mistakes. I totally agree
@Kristenmomof3 - What was Israel’s mistake?
Okay, I sincerely don’t know how the normal people of Israelis is looking at this issue as a whole…
On one hand the Israel government is justifying its action on protecting its civilians…
But on the other hand, they are imposing an illegal blockade in the view of international law that deprived the gaza civilians of their basic needs…
Not to mention the gaza massacre that happened where lives and houses deminished with fierce force….
I’m not sure how all of these are being portrayed to the mass in israel, but to the outsiders, it is quite clear who is the agressor, and who is the one retaliating after being pushed and pressed hard in all possible way…
so I really want your view on this…
because, all the doings of the Israel government or armed force side, will definitely be the very cause of all the things that the israelis afraid of, like the rockets or bomb or whatever…
what’s your take on that?
@OhItWontBeForever - well, one is that they were not prepared for the pipes and knives. They went in there thinking that it would be peaceful, like the other ships were and like many ships before this ship.
Pipes and knives are expected to be found on a ship, really. They’re called tools.
By “mistake” I am thinking more along the lines of “illegal activity” and “violence.”
Like I said, I dunno if the aid workers were aid workers, but Israel kind of provoked the attacks by jumping on like that. You say Israel’s mistake was not foreseeing knives and pipes, well I could just as easily say that the people on board’s mistake was not foreseeing Israeli commandos jumping on, you know, because they were in international waters. You kinda don’t expect that to happen, at least not until you enter actually Israeli waters.
So if Israel’s second mistake was attacking (back) because they were surprised at the attacks with knives, then once again, I can say that the aid workers’ second mistake was attacking the Israeli soldiers because they were surprised at them jumping on when unexpected.
Do you see my point? Whether or not these people were terrorists, Israel dealt with it in the wrong way, and it can be argued that they brought the attack on themselves. If they “checked” the ship at the right time (read: in their own waters), then maybe they would have more of my sympathy.
@OhItWontBeForever - They would have. That is how it is normally done but the ships were refusing to obey orders to go to the port that they are supposed to go to. So Israel did what it did. Was that right? It is debatable. But none of it would have ever happened if the ship actually wanted to actually get the aid to gaza. They would have just done things the way they are supposed to be done and the aid would have gone there after being checked that they were not giving weapons. The ship was clear that it’s intent was to break the block aid and not give the supplies (The supplies are still going to Gaza…incase anyone was wondering what happened with the supplies) and the group running the ship is sending 2 more ships….not because of the need for supplies…they have been clear, their main intent is to break the block aid. That is what they really care about.
The block aid exists to protect Israel’s citizens.
@maniacsicko -
ahhh….when I try to reply to more then one person at a time Xanga seems to be chopping it off.
@OhItWontBeForever - on the flotilla aid mission, i think the whole mission is quite clear… just that certain people that join in the mission might have their own agenda…
and i’m starting to think that the israelis in israel actually believe that the blockade on gaza is actually recognized…. but i think it is quite clear thet under the international law, the blockade is illegal, and under the international law, the people of gaza have the right to retaliate to the ilegal acts on them… it might no be a licence for them to fly rockets to civilians, but they have the right to resists illegal action on them…
it is funny too on how all the reports on the dire conditions of the real situation due to the blockade and aggressions by the UN, WHO etc never really catch the attention of the media, or the mass… some people don’t actually know that gaza is under occupation… heck, some don’t even know what occupation really means…
@Kristenmomof3 - i think you might have a point in the intention in some of the aid ships that are coming to gaza… actually some of them actually mention that they want to bring the attention of the world to the situation in gaza… is there a situation in gaza? yes, there is… to the point of how easy to get aid to gaza… the UN person in the video i linked earlier said it’s not that easy…
@maniacsicko - Thank you for explaining better.
@lotta_valdez - This is the first I’ve heard of a Nobel laureate dying. I have followed this matter on NPR, CNN and BBC. Who was this person?
“A word on the legal position, which is very plain. To attack a foreign flagged vessel in international waters is illegal. It is not piracy, as the Israeli vessels carried a military commission. It is rather an act of illegal warfare.
Because the incident took place on the high seas does not mean however that international law is the only applicable law. The Law of the Sea is quite plain that, when an incident takes place
on a ship on the high seas (outside anybody’s territorial waters) the applicable law is that of the flag state of the ship on which the incident occurred. In legal terms, the Turkish ship was Turkish territory.
There are therefore two clear legal possibilities.
Possibility one is that the Israeli commandos were acting on behalf of the government of Israel in killing the activists on the ships. In that case Israel is in a position of war with Turkey, and the act falls under international jurisdiction as a war crime.
Possibility two is that, if the killings were not authorised Israeli military action, they were acts of murder under Turkish jurisdiction. If Israel does not consider itself in a position of war with Turkey, then it must hand over the commandos involved for trial in Turkey under Turkish law.
In brief, if Israel and Turkey are not at war, then it is Turkish law which is applicable to what happened on the ship. It is for Turkey, not Israel, to carry out any inquiry or investigation into events and to initiate any prosecutions. Israel is obliged to hand over indicted personnel for prosecution.”
– Craig Murray, former British Ambassador.
Here is the issue people. I refer to our vice-president who stated it best:
“US Vice President Joe Biden has said Israel has the right to protect
its security by boarding ships heading for Gaza, but warned Washington
would cajole its ally on the plight of Palestinians.
Despite a wave of global outrage over the Israeli commando assault on a Gaza aid
flotilla on Monday which killed nine people, the White House has so far
refused to explicitly single out the Israeli government for blame.
“I think Israel has an absolute right to deal with its security interest,”
Biden said in an interview with the “Charlie Rose” show broadcast by
PBS television late Wednesday.
“The truth of the matter is, Israel has a right to know — they’re at war with Hamas… whether or
not arms are being smuggled in.
“It’s legitimate for Israel to say, “I don’t know what’s on that ship. These guys are dropping eight
– 3,000 rockets on my people.” Here is the link: Link
The U.S. and any other country would do the same thing to secure their borders against an attack by suspected terrorists. International Waters is no longer applicable when at war. Israel is at war to protect their borders. You name a country that would not suspend the “international waters” rule if their security was at stake. So the issue in this case is not about what happened on that boat. The people on the boat were clearly challenging the rule. The issue is the Nation of Israel’s protection. If a potential terrorists was on international waters the U.S. would intercept them.
And all these other people pretending that their country would not violate “international waters” to protect their country are kidding themselves. The Nation of Israel should continue to protect itself. If the U.S. had a boat that was going to Canada or Mexico and the U.S. thought it had terrorists or weapons on board, we would intercept the boat. It is that simple. Why? Protection. If the U.S. intercepted the boat by force and the people on the boat resisted the search, the U.S. would take them into custody and if a fight started, some of them might end up over the edge of the boat.
By the way, is anyone in this thread suggesting would should honor the “international waters” of Germany if another Hitler came to power? It is silly to suggest it. If you are at war, the “international waters” may sometimes have to be violated in self-defense.
Israel is NOT at war in fact they have gone out of their way to say that they are not at war with the people of Gaza. Their blockade is illegal, plain and simple because they are NOT at war.
@maniacsicko - The blockade is not recognized internationally because at previous UN sessions, Israel has reiterated that it is not at war, it is merely “combating terrorism.” So no rules of warfare apply to Israel.
@Aaliyaan - Great points!
@staypeachy - Thank you
@lotta_valdez - Exactly.
This was a preemptive strike. And it was a false alarm.
Blame the Jews – where have I heard that before?
@Kristenmomof3 - “It is easy to get actual aid to Gaza if that is really the point, which it is not.”
Is that so?
@TheTheologiansCafe - if you are going to argue that point, would you still feel that way if Iran committed the same acts against a US Navy ship in the Persian Gulf? It would be international waters, Iran could argue that it felt threatened by the presence of the ship nearby that clearly carried weapons, and would attack in the interest of national security.
I think everyone claiming that Israel acted in the right needs to consider how they would feel if the ship were American. I’m sure it would be completely different.
@OhItWontBeForever - I have to agree with you on this. Is anyone else questioning what Iran is going to do after this mess is resolved?
@JJ_Ames - you definitely haven’t watched the video if you think that is what I am doing
@wonderlanndd - Agree completely. You made a good point. Like the president of Venezuela said -God forbid this incident had taken place in Venezuela.
@Kristenmomof3 - no,no, no, no! That’s not what I meant! I was actually making a sarcastic remark in defense of your position! Rereading it I can see how it’d be confusing – sorry!