"We will keep coming, wave after wave.." (Press TV)
Another mission accomplished, or so it seems. Israeli navy has managed to thwart yet another civil society "provocation" (as described by the Israeli Embassy in Dublin, Irish Times, November 4).
Thus, the 27 activists from nine countries aboard two boats were rounded up and hauled, along with their "provocative" medical supplies, to the Israeli port of Ashdod. It
was a successful operation conducted by a well-equipped navy, one that is
credited for sinking numerous Gaza fishing boats, while forcing fishermen to
swim naked back to shore. Of course, one can hardly address such valor without
mention of the May 2010 attack on the Mavi Marmara, which killed nine Turkish
activists and wounded many more.
The
boats were stopped between 60km and 90km from the Gaza coast. The Electronic
Intifada had provided a live map, which followed their course shortly after they
departed the Turkish port of Fethiye on November 2. The map "showed the boats
were still in international waters when the Israeli army made contact" on
November 4 (as reported by Maan News Agency). The Israeli military also admitted
that the interception happened in international waters (as reported in the Irish
Times).
Predictably, the US government and mainstream media
stood in unhinged solidarity with Israel in its latest escapade. Instead of
warning Israel from harming any US citizens participating in the humanitarian
mission, US State Department officials "renewed a warning to American
citizens... saying that breaching an Israeli blockade aboard two ships headed to
Gaza may be a violation of US law" (according to the Calgary Herald, November
4). A department spokesperson, Victoria Nuland also "reminded U.S. citizens that
they could face civil and criminal penalties in their efforts to deliver
resources to the Gaza Strip."
The
reporting of the story was meant to serve as a "reminder" of the risks of such
an act. In her New York Times report, Isabel Kershner anchored much of her
article in Israeli military and official statements, giving negligible space to
activists who were illegally detained. More, the report opted to remind Times
readers that Gaza "is ruled by the Islamic militant group Hamas" (NYT, November
4). The fact that Hamas was democratically elected by a decisive majority in
January 2006 seemed immaterial. Also irrelevant was the fact that the Fourth
Geneva Convention of 1949 prohibits collective punishment. Article 33 states
that: "No protected person may be punished for an offence he or she has not
personally committed. Collective penalties and likewise all measures of
intimidation or of terrorism are prohibited."
It was particularly interesting to watch the short video
clip released by the Israeli military on their website -- where a naval
official called on the ships to turn around. The official used some phrases
rarely used by Israeli spokespersons. "Your attempt to enter the Gaza Strip by
sea is a violation of international law. We remind you that humanitarian
supplies can be delivered to the Gaza Strip by land, and you are welcome to
enter Ashdod port and deliver supplies through land crossings," the unnamed
official said.
If Israeli officials insist that there is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza, why did the navy official make a reference to the delivery of "humanitarian supplies"?
As for the underhanded mention of "international law," that referred to the politically-motivated Palmer report, which, with no legal foundation, resolved that the blockade on Gaza was "legal." The inquiry (released in September 2011) was a tardy attempt at balancing numerous other reports that lashed out at Israel for imposing a devastating siege on Gaza, interrupted by a very costly war and a fatal attack on the Mavi Marmara. One such report, by the UN Human Rights Council, condemned Israel's violation of "international humanitarian and human rights law" and called the Israeli naval blockade on Gaza "unlawful." (The Guardian, September 22, 2010)
Israeli navy, military and government officials must have been congratulating themselves on a job well done, as international activists were arrested, herded into police stations and forced to sign their deportation papers. However, the latest mission -- named "Freedom Waves" - actually exposed as fraud, the logic Israel used to justify its siege of Gaza. The October 18th prisoner swap that saw the freedom of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, and few hundred Palestinian prisoners, was expected to bring an end to the Gaza siege altogether.
Writing in the Huffington Post, Just Foreign Policy
Director Robert Naiman claimed, "In practice, the issue of the Gaza blockade has
been entangled with the issue of the captivity of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit."
He cited a Washington Post article stating: "The blockade was widely seen as a
punitive measure driven in large part by the outrage that Shalit's abduction in
2006 generated in Israel." (October 26).
Thanks to Tahrir and MV Saoirse, we know that the siege
as a response to Shalit's capture was a ruse, and that Israel has no immediate
plans to end the perpetual captivity of 1.5 million Palestinians in
Gaza.
