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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| 20 Ships to Head for Clash in Gaza |
| 2010-02-21 |
| The Turkish IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation announced that a fleet of 20 ships would be sent to break Israel's embargo on Hamas-run Gaza two months from now. Five of the ships will be under the auspices of IHH; the support of charitable businessmen in Turkey is being sought for funding to purchase them. IHH was founded in 1992 to provide humanitarian aid to Bosnia, and later extended its reach to “deliver foodstuff, clothes and tents to crisis regions hit by wars, conflicts, and natural disaster to meet urgent needs of victims.' However, it has now added political intervention to its agenda, vowing that its “aid ships will continue to head for Gaza until Israeli embargo is lifted.' The cargo ships are to carry “Israeli-embargoed building materials, generators, medication, medical equipment and educational materials.' In addition, passenger ships accompanying the cargo ships are scheduled to carry “journalists, human rights advocates, activists and lawmakers from various countries.' Other reports of planned “humanitarian' flotillas headed for Gaza have been publicized of late. Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez was said to be planning to join one of them, along with anti-apartheid activists from South Africa. The ships were said to be planning to set sail for Gaza in March, in a convoy initiated by Hamas terror activist Muhammad Sualha, currently in Britain. In late 2008, the “Free Gaza' movement sent a ship towards Gaza, with former U.S. Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney aboard. Israel declared the coastal area a "closed military zone," but when the boat continued towards Gaza and tried to outmaneuver an Israel Navy patrol boat; a collision ensued, and the ship ultimately set sail for Lebanon after taking on water. Maybe the Israelis could make a deal with Japanese Whalers. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose |
| #6 OP, napalm just sets Israel up for official condemnations and cutoffs of trade etc. It sure would be a shame if a bunch of those boats developed all sorts of problems below the waterline tho. |
| Posted by: lotp 2010-02-21 22:41 |
| #5 No surprise here as TURKEY has been itching to show its newfound geopol muscle - the only real question is the number of Turkish ships sent + ISRAEL'S MILPOL REACTION. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2010-02-21 22:29 |
| #4 Napalm any ship that enters Gazan waters, and shoot any survivors. This is nothing but brinkmanship, and Israel should call their bluffs in a very obvious, painful way. If any of these ships are warships, their presence would be an act of war, and should be responded to as such. Israel has some very good submarines, and they should be put to use. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2010-02-21 19:19 |
| #3 Chavez was said to be planning to join one of them, along with anti-apartheid activists from South Africa. Whooogo and his ANC commie pals. A marriage made in heaven. Aparthied my aching arse. Send the entire lot to the bottom! |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2010-02-21 16:41 |
| #2 Do that, then see if they can even get insurance for the ships. This is an attempt at Media Attention™. They haven't even paid for their 5 ships. I'd have "mishaps" hit them in port, as a taste of the future "adventures" |
| Posted by: Frank G 2010-02-21 16:21 |
| #1 Israel should immediately and publicly tell the world press that any ship attempting to enter restricted waters will be disabled and/or sunk. This should be reiterated several times, so when it happens the activists only have themselves to blame. I just wish these so called peace activists would spend the same amount of time and effort convincing hamas to stop attacks on Israel, so the blockade could be lifted without them needing to try and smuggle supplies into Gaza. The world seems to have quickly forgotten that Israel left Gaza in search of peace, and were met with thousands of rockets shot at their civilian population from Gaza in response. |
| Posted by: Mike Hunt 2010-02-21 16:14 |