Israel-Palestine
Scrapbook
By Jesse Trieu and Austin Turgeon
Gaza blockade: Asia 1 aid convoy
reaches Palestinians
Some 160 activists took part in the land-andsea voyage
Some 100 pro-Palestinian activists, part of an Asian aid convoy,
have crossed into the Gaza Strip from Egypt.
The convoy's $1m (760,000 euros) worth of cargo was due to arrive
separately by boat later, organisers said.
Egypt refused visas to some Iranians and Jordanians travelling with
the convoy, which left India on 2 December.
Activists had planned to reach the Hamas-run Gaza Strip by 27
December, the second anniversary of Israel's 22-day Cast Lead
offensive on Gaza.
More than 1,400 Gazans and 13 Israelis died during the 2008-2009
Gaza war.
Continue reading the main story
Asia 1 aid convoy
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Drove from India to Syria; Sailed for Egypt, then crossed into Rafah
112 of 160 activists allowed to enter (Egypt denies visas to Iranians and
some Jordanians)
Aid ship unloaded at Egyptian port of el-Arish
Activists came from India, Japan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Malaysia, New
Zealand and Kuwait
Source: Palestinian Maan News
Israel said Operation Cast Lead was aimed at halting militant attacks
on Israel from Gaza.
According to the United Nations, the Israeli military campaign left
more than 50,000 homes, 800 industrial properties and 200 schools
damaged or destroyed.
The Asian aid convoy - dubbed Asia 1 - included a boat carrying 300
tonnes of medicine, food and toys, as well as four buses and 10 power
generators for hospitals, Palestinian officials have said.
It was the latest effort by international activists to break Israel's
blockade on the impoverished Gaza Strip.
In May 2010, nine activists on board a Turkish aid ship were killed
when Israeli naval commandos stormed their aid flotilla, sparking an
international outcry.
Continue reading the main story
Gaza blockade
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Guide: Eased Gaza blockade
Businesses under the blockade
Eased blockade still crippling: UN
Since then, the Israeli authorities have eased some of the restrictions
on imports into Gaza, but international aid agencies working there say
that there has been "little improvement" for people in Gaza.
Israel heightened restrictions on Gaza after Palestinian militants
captured one of its soldiers, Gilad Shalit, in June 2006. He has yet to
be released.
Israel and Egypt further tightened the blockade in 2007 after the
Islamist movement Hamas came to power. Israel, the US and the EU
regard Hamas as a terrorist organisation.
Over the past decade, Hamas has fired thousands of rockets into
Israel, although that number has declined dramatically since Operation
Cast Lead.
The rockets fired by Palestinian militant groups into Israel rarely cause
injury or damage, but they do cause widespread fear.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12108592?print=true
Israel to reject UN call for flotilla raid probe
Israel is expected to reject calls from the United Nations and others for an international
investigation of its deadly raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla.
Israelis stage a protest on Monday outside Turkey's
embassy in Tel Aviv against Turkey's support for the Gaza-bound ships. (Ronen Zvulun/Reuters)
At least nine people were killed when six ships trying to break the three-year blockade of Gaza
were raided by Israeli commandos early Monday.
Israel says the commandos used force only after activists on board a Turkish flagship attacked
them. Nine of the activists were killed.
Turkey, an unofficial backer of the flotilla, has accused Israel of committing a "bloody massacre"
against civilians delivering humanitarian aid.
The UN's assistant secretary general, Oscar Fernandez-Taranco, said Monday in his briefing to
the Security Council that the bloodshed would have been avoided "if repeated calls on Israel to
end the counterproductive and unacceptable blockade of Gaza had been heeded."
Israel's military is already investigating the raid.
An official in the prime minister's office said there is "no case in recent history" where a
democratic country's army involved in the deaths of civilians in an overseas operation has been
subjected to an international investigation.
The government is expected to announce its refusal formally later in the day.
The raid prompted international criticism and fresh calls to lift the blockade of Gaza, although
the details of what happened during the military raid are still not entirely clear.
Canadian Farooq Burney was on board the ship that was attacked.
He said the Israeli navy approached the boat at dawn on Monday and threw a smoke bomb onto
it. The smoke bomb exploded, causing people to yell and scream, he said. Then commandos
descended from a helicopter above and boarded the boat.
"When the commandos came in, the people on the boat started spraying them with water because
they did not want them to get on the ship," Burney told CBC News. "And when the people in the
helicopter came, they obviously had guns with them and they were, you could say were ready for
action, and at that point [it] turned to hand-to-hand combat."
New flotilla underway
Pro-Palestinian activists say they are organizing a new flotilla to try to break Israel's blockade of
Gaza in early fall.
Palestinians burn an Israeli flag on Monday during a
protest against Israel's interception of Gaza-bound ships. (Mohammed Salem/Reuters)
And an Irish-owned cargo ship is already steaming toward Gaza, expected to arrive as early as
this weekend.
The MV Rachel Corrie is believed to be carrying 11 passengers, a much smaller contingent than
the 700 activists believed to have been on Monday's flotilla.
It is carrying 1,000 tonnes of aid, the Belfast Telegraph reported Thursday.
Israel insists it, too, will be stopped.
The 10,000 tonnes of aid from the original flotilla, organized by the Free Gaza movement,
remains stuck at the Israel-Gaza border.
Israel had been keen to show it would let the aid in as promised. But a Hamas government
minister said the aid would not be let through until all of the protesters on board the flotilla are
released from custody without exception.
Israel has deported 527 activists from countries including Greece and Turkey. Activists from
Australia, Ireland and Italy remain in custody, as do a number of Israel citizens who had been on
board the ships.
Free Gaza Movement spokeswoman Greta Berlin said her group is working with the European
Campaign to End the Siege to send at least three aid ships to Gaza in September or October.
Turkish Islamic charity IHH is welcome to join the flotilla, despite Israel's allegation the group
has terror ties, she said.
With files from the BBC's John Donnison
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/06/03/israel-gaza-shipsflotilla.html#ixzz1A7Wb2dn1
Israeli air strikes hit Gaza
Gaza City, Gaza (CNN) -- Israeli warplanes launched airstrikes Tuesday at two cities in Gaza, but
there were no immediate reports of casualties, Palestinian and Israeli officials said.
One of the strikes was in the southern city of Rafah, the other was on a training field for the military
wing of Hamas in the central Gaza city of Deir El-Balah, a Hamas police spokesman and sources
with the Palestinian ambulance services told CNN.
In a joint statement, the Israel Defense Forces and the Israeli Security Academy said the attacks
were carried out on two Hamas-linked sites in response to rocket fire.
The Israeli Air Force targeted "a Hamas terror activity center in the central Gaza Strip and a
smuggling tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip," it said. "Direct hits were confirmed."
The statement said the sites were targeted "in response to this morning's firing of a Qassam Rocket
at the Ashkelon Shore Regional Council, home to 13,000 residents."
Journalist Talal Aburahma contributed to this story from Gaza City.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/01/04/gaza.air.strikes/index.html?iref=allsearch
4 injured in Israeli airstrike on Gaza
Israeli security officers look at the site December 21 where a rocket fired from Gaza landed in Kibbutz Zikim, southern Israel.
Jerusalem (CNN) -- Four Hamas militants were injured Tuesday in an Israeli airstrike, Palestinian
medical officials said.
The Israel Defense Forces said it targeted "a Hamas terror activity center in the southern Gaza Strip.
A direct hit was confirmed."
The airstrike was in retaliation for rockets fired from Gaza into southern Israel over the past week,
the Israeli military said. On Tuesday morning, two people -- a teenager and a truck driver -- were
lightly injured when a rocket landed near a kindergarten in Kibbutz Zikim, the Israeli military said.
The rocket was a Qassam, the crude, homemade projectile used by Palestinian militants in Gaza.
The four militants were injured in the Tuesday airstrike on a Qassam rocket site in Rafah, the
medical officials said.
Overnight Monday, the Israel Air Force said it attacked seven sites in Gaza. Three Palestinians were
wounded in the attacks, according to Palestinian medical officials -- one, a Palestinian laborer whose
leg had to be amputated after an airstrike on a yogurt factory in Gaza, and two Hamas militants
injured from shrapnel in another airstrike on a Qassam site.
Since Monday, 15 such projectiles have landed in Israel, Israel Defense Forces said. Since 2010
began, "over 200 Grad missiles, Qassam rockets and mortar shells have been fired from the Gaza
Strip into Israeli territory."
CNN's Michal Zippori, Kareem Khadder and journalist Ibrahim Dahman contributed to this report.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/12/21/israel.rocket.fire/index.html
Arrests made in alleged plan to fire rocket
into stadium in Jerusalem
London (CNN) -- Israeli authorities arrested last month two local staff members of the British
Consulate-General in Jerusalem in connection with an alleged plan to fire a rocket into a Jerusalem
stadium during a soccer game, a British Foreign Office spokesman said Monday.
"We are aware of reports that they may be charged with the illegal sale of weapons," said the
spokesman who, following government tradition, declined to be identified.
"We are urgently seeking confirmation of the charges," the spokesman said. "We have been told by
the Israeli authorities that the investigation into our two employees is unrelated to the work they do at
the consulate. It is not appropriate to comment further on what is an ongoing legal process."
The Israeli police did not immediately confirm the report.
Monday's announcement came a day after Israeli police announced that five members of Hamas
were charged in the alleged plot.
The five were arrested in November, Israeli police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld said.
According to a statement from Israel's security service, the Shin Bet, the two main suspects were
identified as Mussa Hamada of East Jerusalem, and Bassem Omri, an Israeli citizen living in Beit
Tzafafa. Both are members of Hamas and the "Muslim Brothers" movement in Jerusalem, the Shin
Bet said.
The pair are suspected of planning terrorist attacks following Israeli airstrikes on Gaza in 2008, the
statement said.
Three other Palestinians were charged with selling them pistols, Shin Bet said.
CNN's Shira Medding and Kevin Flower contributed to this story.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/01/03/israel.stadium.plot/index.html
Palestinian leaders: No peace talks without
broad settlement freeze
Jerusalem (CNN) -- Palestinian leaders said Sunday that they will not proceed with peace talks with
Israel unless the Jewish state completely halts settlement construction in the West Bank and East
Jerusalem.
"If there is no complete halt to settlement building on all Palestinian land including Jerusalem, we will
not accept it," Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Sunday.
But Israeli settlers who are opposed to a freeze on construction demonstrated in Jerusalem Sunday.
About 5,000 people protested for two hours, Israeli police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld said.
The protest was "the first move in an upcoming struggle," said Benny Katzover, a settler leader in
the West Bank.
The demonstration was to press Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "to stop giving in to
pressure and guard the State of Israel," Katzover told CNN.
Last week, an Israeli government source said Netanyahu was insisting on a number of conditions for
a settlement freeze -- including that such a the freeze would expire in 90 days -- before presenting a
agreement to resume peace talks to his cabinet.
The United States is committed to enticing Israeli and Palestinian leaders back into peace talks, a
State Department spokesman said Tuesday.
On Wednesday, Netanyahu's office said that discussions about Jerusalem's territory should also be
off the table for the talks. "The Israeli position has been clear all along that building in Jerusalem
was, is and will continue," the office said in a statement.
The statement came a week after Netanyahu met with U.S. Secretary of Secretary Hillary Clinton
and as details emerged of an American proposal to coax Israel back to negotiations with the
Palestinians.
But Abbas distanced himself from any such proposal on Sunday.
"We told the Americans that we have nothing to do with their package which they want to present to
the Israelis because they have their own relations," Abbas told Egypt's Nile News TV. "But
connecting such deals as conditions to resume negotiations is absolutely rejected by our side."
A reported American proposal to resume talks does not include any limit on Israeli construction in
East Jerusalem, a source of major conflict between Palestinians and Israelis.
The statement from Netanyahu's office said that the prime minister hopes to wrap up talks soon with
the U.S. administration and present to his cabinet a proposed agreement on settlement building "that
will reflect the understandings that were achieved with Secretary of State Clinton."
Other Palestinian leaders also said Sunday that they were unprepared to reenter peace talks without
a broad settlement freeze.
"The Palestinian leadership had decided (it) will go to talks if Israel completely halts settlement
construction in the Palestinian territories including East Jerusalem and any partial settlement freeze
is not going to be welcomed and accepted by the Palestinian leadership," Mohamad Shtayeh, a
Fatah Central Committee member and a member of the Palestinian negotiating team, told CNN.
CNN's Kareem Khadder and Michael Schwartz contributed to this report.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/11/21/israel.settlements/index.html
Israelis slam Obama statement on
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (CNN) -- President Barack Obama's disappointment over Israel's plans for new housing
in east Jerusalem has drawn criticism from the prime minister's office and the country's settler
council.
Appearing before reporters in Indonesia on the second leg of his Asian trip, Obama was asked
whether "Israel's advanced planning for more than a thousand new homes in Jerusalem"
undermines his peace efforts and trust between Israelis and Palestinians.
"I've been out of town, so I'm just seeing the press reports. I have not had a full briefing on Israel's
intentions and what they've communicated to our administration," Obama said.
"But this kind of activity is never helpful when it comes to peace negotiations. And I'm concerned that
we're not seeing each side make the extra effort involved to get a breakthrough that could finally
create a framework for a secure Israel living side and side in peace with a sovereign Palestine," he
said.
"We're going to keep on working on it, though, because it is in the world's interest, it is in the interest
of the people of Israel, and it is in the interest of the Palestinian people to achieve ... that agreement.
But each of these incremental steps can end up breaking down trust between the parties."
The Israeli government said Monday it is proceeding with plans for about 1,000 new housing units in
east Jerusalem, a move that the chief Palestinian negotiator said would derail already suspended
peace talks.
Construction of settlements in the West Bank, as well as new housing in Jerusalem, have been
criticized by the Palestinians, and such activity has been a stumbling block in the direct negotiations
renewed by the Obama administration.
Israel seized east Jerusalem in the 1967 Six Day War, annexed the ancient city, and established the
nation's capital there. The international community, however, does not recognize Jerusalem as
Israel's capital, and embassies in the country have based themselves in Tel Aviv. Palestinians
envision the eastern part of the city as its future capital in a two-state solution.
Israel differentiates the settlements from the West Bank, the land seized from Jordan in the 1967
war, from the housing in the politically undivided city of Jerusalem.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Jerusalem "is not a settlement." The city, it said, is
the "capital of the state of Israel."
"Israel has never restricted itself regarding any building in Jerusalem," his office said, and that
includes the 10-month moratorium on construction in the West Bank that ended in late September.
The issue of settlement construction has been the first major obstacle of direct Israeli-Palestinian
peace talks resumed in August. The talks were suspended in September when Israel refused to
extend the moratorium on settlement construction in the West Bank.
"Israel sees no connection between the peace process and its planning and building policy in
Jerusalem, which has not changed over the past 40 years. All of the Israeli governments in the past
40 years have built in all parts of the city,"
The office said that during the period when Israel signed peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan and
negotiated with Palestinians, building in Jerusalem hadn't obstructed the peace process
Netanyahu's office said the disagreements between United States and Israel over Jerusalem "are
not a new thing and they have existed for 40 years."
"We hope to overcome them and continue to make progress in negotiations for peace. PM Benjamin
Netanyahu is looking forward for his planned meeting with the Secretary of State [Hillary] Clinton on
Thursday in order to promote the peace talks."
The Yesha Council, which represents the settlements in the West Bank, said Obama's statements
show he's "out of touch with the reality of the facts on the ground."
"Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel and it must remain undivided," said Yesha Council
Chairman Danny Dayan. "This is the ultimate hypocrisy to say one thing in an election campaign and
to take the opposite position in reality."
"The people of Israel have every right, both legal and moral, to build for the needs of our families and
the future of our nation in our undivided capital," he said. "These continued pronouncements by an
American president so critical of the only democracy in the Middle East only serve to further damage
the historically strong relations between our two countries."
Efrat Orbach, spokeswoman for Israel's Interior Ministry, told CNN that the ministry had published
details for permits for the new units in the neighborhoods of Har Homa and Ramot. Both areas lie on
the side of the Green Line generally considered part of east Jerusalem.
Orbach said the units had been approved six months ago and last week's publication of details for
the housing permits was advertised to allow the public to register any opposition to the construction.
Saeb Erakat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, told CNN that Monday's announcement shows Israel is
committed to the settlements at the cost of a possible peace agreement.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/11/09/mideast.reaction.obama/index.html
Israel removes gunfire barrier in disputed
Jerusalem neighborhood
Jerusalem (CNN) -- Israeli troops Sunday began dismantling a concrete barrier built to protect a
disputed Jewish neighborhood in Jerusalem from Palestinian sniper fire, citing improvements in
security since its 2001 construction.
The barrier was built during the height of the Palestinian uprising in the early 2000s, when the
neighborhood of Gilo came under periodic fire from the Palestinian West Bank town of Beit Jala. Its
removal has been made possible due to "the stable security situation in the area," according to a
statement from the Israel Defense Forces.
Gilo is built on land Israel occupied in the 1967 Mideast war. Israelis consider it a southern
neighborhood of Jerusalem, while Palestinians consider it occupied West Bank territory.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/08/15/israel.barrier/index.html
Israel steps up Ramadan security in
Jerusalem
Palestinian Muslims show their IDs at an Israeli army checkpoint in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on August 13, 2010
Jerusalem (CNN) -- Israel will deploy 3,000 police officers in and around Jerusalem to prevent any
outbreak of violence as Muslims gather for the first Friday prayers for the holy month of Ramadan,
police said.
The emphasis will be the Old City of Jerusalem, said police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld.
The deployment is aimed at preventing violence around the Al Aqsa mosque, which has been a
flashpoint of past clashes between Israelis and Palestinians.
There will be no restrictions to enter the compound around the mosque, Jerusalem police
spokesman Shmulik Ben Rubi said. The compound is known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to
Muslims as Haram-al-Sharif.
There are, however, certain restrictions on Palestinians entering Jerusalem from the West Bank,
Israeli police said. The restrictions apply to all men younger than 50 and all women younger than 45,
Rosenfeld and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said.
There are no restrictions on Israeli Muslims, the IDF said.
In March, dozens of people were hurt during clashes around the mosque and police used tear gas
and rubber bullets against protesters. That violence was sparked by anger at Israel's decision to
place two religious shrines in the West Bank on a list of Zionist heritage.
The following week, Israel sealed off the West Bank and tightened security around the Old City after
authorities announced controversial plans to build new apartments on disputed land. Israeli police
also restricted worshipers from entering the mosque for Friday prayers.
There were also several arrests at the holy site in February and last October. In 1996, dozens of
people were killed in rioting at the mosque.
CNN's Paula Hancocks and Michal Zippori contributed to this report.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/08/13/israel.friday.prayers/index.html
Palestinians riot to protest synagogue
reopening
Jerusalem (CNN) -- Palestinians hurled rocks and burned tires in several neighborhoods in East
Jerusalem Tuesday to protest the reopening of a landmark synagogue after more than 60 years.
Officers dispersed the crowd by firing stun grenades in one area, and village elders helped end the
riots in another, said police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld.
At least seven people in the Mount of Olives neighborhood were wounded when police fired rubber
bullets.
In all, 91 people were wounded in the clashes, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said.
About 3,000 officers were deployed in the city after the militant group Hamas declared Tuesday a
"Day of Rage."
The group was protesting the reopening of the Hurva synagogue on Monday. However, rumors
swirled that right-wing groups were planning to ascend the Temple Mount, where al-Aqsa Mosque is
located.
Senior Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, in a speech Monday in Syria, called on Palestinians to take
to the street to protect Jerusalem and its Islamic and Christian shrines. The Palestinian Authority
suggested Israel was "preventing citizens from reaching the Old City ... to pray in al-Aqsa Mosque,
as part of increasing provocative policies violating international law and human rights."
"Pay no attention to malicious slander," said Rabbi Yona Metzger, chief rabbi of Israel, told the
Jewish news agency JTA on Monday. "All we are doing is resurrecting the Hurva that was destroyed
60 years ago. All the rumors that suggest we will later march on Temple Mount are just that -rumors."
However, the incident is only the latest to ratchet up tensions between Israelis and Palestinians. The
synagogue is located in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City. The Old City also includes East
Jerusalem, seen as Palestinians as the capital of their future state.
Israel claims sovereignty over all of Jerusalem since it took over East Jerusalem and the West Bank
in 1967 in the Six-Day war. The rededication has underlined Palestinian concerns that Israel is
attempting to bring more Jews into East Jerusalem and drive Palestinians out, particularly as it
comes on the heels of an Israeli announcement last week that 1,600 more housing units would be
built in the Ramat Shlomo neighborhood of East Jerusalem. The synagogue rededication, however,
had been planned for months in advance, according to organizers.
In a statement Tuesday, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights said it "strongly condemns recent
measures taken by Israel in East Jerusalem, the latest of which has been the inauguration of a
synagogue in the old city. PCHR holds Israel responsible for the escalation of the situation in the
occupied Palestinian territory."
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, meeting in Madrid, Spain, with the Spanish minister of defense,
said, "Israel will not allow extremists to dictate and force political arrangements.
"I have said this times before and I repeat: Israel is strong ... and must reach political arrangements
out of this position," Barak said. "Lack of political negotiations will strengthen and encourage the
extremists of both sides and the riots in Jerusalem today proves so. A political arrangement will only
be achieved by direct negotiations."
Construction on the synagogue began in 1700, but halted, according to the Web site of Sacred
Destinations, which describes itself as an educational and travel resource. It was restarted in 1836
and the synagogue was completed in 1856. The synagogue was destroyed by the Jordanian Arab
Legion in 1948. Conservation and investigation of the ruins began in 1977.
Meshaal also warned the international community that Israel is "playing with fire" that could lead to a
regional blowup.
Speaking to reporters Monday, U.S. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said there were
American concerns "about the tensions regarding the rededication of a synagogue in the Jewish
quarter of the Old City. And we are urging all parties to act responsibly and do whatever is
necessary to remain calm."
At a memorial service Tuesday for late Israeli prime ministers and presidents, President Shimon
Peres said: "We cannot afford to unravel the delicate fabric of friendship with the United States.
"Today, we are also at a decisive moment and we must decide without the determination of external
parties. That is, decide that even in a time of threats we will not give up on peace. The heritage of
our leaders guides us and our children as such."
Last month, protests erupted after the Israeli government announced it would include two West Bank
religious shrines as part of a larger list of 150 Zionist heritage sites.
CNN's Kevin Flower and Michal Zippori contributed to this report.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/03/16/israel.synagogue.dedication/index.html
Israel: EU call to split Jerusalem would risk
peace hopes
Israeli left wing activists hold placards during a rally in downtown Jerusalem.
JERUSALEM (CNN) -- The Israeli government reacted strongly Tuesday to a report that the
European Union is planning on officially calling for the division of Jerusalem between Palestinians
and Israelis.
In a tersely worded statement the Israeli Foreign Ministry warned, "There is nothing new in the
European position, but the process being led by Sweden damages the EU's capability of being a
significant player in the mediations between Israel and the Palestinians."
The Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz reported Tuesday that European Union foreign ministers could
make the announcement calling for the division of Jerusalem next week.
The newspaper said it obtained a draft document authored by the current holder of the EU
presidency, Sweden, that stated the EU Council "has never recognized the annexation of East
Jerusalem. If there is to be a genuine peace, a way must be found to resolve the status of Jerusalem
as capital of two states. The Council calls for the reopening of Palestinian institutions in Jerusalem in
accordance with the road map. It also calls on the Israeli government to cease all discriminatory
treatment of Palestinians in East Jerusalem."
The Road Map cited in the statement is a peace plan proposed by the Middle East Quartet -- the
United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations.
The newspaper also reports the document says the EU will accept no changes to the 1967 borders
of a future Palestinian state unless approved by the Palestinian Authority.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry also asserted, "Following significant steps taken by the Israeli
government to allow for the renewal of talks between Israel and the Palestinians, Europe must put
pressure on the Palestinians to return to the negotiating table. Moves such as the one spearheaded
by Sweden have an opposite effect."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been pushing for a resumption of talks following his
decision to order a 10-month freeze in settlement construction on the West Bank.
That decision, which has set off confrontations with Israel's volatile settler movement, does not
include Jerusalem. But Netanyahu has urged the Palestinians to take advantage of the "window"
created by the freeze to resume negotiations.
An explicit call from the European Union to divide the city for the creation of a capital for a future
Palestinian state would represent a departure from previous EU policy which has called for the two
sides to share the city based on mutual agreement and would also be seen as a victory by
Palestinian officials who in recent weeks have called for a United Nations vote to recognize a
Palestinian state.
The press office for the European Union would not comment publicly on any announcements or
deliberations by member states.
Israeli and Palestinians both claim East Jerusalem as their own and tensions over the area have
boiled over in recent weeks with Palestinians and Israeli security forces clashing on numerous
occasions. Israel seized East Jerusalem in the 1967 war with its Arab neighbors and annexed it as
part of its sovereign capital; a move not recognized by the international community.
Yigal Palmor, a spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry told CNN the Israeli government believes
any statements from the European Union that explicitly recognize a Palestinian claim to East
Jerusalem must be accompanied by a parallel statement recognizing the Jewish state's claim to
West Jerusalem. Not to do so, he said, would throw the efforts to resume negotiations with
Palestinians into "uncertainty and limbo."
The language of the Israeli government statement underscores a frustration with Sweden over what
officials in Jerusalem see as an increasingly anti-Israel stance from the Scandinavian country.
Israeli government officials who wished to remain anonymous, citing the sensitivity of the issue, said
since Sweden had assumed the EU presidency no outreach or consultation with Israel had taken
place and from their actions it looked like "they are plotting" against Israel as it relates to restarting
negotiations with the Palestinians.
Relations between Sweden and Israel reached a low point over the summer after a bitter row over a
Swedish newspaper report that accused Israeli soldiers of killing Palestinians in order to sell their
organs. The report elicited a furious reaction from the Israeli government which called on Sweden to
publicly denounce the article, a move the Swedish government refused to do citing freedom of the
press.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/12/01/israel.eu.jersusalem/index.html#cnnSTCText
Israel criticized for barring Palestinian
firefighters
Jerusalem (CNN) -- Israel's refusal Tuesday to allow four Palestinian firefighters to cross the border
from the West Bank to attend a ceremony for their role in putting out the country's largest-ever fire
has prompted a torrent of criticism.
Ahmed Tibi, an Arab member of Israel's Knesset who helped organize the ceremony, said he was
shocked when when he received a call from one of the firefighters, informing him that he and three
others were being denied entry into Israel because of security concerns.
"The Palestinian firefighters did their humane duties in fighting a natural disaster, but this behavior
shows the true face of the Israeli occupation," Tibi said.
The ceremony was to salute 11 Palestinian firefighters who were among the many foreigners
volunteering to help Israelis put out the worst fire in the nation's history. The blaze killed 43 people
this month.
The ceremony, which was being held in the northern town of Isifya, near where the fire began, was
canceled in protest of Israel's decision.
The Israeli government office that oversees the crossings with the Palestinian territories issued a
statement expressing "regret" over the incident but asked that "a fuss" not be made.
For its part, the Palestinian Authority government was quick to lambaste Israel in a statement, asking
why "the same Palestinian firemen who where permitted to enter Israel last week to put the fire out
are not permitted to enter today to be honored?"
It went on to say that "despite the occupation, our participation in putting out the fire was a humane
duty, and we did not think the occupation would have ended the day after."
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/12/14/israel.firefighter.ceremony/index.html
Palestinian officials: Israeli forces kill two
militants
Palestinians pray over the bodies of two militants killed by Israeli forces in Gaza on Sunday.
(CNN) -- Israeli forces killed two militants in Gaza on Sunday morning, Palestinian officials said.
The forces said they saw suspects "planting explosives along the security fence along the southern
Gaza Strip."
A spokesman for the forces confirmed the attacks, saying there were "direct hits," but did not provide
the number of people killed.
Palestinian officials confirmed an exchange of fire occurred between Israeli forces and "Islamic jihad
militants" east of Khan Younis.
Saraya al-Quds militants said in a statement that two of their fighters were killed.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/12/26/israel.attack/index.html
Two injured in strike in Gaza
(CNN) -- Two suspected militants were injured in Gaza Thursday after Israeli forces fired at them,
Hamas security sources said.
The Israel Defense Forces said they fired at the suspected militants after they were spotted planting
explosive devices.
"The IDF holds the Hamas terrorist organization solely responsible for maintaining the calm in the
Gaza Strip and for any terrorist activity emanating from it," the IDF said in a statement.
Officials with Hamas said a group of militants were in the area near an abandoned building but it was
not clear if they were planting explosives.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/11/11/gaza.strike/index.html
2 Palestinian militants killed, 1 Israeli
soldier hurt in Gaza clash
(CNN) -- Two members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad were killed and an Israeli soldier was
wounded in a clash Saturday in Gaza, Palestinian and Israeli officials said.
The incident occurred Saturday evening when Israeli soldiers saw two suspects near a security
fence in the central Gaza Strip, according to an Israel Defense Forces statement. The troops fired
and killed both.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad sources confirmed that two members had died, saying it happened during
a clash with Israeli special unit forces in that area, east of Albraij.
While Israeli forces subsequently checked the area, shots were fired -- leaving one of the soldiers
"moderately wounded," the Israeli statement said. Gunfire continued for a short time, but it did not
result in any more injuries or deaths.
A helicopter transported the wounded soldier for treatment.
CNN's Talal Abu-Rahme contributed to this report.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/12/11/israel.gaza.gunfight/index.html
Sources: Explosive kills 2 teens in Gaza
Relatives cry at the funeral for one of the 2 teens who were killed in the explosion.
Jerusalem (CNN) -- Two 16-year-old Palestinian boys were killed and three other teens were
injured in Gaza on Friday from an unexploded Israeli ordnance, Palestinian medical and security
officials said.
Hamas security sources say the explosive device was left over from Israel's 22-day Gaza offensive
that began two years ago. There was no immediate Israeli response to this incident.
The Palestinian sources also reported the wounding of two people in Gaza, one a worker collecting
gravel near the Erez Crossing and another a farmer east of Khan Younis.
An Israel Defense Forces spokesman said Israeli forces fired shots when suspicious people
approached the fence between Gaza and Israel in two separate locations. One incident occurred in
northern Gaza and the other took place near Khan Younis.
Troops first fired warning shots in the air but the people continued moving. Then, they fired at their
legs, the IDF said.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/12/10/gaza.israel.violence/index.html
Israelis intercept aid boat to Gaza
The Irene was intercepted on Tuesday by the Israeli navy as it tried to sail to Gaza. The boat set off from Cyprus on Sunday
Jerusalem (CNN) -- The Israeli navy took over an aid vessel that attempted to sail to Gaza on
Tuesday despite a blockade to the occupied territory, a spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces
said.
No one was injured when the navy took over and boarded the boat, named the Irene, which the navy
was taking to a port in Ashdod, the IDF spokesman said.
Israeli authorities questioned the five Israelis aboard at a police station in Ashdod, said Smadar Ben
Natan, their lawyer.
But she is being denied access to the foreigners, she told CNN, and said she is concerned.
Previous passengers of ships trying to break the Gaza blockade have been allowed to see lawyers,
she said.
One of the organizers of the boat condemned the Israeli action, saying it showed Israel has "no real
intentions of reaching peace."
The boat and its fate are a symbol of the chances for peace in the region, Richard Kuper of Jews for
Justice for Palestinians said in a statement.
The IDF said the yacht was boarded "without incident and no violence of any kind was used by
either the passengers on board or the Israel naval forces.
"Prior to boarding the yacht, the Israeli naval ships transmitted two warnings to its captain, making
him aware that they are breaking both Israeli and international law. These warnings were ignored by
the captain of the yacht and its passengers, who sailed further into the area under naval blockade,"
the IDF said.
The boat, named the Irene, set sail Sunday from Cyprus with 10 passengers and crew, including
Jews from the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and Israel.
Physicians for Human Rights have asked to see the passengers, the organizers said.
Organizers said the boat would attempt to reach the Gaza coast and unload its cargo of donated
items as an act of both "solidarity and protest," calling for the Israeli blockade of Gaza to be lifted.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry had promised Monday it would tell the boat to dock instead at Al Arish
port in northeastern Egypt near Gaza or at Israeli ports in Ashdod. If the boat refused, it would be
intercepted and towed to Ashdod, said ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor.
The boat's cargo includes children's toys, musical instruments, textbooks, fishing nets, and
prosthetic limbs, the organizers said. They planned to deliver the goods to the Gaza Mental Health
Program.
"Israeli government policies are not supported by all Jews," said Kuper of Jews for Justice for
Palestinians, one of the organizers. "We call on all governments and people around the world to
speak and act against the occupation and the siege."
Police in Cyprus were not aware of the boat's departure, spokesman Michalis Katsounotos said.
Cyprus has a ban on vessels leaving the southern part of the island for Gaza. It was unclear from
what part of the island the boat departed.
In May, Israeli forces intercepted an aid flotilla headed to Gaza from Turkey. Violence broke out,
resulting in the deaths of nine people.
Wednesday, the United Nations Human Rights Council concluded the Israeli forces committed
serious violations of international law in the mid-sea interception.
The 56-page report described the circumstances of the deaths of "at least six of the passengers" as
being "consistent with ... an arbitrary and summary execution."
Israel has maintained its troops used force on the activists in May after they were attacked by those
on board one boat, but passengers on board that boat insist Israeli troops fired on them without
provocation.
CNN's Paula Hancocks and Michal Zippori in Jerusalem, and Christabelle Fombu in Atlanta, Georgia, contributed to
this report.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/09/28/gaza.aid.ship/index.html
Hamas leader denies al Qaeda is operating
in Gaza
Ismail Haniya speaks to reporters at his office in Gaza on Wednesday.
Jerusalem (CNN) -- The prime minister of the Hamas government in Gaza denied Wednesday
Israeli claims of an al Qaeda presence in the coastal strip, claiming there is no such thing.
Speaking to reporters, Ismail Haniya said there was an active Palestinian resistance in Gaza but that
it "does not work outside of the borders of Palestine."
He said recent Israeli accusations that al Qaeda had secured a foothold in the Palestinian territory
were "an illusion" and were being used a pretext for future Israeli military action in Gaza and to incite
American and international public opinion against Palestinians.
The remarks were made in reference to Israel's targeted killings last month of two Palestinians in
Gaza. The Israeli military claimed the victims were senior operatives of an al Qaeda inspired radical
group known as the Army of Islam and were planning attacks against Israeli and American targets in
the Sinai Peninsula.
Haniya said he had written a letter to Egypt's intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, assuring him that no
Palestinian resistance groups were operating in the Sinai Peninsula.
Asked about Hamas' relationship with Salafist organizations in Gaza, Haniya stressed the
"moderate" nature of the Palestinian people and said the government was "not seeking a clash with
any party." Salafists are a Muslim splinter group.
Haniya acknowledged that Hamas had some differences with Salafist organizations in the past but
claimed there had been "no significant incidents" since a violent showdown with a radical group in
August of last year which left 21 dead and scores injured.
Haniya argued Israel's targeted killings were part of a coordinated Israeli government media
campaign to portray Palestinians as the aggressor.
"We are the ones being strangled in the siege, and now Gaza is being marketed as the ones who
have the bombs, missiles and anti-aircraft missiles" Haniya said
"This is purely made up and all lies."
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/12/01/gaza.hamas/index.html
Palestinian officials say Israeli naval forces
kill 1
Jerusalem (CNN) -- A 20-year-old man was killed on Friday when Israeli naval forces opened fire on
a Palestinian fishermen along the Gaza coast, Palestinian security and medical officials said.
But the Israel Defense Forces said its forces shot at the boat after it failed to heed warning shots
when it left a designated area in the northern Gaza area. It says it is now investigating claims of a
casualty on the boat, which was sailing north toward Israeli territory.
The IDF said there have been other incidents of fishing boats crossing into prohibited territory and
the fishermen are well aware of the regulations.
Israel has been enforcing a stiff blockade of the Gaza coast for the purpose of stopping the
smuggling of weapons to Gaza militants intent on attacking the Jewish state.
The Palestinian officials identified the victim as Mohammad Beker, but did not provide further details
about the incident.
CNN's Kareem Khadder and Michal Zippori contributed to this report
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/09/24/gaza.palestinian.death/index.html
Israel: Weapons sites in Gaza hit
Palestinian mourners carry the body of Wajdi al-kadi, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on tunnels near Rafah Wednesday
(CNN) -- The Israeli air force struck a pair of weapons storage facilities in Gaza overnight, the
military said Thursday.
The sites were in northern and southern Gaza, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
"The attack is in response to the nine projectiles fired into Israeli territory over the last 24 hours," the
IDF said in a statement. It said 14 such attacks have occurred since Sunday.
An Israeli airstrike killed a Palestinian man Wednesday in southern Gaza, Palestinian security
sources said. IDF confirmed the strike on a tunnel in Rafah.
The violence comes amid fresh Middle East peace talks, which opened in Egypt on Tuesday and
continued Wednesday in Jerusalem.
"Over the past few days, we have witnessed an increase in attempts by terrorist organizations to
attack using rockets in the area surrounding the Gaza Strip, in light of the progress of political
negotiations," Israeli Brig. Gen. Eyal Eisenberg said Tuesday.
"The Hamas organization controls the area, and we hold it accountable for everything that takes
place there," he said. Hamas is not taking part in the talks.
More than 150 rockets and mortars have been fired at Israeli territory since the beginning of 2010,
the Israeli military said.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/09/16/israel.gaza.airstrikes/index.html
Israeli soldier faces manslaughter charge
in Gaza incursion
An Israeli tank near the Israel-Gaza border during Operation Cast Lead, undertaken by Israel in late 2008
Jerusalem (CNN) -- An Israeli soldier faces a manslaughter charge in the death of a Palestinian
waving a white flag during a three-week incursion into Gaza, the Israeli military said Tuesday.
The criminal indictment is one of three legal actions taken by the Israeli military for incidents that
occurred during Operation Cast Lead. More than 1,100 Palestinians died during the operation, which
began late in 2008 and ended early in 2009. It was intended to halt the firing of missiles from Gaza
into Israel.
The manslaughter charge was filed after an investigation into the shooting, the Israel Defense
Forces said in a news release.
"This decision is based on evidence that the soldier, who was serving as a designated marksman,
deliberately targeted an individual walking with a group of people waving a white flag without being
ordered or authorized to do so," the IDF said.
Conflict between the testimonies of Palestinian witnesses and military personnel made it "impossible
to make a criminal connection" between this incident and an incident described by those Palestinian
witnesses in which Israeli soldiers allegedly fired at people waving white flags, the IDF said.
In another incident, a battalion commander authorized sending a Palestinian man into a house
sheltering terrorists next to his own house in order to persuade them to leave, the news release said.
The commander was indicted "because he deviated from authorized and appropriate IDF behavior"
and ignored rules on the use of civilians in military operations, it said.
But the release did not appear to say what charges he faces, and the IDF did not immediately
respond to an e-mail seeking clarification.
Tuesday's news release also said a criminal investigation has been ordered into an incident in which
a residence holding about 100 members of a family was struck from the air.
In a separate case, an investigation into an assertion that the Ibrahim Al-Makadma mosque had
been attacked concluded that that did not happen, but that an aerial strike near the mosque had
occurred.
"The aerial strike targeted a terror operative involved in the launching of rockets toward Israel who
was standing outside of the mosque," the news release said. "Injuries caused to civilians inside were
unintentional and caused by shrapnel that penetrated the mosque."
But the investigation concluded that the officer who ordered the attack had "failed to exercise
appropriate judgment" and, as a result, will not be allowed to serve in similar positions of command.
Legal measures were deemed unnecessary, however. "The military advocate general decided that
the attack did not violate international laws of warfare because the attack did not target the mosque,
rather it targeted a terror operative, and when the attack was authorized, no possibility of harming
civilians was identified," it said.
Israeli investigators looked into more than 150 reports and conducted nearly 50 probes of incidents
during Operation Cast Lead.
Earlier this year, the Israeli military disciplined two officers -- a brigadier general and a colonel -- for
allowing artillery shells to be fired into a populated area of Gaza.
But Palestinians said Israel's actions were unsatisfactory.
"I think Israel should take all responsibility for all the war crimes that it is responsible for during its
unjustified war in Gaza, and what they just announced is too little too late," Palestinian spokesman
Ghassan Khatib told CNN.
The IDF news release said that Israel carried out the operation after enduring eight years of rocket
attacks from Gaza. Israel, it said, had "practiced a policy of restraint for a long period of time."
It accused the Palestinian movement Hamas of terrorizing the population and said the crowded
urban centers of Gaza created a complex security situation.
More than 1,400 Palestinians died in Israel's incursion, according to officials in Gaza. The Israeli
military said 1,166 people were killed, 60 percent of whom were "terror operatives."
The 575-page Goldstone report -- approved by the U.N. Council for Human Rights in 2009 -accused both Israel and Hamas of "actions amounting to war crimes, possibly crimes against
humanity" during the three-week offensive that ended in January 2009.
The report, known for its author, South African jurist Richard Goldstone, called on both Israel and
Hamas to independently investigate the alleged human rights violations cited in the report.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/07/06/israel.soldier.indictments/index.html
Ireland asks Israel for safe passage of
another ship with aid for Gaza
(CNN) -- The Irish government is asking that Israel not interfere with an Irish-owned ship en route to
Gaza to deliver humanitarian cargo.
But an Israeli government official who spoke on background because of the diplomatic sensitivity of
the issue told CNN "the Israeli government is offering to receive the ship's cargo, as it has offered
other vessels, if it docks at [Israel's] Ashdod port. The Israeli government will unload the cargo,
screen it, and deliver it to Gaza."
That was the same deal rejected by a flotilla of six ships before Israeli commandos attacked one of
them Monday, killing nine of the activists who were aboard.
The Irish Foreign Ministry is requesting that Israel allow the MV Rachel Corrie, which was not part of
Monday's flotilla, passage to deliver its cargo.
The Irish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the vessel, owned by the Irish Free Gaza Movement, left
Dundalk, Ireland, in mid-May carrying a number of Irish citizens. It may approach Gaza in the next
day or two, the ministry said.
Ireland's minister of foreign affairs, Micheal Martin, told the lower house of the Irish Parliament, the
Dail, that he had asked the Israeli ambassador to convey to his government his request that,
"following the tragedy which has occurred, the Rachel Corrie be allowed to continue unimpeded, and
to deliver its cargo to Gaza."
"We will be watching this situation very closely -- as indeed will the world -- and it is imperative that
Israel avoid any action which leads to further bloodshed," the foreign minister said.
The Israeli government has said it must enforce the blockade to ensure that weapons are not
smuggled into Gaza.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/06/02/gaza.irish.ship/index.html
Israel hits targets in Gaza
(CNN) -- The Israeli Air Force bombed several targets in Gaza early Saturday, but no injuries were
reported, the Israeli military and Palestinian officials in Gaza said.
The strikes were in response to an "intended terror attack on Israel" and a rocket fired at Israel on
Thursday, the Israeli military said in a statement.
Israeli planes hit a weapons manufacturing plant in northern Gaza and a tunnel in southern Gaza,
the military said. Militants planned to use the tunnel to infiltrate Israel and conduct terror attacks
against soldiers and civilians, it said.
Five strikes hit targets in Gaza, Palestinian officials said. Four hit an international airport in Gaza that
has not functioned for years, and a fifth hit a metal workshop, they said.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/05/29/gaza.airstrikes/index.html
Death toll rises to 3 in Israeli airstrikes
Palestinians wheel a body to a hospital morgue after Israeli airstrikes hit smuggling tunnels in the Gaza Strip, January 8,
2010.
Gaza City (CNN) -- The death toll rose to three Friday from Israeli airstrikes along the Gaza Strip,
officials said.
Israeli Defense Forces said it launched four airstrikes along the Gaza Strip on Thursday, targeting a
weapons shop and two smuggling tunnels.
The strikes also hit a third tunnel, described as a "terror tunnel" with access to Israel, an IDF
spokeswoman told CNN.
Three Palestinians were killed and several others were injured in the airstrikes, Hamas security
sources said Friday.
were injured.
The sources said a secret metal shop used to make Qassam rockets was hit in Gaza City. IDF
confirmed the strike.
The airstrikes were in response to a series of rockets and mortar shells fired into Israel earlier
Thursday, the IDF spokeswoman said. Four mortars struck the Kerem Shalom humanitarian-aid
crossing on the tip of southern Gaza, forcing authorities to shut it down and prevent 70 trucks
carrying fuel and other aid from entering the strip, she added.
Qassam rockets are homemade projectiles that have been fired into communities in southern Israel
for years. Though they are crudely made, militants have made efforts to improve the weapons'
technology.
Israel routinely targets the Rafah tunnels under the Gaza-Egypt border, which it says Hamas uses to
smuggle weapons into Palestinian territory.
Palestinians say the tunnels are needed to get basic food supplies that are not available in Gaza.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/01/07/gaza.airstrikes/index.html#cnnSTCText
U.S. groups react to violence off Gaza
coast
Jewish activists protest the Israeli action off the coast of Gaza.
(CNN) -- The reaction from U.S. groups that advocate for Jewish and Israeli causes to the recent
violence off the coast of Gaza has run the gamut from outright condemnation of Israel to full support
for its actions.
This week, Israeli commandos boarded six aid ships that were headed to the coast of Gaza, where
the Israeli government has instituted a blockade. After Israeli commandos boarded one of the ships,
several people were killed and several soldiers injured.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the most prominent advocate for Israeli issues in
Washington, said on its website: "Despite issuing numerous warnings throughout the week that the
Gaza coast was a closed military zone, and offering to deliver all legal supplies to Gaza through the
Israeli port of Ashdod, the flotilla proceeded toward the Gaza shore, seeking confrontation with
Israel."
Also, the group said, "Israeli soldiers were forced to use live ammunition to defend themselves."
Israel has a right to defend itself, the advocate groups said, but there was disagreement over
whether the flotilla posed a real threat.
"Many countries have had naval blockades," said Malcolm Hoenlein, president of the Conference of
Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. "Few are more justified than Israel facing a
terrorist organization [Hamas] ... and denying them access to the missiles."
The thousands of rockets fired into Israel by Hamas show that the threat is a real one, Hoenlein said.
"Do you know how many ships have smuggled arms into Gaza under the guise of humanitarian aid,
under all sorts of subterfuges: fishing boats, commercial vehicles? ... There is a long track record
and history of the smuggling that goes in by sea."
Israel, said Hoenlein, told members of the flotilla that it would allow the aid into Gaza but simply
wanted to inspect it first and send it through the Israeli port city of Ashdod.
"If they were really interested in getting humanitarian aid into Gaza, why didn't they simply go into
Ashdod port, unload onto trucks, ride with the trucks into Gaza? Because that's not what their
interest was."
Ori Nir, spokesman for the advocacy group Americans for Peace Now, agrees that the primary
intention of the flotilla was not aid, but he believes that their real intention was equally innocuous.
"The intention of the people on the ship was to attract attention to the blockade -- to the humanitarian
situation in Gaza.
"It was clear that this was, more than anything, a media event."
Israel intercepted the ships in the hopes of rerouting them and avoiding the public spectacle of the
boats arriving triumphantly in Gaza, Nir said. But Israel's heavy-handed approach "actually achieved
the very opposite outcome," he said.
Nir said Israel has every right to defend itself and to intercept arms off its coast if it has reason to feel
threatened. But this case is different, he said, because Israel knew or should have known that there
was no real threat of arms smuggling from this flotilla.
Watch iReport of Jewish and other activists protesting against Israeli action
"The packing of the materials was done publicly. It was clear what was there. It was clear who was
on the ship."
But, Hoenlein thinks the flotilla did pose a real threat, as evidenced by the violent reaction to the
Israeli commandos and its alleged ties to terrorist organizations. "You will see, as the information
comes out, of their association and involvement in Islamist terrorist organizations," he said. He cited
the Humanitarian Relief Foundation, also known as IHH, which he said has ties to terrorists.
Israel was, if anything, restrained in its approach, Hoenlein said.
The commandos "didn't do anything confrontational. They could have rammed the ships. They could
have sunk the ships. They could have opened fire initially and would have avoided any confrontation
and risk of their soldiers. Instead they chose the means most likely to produce a peaceful outcome."
Those who confronted the Israeli commandos were "not peace activists, not humanitarian-motivated
people, [but] terrorists," he said.
Still, reports show that no serious weaponry or war materials were found on the flotilla, making the
violence pointless and counterproductive for Israel's interests, Nir said. "The bloodshed, the use of
force, really only served those who don't have Israel's best interests at heart."
The real culprit in the flotilla violence, he said, is the blockade itself.
"Regardless of the details of the incident, we believe that the emphasis should be on changing the
policy toward Gaza altogether -- the policy relating to the incident -- the blockade.
"As long as you have a policy that is unsustainable ... you will have incidents that are unacceptable,"
Nir said.
Amy Spitalnick, spokeswoman for J Street, a Washington nonprofit advocating for a two-state
solution in the region, agrees.
"The blockade of Gaza has had very limited success over the past three years. Hamas remains in
power and is better armed today than it was before [the blockade]," she said.
The blockade, said Spitalnick, "has achieved little."
But Hoenlein said the blockade has prevented violence by reducing the influx of weapons that
Hamas has used in the past both against Israel and against Fatah, its rival for power in Gaza and
the Palestinian Authority. "The quantity and quality of weapons that you can bring in by ship are so
much greater than what you can do by any other smuggling."
Although he would prefer a world where the blockade was not needed, right now, he says, "It's legal,
and it's necessary."
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/06/03/us.groups.flotilla.reaction/index.html
Airstrikes wound 17 in Gaza
Gaza (CNN) -- At least 17 people were wounded early Wednesday in a pair of airstrikes launched by
the Israel Defense Forces in retaliation for mortar shells fired into Israel from Gaza.
No injuries were reported in an airstrike near Gaza International Airport in the southern Gaza city of
Rafah, Hamas police said, but a medical source at Abu Yousef al-Najjar Hospital in northern Gaza
said 17 people were wounded in a second strike in the city of Beit Hanoun in the northeast of Gaza.
Five of the injured were militants and two of the 17 were critically wounded, the source said.
The IDF said the airstrikes targeted two tunnels used by militants. Both were a kilometer away from
the security fence that separates Israel and Gaza. The strikes, the IDF said, were "in response to the
firing of two mortar shells" into Israel.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/05/25/mideast.israel.gaza.airstrikes/index.html