If I remember correctly the Rachel Corrie story is dealt with in the documentary âOccupation 101â. Thereâs also a documentary âDeath In Gazaâ where the documentary maker James Miller is killed. It happened only six weeks after the Rachel Corrie incident.
The ships were ordered to pull into an Israeli port for inspection. The Israelis wanted to make sure the ships werenât carrying arms or ordnance that would be later used to kill Israeli civilians. Given that they have rockets raining down on them on a regular basis, I donât think thatâs an unreasonable request. Theyâre entitled to take steps to prevent this from happening. How would we feel if Ireland was in the same situation?
They boarded the ship. If they hadnât been attacked with iron bars and the like, they wouldnât have opened fire and none of those people would have died.
Does everyone really think that the âactivistsâ truly gave a shite about getting aid to the Palestinians? If they did, why didnât they just submit to the inspection and continue on their way?
Well, they didnât give a shite about getting the aid through. They were out to make a political point, and they made it at the expense of the people who were killed. And theyâre delighted.
So the Irish crusties involved in the whole thing have vowed to âreturn to Gazaâ. Are they doing it out of genuine concern for the people there? No, theyâre doing it to make a point, and because it makes them feel important.
Anyone ever eat strudel? I got a custard and raspberry on in aldi and I was very impressed.
the ships were in international waters so they could, quite rightly ignore the israelis, the IDF then committed piracy and the the people on the ships defended themselves from pirates leading to 9 of them being killed, if they put up the vicious fight the IDF allege do you not thnk the a few IDFwould have been killed too? they didnt submit for inspection because they dont recognise israelâs right to inspect and they shouldnât
in regars to your point if that was ireland, weâve been a lot closer to the palestinian situation than the israeli one
israel has been tolerated for far too long with itâs breaches of international and human rights law so they cant really go relying on that
âSoldiers deserve Soldiers Sirâ.
This is why the IDF didnât suffer fatalities. A few turks with knives and bars against trained military with a crystal clear plan, and festooned with weapons and armour.
Ya, itâs a real wonder how they didnât get badly hurt.
God Bless Israel. Down with stupid Turks and the silly irish crustie tree hugger types who will side with those loons over the lovely people of Israel.
Tom.
Jews are no better than crusties.
Sure they are.
Crusties would have paddled out to that floatilla on a raft made of wood that was grown specifically for raft making and then thrown petals against the hull of the boat. Of course the boats would turn back and make full speed accross the med. This would be due to the stink from the crusties dreads.
tom.
Fuck them red sea pedestrians.
If the Israelis had reasonable grounds to believe that the flotilla was carrying munitions that might be used to kill Israelis (and given the collection of nuts who happened to be on the Turkish ship, I reckon those grounds existed), you canât fault them for insisting on inspecting the contents.
The only reason no Israelis were killed was because they didnât let themselves be killed, although there are photos of a few of them with serious head wounds. If youâve got a spear and someoneâs threatening you with a knife, do you nail him before he gets within range, or do you wait for him to get close enough to attack before you try to defend youself?
If the Israelis used the softly softly approach with their enemies theyâd have been eradicated a long long time ago.
The whole thing was a provocation, it was badly handled by the Israelis and it had the desired effect of disgracing them. As I said, the crusties are over the moon. They donât give a shit about the people of Gaza, or about those who were killed.
Micheal Martin has requested the withdrawal of a member of staff from the Israeli Embassy. They didnât name names but is due to the findings of the report into the false passports issue.
Youâd assume a few possible outcomes here at this stage. One is the Israelis responding by saying the staff member in question is due to return to Israel anyway so fuck us. Another is the Israelis denying all charges and refusing to comment on the staff memberâs status one way or the other. If they do play hardball, youâd have to wonder what the next step would be? How widely applied is the diplomatic immunity concept? Would criminal proceedings be an option?
This paragraph sums these cunts up. Iâd watch my back over there if I were you mikee, it seems weâre on the hitlist now.
One Israeli official responded to Martinâs comment by saying, âIf and when Ireland will come to face a cruel enemy dedicated to its total obliteration by all means, only then will there be any moral authority to the preaching coming out of Dublin.â
[size=â3â]Exposed: The truth about Israelâs land grab in the West Bank[/size]
As President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meet, a report reveals 42 per cent of territory is controlled by settlers
By Catrina Stewart in Jerusalem and David Usborne
Wednesday, 7 July 2010
http://www.independent.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00408/pg-1-splash-afp-get_408453s.jpg
A Jewish settler hangs the Israeli flag over a vacated building in the West Bank town of Beit Sahur
Jewish settlers, who claim a divine right to the whole of Israel, now control more than 42 per cent of the occupied West Bank, representing a powerful obstacle to the creation of a Palestinian state, a new report has revealed.
The jurisdiction of some 200 settlements, illegal under international law, cover much more of the occupied Palestinian territory than previously thought. And a large section of the land has been seized from private Palestinian landowners in defiance even of an Israeli supreme court ruling, the report said, a finding which sits uncomfortably with Israeli claims that it builds only on state land.
Drawing on official Israeli military maps and population statistics, the leading Israeli human rights group, BâTselem, compiled the new findings, which were released just as the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, arrived in Washington to try to heal a gaping rift with US President Barack Obama over the issue of settlements.
âThe settlement enterprise has been characterised, since its inception, by an instrumental, cynical, and even criminal approach to international law, local legislation, Israeli military orders, and Israeli law, which has enabled the continuous pilfering of land from Palestinians in the West Bank,â the report concluded.
Mr Obamaâs demand for a freeze on illegal building has caused months of friction between his administration and the Israeli government. But the US president, facing mid-term elections in November, appeared eager to end the dispute with Israel yesterday.
He said the country was making âreal progressâ on improving conditions in the Gaza Strip and was serious about achieving peace.
The two men made a joint public appearance, carefully choreographed to convey mutual ease and friendship.
When Mr Netanyahu last visited the White House, in March, US anger at his refusal to end construction meant the Israeli premier was denied a joint appearance with Mr Obama before the cameras. This time the photo-op was granted and the two men afterwards shared a meal â although not a state dinner but a working lunch.
âReports about the demise of the special US-Israel relationship arenât premature, there are just flat wrong,â Mr Netanyahu said, in response to a reporterâs question about the perceived tensions. Playing to the same script, Mr Obama said that the âbond between the United States and Israel is unbreakableâ.
But the revelations in the BâTselem report suggest that despite Mr Netanyahuâs stated desire for peace, his policy on settlements remains a dangerous obstacle to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state and therefore to a durable peace.
They cast an uncompromising spotlight on Israeli practices in the Palestinian territories that have long drawn international criticism for establishing âfacts on the groundâ hampering the creation of a viable Palestinian state.
While most of the Jewish settlement activity is concentrated in 1 per cent of the West Bank, settler councils have in fact fenced off or earmarked massive tracts of land, comprising some 42 per cent of the West Bank, BâTselem said.
And despite the outlawing by Israel of settlement expansion on private Palestinian land, settlers have seized 21 per cent of land that Israel recognises is privately-owned.
BâTselem alleged that Israel had devised an extensive system of loopholes to requisition Palestinian land.
At the same time, Israel has built bypass roads, erected new checkpoints, and taken control of scarce water resources to the benefit of the settlers. The measures have effectively created Palestinian enclaves within the West Bank, the report said.
Under international law, any Jewish settlements built on occupied territory are illegal. These include all the settlements in the West Bank, and thousands of Jewish homes in East Jerusalem, the Arab-dominated sector of the city annexed by Israel after the 1967 Six Day War. The international community still regards East Jerusalem as occupied territory. Despite firm commitments from successive Israeli governments to dismantle illegal outposts built after 2001 and to cease expansion of the settlements, Israel has provided millions of dollars worth of incentives to encourage poorer families to move into the West Bank. Some 300,000 settlers live in the West Bank.
Settlers immediately attacked the report, claiming it was timed as a spoiler to the Washington meeting.
In Washington, no concrete breakthroughs were announced but Mr Obama said that he believed the Israeli leader was ready to move towards direct talks with the Palestinians. Indirect talks began earlier this year, mediated by special US envoy George Mitchell.
Mr Netanyahu showed signs of responding to the pressure. âPeace is the best option for all of us and I think we have a unique opportunity to do it,â he said. âIf we work together with [Palestinian] President [Mahmoud] Abbas then we can bring a great message of hope to our peoples, to the region and to the world.â
The Palestinians continue to refuse direct talks with Israel while new settlement construction is allowed. Settlement activity continues in East Jerusalem, which Palestinians aim to include in a new state.
With US-Israel ties already frayed, Mr Netanyahu postponed a visit to the White House last month in the aftermath of Israelâs deadly raid on a Turkish-led flotilla trying to deliver humanitarian goods to Gaza.
For Mr Obama, the danger is clear that any long-lasting record of animosity towards Israel could translate into lost votes at the mid-term elections.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/16/idf-kills-mother-gaza-israel
Mother of five killed by Israeli artillery fire close to Gaza buffer zone
Three relatives also wounded in shelling on Gaza border, as family say no rockets were heard being fired before attack
Harriet Sherwood in Johar a-Deek guardian.co.uk, Friday 16 July 2010 17.51 BST Article history
Nasser Abu Said outside the shrapnel-riddled home where his wife, Neâema, was killed byIsraeli artillery Photograph: Guardian
A mother of five was killed by Israeli artillery fire when she went to fetch her two-year-old son from outside her village home close to the âbuffer zoneâ created by Israel along its border with Gaza.
Three of her relatives were wounded in the shelling earlier this week, but Red Crescent ambulances were not permitted to reach the family for several hours.
According to the womanâs husband, Nasser Abu Said, 37, the attack began without warning at about 8.30pm on Tuesday with two shells being fired as the family of 17 sat outside their house in the village of Johar a-Deek. Apart from Nasser and his 65-year-old father, the entire group was women and children.
âIt was completely quiet, there were no rockets being fired or we wouldnât have been sitting outside,â he said, referring to Qassam missiles launched by militants into Israel.
His sister and his brotherâs wife were injured by shrapnel. The family moved indoors and called an ambulance. âAbout 10 minutes later the ambulance called back to say the Israelis had refused them permission to come to the house,â said Nasser.
His wife Neâema, 33, soon realised their youngest son, Jaber, was not among the children she was attempting to calm down, and was probably asleep on a mattress outside that he often shared with his grandfather.
As she went to fetch the toddler, another shell landed. âI called to my wife three times,â said Nasser, who realised his father had also been badly injured in his leg and stomach. âI could hear small noises coming from her. I knew she was dying.â
Via Palestinian co-ordinators, the IDF told the family that anyone going outside the house would be shot dead. Nasser began to tend to his injured father, knowing he could not reach his dying wife.
âI was holding myself in, especially in front of the children,â he said. The children were crying hysterically and some had wet themselves, he added.
After two hours, an ambulance was allowed to reach the family. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), which investigated the incident, said Neâema and her wounded relatives were taken to al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al-Balah, where it was confirmed she had died from shrapnel wounds.
The Israeli Defence Force (IDF) said it had identified a number of suspects close to the border. âAn IDF force fired at the suspects and identified hitting them,â it said. The incident was being investigated, it added, but declined to say why ambulances had not been allowed to reach the family.
Since the three-week war in Gaza that began in December 2008, the IDF has continued to fire on Palestinians it suspects of launching rockets at Israeli civilians or attempting to attack Israeli forces. It created a 300m-wide buffer zone on Palestinian farmland adjacent to the border with Israel and warned it would shoot anyone seen within the forbidden area.
The Abu Saids say their land is not used by militants to fire rockets as it is open ground in full view of an Israeli watchtower at the border 400m away.
In the first five months of this year, 22 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces in the buffer zone, according to the PCHR. The IDF says one soldier and a Thai farmworker were killed and two soldiers lightly wounded in militant attacks in the first half of this year.
Palestinians have been unable to harvest their crops in the zone, which has swallowed about 30% of Gazaâs arable farmland. The Abu Said family have lived in the area for 40 years, but have had to abandon the part of their land inside the zone. âEveryone is afraid to come to this house,â said Nasser.
The house, isolated down a rutted track, was riddled with shrapnel damage from Tuesdayâs shelling, and dried blood still lay in the sand where Neâema had been killed.
The PCHR condemned the shelling which, it said, âconstitutes the highest degree of disregard for Palestinian civiliansâ livesâ. This was not an isolated incident but âpart of a series of continuous crimes committed by the [Israeli military]â.
Scumbags.
Europa cup, 2nd qualifying round, 1st leg
Shanrock Rovers 1 ( Bayley 90â)
FC Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv 1 ( Atek 26â)
Would that be seen as a new low for Israel also?
most definitly
Bnei Yehuda would have been expected to win this one easily given they are ranked 100 odd places above rovers in the UEFA rankings and they are a fully professional set up playing in a fully professional league.
nothing else really stands out on this thread so id say this is the only signifigant low of note for the state so far that has been mentioned on the forum.
What a moron mickee can be, this is the most blinkered stuff on here.
blessed are those who cannot see Kev.
BTW im leaving now, just sent you an SMS, see you outside thurlus dog track at 6pm with the Runt.