(From Pajamas Media - and on the mark too! Strike while the Ayatollah is hot!)
In hushed tones, the U.S., Europe, and sections of the Arab world support a military strike against Iran, and the perception is that Israel will be the subcontracted hit man.
June 30, 2010 - by Stephanie L. Freid
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When G-8 leaders sat down to weekend talks in Canada prior to G-20 meetings this week, Silvio Berlusconi wasn’t designated the official group spokesperson. But when he was quoted in the press as saying the G-8 “fully believes” Israel will attack Iran, the Italian prime minister was echoing a sentiment most leaders are publicly furrowing eyebrows over and privately anticipating expectantly.
“Iran is not guaranteeing a peaceful production of nuclear power [so] the members of the G-8 are worried and believe absolutely that Israel will probably react preemptively,” Berlusconi told reporters following talks with other Group of Eight leaders outside Toronto.
G-8 leaders met for two days of talks focused on Iranian and North Korean nuclear aims and growing concern over continued development despite renewed sanctions. Referring to a fourth round of UN sanctions handed down against Iran last week, Iranian President Ahmadinejad termed the measures a “used handkerchief” fit for the trash.
In the face of Ahmadinejad’s open defiance and alarm over continued arms development, are European and other world leaders truly concerned over a potential Israel strike that might cripple Iran’s nuclear capability?
“Iran’s nuclear weapons program is something everybody else hopes someone else will take care of,” says Mark Heller, Tel Aviv University’s principal research associate at the Institute for National Security Studies. “And it’s a tacit admission on Berlusconi’s part that they — Europe, the U.S. and all the rest – are not really designed to stop an Iranian nuclear weapons program. I’m guessing that he and maybe many others in the G-8 and elsewhere — including in the Arab world — are hoping Israel will do that.”
The sense of urgency is growing because of increasing levels of uranium enrichment Iran is achieving, bringing the rogue state closer to having a nuclear weapon.
A U.S. National Intelligence report assessed that Iran suspended weaponization in 2003 but continued with enrichment. “They were turning enriched uranium into a nuclear weapon — essentially transforming a huge, unwieldy mass into a usable nuclear weapon,” Heller continues. “When that report was issued, everybody else including the Europeans — who are not normally given to hysteria — made light of the assessment and said they didn’t understand the basis for it.
“It is slowly dawning that there’s no chance of getting the ‘crippling sanctions’ Hillary Clinton once called for to threaten the stronghold of power in the Iranian regime. Conventional wisdom has become: either bomb Iran or there will be an Iranian bomb.”
So when an argument for more time to resolve the issue is put on the table, comments like Berlusconi’s indicate time is neither a luxury nor a neutral factor at this juncture.
“Attempting to put together sanctions packages prepared by Brazilians and Turkish prime ministers trying to appeal to the better sense of the Iranian regime … well let’s just say I don’t think Israel can do anything without close coordination with the U.S. and that’s the universal assumption. And if it happens, Israel will be condemned publicly and congratulated behind closed doors,” Heller concludes.
American Foreign Policy Council Vice President Ilan Berman echoes much of Heller’s sentiment, calling a potential Israel hit on Iran a publicly divisive but strategically timely event.
“This is an interesting fork in the road with UN and U.S. sanctions. We’re no longer speaking in the future tense about seeing if sanctions work,” Berman comments. “The likelihood is that the economic pressure being applied is too little too late. Ultimately, though, Israel has to make a choice of whether or not they can tolerate a nuclear Iran in the region. Israelis have been deferring a decision for a long time but it’s a decision that can no longer be kicked down the road.”
No one has a timeline for a strike, but the proverbial regional ticking bomb is clicking away. As the status quo continues, a growing number of countries — Egypt, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia among them — are building their own responses to the Iranian threat. Allowing the situation to continue as is may create residual damage while a military attack could be the surest way of returning a power balance to neighbors, says Berman.
Berlusconi’s statement is an indication of the G-20 leadership’s understanding of just how much “Iran is out of the box,” Berman explains. “It’s not an issue of technology or a nuclear program; it’s about what the ayatollahs are ready to do with it.”
And so in hushed tones the U.S., Europe, and sections of the Arab world support a military strike against Iran, and the perception is that Israel will be the subcontracted hit man.
The message to Israel: Don’t bore us with the details. Do what you have to do and we’ll condemn you in public and applaud you privately.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Truth from Egyptian Gaza Flotilla Activist (Parliamentarian)
The Egyptian media has criticized one of the flotilla guerillas.
For not lying.
A storm has been kicked up in Egyptian media after experiences on the flotilla are recounted. The version of events on the Gaza-bound flotilla as heard by an Egyptian member of parliament have evoked the ire of a number of state-run media outlets in the country because, they claim, the stories help Israeli PR efforts.
An Egyptian member of parliament from the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohamed Beltagy, took part in the flotilla to the Gaza Strip that was commandeered by the Israeli Navy. After participating in the clashes on the deck of the Mavi Marmara, he was arrested by Israel and later released to Egypt.
On Tuesday of last week, he was interviewed on the “10 at Night” program on the Egyptian channel Dream. During the interview, he said that the flotilla participants overtook three Israeli commandos and snatched their weapons from them. This admission of employing force against IDF soldiers has evoked a media storm among Egyptian columnists, who claim this was a “public relations gift to Israel.”
Under the headline “The Muslim Brotherhood’s Gift to Israel,” columnist Abdullah Kamal criticized Beltagy’s admission. “He said that he and those with him on the ship overtook three Israeli commando soldiers who had broken onto the ship and took control of their weapons. He boasted of this without understanding that he is granting Israel a massive, recorded gift that it will gain benefit from in the commission of inquiry it will carry out following the massacre.”
In the column, published in the Egyptian newspaper Rosalyousef, Kamal continued, “Israel said that it was faced with armed men on the ship and that it was thus forced to clash with them. The parliament member said that he and those with him took over the commando’s weapon and denied that he and those with him were civilians who had not committed violent acts.
“Perhaps everyone will see the video clip of the action that was leaked to the media and includes images of an Israeli soldier jumping onto the boat and then being chased and beaten. This is precisely what Israel wants – to prove its excuses from a legal perspective.”
The daily newspaper el-Gomhuriah also did not spare the parliament member. “This is dangerous talk that serves Israel.
For not lying.
A storm has been kicked up in Egyptian media after experiences on the flotilla are recounted. The version of events on the Gaza-bound flotilla as heard by an Egyptian member of parliament have evoked the ire of a number of state-run media outlets in the country because, they claim, the stories help Israeli PR efforts.
An Egyptian member of parliament from the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohamed Beltagy, took part in the flotilla to the Gaza Strip that was commandeered by the Israeli Navy. After participating in the clashes on the deck of the Mavi Marmara, he was arrested by Israel and later released to Egypt.
On Tuesday of last week, he was interviewed on the “10 at Night” program on the Egyptian channel Dream. During the interview, he said that the flotilla participants overtook three Israeli commandos and snatched their weapons from them. This admission of employing force against IDF soldiers has evoked a media storm among Egyptian columnists, who claim this was a “public relations gift to Israel.”
Under the headline “The Muslim Brotherhood’s Gift to Israel,” columnist Abdullah Kamal criticized Beltagy’s admission. “He said that he and those with him on the ship overtook three Israeli commando soldiers who had broken onto the ship and took control of their weapons. He boasted of this without understanding that he is granting Israel a massive, recorded gift that it will gain benefit from in the commission of inquiry it will carry out following the massacre.”
In the column, published in the Egyptian newspaper Rosalyousef, Kamal continued, “Israel said that it was faced with armed men on the ship and that it was thus forced to clash with them. The parliament member said that he and those with him took over the commando’s weapon and denied that he and those with him were civilians who had not committed violent acts.
“Perhaps everyone will see the video clip of the action that was leaked to the media and includes images of an Israeli soldier jumping onto the boat and then being chased and beaten. This is precisely what Israel wants – to prove its excuses from a legal perspective.”
The daily newspaper el-Gomhuriah also did not spare the parliament member. “This is dangerous talk that serves Israel.
Hamas - killers disguised as humans
Is there any country in this world that has the guts to stand up and side with Israel?
When things hot up, as they will, then Israel must take of the gloves and reduce these regimes that call for its demise to rubble. To hell with world opinion that would rather see Israel suffer under constant rocket attacks and suicide bombers, than take any measures to defend itself.
Has the world, that I once referred to as civilized, gone and lost their bloody marbles?
How the hell can Israel make peace with Hamas, a bunch of thugs that have strung up their own people in public and killed off any opposition. Hamas, stealing aid and lining their own pockets. Hamas, thugs whose mandate is to annihilate Israel.
How is it possible to talk peace with someone who wants you dead? Maybe the Turks and Iran can convince Hamas to reconsider this statement that so blatantly blocks any chance of peace with these people.
When is the world going to realize Hamas are the Gazans worst enemy - stealing from their own people and terrorising any opposition to their rule.
Israelis are not waging Jihad or vowing to wipe out Palestinians. Israelis are supplying Gaza with everything necessary for the Gazans to join the obesity clubs of the world and join those international groups, such as the diabetes club, which results from overindulging in too many weight gaining goodies.
Get your steel-cap boots on Israel and be ready to kick arse. Don't forget though, use both feet and don't let up until you have doubled the size of your country. This is the victors right....
When things hot up, as they will, then Israel must take of the gloves and reduce these regimes that call for its demise to rubble. To hell with world opinion that would rather see Israel suffer under constant rocket attacks and suicide bombers, than take any measures to defend itself.
Has the world, that I once referred to as civilized, gone and lost their bloody marbles?
How the hell can Israel make peace with Hamas, a bunch of thugs that have strung up their own people in public and killed off any opposition. Hamas, stealing aid and lining their own pockets. Hamas, thugs whose mandate is to annihilate Israel.
How is it possible to talk peace with someone who wants you dead? Maybe the Turks and Iran can convince Hamas to reconsider this statement that so blatantly blocks any chance of peace with these people.
When is the world going to realize Hamas are the Gazans worst enemy - stealing from their own people and terrorising any opposition to their rule.
Israelis are not waging Jihad or vowing to wipe out Palestinians. Israelis are supplying Gaza with everything necessary for the Gazans to join the obesity clubs of the world and join those international groups, such as the diabetes club, which results from overindulging in too many weight gaining goodies.
Get your steel-cap boots on Israel and be ready to kick arse. Don't forget though, use both feet and don't let up until you have doubled the size of your country. This is the victors right....
Monday, June 7, 2010
Armed Flotillas of Hate
The rest of the sewer rats will be clamouring to get on-board the flotilla of hate heading to Israel. Turkey and now Iran are flexing their military [sic]mite; and soon we will have Syria and Hizbollah showing their support to finally drive those damn Jews into the sea.
Meanwhile, the upholders of democracy, rational secular behaviour and supporters of righteousness say nothing. How quick the west are to condemn - without the facts. Australia and the UK even dismissed Israeli diplomats for using fake passports. What can we possibly expect from them? Do you think they could jump right out of their pyjamas and declare their support for the only democracy in the Middle East. Not bloody like mate!
Our governments are afraid of offending Islam and will only show their hand when the rockets and missiles start raining down on Israel. And then they will call for a UN resolution..... whoopee, we have seen whose side they are on too.
Israel, ready, set, go.......... the last I heard pre-emptive strikes are allowed if ones sovereignty is under threat. You have just been threatened by Turkey and Iran. The ball is in your court.
I hope there is no need to go down this path, but if you do then you will have millions of supporters doing everything they can to prevent Ahmedinijad and its allies from achieving their goal of wiping you from this planet.
Meanwhile, the upholders of democracy, rational secular behaviour and supporters of righteousness say nothing. How quick the west are to condemn - without the facts. Australia and the UK even dismissed Israeli diplomats for using fake passports. What can we possibly expect from them? Do you think they could jump right out of their pyjamas and declare their support for the only democracy in the Middle East. Not bloody like mate!
Our governments are afraid of offending Islam and will only show their hand when the rockets and missiles start raining down on Israel. And then they will call for a UN resolution..... whoopee, we have seen whose side they are on too.
Israel, ready, set, go.......... the last I heard pre-emptive strikes are allowed if ones sovereignty is under threat. You have just been threatened by Turkey and Iran. The ball is in your court.
I hope there is no need to go down this path, but if you do then you will have millions of supporters doing everything they can to prevent Ahmedinijad and its allies from achieving their goal of wiping you from this planet.
Israeli Navy Soldier's account of what happened...
Why doesn't the world media jump on this story and show the world what truly happened...
Here is part of an email which an Israeli Navy soldier sent to a relative. He requests that this information be shared widely. If this is completely false—please tell me. Prove it to me too. Otherwise, here is one soldier’s account of what happened to that first Israeli soldier as he was lowered onto the Marvi Marmara.
“Dear Aunt X:
This is Y writing you. As you know, it was my unit and my friends who were on the ship. My commander was injured badly as a result of the “pacifist’s” violence. I want to tell you how he was injured so you can tell the story. It shows just how horrible and inhuman were the activists. My commander was the first soldier that rappelled down from the helicopter to the ship. When he touched ground, he got hit in the head with a pole and stabbed in the stomach with a knife. When he drew out his secondary weapon–a handgun, (his primary weapon was a regular paintball gun- “tippman 98 custom”), he was shot in the leg.
He managed to fire a single shot before he was tossed from the balcony by 4 Arab activists, to the lower deck (a 12 feet fall). He was then dragged by other activists to a room in the lower deck were he was stripped down by 2 activists. They took off his vest, helmet, and shirt, leaving him with only his pants and shoes on. When they finished they took a knife and expanded the wound he already had in his stomach. They cut his ab muscles horizontally and by hand spilled his guts out.
When they finished, they raised him up and walked him on the deck outside. He was conscious the whole time. If you are asking your self why they did all that here comes the reason. They wanted to show the soldiers their commanders’ body so they will be demoralized and scared. Luckily, when they walked him on the deck, a soldier saw him and managed to shoot the activist that was walking him down the outside corridor. He shot him with a special non lethal bullet that didn’t kill him. My commander managed to jump from the deck to the water and swim to an army rescue boat (his guts still out of his body and now in salty sea water). That was how he was saved. The activists that did this to him are alive and now in Turkey and treated as heroes.
I’m sorry if I described this with too many details, but I thought it was necessary for the credibility. Please tell this story to anyone who will listen. “
Stop the Lies. Alice Walker: My heart is breaking too.
Here is part of an email which an Israeli Navy soldier sent to a relative. He requests that this information be shared widely. If this is completely false—please tell me. Prove it to me too. Otherwise, here is one soldier’s account of what happened to that first Israeli soldier as he was lowered onto the Marvi Marmara.
“Dear Aunt X:
This is Y writing you. As you know, it was my unit and my friends who were on the ship. My commander was injured badly as a result of the “pacifist’s” violence. I want to tell you how he was injured so you can tell the story. It shows just how horrible and inhuman were the activists. My commander was the first soldier that rappelled down from the helicopter to the ship. When he touched ground, he got hit in the head with a pole and stabbed in the stomach with a knife. When he drew out his secondary weapon–a handgun, (his primary weapon was a regular paintball gun- “tippman 98 custom”), he was shot in the leg.
He managed to fire a single shot before he was tossed from the balcony by 4 Arab activists, to the lower deck (a 12 feet fall). He was then dragged by other activists to a room in the lower deck were he was stripped down by 2 activists. They took off his vest, helmet, and shirt, leaving him with only his pants and shoes on. When they finished they took a knife and expanded the wound he already had in his stomach. They cut his ab muscles horizontally and by hand spilled his guts out.
When they finished, they raised him up and walked him on the deck outside. He was conscious the whole time. If you are asking your self why they did all that here comes the reason. They wanted to show the soldiers their commanders’ body so they will be demoralized and scared. Luckily, when they walked him on the deck, a soldier saw him and managed to shoot the activist that was walking him down the outside corridor. He shot him with a special non lethal bullet that didn’t kill him. My commander managed to jump from the deck to the water and swim to an army rescue boat (his guts still out of his body and now in salty sea water). That was how he was saved. The activists that did this to him are alive and now in Turkey and treated as heroes.
I’m sorry if I described this with too many details, but I thought it was necessary for the credibility. Please tell this story to anyone who will listen. “
Stop the Lies. Alice Walker: My heart is breaking too.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Gazans going hungry...
[From jihadwatch.org...It makes a mockery of aid to the starving]
Author Profile Page Andy | June 6, 2010 4:51 AM | Reply
I think it is absolutely atrocious.
Stocks of food, medicine and oil have dwindled to dangerous levels.
Prices have skyrocketed and already malnourished children bear the brunt of the military action.
This blockade is preventing the flow of persons and commerce including food, medicine, oil and water.
There are now 250,000 displaced people and the arbitrary aerial bombing of civilian areas and a strict blockade of food, medicine and international aid has cost thousands of lives.
On top of that there were the mass arbitrary arrests and the murder of hundreds of peaceful protesters.
This blockade has to stop.
I hope that Turkey and Ireland will send hundreds of boats to break the blockade.
OK......
That was Northern Yemen were people are dying because of a naval blockade by Saudi Arabia and a blockade on land by South Yemen.
Now to Gaza for some tragic news.....
In 2004 Gazans were among the most well-fed people on earth. Gaza ranked #3 for women and #8 for men among countries with the world’s highest obesity rates.
I am sorry to say but it has not improved
A December 2008 report by the International Association for the Study of Obesity found that
23.9 % of men were overweight
42.5 % of women were overweight
To put that in perspective, the percentage of overweight men is about the same as in Australia and England and the women are still in the top 5.
One thing is for certain, if obesity levels in Gaza turn out to have decreased since December 2008, the media will blame it on Israel.
Unless obesity levels have increased, that is.
In which case the media will blame it on Israel.
Author Profile Page Andy | June 6, 2010 4:51 AM | Reply
I think it is absolutely atrocious.
Stocks of food, medicine and oil have dwindled to dangerous levels.
Prices have skyrocketed and already malnourished children bear the brunt of the military action.
This blockade is preventing the flow of persons and commerce including food, medicine, oil and water.
There are now 250,000 displaced people and the arbitrary aerial bombing of civilian areas and a strict blockade of food, medicine and international aid has cost thousands of lives.
On top of that there were the mass arbitrary arrests and the murder of hundreds of peaceful protesters.
This blockade has to stop.
I hope that Turkey and Ireland will send hundreds of boats to break the blockade.
OK......
That was Northern Yemen were people are dying because of a naval blockade by Saudi Arabia and a blockade on land by South Yemen.
Now to Gaza for some tragic news.....
In 2004 Gazans were among the most well-fed people on earth. Gaza ranked #3 for women and #8 for men among countries with the world’s highest obesity rates.
I am sorry to say but it has not improved
A December 2008 report by the International Association for the Study of Obesity found that
23.9 % of men were overweight
42.5 % of women were overweight
To put that in perspective, the percentage of overweight men is about the same as in Australia and England and the women are still in the top 5.
One thing is for certain, if obesity levels in Gaza turn out to have decreased since December 2008, the media will blame it on Israel.
Unless obesity levels have increased, that is.
In which case the media will blame it on Israel.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
"Israel's blockade of Gaza is starving and forcibly impoverishing over 1 million people."
This is the nonsense the world is asked and being lead to believe. The only things being denied to Gaza are weapons and materials for which they can make rockets to fire into Israel.
Since Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza in 2005, Hamas has fired more than 6,500 rockets and mortars into Israel.
Show me footage of children or adults with distended bellies and other symptoms of starvation. All the photos I have seen are of markets full of food.
Here is a country that is under threat of annihilation and unlike any other country in the world is surrounded by religious fanatics calling for its total demise.
These ships that attempted to breech the blockade had only one thing on their mind - to be confrontational and for publicity to aid "Hamas" - deemed a terrorist group by the EU, the US, Australia, Canada and most other civilized countries in the world.
Thousands of tons of aid reach Gaza through normal channels. If this were just a humanitarian convoy then they would have passed the goods to the Israeli or Egyptian authorities to screen and send into Gaza. Instead they decided to use force on the Israeli commandos and paid the price.
Israeli soldiers acted in self defence after they were attacked by extremists with live ammunition, axes, metal rods and blunt instruments while trying to take control of six ships en route to Gaza. Peace activists certainly act in strange ways - throwing soldiers from the deck of the ship and beating them with steel bars.
If you think that 10,000 tons of aid was going to make a crucial difference to the welfare of individuals in Gaza, then I ask that you read what is written below concerning the amount of aid passed through Israel into Gaza.... It surely makes you question the claimed humanitarian aspect of this flotilla...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is the reason for the blockade. Isn't this what any rational country would do if they were constantly being bombarded with rockets by their close neighbour.....
Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs legal expert Sarah Weiss Maudi, "The Hamas regime has bombarded Israeli communities in Israel, Israeli civilians in Israel, with weapons that are smuggled to Gaza by various routes, and one of these routes is the sea. Under international law a maritime blockade is a recognized and legitimate tool that can be used during an armed conflict."[10]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Humanitarian Aid
• In 2009, more than 738,000 tons of food and supplies entered Gaza. Pictures in local newspapers show local markets aplenty with fruit, vegetables, cheese, spices, bread and meat to feed 1.4 million Gazans. The total amount of aid transferred from Israel to Gaza in 2009 increased by 180 percent, compared to the amount transferred 2008.[19]
• From Jan - May 8, 2010, 230,690 tons of humanitarian aid was transferred from Israel into Gaza through the Israel-Gaza goods crossings. This included medical supplies, milk powder and baby food, meat, chicken, fish, grains, legumes, oil, flour, salt, sugar, fresh vegetables and dairy products as well as animal feed, hygiene products and clothes.[20]
• At holiday times, Israel increases transfers. During the Muslim holy days of Ramadan and Eid al-Adha, Israel shipped some 11,000 head of cattle into Gaza.
2. Maintaining Medical Aid for All in Need
The Medical Corridor:
• In 2009 alone, 10,544 patients and their companions left the Gaza Strip for medical treatment in Israel. Moreover, there were 382 emergency evacuations from Gaza for medical purposes.
• The Hadassah Medical Organization in Jerusalem donates $3 million in aid annually to treat Palestinians in Israel.
• Following fears of a swine flu outbreak, three Israeli hospitals were assigned to treat cases in the Gaza Strip and 44,500 immunizations were transferred to the Strip.
• Since 2005, Palestinians exploited medical care arrangements more than 20 times to carry out terror attacks.
Medical Equipment:
• In 2009, some 4,883 tons of medical equipment and medicine were brought in.
• In the first quarter of 2010, Israel shipped 152 trucks of medical supplies and equipment into Gaza.
• In 2009, Israel coordinated the transfer of medical supplies for the disabled including wheelchairs, crutches and first aid kits. Other equipment shipped to Gaza include heart-monitors, baby feeding tubes, dental equipment, medical books, ambulance emergency equipment, artificial limbs and infant sleeping bags.
4. Quality of Life in Gaza
• Projected life expectancy in the Gaza Strip (2010) is 73.86, greater than Estonia, Malaysia, Jamaica and Bulgaria.
• The infant mortality rate in Gaza is 17.71 per 1000, better than that of China, Jordan, Lebanon and Thailand.
Schoolchildren:
• Israel transfers school equipment supplied by UNRWA including notebooks, school bags, writing implements and textbooks.
• Israel is currently coordinating the transfer of 200,000 laptops for Gaza schoolchildren.
• In the first quarter of 2010, Israel transferred 250 trucks with equipment for the UNWRA summer camp, including arts-and-crafts equipment, swimming pools, inflatable toys, ice cream machines, musical instruments, clothing, sports quipment.
3. Building for the Future: Infrastructure and Economic Aid
Building Materials:
• While the import of cement and iron has been restricted into Gaza since these are used by the Hamas to cast rockets and bunkers, monitored imports of truckloads of cement, iron, and building supplies such as wood and windows are regularly coordinated with international parties. Already in the first quarter of 2010, 23 tons of iron and 25 tons of cement were transferred to the Gaza Strip.
• On 13 May 2010, Israel allowed approximately 39 tons of building material into Gaza to help rebuild a damaged hospital. The construction material for al Quds hospital was transferred after safeguards in place and French assurances ensured that the construction material would not be diverted elsewhere.
• On 24 May 2010, Israel opened Kerem crossing to 97 trucks loaded with aid and goods, including six trucks holding 250 tons of cement and one truck loaded with five tons of iron for projects executed and operated by UNRWA.
Electricity:
• As noted by a UN report of May 2010, 120 Megawatts (over 70 percent) of the Strips’ electricity supply comes from the Israeli electric grid, while 17 MWs come from Egypt and 30 MWs are produced by the Gaza city power station. Since January 2010, there has been deterioration in the supply of electricity to the Gaza Strip since the Hamas regime is unwilling to purchase the fuel to run the Gaza City power station.
• Throughout 2009, Israel transferred 41 trucks of equipment for the maintenance of Gaza’s electricity grid.
• Israel facilitates the transfer of fuel through the border, and maintains that the diversion of fuel from domestic power generators to other uses is wholly a Hamas decision. Over 133 million liters of fuel entered Gaza from Israel over the last 18 months.
Sewage:
• During the first quarter of 2010, the UN coordinated with Israel the transfer of equipment for UNWRA to upgrade the sewage pumping station. In 2009, 127 trucks containing more than 3,000 tons of hypochlorite entered the Gaza Strip for water purification purposes. Moreover, 48 trucks of equipment for improving the sanitation infrastructure led to a substantial reduction in the Beit Lahya facility's waste levels.
Economy:
• Primary exports from Gaza are cut flowers and citrus, with trade partners being Israel, Egypt and the West Bank. During 2009, 7.5 million tons of flowers and 54 tons of strawberries were exported from Gaza with Israeli cooperation.
• In 2009, 1.1 billion shekels (about $250 million) was transferred to the Gaza Strip for the ongoing activity of international organizations and to pay the salaries of Palestinian Authority workers.
Since Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza in 2005, Hamas has fired more than 6,500 rockets and mortars into Israel.
Show me footage of children or adults with distended bellies and other symptoms of starvation. All the photos I have seen are of markets full of food.
Here is a country that is under threat of annihilation and unlike any other country in the world is surrounded by religious fanatics calling for its total demise.
These ships that attempted to breech the blockade had only one thing on their mind - to be confrontational and for publicity to aid "Hamas" - deemed a terrorist group by the EU, the US, Australia, Canada and most other civilized countries in the world.
Thousands of tons of aid reach Gaza through normal channels. If this were just a humanitarian convoy then they would have passed the goods to the Israeli or Egyptian authorities to screen and send into Gaza. Instead they decided to use force on the Israeli commandos and paid the price.
Israeli soldiers acted in self defence after they were attacked by extremists with live ammunition, axes, metal rods and blunt instruments while trying to take control of six ships en route to Gaza. Peace activists certainly act in strange ways - throwing soldiers from the deck of the ship and beating them with steel bars.
If you think that 10,000 tons of aid was going to make a crucial difference to the welfare of individuals in Gaza, then I ask that you read what is written below concerning the amount of aid passed through Israel into Gaza.... It surely makes you question the claimed humanitarian aspect of this flotilla...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is the reason for the blockade. Isn't this what any rational country would do if they were constantly being bombarded with rockets by their close neighbour.....
Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs legal expert Sarah Weiss Maudi, "The Hamas regime has bombarded Israeli communities in Israel, Israeli civilians in Israel, with weapons that are smuggled to Gaza by various routes, and one of these routes is the sea. Under international law a maritime blockade is a recognized and legitimate tool that can be used during an armed conflict."[10]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Humanitarian Aid
• In 2009, more than 738,000 tons of food and supplies entered Gaza. Pictures in local newspapers show local markets aplenty with fruit, vegetables, cheese, spices, bread and meat to feed 1.4 million Gazans. The total amount of aid transferred from Israel to Gaza in 2009 increased by 180 percent, compared to the amount transferred 2008.[19]
• From Jan - May 8, 2010, 230,690 tons of humanitarian aid was transferred from Israel into Gaza through the Israel-Gaza goods crossings. This included medical supplies, milk powder and baby food, meat, chicken, fish, grains, legumes, oil, flour, salt, sugar, fresh vegetables and dairy products as well as animal feed, hygiene products and clothes.[20]
• At holiday times, Israel increases transfers. During the Muslim holy days of Ramadan and Eid al-Adha, Israel shipped some 11,000 head of cattle into Gaza.
2. Maintaining Medical Aid for All in Need
The Medical Corridor:
• In 2009 alone, 10,544 patients and their companions left the Gaza Strip for medical treatment in Israel. Moreover, there were 382 emergency evacuations from Gaza for medical purposes.
• The Hadassah Medical Organization in Jerusalem donates $3 million in aid annually to treat Palestinians in Israel.
• Following fears of a swine flu outbreak, three Israeli hospitals were assigned to treat cases in the Gaza Strip and 44,500 immunizations were transferred to the Strip.
• Since 2005, Palestinians exploited medical care arrangements more than 20 times to carry out terror attacks.
Medical Equipment:
• In 2009, some 4,883 tons of medical equipment and medicine were brought in.
• In the first quarter of 2010, Israel shipped 152 trucks of medical supplies and equipment into Gaza.
• In 2009, Israel coordinated the transfer of medical supplies for the disabled including wheelchairs, crutches and first aid kits. Other equipment shipped to Gaza include heart-monitors, baby feeding tubes, dental equipment, medical books, ambulance emergency equipment, artificial limbs and infant sleeping bags.
4. Quality of Life in Gaza
• Projected life expectancy in the Gaza Strip (2010) is 73.86, greater than Estonia, Malaysia, Jamaica and Bulgaria.
• The infant mortality rate in Gaza is 17.71 per 1000, better than that of China, Jordan, Lebanon and Thailand.
Schoolchildren:
• Israel transfers school equipment supplied by UNRWA including notebooks, school bags, writing implements and textbooks.
• Israel is currently coordinating the transfer of 200,000 laptops for Gaza schoolchildren.
• In the first quarter of 2010, Israel transferred 250 trucks with equipment for the UNWRA summer camp, including arts-and-crafts equipment, swimming pools, inflatable toys, ice cream machines, musical instruments, clothing, sports quipment.
3. Building for the Future: Infrastructure and Economic Aid
Building Materials:
• While the import of cement and iron has been restricted into Gaza since these are used by the Hamas to cast rockets and bunkers, monitored imports of truckloads of cement, iron, and building supplies such as wood and windows are regularly coordinated with international parties. Already in the first quarter of 2010, 23 tons of iron and 25 tons of cement were transferred to the Gaza Strip.
• On 13 May 2010, Israel allowed approximately 39 tons of building material into Gaza to help rebuild a damaged hospital. The construction material for al Quds hospital was transferred after safeguards in place and French assurances ensured that the construction material would not be diverted elsewhere.
• On 24 May 2010, Israel opened Kerem crossing to 97 trucks loaded with aid and goods, including six trucks holding 250 tons of cement and one truck loaded with five tons of iron for projects executed and operated by UNRWA.
Electricity:
• As noted by a UN report of May 2010, 120 Megawatts (over 70 percent) of the Strips’ electricity supply comes from the Israeli electric grid, while 17 MWs come from Egypt and 30 MWs are produced by the Gaza city power station. Since January 2010, there has been deterioration in the supply of electricity to the Gaza Strip since the Hamas regime is unwilling to purchase the fuel to run the Gaza City power station.
• Throughout 2009, Israel transferred 41 trucks of equipment for the maintenance of Gaza’s electricity grid.
• Israel facilitates the transfer of fuel through the border, and maintains that the diversion of fuel from domestic power generators to other uses is wholly a Hamas decision. Over 133 million liters of fuel entered Gaza from Israel over the last 18 months.
Sewage:
• During the first quarter of 2010, the UN coordinated with Israel the transfer of equipment for UNWRA to upgrade the sewage pumping station. In 2009, 127 trucks containing more than 3,000 tons of hypochlorite entered the Gaza Strip for water purification purposes. Moreover, 48 trucks of equipment for improving the sanitation infrastructure led to a substantial reduction in the Beit Lahya facility's waste levels.
Economy:
• Primary exports from Gaza are cut flowers and citrus, with trade partners being Israel, Egypt and the West Bank. During 2009, 7.5 million tons of flowers and 54 tons of strawberries were exported from Gaza with Israeli cooperation.
• In 2009, 1.1 billion shekels (about $250 million) was transferred to the Gaza Strip for the ongoing activity of international organizations and to pay the salaries of Palestinian Authority workers.
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