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On May 14, the MV Rachael Corrie set sail from Europe to Gaza. Other vessels, nine in all, will attempt to break the siege and deliver vitally needed aid, including over 10,000 tons of food, medicines, educational and construction materials.
On May 17, Haaretz writers Jack Khoury and Barak Ravid headlined, "Israel to Europe: Stop your citizens from sailing to Gaza with aid," saying:
"Israel warned a number of European states that it would not permit leftist-organizations planning to sail to the Gaza Strip with international aid to complete their mission."
Israel's Foreign Ministry European affairs director, Naor Gilon, met with Turkish, Greek, Irish and Swedish envoys saying their citizens would be stopped at sea and prevented from entering Gaza.
On the same day, Israeli security forces released Izzet Shahin, a Turkish Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief (IHH) volunteer, arrested earlier in the West Bank for helping to organize the relief effort.
According to its web site, IHH was organizing a "major initiative....to deliver aid via the sea to the Gaza Strip. Hundreds of concerned people will set out on 10 ships in May to take over 5,000 tons of relief aid and materials to Gaza."
Unspecified countermeasures are likely, including sea interdictions, arrests, cargo seizures, and perhaps violence in open waters against peaceful humanitarian activists v. a rogue state perpetrator of decades of crimes of war and against humanity intending more - its specialty against civilians.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.
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