Tuesday, June 1, 2010
How the Israeli government and it's supporters are harming Israel
"...and you pray for its destruction, you should:
* Support the blockade of Gaza and the methods used to sustain it unreservedly and uncritically.
* Support Netanyahu and his far right coalition of Likudniks, racist supporters of ethnic cleansing and petty grafters.
* Denounce anyone offering even the mildest criticism as antisemites.
* Describe those who attack foreign flagged vessels in international waters as victims when those on those vessels resist.
* Oppose any compromise on settlements, Jerusalem or water rights.
* Support and sustain the current government of Israel and any tactics it uses to maintain the current status quo.
If your goal is the isolation, abandonment and ultimate destruction of the state of Israel, these tactics will drastically accelerate your goals."
Israel's attack on the aid flotilla was "an act of illegal warfare"
...
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.
...
Israeli raid on humanitarian aid flotilla condemned by the UN Security Council
The UN Security
Council has condemned acts leading to the deaths of civilians during
Monday's Israeli attack on a humanitarian aid convoy that was headed to
the Gaza Strip.
In a formal statement adopted after more than 10 hours of closed-door
negotiations, the council requested the immediate release of ships and
civilians held by Israel and called for an impartial investigation.
...
See also:
Previous Activists Killed By Israel
One of the ships in the Freedom Flotilla aid convoy is named Rachel Corrie, in honour of an American peace activist killed by an Israeli army bulldozer.
US Middle East policy in spotlight
... among some quarters in Washington, questions over unqualified US support for Israel remain.
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