Saturday, June 05, 2010

TURKEY PROTESTS ISRAEL MORE MUSLIM HATE

Turks march in protest against Israeli ship raid
By Sasha Kavic – Sat Jun 5, 3:09 pm ET


ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Thousands of people angered by an Israeli raid on an aid ship that killed nine pro-Palestinian activists marched through Istanbul on Saturday, demanding Turkey cut economic ties with the Jewish state.Damn Israel,Murderer Israel,protesters shouted.An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Revenge.On Monday, Israeli commandos intercepted the Mavi Marmara, part of a six-vessel convoy carrying mostly Turkish, pro-Palestinian activists trying to break a four-year-old Israeli blockade on Gaza. The raid quickly turned violent.Besides the nine Turkish men who were killed, dozens of people were wounded. The ship was also carrying activists from Britain, Germany, Malaysia, Belgium, Ireland and elsewhere.On Saturday, the Israeli navy boarded without incident another aid ship trying to reach Gaza, the Rachel Corrie. Israeli police said the 19 people on board would be deported within hours.Now the Israelis have seized two more ships with captives. This is why I condemn Israel,said marcher Filiz Calislar.The Turkish people have gathered here to protest the atrocities by Israel.Protesters waved Turkish and Palestinian flags and carried signs with the photographs of the dead activists.They demanded a boycott of Israeli products and called on Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's government to impose sanctions on the Jewish state. The rally was organized by the Islamist Saadet Party.

What we experienced on the Mavi Marmara is what Palestinian women and children live through every day,said Bulent Yildirim, head of the Insani Yardim Vakfi (IHH), the Istanbul-based group that organized the flotilla.The last five Turkish activists wounded during the raid returned to Turkey on board Israeli air ambulances late on Friday, said Metin Dogan, chief physician at Ataturk Hospital in the capital Ankara. They had been unable to travel sooner because of the seriousness of their medical condition.Of the 24 people being treated in Ankara, one is Irish, and the rest are Turkish, Dogan also said.Seven of the patients are in critical condition, but their situation has improved since they arrived,he said.A prosecutor took statements from those in hospital who were well enough to speak, the broadcaster CNN Turk said on its website. Turkish officials are considering legal action against Israel.(Additional reporting by Mert Ozkan and Ayla Jean Yackley; editing by Andrew Dobbie)

Israel troops board aid ship but no violence: army
Sat Jun 5, 6:45 am ET


JERUSALEM (AFP) – Israeli troops boarded an aid ship heading for Gaza on Saturday, but there was no violent confrontation, a military spokeswoman said.Our forces boarded the boat and took control without meeting any resistance from the crew or the passengers. Everything took place without violence, the spokeswoman told AFP.The move came after the Rachel Corrie refused to respond to four requests from the navy to head for the southern Israeli port of Ashdod, and stayed its course for the Gaza Strip, which is under an Israeli naval blockade.Activists on board the ship had previously indicated they would not heed Israeli calls to change course, and would continue to head for their destination -- although they were prepared to let their cargo be inspected.The ship was intercepted by the Israeli navy in international waters shortly after dawn but the troops held back from boarding the vessel for several hours.The apparently peaceful ending to the standoff comes just five days after the Israeli naval commandos raided another aid ship heading for Gaza in a bungled operation which left nine foreign activists dead and scores wounded, among them seven Israeli soldiers.

Flotilla raid goes viral as Israel floods YouTube
by Hazel Ward – Fri Jun 4, 11:29 pm ET


JERUSALEM (AFP) – Israel may have lost the initial PR battle over its deadly raid on a Gaza-bound aid ship, but it is fighting back with a barrage of video clips in a bid to prove activists initiated the violence.Days after the botched attack which killed nine Turks, the fight over what exactly happened on board the ferry is still raging on YouTube, with both sides posting more and more clips on the video-sharing website to support their case.It was chaotic footage of Israeli troops storming the Turkish-owned Mavi Marmara which first caught the world's attention.Streaming Internet video of bloodied passengers and reporters issuing urgent calls for help were transmitted in real time from the deck of the ship.The commandos eventually disconnected the feed but the damage was done, provoking a wave of global outrage which has dealt a harsh blow to Israel's image.Israel says its troops were violently attacked as they dropped onto the Mavi Marmara, and only shot back in self-defence. The activists say the commandos started shooting as soon as they arrived, prompting those on board to act in self-defence.Faced with a diplomatic backlash, Israel cranked up its propaganda machine, uploading a slew of video clips to YouTube to support its version of events.Grainy images of elite commandos taking a beating at the hands of Turkish activists turned out to be one of Israel's most unlikely propaganda successes.Over 1.6 million people watched that footage. You also saw it used on blogs and in forums, said Lieutenant Aliza Landes, head of the Israeli military's new media desk.

In another clip, taken from the ship's security cameras, activists can be seen preparing for a confrontation.In that footage you can see them handing out metal batons and putting on masks, and you can see the light of the boat approaching so it's clear that they were preparing for a fight, said Landes.YouTube is the best tool we have as video gives the most powerful information, said Landes.Israel has, however, come under fire for using pirated footage to defend its botched raid -- material confiscated from journalists who were on board the ship.An interview with a passenger who says he wants to be a martyr is shown in a clip not credited to any media outlet, and only described as footage captured on the Gaza flotilla.The army refused to say whether the footage would be returned.Twitter has also been widely used by both sides, with the microblogging site flooded with Tweets as the raid happened, most of them posted by the flotilla organisers commenting on the live Internet feed.But none of the Tweets actually originated from the boat. And Israel has so far only used the service to distribute official information rather than as a breaking news tool.Chaim Shacham, director of information at the foreign ministry, says Israel is becoming more aware of the digital media battlefield. In this case, it was very clear to us that it would be a race for footage,he told AFP, saying that the navy had cameramen in the helicopters and patrol boats.

Getting footage was part of the operational plan, he said.All the clips put out by Israel have been rigorously edited, have no timestamp and show only scenes which vindicate the Israeli account without explaining what happened before, or after.
Shacham dismisses claims the footage provides a distorted image of events. The footage from the ship immediately put things into context -- it told the story of the soldiers as well as the protesters, clearly showing the soldiers rappelling down and getting beaten, he said. While some of the footage had not been very convenient for Israel, much of it vindicated the troops' account, said Shacham. The Arabic and Turkish footage is very revealing: it shows the jihadists on the ship were intending to beat the hell out of the soldiers, he said, pointing to interviews with Bulent Yildirim, head of the Turkish charity IHH.But analyst Yariv Ben Eliezer believes Israel's online efforts were too little, too late.We lost the propaganda war before we even started,said Ben Eliezer, a propaganda management expert at the IDC centre in Herzliya.We are considered by the world to be Goliath and the humanitarian activists are considered to be David, so it's a lose-lose situation.Israel, he says, should have done its homework and exposed activists aboard the ferry as extremists long before they set sail.It's not effective now because nobody wants to listen.

Hezbollah chief calls for Freedom Flotilla II by Natacha Yazbeck – Fri Jun 4, 4:13 pm ET

BEIRUT (AFP) – Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah on Friday called for the formation of a Freedom Flotilla II, and lauded Turkey's tough stance against Israel's deadly raid on a Gaza-bound aid fleet.There is a real opportunity today to achieve what the Freedom Flotilla aimed to do... and that is to break the siege on our brothers and sisters in Gaza,Nasrallah said in a speech beamed to a mass rally in Lebanon's capital.This means we will need to form more flotillas of different nationalities and see them on to Gaza,he told thousands of his supporters, who waved Palestinian, Turkish and Hezbollah flags in a show of solidarity with the victims of Monday's raid.Nasrallah called on the people of Lebanon, including Christians and Muslims, to participate en masse in Freedom Flotilla II and again attempt to break the sea blockade of the Gaza Strip.Any Lebanese who is on that flotilla will come home safe and sound, he told the rally in Beirut's mainly Shiite southern suburb, a Hezbollah stronghold.Just as Israel takes into account the red flag of Turkey, so it takes into account the yellow flag of Hezbollah, Nasrallah said, paying tribute to four Lebanese activists aboard the flotilla who were repatriated this week.Nine people were killed when Israeli commandos stormed a fleet of boats dubbed the "Freedom Flotilla" that was carrying 10,000 tonnes of aid towards Gaza, which has been under siege since 2006.

All nine of the victims were Turks, including one who held US citizenship.The confrontation sparked a diplomatic storm between Turkey and Israel, two major powerbrokers in the region.Ankara recalled its ambassador from Israel and said it intends to reduce economic and defence ties with Israel but would stop short of freezing all bilateral cooperation.In his speech transmitted to Friday's rally via videolink, Nasrallah praised Turkey's tough stance against the Jewish state, describing it as an earthquake for Israel.I will not say that Israel has lost Turkey (as an ally), but it has begun to lose Turkey and that is a significant strategic shift in the region,Nasrallah said.The lesson to be learned here is that... only diplomacy which is built on strength and arms is effective, he added.But the head of the Lebanese militant group, who rarely makes public appearances, downplayed his intention to ignite a renewed round of conflict.I do not intend to create a new problem, he said. But we need to be part of this humanitarian struggle, and not leave it to those who traverse the sea to get here.Hezbollah fought a devastating month-long war with Israel in the summer of 2006.More than 1,200 Lebanese, most of them civilians, and 160 Israelis, mainly soldiers, were killed in the 34-day conflict which destroyed much of Lebanon's major infrastructure.Fears of a fresh conflict between the two arch-enemies have escalated in recent weeks after Israel accused Hezbollah of having acquired long-range Scud missiles.

Ahmadinejad warns opposition, blasts Israeli raid By NASSER KARIMI, Associated Press Writer – Fri Jun 4, 7:41 am ET

TEHRAN, Iran – The Iranian president on Friday warned the country's opposition against straying from the path of the founder of the Islamic Revolution and slammed Israel for a deadly raid this week on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla.Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spoke before hundreds of thousands gathered at the shrine of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and the surrounding grounds in southern Tehran for a ceremony marking his death 21 years ago. The Khomeini-led Islamic revolution toppled the U.S.-backed shah and brought hard-line Islamists to power in 1979.Those who deviate from the Imam's path will be banished by the people, Ahmadinejad said.The stark warning came just days ahead of the opposition's mass rally planned on the anniversary of last June's disputed presidential election. The rally is to be the first opposition gathering in months and authorities have warned they will confront any unauthorized demonstrations.The Iranian opposition claims Ahmadinejad won the June 12 election through massive vote fraud. It had rallied for months against the election results but was met by a heavy government crackdown, which the opposition says killed 80 people during street protests so far.More than 100 opposition figures and activists were put on a mass trial, and 80 of them were sentenced to death or given prison terms ranging from six months to 15 years.But Ahmadinejad reiterated Friday that the election was 100 percent free and added he is bound by duty to protect the people's vote.The annual commemoration of Khomeini's death is part mournful ceremony, part political rally for the base that sustains Iran's hard-liners amid rising dissatisfaction with inflation, unemployment, social constraints — and an opposition movement that has persisted despite the crackdown.Ahmadinejad, known for his anti-Israeli rhetoric, used the podium at the shrine grounds Friday to blast Israel's commando raid on the international flotilla off Gaza's shores, calling it barbaric and urging the dismantling of the Zionist regime.

They have lost their self-control and ability to think,he said of the Israeli raid that killed nine activists on the Turkish flagship in the flotilla Monday.Thousands such freedom flotillas across the world will sail out with freedom fighters, to scrap the Zionist rule and bring peace and freedom to all mankind, added Ahmadinejad.

Iran's supreme leader and Khomeini's successor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, also criticized the raid as a mistake that showed how barbaric the Zionists are.Khamenei, who has final say on all state matters in Iran, also indirectly criticized opposition leaders, saying that some who revered the late Khomeini now speak differently than before. He also warned the opposition to carefully examine what he said was support that comes from foreign enemies of Iran, enemies of the Imam.
Khomeini's grandson took the stage as he does every year on the anniversary, but this time his speech was repeatedly interrupted by anti-opposition chants from Ahmadinejad supporters. The chanting was apparently a jab at Hassan Khomeini's perceived support for opposition leaders.Khomeini left the podium before finishing.The dignity of the anniversary does not deserve what this small group is doing,he said.The semiofficial Ilna news agency said other Khomeini relatives who attended the ceremony left in protest over the incident.State TV carried the ceremony live, saying it was attended by 2 million people, including more than 700,000 Iranians who were bused in from various provinces.Khomeini is still deeply popular and respected among Iranians, including veterans of the eight-year war that former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein launched against Iran in the 1980s. The TV reported that after the Tehran ceremony, there were anti-Israeli demonstrations in several Iranian cities and towns following Friday prayers.

Turkish group behind flotilla is Gaza's new hero By DIAA HADID, Associated Press Writers – Thu Jun 3, 5:36 pm ET

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – The Turkish group that bankrolled the aid flotilla raided by Israel has big plans for Gaza.Its bearded 50-year-old leader has assumed hero status in the impoverished Palestinian territory, where he says his group plans to spend $25million on housing, medical care and education.Mehmet Kaya has been treated like a star wherever he goes since the deadly raid on Monday. Gazans young and old gather to shake his hand, and he enjoys ready access to leaders of the territory's ruling Islamic militant group Hamas.The Arab countries that are a part of us haven't done what Turkey did, said Jihan Balousha, 30, who bought her five children to meet Kaya at Gaza's dilapidated port Wednesday.It's all part of Turkey's muscular push into the blockaded Gaza Strip and its growing ambition to be an influential player in the Middle East.Israel accuses Kaya's group, known by its Turkish acronym IHH, of supporting terrorism. The Turkish activists vehemently deny that, saying they're strictly involved in humanitarian efforts and have to deal with Hamas, since it is the authority in Gaza.We have found that the support, when it goes through the Hamas government ... it goes to the people,said Kaya, the Gaza representative for the group, whose name in English means Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief.Kaya has gained new prominence since the six-ship flotilla tried to challenge Israel's 3-year-old blockade of Gaza. The attempt ended with Israeli commandos commandeering the boats and clashing with club-wielding passengers on one vessel in a confrontation that left eight Turks and an American dead.

Seen as a kind of unofficial ambassador to Gaza, Kaya symbolizes Turkey's dramatic shift toward Hamas' key patrons Iran and Syria, at the expense of its traditional alliance with Israel.Ties had been warming gradually, but the sea raid pushed the fledgling partnership out into the open as Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan railed against Israel, accusing it of committing a massacre on the high seas.

Israeli-Turkish ties had been showing signs of strains even before the raid. Erdogan was an outspoken critic of Israel's war in Gaza last year and in one high-profile incident, stormed off a stage he was sharing with Israeli President Shimon Peres at Davos in the days after the war.Turkey's government unofficially sponsored the flotilla, which was transporting 10,000 tons of aid and hundreds of activists. In the weeks before the operation, Israeli military and diplomatic officials repeatedly urged Turkey to call off the flotilla — a request that was rebuffed in Ankara.IHH insists it has no ties to Turkey's Islamic-leaning government, though its top fund-raisers are believed to be among Erdogan's core support group, the country's wealthy merchant class.Signs of the warm Turkish-Gaza ties are popping up around the territory.A Hamas statement quoting Erdogan as telling the Islamic militant group's leader, Ismail Haniyeh, by phone that we will continue to support you even if we remain alone was widely distributed and posted on mosque walls in Gaza this week.The IHH is renovating the port, funding a Turkish-Palestinian school and plans to build a hospital and apartments for Gazans made homeless during the war with Israel early last year. The group also supports 9,000 families with money and food parcels, and is hosting computer and sewing courses for women, Kaya said.Israel imposed the blockade after Hamas, which most Western countries consider a terrorist organization, seized power in Gaza and stepped up rocket fire into Israel.

The United Nations, which was to lead reconstruction efforts after the Gaza war ended early last year, has been paralyzed because Israel does not allow in building materials. U.N. aid agencies are not permitted to buy goods brought in through Gaza's smuggling tunnels. Groups like IHH have filled the void because they can use black market goods and — unlike the international agencies — are under no obligation to stay away from Hamas. In the war-ravaged Gaza neighborhood of Izbet Abed Rabbo, IHH is building a three-story apartment block for families made homeless during the Gaza war. The $250,000 project provides jobs for 100 people.As the IHH shot to attention, so have Israeli accusations that it supports terrorism. Israel has been trying to defuse widespread international anger over the sea raid, arguing that its troops came under premeditated attack and fired in self defense. The IHH is ... known as a group implicated in terrorist operations, said Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor.Their close ties with Hamas are an avowed policy of this group.The IHH's website shows its founder warmly embracing Hamas' exiled leader, Khaled Mashaal, in Syria. Hamas has killed hundreds of Israelis in suicide bombings and other attacks. On Wednesday, former French anti-terrorism judge Jean-Louis Bruguiere, who investigated the group in the 1990s, said he found links to terrorism networks, including al-Qaida, but didn't say whether IHH now has terror ties. Israel's Shin Bet security service says the group is a major player in raising funds for Hamas.Reuven Erlich, head of the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, an Israeli think tank with close ties to Israel's Defense Ministry, said the group in the past provided at least logistical support to Islamic jihad organizations, including funds and arms. We were not surprised when we heard what happened, Erlich said.This fits well with their past.

Despite such claims, the IHH, unlike Hamas, is not among some 45 groups listed by the U.S. State Department as terror organizations. IHH board member Omer Faruk Korkmaz said his group is strictly involved in delivering aid. We don't approve of the actions of any terrorist organization in the world, he said in an interview at the group's Istanbul headquarters Wednesday. Gaza residents say they appreciate the IHH and Turkey for spotlighting Israel's harsh blockade on the territory.They have really stood beside us, and we are grateful,Balousha said.Associated Press Writer Selcan Hacaoglu in Istanbul and Tia Goldenberg in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

Israel has right to board Gaza-bound ships: Biden
Thu Jun 3, 11:46 am ET


WASHINGTON (AFP) – US Vice President Joe Biden has said Israel has the right to protect its security by boarding ships heading for Gaza, but warned Washington would cajole its ally on the plight of Palestinians.Despite a wave of global outrage over the Israeli commando assault on a Gaza aid flotilla on Monday which killed nine people, the White House has so far refused to explicitly single out the Israeli government for blame.I think Israel has an absolute right to deal with its security interest, Biden said in an interview with the Charlie Rose show broadcast by PBS television late Wednesday.The truth of the matter is, Israel has a right to know -- they're at war with Hamas... whether or not arms are being smuggled in.It's legitimate for Israel to say, I don't know what's on that ship. These guys are dropping eight -- 3,000 rockets on my people.But Biden also said Washington, which has branded the situation in Gaza untenable, would continue to press Israel to improve living conditions for Palestinians under the Gaza blockade.The one thing we have to do is not forget the plight of these Palestinians there ... they're in bad shape.So we have put as much pressure and as much cajoling on Israel as we can to allow them to get building materials in.On Thursday, US Middle East envoy George Mitchell warned the Gaza flotilla tragedy should not be allowed to undermine US efforts to revive the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians.

Top US lawmaker: Israel rightfully raided flotilla
Wed Jun 2, 5:37 pm ET


WASHINGTON (AFP) – Israel has rightfully invoked its right to self-defense to justify a deadly raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, and should not face UN condemnation, a top US lawmaker said Wednesday.The loss of life was tragic, but the administration and Congress are determined to prevent condemnation of Israel at the UN Security Council,Democratic House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said in a statement.

Israel -- facing a global uproar over its pre-dawn raid which left nine pro-Palestinian activists dead -- has blamed those aboard the ships, including the main vessel, the Turkish-owned Mavi Marmara, for initiating the violence.Hoyer, a staunch backer of Washington's main Middle East ally, said he was waiting for all the facts to emerge about the Monday raid, but seemed to side with Israel's account.Israel -- rightfully so -- invoked its right to self-defense on the Mavi Marmara. While the majority of ships in the flotilla -- five out of six -- reacted peacefully when approached by Israeli Defense Forces, activists on board the Mavi Marmara were clearly bent on a violent confrontation, he said.Hoyer said the flotilla had set a collision course with Israel, ignoring two week's worth of repeated warnings that they would not be allowed access to Gaza, and Israeli offers to distribute legitimate aid to Gaza's people.Finally, to the extent that this act was in protest of the Gaza blockade, let's be clear: Hamas could end the blockade at any time by recognizing Israel's right to exist, renouncing violence, and releasing Gilad Shalit,an Israeli soldier held by the militant group since 2006, he said.In times of increased tension such as now, it is imperative that we not allow these events to distract from our main goals of achieving peace in the region and preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons,said Hoyer.

Wednesday, June 02, 2010

THE REAL TRUTH BEHIND EXTREME MILITANTS

THE REAL TRUTH ABOUT THE PEACEFUL ACTIVIST GROUPS INVOLVED IN THE GAZA BLOCKAIDE.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6sAEYpHF24&feature=player_embedded
TAMAR-MARTIME LAWS ON THE HIGH SEAS
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Radio/News.aspx/2261
THE TERRORISTS ON ACTIVIST SHIP
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jV6DVk04HkM&feature=player_embedded

THE GROUPS BEHIND THE GAZA BLOCKAIDE AND RAID FOR THE PAST WEEK.THE EXTREME MILITANTS AS I CALL THEM.THE TERRORIST GROUPS THAT SET UP ISRAEL.AND TARGETED USA CITIES TO BOMB.THIS SO CALLED ACTIVIST OF PEACE AND CHARITY GROUP FLOTILLA.AND WE HAVE THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION CONNECTIONS BILL AYERS AND HIS WIFE ARE BIG SUPPORTERS OF FREE GAZA AND GIVE MONEY TO THEIR GROUP.AND WHY DID ALL THE SOCIALIST HATERS INCLUDING MIKE RIVERO WITHIN AN HOUR OF THE ISRAELI PROTECTION RAID ON THE GAZA SHIP PUT TOGETHER PROTESTS AROUND THE WORLD.YES THE HATERS WERE ALL SETTING IT UP BECAUSE THEY KNEW ISRAEL WOULD NOT ALLOW THE SHIPS IN WITHOUT BEING LOOKED OVER FOR WEAPONS.BUT ISRAEL ONLY HAD PAINT BALL GUNS AS PROTECTION SO IT KILLED THE IDEA OF INNOCENT PEACEFUL AID ACTIVISTS WERE SLAUGHTERED BY ISRAEL.THE PROPAGANDA BY THE MEDIA HAD TO BE IN FULL GEAR TO COVERUP THE TERRORISTS ACTIONS AND BLAME ISRAEL.WHAT PROPAGANDA THESE MURDERERS DONE TO SET ISRAEL UP SO THEY WOULD BE CONDEMNED AND THE BLOCK AIDE WOULD BE FORCED ON THEM TO BE LIFTED LIKE THE UN AND THE WORLD ARE CALLING FOR.WHAT A HOAX BY THESE RADICAL ETREME MILITANTS TO TRY TO DESTROY ISRAELS REPUTATION AS USUAL.

The Humanitarian Relief Wing of Hamas and Al-Qaeda Posted by John Perazzo on Jun 2nd, 2010 and filed under FrontPage.
http://frontpagemag.com/2010/06/02/the-“humanitarian-relief”-wing-of-hamas-and-al-qaeda-3/

The Foundation for Human Rights and Freedom and Humanitarian Relief (better known by its Turkish acronym, IHH) is the group that organized the six-ship flotilla which recently tried, without success, to sail all the way to Gaza. Established in Turkey in 1992, the Foundation sends aid to distressed areas throughout the Middle East – in the form of food, medicine, vocational education, and building supplies. A prime destination for this aid is Gaza, where – according to IHH – Palestinians are being oppressed by an unjustified Israeli naval blockade. (For the record, that blockade was put in place to prevent Hamas, which controls Gaza politically and has fired thousands of rockets into southern Israeli towns in recent years, from importing additional weaponry from Iran and other allies abroad.)For several days last week, as the flotilla approached Gaza, Israel issued warnings that the ships would not be permitted to reach their destination without first submitting to an inspection of their cargoes – to ensure that no weaponry was being transported. But when the respective crews of the vessels refused to comply, Israeli commandos took action and intercepted the flotilla in the early morning hours of May 31. The IHH-affiliated activists responded with violence, instantly attacking the commandos with knives and clubs, and throwing one of them overboard. In the melee that ensued, ten activists were killed and seven Israeli soldiers were wounded. How could this be? How can we be expected to believe that a well-meaning “humanitarian relief” group would ever behave in a manner that might provoke violent reprisals from Israeli troops? A more thorough examination of IHH’s history and affiliations explains everything.

While IHH is indeed involved in the aforementioned humanitarian endeavors, its overall objectives are much broader. Belying the dove of peace whose image appears on its logo, IHH overtly supports Hamas, is sympathetic to al Qaeda, and maintained regular contact with al Qaeda cells and the Sunni insurgency during the bloodiest stretches of the Iraq War. Moreover, IHH has supported jihadist terror networks not only in Iraq, but also in Bosnia, Syria, Afghanistan, and Chechnya. According to Carnegie Endowment analyst Henri Barkey, IHH is an Islamist organization that has been deeply involved with Hamas for some time. A 2006 report by the Danish Institute for International Studies characterized IHH as one of many charitable front groups that provide support to Al-Qaida and the global jihad.Is the IHH beginning to sound less and less like a humanitarian relief group? Let’s look a little deeper still.

According to a French intelligence report, in the mid-1990s IHH leader Bülent Yildirim was directly involved in recruiting veteran soldiers to organize jihad activities, and in dispatching IHH operatives to war zones in Islamic countries to gain combat experience. The report also stated that IHH had transferred money as well as caches of firearms, knives and pre-fabricated explosives to Muslim fighters in those countries. Given this track record, can Israel’s concern about the contents of the IHH flotilla cargoes really be considered excessive or unwarranted? In 1996, IHH continued to burnish its credentials as a humanitarian relief organization when an examination of its telephone records showed that repeated calls had been made to an al Qaeda guest house in Milan and to Algerian terrorists operating in Europe. That same year, the U.S. government formally identified IHH as having connections to extremist groups in Iran and Algeria.In December 1997, Turkish authorities, acting on a tip from sources claiming that IHH leaders had purchased automatic weapons from other regional Islamic militant groups, initiated a domestic criminal investigation of IHH. A thorough search of the organization’s Istanbul bureau uncovered a large assortment of firearms, explosives, bomb-making instructions, and a jihad flag. In addition, Turkish authorities seized a host of IHH documents whose contents ultimately led investigators to conclude that the group’s members were going to fight in Afghanistan, Bosnia, and Chechnya.Near the end of 2000, IHH organized protests against proposals to overthrow that humanitarian icon, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein; American and Israeli flags were burned at these rallies.

During the April 2001 trial of would-be millennium bomber Ahmed Ressam, it was revealed that IHH had played an important role in the plot to blow up Los Angeles International Airport on December 31, 1999. Some reasonable observers might contend that to classify such a pursuit under the heading of humanitarian relief would require an unduly broad definition of that term.In 2002, investigators found correspondences from IHH in the offices of the Success Foundation, a Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated organization whose Secretary was Abdul Rahman Alamoudi. For the record: The Brotherhood was the ideological forebear of Hamas and al Qaeda; it supports jihad; and it seeks to impose shari’a law on the entire civilized world. Mr. Alamoudi, for his part, is currently serving a prison term of nearly a quarter-century for his role as a funder of international terrorism. He is best known for having proudly declared himself to be a passionate supporter of Hamas and Hezbollah. The connections to humanitarian relief seem rather tenuous here.According to a report issued by a website close to Israeli military intelligence: [S]ince Hamas took over the Gaza Strip, IHH has supported Hamas’ propaganda campaigns by organizing public support conferences in Turkey.The report also states that IHH continues to operate widely throughout Gaza and to funnel large sums of money to support the Hamas infrastructure.

In January 2008, an IHH delegation met with Ahmed Bahar, chairman of Hamas’ council in the Gaza Strip. At the meeting, the delegation not only boasted about the large amount of financial support it had given Hamas during the preceding year, but also declared its intent to double that sum in the future. Once again, we are left to wonder how any of this falls under the rubric of humanitarian relief.In 2008 Israel banned IHH from the country because of the organization’s membership in the Union of Good (UOG), a Hamas-founded umbrella coalition comprised of more than 50 Islamic charities (most of which are associated with the global Muslim Brotherhood) that channel money and goods to Hamas-affiliated institutions. In December 2008, the U.S. government designated UOG as a terrorist entity that was guilty of diverting donations that were intended for social welfare and other charitable services, and using those funds to strengthen Hamas’ political and military position.In January 2009, IHH head Bülent Yildirim met with Khaled Mash’al, chairman of Hamas’ political bureau in Damascus, and Mash’al thanked Yildirim for the support of his organization.

In November 2009 IHH activist Izzat Shahin transferred tens of thousands of American dollars from IHH to the Islamic Charitable Society (in Hebron) and Al-Tadhamun (in Nablus), two of Hamas’ most important front groups posing as charitable societies.
This, then, is the IHH: a pack of anti-Semitic supporters of terrorism, cloaking themselves in the vestments of victimhood, and bleating to the world about how unfairly they have been treated by the very nation whose extermination they have worked long and hard to bring about. It’s actually a story that has become quite familiar.

Photo by: IDF Spokesperson What is the IHH?
By BEN HARTMAN 06/01/2010 22:32


The Turkish charity that helped plan the Gaza flotilla may be linked to Jihadist groups. The IHH, a Turkish charity that was one of the main planners of the Gaza flotilla, is widely considered a terrorist organization by a number of bodies - including the Israeli government - and has been accused of maintaining ties with a number of terror organizations.The IHH, short for the Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief (Insani Yardim Vakfi), is an Islamic charity that was founded in the mid-90s to provide aid to Bosnia Muslims. Since then, it has been involved in charity operations in a number of Muslim and Middle Eastern countries, including Indonesia, Pakistan, Iraq, Lebanon and aid missions to the Palestinian territories.According to the Israeli NGO The Intelligence and Information Center, the IHH is affiliated with Hamas and the Union of the Good, an Islamic umbrella affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood.In 2006, a report issued by the Danish Institute for International Studies stated that during the 1990s the IHH maintained links with al-Qaida and a number of global jihad networks.The report also said that the Turkish government launched an investigation into the IHH starting December 1997 after receiving intelligence that the IHH had bought automatic weapons from Islamist terrorists.

The report said that following the revelation, the Turkish government launched a raid on the organization’s Istanbul offices, where they found weapons, explosives, and instructions for bomb-making. The report added that an examination of documents found at the IHH office indicated that the group was planning to take part in terrorist activities in Afghanistan, Chechnya, and Bosnia.According to the study, a French intelligence report found that in the mid-1990s IHH leader B’ulent Yildirim recruited soldiers for jihad activities in a number of Muslim countries and that the IHH transferred money, firearms, and explosives to jihadists in said countries.

Izzet Sahnin, an employee of the IHH was arrested by the security services outside Bethlehem in April for what the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) said was suspicion that he was working for an extended period of time in Judea and Samaria for the Turkish organization IHH, which Israel declared illegal in 2008.The Shin Bet added that they suspected Sahnin’s activities endangered West Bank security.Following the arrest, the IHH posted a press statement on its Web site that said Izzet Sahin, who has been living in West Bank since the 28th of November, 2009 [and is] a student of [the] Hebrew University, was taken into custody in an illegal manner on the 27th of April, 2010. First court hearing of Izzet Sahin was held last week... Officials from IHH demand [that the] Turkish government interfere to ensure Sahin’s release.The Turkish government has denied assisting the IHH in its planning or funding of the Gaza flotilla.

FREE GAZA BLOG-ISRAEL HATE BLOG BIGTIME-ALL HATE PROPAGANDA
http://www.freegaza.com/

Turkish Funds Helped Group Test BlockadeBy SABRINA TAVERNISE and MICHAEL SLACKMAN Published: June 1, 2010

ISTANBUL — Since 2007, a small group of hard-core activists has repeatedly tried to sail cargo-laden ships into Gaza in an effort to thwart Israel’s blockade. But when the Free Gaza Movement teamed up with a much wealthier Turkish organization to assemble a flotilla, it became more than a nuisance, supercharged by the group’s money, manpower and symbolic resonance into what Israel sees as a serious and growing threat. Is there a way to prevent attacks against Israel while providing humanitarian relief to the Palestinians? After a botched raid that killed nine activists, an international uproar is intensifying pressure on Israel’s blockade. And the movement has hit on a strategy that, even when it fails in its aims, succeeds in tactical terms: The world sees Israel use military force against civilians. On Tuesday in a bustling neighborhood in Istanbul, the Turkish organization was celebrating a strange success. We became famous,said Omar Faruk, a board member of the group, Insani Yardim Vakfi, known by its Turkish initials, I.H.H. We are very thankful to the Israeli authorities.The group brought large boats and millions of dollars in donations to a cause that had struggled to gain attention and aid the Palestinians. Particularly galling to Israel is the fact that the group comes from Turkey, an ally, but one whose relations with Israel have become increasingly strained. Israeli authorities say I.H.H. bolsters Hamas, which runs Gaza and which they see as doctrinally committed to destroy the state of Israel. It also charges that the group has links to Al Qaeda and has bought weapons, charges the group denies.

The organization is funded entirely on donations, its members said, money that comes from Turkey’s religious merchant class, an affluent section of Turkish society that has brought the party of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to power. Inside the group’s tidy three-story office building in central Istanbul Tuesday, women in colorful scarves brought money and were given receipts. The group bought three boats, including the Mavi Marmara, the one that was raided, from a company owned by the Istanbul city government for $1.8 million. The boats carried aid that included building materials — cement, tiles and steel, which Israel bans because it says they could be put to military means — worth about $10 million, members said. Mr. Faruk argues his organization was crucial in helping to project Free Gaza’s cause.We changed the balance,he said. The Turkish group is a charity, members said, but the Israel Project, a private nonprofit advocacy group, sent an Internet link to journalists with references to what it described as the group’s radical Islamic, anti-Western orientation. The link alleges that the group supports Hamas, in part through a branch it opened in the Gaza Strip, the charity it sends them, and in meetings and speeches by Bulent Yildirim, its leader, and Hamas officials.

Israeli authorities said the group had been raided in 1997 by Turkish authorities, who turned up weapons in one of their offices. Ali Adakoglu, another board member, said there had been a raid on the house of a member in 1997, but he argued that it was politically motivated, since that was the year of a Turkish military crackdown on Islamist groups. He denied that weapons had been found. This is an Islamist charity, quite fundamentalist, quite close to Hamas, said Henri J. Barkey, a professor of international relations at Lehigh University.They say they do charity work, but they’ve been accused of gunrunning and other things, and their rhetoric has been inflammatory against Israel and sometimes against Jews.The organization was founded in the early 1990s, first as a charity for the poor in Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city, and later for Bosnian war victims. It now runs charity and relief work in more than 100 countries, including Haiti and nations in Africa, according to the deputy director, Yavuz Dede. The Free Gaza Movement was formed in September 2006 by a group of passionate Palestinian supporters, most of whom had been barred from ever returning to Israel. The group says it receives most of its money in donations. We asked ourselves, what can we do to make a difference? said Greta Berlin, the group’s 69-year-old co-founder and spokeswoman. We said, Let’s sail a boat to Gaza.That was literally how it started.

At first, no one seemed to care much. Five times the Free Gaza Movement sailed from Cyprus, where they are based, to Gaza. Israel ultimately came to believe that a threat was evolving, fearing that ships coming into port could transport weapons. Israeli officials said they feared the prospect of Hamas being as powerfully armed as Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. The Free Gaza Movement has its roots in the International Solidarity Movement, another organization that sought to take direct action in defense of Palestinians, using nonviolent strategies to impede Israeli military actions in the occupied territories. Members would often act as human shields. In 2003, an Israeli Army bulldozer crushed to death an American woman, Rachel Corrie, who had kneeled in the dirt to prevent it from destroying a Palestinian home.

Turkish Funds Helped Group Test BlockadePublished: June 1, 2010
It took the members two years to raise money necessary to buy the first two fishing boats, maintain and fuel them, Ms. Berlin said. But after that first landing, she said, the group quickly received enough donations to buy a small yacht, which they named Dignity. With the new boat, four more times Israel let the group dock at Gaza.

Rethinking the Gaza Blockade
Is there a way to prevent attacks against Israel while providing humanitarian relief to the Palestinians? On the sixth attempt to land in Gaza, Israel decided that was enough. The shift came after Israel invaded Gaza in December 2008, saying it needed to retaliate after thousands of rockets had been fired into civilian neighborhoods.
They loaded the boat with activists and headed to Gaza. It was dark and Ms. Berlin said that an Israeli ship rammed the boat three times, until it retreated to Lebanon. That ship eventually sank when it returned to port in Cyprus. The group raised more money and managed to buy a small ferry that could hold 30 passengers. This one they called The Spirit of Humanity. They tried three more times, with no success. On their last try, in July 2009, she said, Israel boarded the boat and detained the passengers. Israel never returned the ship, she said. We were pretty dismayed because we had no boats and no money, Ms. Berlin said. She said that former Malaysia officials and the Perdana Global Peace Organization, which describes itself on its Web site as opposed to war, helped them raise enough to buy two yachts and a cargo ship. Then they decided to team up with other groups to stage a multiship flotilla. The movement has grown into a diverse coalition of organizations and activists, often with little in common apart from opposition to the Israeli blockade of Gaza, making it difficult to generalize about its funding, views or radical connections, according to several analysts.

Evan F. Kohlmann, a veteran terrorism analyst with Flashpoint Global Partners in New York, said American diplomats and politicians, Holocaust survivors and leftist writers all have offered their names, time or money to the cause, ignoring or oblivious to the role of others with more militant connections, he said. Ms. Berlin, the outspoken co-founder, is originally from Los Angeles. She was married for 14 years to a Palestinian, with whom she had two children, and for 14 years to an American Jew. She likes to joke and says that makes her the most qualified anti-Semite.But when she is not joking she says that her detractors in Israel are right, that she does not accept Israel as a Jewish state, though she contends that is part of a larger philosophy which opposes all national borders. You decide in your life what you are passionate about,she said.I happen to be passionate about the Palestinians who have had no rights since 1948. Sabrina Tavernise reported from Istanbul, and Michael Slackman from Jerusalem. Scott Shane contributed reporting from Washington, and Sebnem Arsu from Istanbul.

RIOTS PROTEST AS USUAL AGAINST POOR ISRAEL

EVEN HAMAS MURDERERS DON'T WANT THE EXTREMIST AIDE IN GAZA.SO EVEN MURDERERS AND EXTREME MILITANTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD WHO CLAIM THEIR ONE HATE EACH OTHER.ISRAEL SHOULD FORCE ALL THE EXTREMISTS TO FLEE TO GAZA SEE HOW LONG THEIR THERE BEFORE THEY GET BEHEADED FOR NOT BEING A MUSLIM CONVERTER.

Hamas refusing to allow flotilla aid into Gaza: Israel
JUNE 2,10 1:30PM


JERUSALEM (AFP) – The Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas ruling Gaza is not allowing Israel to deliver the aid brought by activists in a flotilla seized earlier this week, the Israeli military said on Wednesday.Israel has filled 20 trucks with cargo from the captured ships, mostly medical supplies, clothes, blankets and toys, but has not been able to take them into the territory, military spokeswoman Avital Leibovitz told reporters.Unfortunately at this point the Palestinians are not willing to accept the cargo so the trucks that are loaded are not entering the Gaza Strip, she said.Our understanding is that Hamas is actually stopping the entrance of this humanitarian aid,she added.Hamas government spokesman Taher al-Nunu declined to comment on the allegations but confirmed the Palestinian authorities in Gaza had not received any supplies.The priority now is to release those who were kidnapped and return them, the martyrs and the wounded to their own countries, Nunu said, referring to the nearly 700 activists on board the ships, nine of whom were killed in an Israeli raid on Monday.He added that the delivery of the aid should be coordinated with Turkey, which supplied much of the 10,000 tonnes of building and other supplies organisers said were on the ships.Israel had earlier said all of the more than 600 activists who had been detained were being deported, including the majority of those wounded.Hamas social affairs minister Ahmad al-Kurd, meanwhile, told reporters that if the aid were to enter it would have to be brought in without anything being stolen from the activists, and without any exceptions.

This includes the prefabricated homes, the cement, the iron and the electric generators, he said.But the Israeli military said it could not refill the trucks with more cargo until it delivered the first shipment of supplies.The military said no weapons were found aboard the ships aside from knives, wooden batons and metal rods it says the activists used to ambush the naval commandos that stormed one of the ships, wounding six of them.There was nothing illegal and nothing that does not enter on a regular basis, Leibovitz said, adding that inspectors had not yet come across any cement.Egypt and Israel largely sealed their borders with Gaza after the capture of an Israeli soldier by Hamas and other Palestinian militants in 2006 and have only allowed in limited amounts of basic goods since Hamas seized power in June 2007.Israel has recently started allowing in limited amounts of building materials for UN projects, but the closures have severely hindered reconstruction efforts following a devastating 2008-2009 Gaza war.

Israeli PM: Gaza blockade prevents attacks By MARK LAVIE and SELCAN HACAOGLU, Associated Press Writers JUNE 2,10 1:45PM

JERUSALEM – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected criticism of a deadly raid against a flotilla carrying aid to Gaza earlier this week, saying the blockade of the Palestinian territory is needed to prevent missile attacks against Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.The comments came hours after all remaining pro-Palestinians activists from the aid ships were sent to Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv to be expelled. Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein said Israel decided not to prosecute any of them, writing in an order Wednesday that keeping them here would do more damage to the country's vital interests than good.About a dozen female activists scuffled with security officers at the airport but were subdued, Israeli officials said.One police officer, identified only by his first name Shahar, told The Associated Press that two of the women jumped on his back and another punched him in the face.Officials said Wednesday no charges will be filed and the women, along with hundreds of other activists, will be expelled as planned.The activists were all on board a flotilla that tried to breach Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip on Monday. Israel intercepted the flotilla, setting off clashes on one ship that killed nine activists and wounded dozens more.In a statement broadcast from his office, Netanyahu defended the blockade and said the aim of the flotilla was to break it, not to bring aid to Gaza.Israel is facing an attack of international hypocrisy, he said.If the blockade had been broken, it would have been followed buy dozens, hundreds of boats," he added. Each boat could carry dozens of missiles.

He noted that the Israeli takeover of five of the boats went relatively calmly, but on the sixth ship, we saw an action directed by terrorists affiliated with Hamas. This was not the Love Boat.There was an attempt to lynch Israeli soldiers, Netanyahu charged. Are these peace lovers, pacifists? These are supporters of terrorism, extremists.

Blair: blockade counterproductive but hard to ease By MARK LAVIE, Associated Press Writer JUNE 2,10

JERUSALEM – The international Mideast envoy says the 3-year blockade of Hamas-ruled Gaza has been counterproductive but that the policy is difficult to change because of strong Israeli objections.Envoy Tony Blair also said in an interview Wednesday that the raid earlier this week on a Gaza-bound ship was a reminder that Gaza cannot be ignored as the West tries to broker a peace deal between Israel and Hamas' moderate rivals in the West Bank.Blair said the international community's demand to allow more goods into Gaza has been a matter of strong disagreement with Israel. Israel and Egypt imposed the blockade after Hamas violently seized power in Gaza in 2007, and only allow in basic humanitarian supplies.Blair said many more goods must be allowed in.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's blockade of Gaza is at the center of the crisis following the bloody raid on the Gaza-bound flotilla carrying aid supplies and pro-Palestinian activists. Here are some aspects of the blockade:
-When: Israel and Egypt imposed the blockade after the Islamic militant Hamas violently overran the Gaza Strip in June 2007.
-Why: Israel considers Hamas a terror group responsible for firing thousands of rockets at Israel and carrying out dozens of suicide terror attacks. Egypt is concerned that Hamas' strict Islamic message could boost Muslim radicals in Egypt.
-Goal: Keeping weaponry away from Hamas. Also, Israel expected that hardship caused by the blockade would weaken support for Hamas among the people of Gaza.
-What's allowed in: Israel transfers an average of 15,000 tons of humanitarian supplies a week into Gaza, including basic food, clothing, footwear and limited quantities of building supplies.
-What's banned: Weapons and explosives; cement, iron and steel, fertilizer and other products Israel believes Hamas could use to strengthen its fortifications or make explosives; items considered luxuries.
-Results: Hamas has institutionalized a system of smuggling tunnels under the Gaza-Egypt border to bring in weapons, explosives, some building materials and consumer products. Support for Hamas has not lessened, as Gazans blame Israel for hardships. International demands that Israel lift the blockade were increasing even before the flotilla raid.

Gaza flotilla activists deported as witnesses accuse Israel
by Steve Weizman - JUNE 2,10


JERUSALEM (AFP) – Israel on Wednesday was deporting more than 600 foreign activists whose accounts of a deadly raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla contradicted Israeli reports that its soldiers acted in self-defence.As a new standoff with another aid ship loomed, British Prime Minister David Cameron took a tough stand against Monday's pre-dawn Israeli raid, which killed nine activists, terming it completely unacceptable.The hundreds of activists detained on the boats and diverted to Israel have all been released for deportation, prisons authority spokesman Yron Zamir said. They were all taken to Tel Aviv airport or the Jordanian border.Authorities said 682 people from 42 countries, with Turks the most numerous, were on board the six ships that tried to break Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip, which is ruled by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.Under widespread international condemnation over the bloodshed, Israel retorted that the violence had been initiated by the activists, forcing its soldiers to use live fire in self defence.The Israelis defended themselves from a lynching, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday.The military said on Wednesday no weapons were found aboard the ships aside from knives, wooden batons and metal rods it says the activists used to ambush the commandos that stormed one of the ships, wounding six of them.On their return home, some accused the Israelis of having opened fire without warning.Israeli commandos started shooting from the air without warning, Kuwaiti lawyer Mubarak al-Mutawa, who was on the main vessel, the Turkish-flagged Mavi Marmara, told reporters in Kuwait City.About 380 Turks were on the six-boat flotilla when it was raided by Israeli naval forces in an operation that quickly deteriorated into chaos and bloodshed.

Turkey has already recalled its ambassador from Tel Aviv and scrapped plans for joint military exercises, plunging already sour bilateral ties into deep crisis.And as the diplomatic fallout intensified over the raid, which reportedly killed four Turks, Ankara warned it would rethink its ties with Israel unless all Turks were released on Wednesday.There was very little official information about the condition of the injured activists treated in Israeli hospitals.By mid-afternoon, 28 of them were in hospitals, but authorities later said the majority of the wounded were being deported, according to Physicians for Human Rights.A few could still not be transported, said spokeswoman Adar Grayevsky.I know of at least two people who are not conscious.Israel's political leadership was locked in talks over how to handle the arrival of another foreign aid ship, due early next week.While the bloody showdown has dented Israel's international image, activists bent on running the Gaza blockade said another ship of Irish and Malaysian activists is heading toward Gaza despite the potential for more violence. The Rachel Corrie, which is carrying building supplies, is in the Mediterranean, and organisers say it will be several days before it arrives in Gaza. Ireland's Foreign Minister Micheal Martin renewed an urgent appeal for the ship, reported to be carrying 15 people including a Nobel laureate and a Malaysian MP, to be allowed to reach Gaza. It is imperative that there should be no further confrontation or bloodshed arising from what has been all along a purely humanitarian mission by those involved in the Gaza flotilla, he said.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military said Hamas is not allowing Israel to deliver seized aid brought by the flotilla. Israel has filled 20 trucks with cargo from the captured ships, mostly medical supplies, clothes, blankets and toys, but has not been able to take them into the territory, spokeswoman Avital Leibovitz told reporters.Unfortunately at this point the Palestinians are not willing to accept the cargo so the trucks that are loaded are not entering the Gaza Strip,she said. Hamas government spokesman Taher al-Nunu declined to comment but confirmed that the authorities in Gaza had not received any supplies. He said the delivery should be coordinated with Turkey, which supplied much of the 10,000 tonnes of building and other supplies organisers said were on the ships.Hamas social affairs minister Ahmad al-Kurd told reporters that if the aid were to enter it would have to be brought in without anything being stolen from the activists, and without any exceptions.

Israeli raid puts Obama between rock and hard place: experts by Lachlan Carmichael - JUNE 2,10

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The Obama team was caught Wednesday between a rock and a hard place as it tried to navigate between key allies Israel and Turkey following an Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound Turkish ship, analysts said.US-Turkish ties have already come under strain over Ankara's diplomacy with Iran and risk further friction over the deadly commando raid Monday on a Turkish-flagged ship carrying aid to the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, analysts said.The clash on the high seas -- which came after Turkey backed the six-ship aid flotilla in defiance of an Israeli and Egyptian blockade of Gaza -- points up Turkey's growing bid to set its own course in the Middle East, they added.Unlike the harsh denunciations of Israel from Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President Barack Obama declined Tuesday to condemn the Jewish state, but he did reach out to Turkey.The president spoke to Erdogan to express deep condolences over the deaths on board the ship -- four of the nine dead were Turks -- and to say Washington was working with Israel on the release of impounded vessels and passengers.A senior US State Department official sought to stress that the two-hour meeting in Washington on Tuesday between US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu was a good one between allies.It was not an acrimonious meeting at all, the official said on the condition of anonymity when queried by reporters.

The foreign minister and the secretary both reflected on the fact that we are clearly friends of Turkey, we're friends of Israel and we will approach this as close allies and friends,he added.However, analyst Steven Cook said, when it comes down to it, we are going to fall closer to the Israelis than to the Turks on a variety of issues.And the biggest difference has really been on Hamas, the analyst with the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) told AFP.Turkish President Abdullah Gul this month said Hamas should not be excluded from the peace process as he stressed the need to reunite the Palestinians -- divided between the US-backed Fatah in the West Bank and Hamas in Gaza.However, the United States and its international partners demand Hamas first recognize Israel's right to exist, forsake violence against the Jewish state, and accept previous Israeli-Palestinian agreements.The Turks have become competitors of Washington in places in the Middle East, he said.

Turkey -- along with Brazil -- has also been in a deepening confrontation with the United States over Washington's dismissal of a nuclear swap deal the two hammered out with Iran on May 17.Cook said Turkey and the United States also share differences in their approaches to Syria, which supports Hamas and the Lebanese radical movement Hezbollah.There are changes in the world that have happened (... and) the Turks are calculating their interests differently from the way we are, he said.The Turks see themselves playing an increasingly influential role and they are not necessarily willing to adhere to the rules of the road that we have established, Cook said.They are willing to bend them or break them in some cases,he added.

Analyst Marina Ottaway said the most delicate issue is how the raid will affect US-Turkish relations as the two countries look at their interests in the Middle East differently. Their ties are at a critical juncture because Turkey was offended by Washington's off-hand dismissal of the nuclear fuel agreement with Iran negotiated by Turkey and Brazil,she said in a Carnegie analysis. Relations will only worsen if the US reaction to (Monday's) incident leads Turkey to conclude that the United States condones Israeli actions. Washington must think carefully about the long-term implications of its response,she said.

THIS UN IS USELESS AND WILL BE FOLDING.AND THIS WAS JUST A SCAM BY ISRAEL HATERS EXTREME MILITANTS,AND HAMAS,MUSLIMS AND IRAN AND SYRIA AND EGYPT TO GET THE WORLD AGAINST ISRAEL.THESE MUSLIM MURDERER,EXTREME MILITANTS SET THE WHOLE THING UP.

UN rights council approves probe into Israel's ship raid
By Hui Min Neo - JUNE 2,10


GENEVA (AFP) – The UN Human Rights Council on Wednesday condemned Israeli's outrageous attack on Gaza-bound aid ships and set up an independent international investigation into the raid.The criticism came in a resolution proposed by Pakistan, Sudan and the Palestinian delegation and adopted with 32 countries voting in favour, three against and eight abstentions.The resolution Condemns in the strongest terms the outrageous attack by the Israeli forces against the humanitarian flotilla of ships which resulted in the killing and injuring of many innocent civilians from different countries.It decides to dispatch an independent international fact-finding mission to investigate violations of international law, including international humanitarian aid and human rights law resulting from the attack.It also authorises the president of the council to appoint members of the mission.Israeli commandos boarded one of the aid ships bound for the Gaza Strip in a pre-dawn raid on Monday that left at least nine passengers dead. Hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists were also arrested.The raid sparked global outrage and prompted states from the Arab League and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) to ask for the special session of the 47 member states in the UN rights council.During the urgent sitting stretching over two days, not only Muslim states but others ranging from Laos to Peru and Iceland spoke out against Israel's move.

No impunity can be accepted from this atrocious crime, said a Palestinian representative.These murderous attacks are characteristic tools used by Israel to derail every peaceful effort and silence every voice of moderation and reason, Pakistani ambassador Zamir Akram told the council Tuesday on behalf of the OIC.The United States said on the first day of the sitting it was deeply disturbed by the violence. But it also said that it opposed the resolution.US ambassador Eileen Donahoe said the text rushes to judgement on a set of facts that were only starting to emerge.It creates an international mechanism before giving the responsible government an opportunity to investigate this incident itself and thereby risks further politicising a sensitive and volatile situation, she added.The Netherlands also voted against the text with its envoy saying that the rights council's investigation, parallel to one called for by the UN Security Council, would not be conducive to relaunching the Middle East peace process.Britain and France abstained saying they regretted that the resolution failed to reflect the language used by the Security Council which called for a prompt, impartial, credible and transparent investigation conforming to international standards.Israeli ambassador Aharon Leshno Yaar did not refer to the resolution when he spoke ahead of the vote, but he reiterated that the activists onboard the raided ship did not have peaceful motives.

He said Molotov cocktails, clubs and iron bars were used against Israeli soldiers.
The ambassador also claimed that large quantities of cash were also found on board, some in the pockets of the attackers and most in courier belts ready for transfer to the Hamas.

Gaza convoy raid may boost militancy, experts say By William Maclean, Security Correspondent JUNE 2,10

Whatever the detailed context and facts of the clash, it is the killing by Israeli forces of nine activists that dominates perceptions of the incident among Muslims, for whom the Palestinian cause is dear, analysts and Muslim commentators say.
Revulsion at the bloodshed on a Turkish vessel sailing to the Palestinian enclave could translate into increased fund-raising for transnational militant groups such as al Qaeda or like-minded allies, or foster tolerance or even sympathy for such groups among Muslims who are not otherwise ideological.In some cases, it could push passive al Qaeda sympathizers into active participation against Israel or its Western allies, and undermine the international cooperation needed for tracking down illicit funding of militant groups, they said.For al Qaeda it doesn't get any better than this. It's really very dangerous, said Noman Benotman, a British-based Libyan analyst and a former associate of Osama bin Laden.He noted al Qaeda's online propaganda experts were adept at recycling footage of Middle East violence to incite followers.Peter Neumann, director of the Center for the Study of Radicalisation at King's College, London University, said the incident could prove to be a tipping point similar to the publication of U.S. abuse of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison, credited by analysts with deepening Arab and Muslim opposition to Western intervention in Iraq.I'd expect a significant impact from this on radicalisation, he told Reuters.Whatever the facts are, whoever is responsible for the violence, this will play on people's perceptions. Psychologists call it a tipping point that can push someone from passive mode into active mode.

VULNERABLE TO VIOLENCE

Attacks on London's transport system in 2005 by four young suicide bombers highlighted the danger of radicalisation among alienated young men from disadvantaged immigrant districts in Britain. Europe's deadliest Islamist militant attack occurred in Madrid in 2004 when bombs on commuter trains killed 191.While radicalisation of young Muslim citizens has been a concern in Europe for years, a Pakistani-American's failed bid to set off a car bomb in New York's Times Square on May 1 has raised fears that the United States is just as vulnerable to violence from immigrants as other Western countries.In London, a British security source said the event would not necessarily produce any immediate result but it would play into al Qaeda's wider narrative and might contribute over time to an ongoing radicalisation message.U.S.-based terrorism consultant Evan Kohlmann said terrorism financing networks were best countered using accepted legal sanctions and transnational cooperation between regional allies.Incidents such as the deadly Gaza flotilla raid risked weakening a shared international resolve to punish those who manipulate humanitarian relief as a cover to fund terrorism.In Germany, Guido Steinberg, an expert on Islamist militancy, said the Turkish government's tough criticism of Israel could influence Germany's large Turkish community.Gaza is a mobilizing factor for jihadists, but it has been so for a while. What I'm worried about at the moment is the harsh reaction of Turkey. That might affect some people ... Support for Gaza and Hamas mixes with Turkish national pride here, he said.

In Britain, Muslim activists reported fury at the incident.My streets are in danger, and I say streets meaning not just Bradford but the whole UK. This makes trouble for us peacemakers, said Owais Rajput, a researcher at Bradford University in West Yorkshire, the home area of three of the four men who killed 52 people in the London attacks of 2005. Abu Muaz of Call2Islam, a radical British-based Muslim group that seeks uncompromising opposition to Israel, said in the past two days there had been a lot of anger among the youth.They ask what's the point of just demonstrating? In the mosques, the imams don't have a solution.

Israel deports flotilla activists after world outcry By Jeffrey Heller and Alastair Macdonald - JUNE 2,10

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Defending Israel's enforcement of its blockade of Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday it was vital for the country's security and would stay in place.In a televised address after world outrage erupted over nine deaths in Monday's seizure of a Turkish ship bound for Gaza, a defiant Netanyahu said easing controls would put long-range Iranian missiles into the hands of the Palestinian enclave's Hamas rulers.This threatened not just Israel but Europe too, he said.Turkey, a Muslim country that had been Israel's strategic ally, accused it of state terrorism and has recalled its ambassador from Tel Aviv and demanded it lift its blockade.Those calls have been echoed by European leaders and the United Nations, who also want an inquiry into the incident.Once again, Israel faces hypocrisy and a biased rush to judgment, Netanyahu said of his international critics, as he defended the actions of Israeli marines who, he said, fired in self-defense after boarding Turkish cruise liner Mavi Marmara.The international community cannot afford an Iranian port on the Mediterranean...The same countries that are criticizing us today, should know that they could be targeted tomorrow.His key backer the United States has been less outspoken and has called for calm between its Turkish and Israeli allies.

Dismissing complaints from the United Nations and other agencies on which Gaza's 1.5 million people depend for aid, he said Israel was letting in civilian goods but must halt weapons.He noted Israel's previous capture of ships carrying arms to its enemies -- Lebanon's Hezbollah and Palestinian groups.Israel said it was deporting all 682 activists from more than 35 countries detained after the assault in international waters on the six ships it commandeered. All but nine wounded prisoners were expected to be gone by the end of the day.

SELF-Defense

Israel said the marines who rappelled onto the Mavi Marmara, fired in self-defense after activists attacked them with clubs, knives and two pistols snatched from the boarding party.Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai told parliament that two of the activists killed during the takeover were shot after they used the two handguns to wound two commandos.The captain of the Turkish-flagged Gazze, a freighter carrying the bulk of the aid, said the convoy was 68 miles outside Israeli territorial waters when he saw lights in the sea and sky and helicopters approaching.Israeli commandos then boarded his ship and subdued his crew.They pointed two guns to the head of each of us, Captain Huseyin Tokalak told a news conference in Istanbul after Israel released him. There were no casualties on his vessel.Vilnai said warnings were issued by radio to the six captains that they were entering a blockaded area and could instead dock in Israel and unload their aid for transfer to the Gaza Strip. He said the navy had recordings of the captains swearing in response. I didn't know there were so many curse words in foreign languages, Vilnai said. Ahmed Brahimi, an Algerian who said he was on board the Mavi Marmara, told Reuters by telephone from Jordan: We were not armed. We did not go there to fight.He added: We used sticks and all what we could find to defend ourselves to stop the assault.

POLL

Turkey said three of the nine dead had been identified as Turks and a fourth had a Turkish credit card. Israel has not named publicly any of those killed. An opinion poll in Israel's Maariv newspaper showed that more than 60 percent of Israelis believed the interception was flawed operationally. But few question the Gaza blockade. Israeli military affairs experts have described the assault as a blunder because the strength of the resistance on board was underestimated. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak visited commandos who took part in the raid and told them: I came in the name of the Israeli government to say thank you.Another attempt to bust the blockade loomed on the horizon: The MV Rachel Corrie, a converted merchant ship bought by pro-Palestinian activists and named after an American woman killed in the Gaza Strip in 2003, set off on Monday from Malta. It is carrying 15 activists, including a Northern Irish Nobel Peace laureate, and expects to be at the point of Monday's interception between Friday evening and Saturday morning, crew member Derek Graham told Irish state broadcaster RTE. Asked how Israel planned to deal with any new attempt to steam into Gaza, Tzachi Hanegbi, head of parliament's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, said: We cannot let them blur the red line Israel has set. Letting them in to help Hamas is not an option.Egypt, which has kept its own Gaza border largely closed since Hamas, an offshoot of the opposition Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, seized the territory in 2007, reopened the frontier crossing on Tuesday. The move was widely seen as an attempt to deflect criticism of its blockade, and hundreds of Palestinians flocked to the frontier terminal at Rafah on Wednesday. It is the only Gaza crossing not controlled by Israel.(Additional reporting by Ari Rabinovitch and Allyn Fisher-Ilan in Jerusalem, Nidal al-Mughrabi in Rafah, Tom Perry in Ramallah, Marie-Louise Gumuchian in Dublin, Simon Cameron-Moore in Istanbul and Lamine Chikh in Algiers; editing by Alastair Macdonald)

Turkey calls on Israel to end blockade to restore ties By Tulay Karadeniz – Wed Jun 2, 9:48 am ET

ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey demanded Israel lift its blockade of Gaza as a condition for normalizing relations but added it was time that calm replaced anger after Israel's deadly raid on a Turkish-backed aid flotilla.The future of ties with Israel will depend on the attitude of Israel,Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told a news conference in Ankara on his return from the United States.I see no reason for not normalizing the ties, once the Gaza blockade is lifted and our citizens are released.
Turkey canceled joint military exercises and recalled its ambassador from Israel after the flotilla incident on Monday, which has infuriated the Muslim country.On Wednesday, Turkey's usually fractious parliament unanimously passed a non-binding declaration calling for a review of economic, political and military ties with Israel.Davutoglu said three of nine activists killed when Israeli commandos stormed ships trying to take aid to Gaza had been identified as Turks. A fourth had a Turkish credit card, but his nationality had not yet been confirmed.He was speaking as Israel's navy prepared to block another aid ship, the MV Rachel Corrie, which expects to reach the point of Monday's interception between Friday evening and Saturday morning.Davutoglu spoke with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday to discuss the diplomatic crisis, and had been in New York a day earlier for a U.N. Security Council meeting called by Turkey to pass a resolution condemning Israel's actions.

Turkey was awaiting the repatriation on Wednesday of hundreds of activists from Israel, after sending civilian and military aircraft to bring them home.I told Mrs. Clinton on the phone that we would review all ties with Israel if our citizens were not released within 24 hours, which is tonight, Davutoglu said, though he noted two of them were too badly wounded to travel.Washington faces a delicate task handling a crisis between two heavyweight military powers whose friendship has helped U.S. diplomacy in the Middle East.Davutoglu called for the United Nations to investigate the incident, and was scathing about the prospects for an Israeli probe.We want a detailed investigation by the United Nations into Israel's rogue state actions, Davutoglu said. What can be expected from an investigation run by a state in criminal status? It's Israel's actions that need to be investigated.Once a close ally of Israel, Turkey became a harsh critic after the Israeli offensive in Gaza in December 2008.But the killings of Turks on a Turkish-flagged ship in international waters has brought the strained relationship between the Jewish state and Turkey's Islamist-leaning government close to breaking point.Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has become one of the most popular figures in the Islamic world by championing the Palestinian cause.With an election due next year, his strong stand could help win support for his Islamist-leaning AK Party, and some analysts see Turkey's increasing antipathy to Israel as fitting the ruling party's domestic agenda.

Protests have been held outside Israeli diplomatic missions in Ankara and Istanbul since Monday. It's time that calm replaced anger in reaction to Israel, people should avoid impulsive behavior,Davutoglu said. The security of families of Israeli diplomats, Israeli tourists and Jewish Turks is our nation's honor. We will be making sure they are safe.(Writing by Simon Cameron-Moore; editing by Noah Barkin)

Pope saddened by flotilla raid violence
Wed Jun 2, 9:19 am ET


VATICAN CITY (AFP) – Pope Benedict XVI said violence during an Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla carrying aid left him with a heavy heart.Violence does not solve disputes, but increases their tragic consequences and generates more violence, the Pope said at the end of his Wednesday audience in St Peter's Square at the Vatican, according to Vatican Radio.With great trepidation I followed the tragic events that occurred near the Gaza Strip. I feel the need to express my heartfelt condolences for the victims of these painful events, which worry those who care about peace in the region, he said.Israeli commandos boarded the aid flotilla bound for the Gaza Strip in a pre-dawn raid on Monday that left at least nine passengers dead and sparked global outrage.The Israeli military accused activists aboard the ship of provoking the bloodshed by attacking its soldiers as they boarded.I appeal to those who have political responsibilities, locally and internationally, to relentlessly seek just solutions through dialogue, to ensure the people of the best living conditions, harmony and serenity, the pope said.A Vatican document leaked Tuesday called the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories a political injustice, Italy's ANSA news agency reported.The occupation is a political injustice imposed on the Palestinians,said the Instrumentum Laboris, a working document on an upcoming synod of bishops on the Middle East, embargoed for release until Sunday, when Pope Benedict is to present it during a visit to Cyprus.The Vatican has said the raid will not influence the pope's trip to Cyprus, from which the flotilla set off.

124 Gaza aid flotilla activists arrive in Jordan By DALE GAVLAK, Associated Press Writer – Wed Jun 2, 12:59 am ET

ALLENBY BRIDGE, Jordan – Dozens of pro-Palestinian activists detained in the Israeli raid on the Gaza aid flotilla said upon arriving in Jordan Wednesday that they were roughed up and humiliated before Israel deported them.The 124 activists from 12 Muslim nations — most of them without diplomatic ties with Israel — crossed the Allenby Bridge aboard five Jordanian buses. The bridge across the Jordan River, which is under Israeli control, links Jordan with the West Bank.The Israelis roughed up and humiliated all of us — women, men and children, said Kuwaiti lawmaker Walid al-Tabtabai, who was on board one of the ships with other activists from Muslim countries.They were brutal and arrogant, but our message reached every corner of the world that the blockade on Gaza is unfair and should be lifted immediately, he added.

The bearded lawmaker said there was not a single weapon with the passengers aboard all the ships.Algerian Izzeddine Zahrour said Israeli authorities deprived us of food, water and sleep and we weren't allowed to use the toilet.It was an ugly kidnapping and subsequently bad treatment in Israeli jail, he said. They handcuffed us, pushed us around and humiliated us.Mauritanian Mohammed Gholam said Israel wanted us to sign documents saying that we entered Israel illegally.We refused to sign anything and told our captors that we didn't wish to go to Israel, but to Gaza and that their commandos kidnapped us from international waters, he added.An Algerian activist, who only gave her first name as Sabrina, accused Israeli commandos of taking a 1-year-old child hostage.They point a gun to his head in front of his Turkish parents to force the captain of our ship to stop sailing,she said.

Jordanian government spokesman Nabil Al-Sharif said there were 30 Jordanians in the group. Jordan is one of two Arab nations with a signed peace treaty with Israel.The bridge's Jordanian chief, Brig. Mahmoud Abu Jumaa, said Jordan will help repatriate the activists — who also include journalists — to their respective countries in coordination with their governments.Kuwaiti ambassador Sheik Faisal Al Sabah said there were 16 Kuwaitis aboard the buses. They will be flown home aboard a Kuwaiti government-chartered plane later Wednesday,Al Sabah said.He said the other activists came from Azerbaijan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania, Yemen, Oman and Bahrain.Dozens of other activists remain in Israeli detention, but most are expected to be deported in the coming days.Worldwide condemnation has poured on Israel since its naval commandos halted the aid flotilla in international waters overnight Monday, setting off a melee that left nine activists dead and dozens wounded. Turkey, an unofficial backer of the flotilla, has led the criticism, accusing Israel of committing a massacre, and the U.N. Security Council demanded an impartial investigation.Associated Press Writer Jamal Halaby in Amman, Jordan, contributed to this report.

Tuesday, June 01, 2010

EXTREME MILITANTS DECEPTION BACKFIRES ON THEIR HEADS

ISRAEL SATAN COMES AGAINST

1 CHRONICLES 21:1
1 And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.

ISRAELS TROUBLE

JEREMIAH 30:7
7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble;(ISRAEL) but he shall be saved out of it.

DANIEL 12:1,4
1 And at that time shall Michael(ISRAELS WAR ANGEL) stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people:(ISRAEL) and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation(May 14,48) even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro,(WORLD TRAVEL,IMMIGRATION) and knowledge shall be increased.(COMPUTERS,CHIP IMPLANTS ETC)

ISRAELS INHERITED LAND IN THE FUTURE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytWmPqY8TE0&feature=player_embedded

And here are the bounderies of the land that Israel will inherit either through war or peace or God in the future. God says its Israels land and only Israels land. They will have every inch God promised them of this land in the future.
Egypt east of the Nile River, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, The southern part of Turkey and the Western Half of Iraq west of the Euphrates. Gen 13:14-15, Psm 105:9,11, Gen 15:18, Exe 23:31, Num 34:1-12, Josh 1:4.ALL THIS LAND ISRAEL WILL DEFINATELY OWN IN THE FUTURE, ITS ISRAELS NOT ISHMAELS LAND.

THEY JUST WON'T STOP COMING AGAINST ISRAEL..THIS IS JUST REDICULAS.

THE FREE GAZA EXTREME MILITANTS
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Radio/News.aspx/2257
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Radio/News.aspx/2259
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Radio/News.aspx/2252
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/137837

VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100602/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_us_turkey

Turkey wants US condemnation of Israeli raid By DESMOND BUTLER, Associated Press Writer – Tue Jun 1, 8:32 pm ET

WASHINGTON – Turkey demanded on Tuesday that the United States condemn the deadly Israeli raid on an aid flotilla headed to the Gaza Strip that ended with Israeli soldiers killing nine activists.Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told reporters ahead of a meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton that Turkey, an unofficial backer of the flotilla, was disappointed with the Obama administration's response to the raid.State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said later that Davutoglu did not demand a U.S. condemnation in his meeting with Clinton.

The secretary reiterated during the meeting what she said afterwards, which is we have to have a careful, thoughtful approach to this going forward, Crowley said.

Another senior Obama administration official said Davutoglu had in fact made plain to the United States his disappointment in the response. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.A Turkish official said that in his meeting with Clinton and a separate meeting with national security adviser James Jones, Davutoglu had asked the United State to convey to Israel that Turkey was preparing measures in response unless Israel moved quickly to release the Turkish citizens held in the raid and return the bodies of those killed, most of whom were believed to have been Turks. The official also spoke on condition of anonymity for a similar reason.Later, President Barack Obama spoke by telephone with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The White House said Obama expressed his condolences and was working in close consultation with Israel to help achieve the release of the passengers, including those deceased and wounded, and the ships themselves.Obama also made clear the U.S. support for a credible investigation.The president affirmed the importance of finding better ways to provide humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza without undermining Israel's security,the White House statement said.The White House has reacted cautiously, asking for full disclosure of the facts about the raid. The killings have put the administration in an awkward position between two allies at a time that it is trying to refocus Middle East peace talks and win new sanctions against Iran in the United Nations Security Council.Most of those killed in the raid were believed to be Turks, and Turkey has demanded return of the bodies.

In a sign of the sensitivity of the raid on U.S.-Turkish relations, the State Department closed coverage of the meeting to the press. It had previously scheduled a photo opportunity, a venue in which reporters probably would have tried to ask questions.Before they met, however, Davutoglu was perfectly open about the message he would convey to Clinton.I have to be frank: I am not very happy with this statement from Washington yesterday, Davutoglu said. We expect a clear condemnation.
He said that Turkey, a NATO member, would bring up the issue soon at the security alliance's council.Citizens of member states were attacked by a country that is not a member of NATO, he said.I think you can make some conclusions out of this statement.Davutoglu said that there was no need to wait for an investigation of the killings, because in Turkey's view the raid was illegal under international law because it happened in international waters. This is a criminal act, he said.We don't need to make an investigation to see this.Davutoglu also contrasted his criticism of the United States with praise of the statements by the European Union.

World leaders demand probe into Israel raid
Tue Jun 1, 4:41 pm ET


BRUSSELS (AFP) – Global leaders demanded an independent probe Tuesday into Israel's deadly commando raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla and the release of their seized citizens, as tens of thousands protested worldwide.A day after the pre-dawn assault in international waters which left at least nine pro-Palestinian activists dead, nations condemned Israel for what Turkey's prime minister branded a bloody massacre.

In New York, an emergency session of the UN Security Council called for a prompt, impartial, credible and transparent investigation.The world body and NATO demanded the immediate release of all six vessels and the hundreds of Palestinian supporters who were on board.Turkey said at least four of its citizens were among the dead and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Israel should be punished.The insolent, irresponsible and impudent attack by Israel, which went against law and trampled human honour underfoot, must definitely be punished, he said.Turkey, once Israel's main partner in the region, has scrapped joint war games and recalled its ambassador.

Britain, France, Russia and China -- four of the five veto-wielding Security Council members -- urged Israel to lift its blockade of the Gaza Strip.Even the United States, traditionally Israel's strongest ally, hinted that the blockade -- in place since 2007, when the Islamist Hamas movement seized control of the territory -- should at least be eased.The outrage that greeted the raid prompted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to call off a visit to Washington and talks with US President Barack Obama.The White House voiced deep regret at the loss of life but stopped short of specifically condemning Israel. But it made it clear that it trusted Israel to carry out a full and credible investigation.Nations including France and Ireland called for the immediate release of their citizens who were seized in international waters, taken back to Israel and in some cases held incommunicado and denied consular access.Israel needs to listen to and act in accordance with the united voice of the international community on this issue, said Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said later that all detained foreign activists would be deported.All foreign nationals who were on board the fleet and were arrested will be deported from Tuesday night, the premier's office said a statement. Dozens had already deported during the course of the day.Delegates from the European Union and NATO gathered in Brussels for talks, after EU ambassadors criticised Israel's use of force and demanded an immediate and impartial inquiry.Russian President Dmitry Medvedev slammed the loss of life as absolutely unjustified, while EU president Herman Van Rompuy said the deaths were inexplicable, and the bloc's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton vowed to intensify European efforts to get Israel to lift its Gaza blockade.China said it was shocked by Israel's actions and was prepared to back a quick response from the UN Security Council. UN chief Ban Ki-moon called for Israel to urgently explain itself. Had Israelis heeded to my call and to the call of the international community by lifting the blockade of Gaza, this tragic incident would not have happened,the UN secretary general said.

Across the world, tens of thousands of people protested on the streets and several countries summoned Israel's ambassadors. Many demonstrators chanted Death to Israel!
Cuba denounced the criminal attack, Venezuela's firebrand President Hugo Chavez condemned what he said was a brutal massacre, and the World Council of Churches said Israel had brazenly flouted international law. Israel had warned that it would intercept the ships, but Monday's assault turned into a fiasco. Footage from one vessel showed black-clad commandos clashing with activists and several wounded people lying on the deck. The Red Cross on Tuesday said it had been granted access to dozens of detained activists, and was in the process of contacting their families. Our priority now is to check on the condition and whereabouts of the people wounded and of those detained by the Israeli authorities, said Pierre Wettach, head of delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross in a statement. The Israeli military has blamed activists on the ship for creating the confrontation by attacking its soldiers as they boarded. The Muslim world united in condemning what Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas called a massacre and Arab League chief Amr Mussa said was a crime.

The Islamist movement Hamas which rules Gaza urged world Muslims to rise up in protest, as Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad denounced the raid as inhuman Zionist regime action.Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak condemned the excessive and unjustified force while Jordan, the only other regional power to have a peace treaty with Israel, handed in a protest note.

Lebanon fires on Israeli warplanes: security official
Tue Jun 1, 3:26 pm ET


JERUSALEM (AFP) – Lebanon's military fired anti-aircraft artillery at Israeli warplanes that were flying over Lebanon, a senior Israeli security official said on Tuesday.Our aircraft have been targeted by the Lebanese anti-aircraft guns while flying over southern Lebanon, and there was no damage, the official who requested the anonymity told AFP.A military spokesperson neither confirmed nor denied the report.Lebanon issues almost daily reports of Israeli violations of its air space, but its military rarely opens fire unless the planes fly within range of its guns.

The overflights violate UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended a devastating 2006 war between Israel and Lebanon's Shiite Hezbollah militia, but Israel argues they are needed to monitor arms smuggling.

Five Palestinians killed by Israeli fire in Gaza violence
Tue Jun 1, 1:09 pm ET


GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories (AFP) – Five Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire in Gaza on Tuesday as militants launched rockets and a rare cross-border raid after a deadly Israeli assault on an aid convoy.Three of the five were killed by an Israeli strike in the north of the Hamas-run territory, according to Muawiya Hassanein, the head of Gaza emergency services.The military said it had launched an air strike against a terrorist squad preparing to fire rockets into Israel and that there had been secondary blasts indicating the presence of explosives.The military said that, in an unrelated incident, two rockets launched from the territory landed in Israel. There were no reports of casualties or damage.Israeli troops had earlier shot dead two Palestinian gunmen who had snuck across the border in the southern part of Gaza, according to a military spokeswoman.There was an exchange of fire in which they were killed, she said, adding that no Israelis were wounded.Witnesses on the Gaza side of the border said the exchange of fire was followed by Israeli shelling, and an AFP photographer saw an Israeli helicopter firing missiles.There was no immediate report of casualties from the Palestinian side as ambulances were not able to enter the area.

The Palestinian group Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack, which came after a similar raid less than two weeks ago in which two teenagers were shot dead after breaching the border fence in the same area.Gaza's Islamist Hamas rulers have tried to preserve calm since the end of Israel's devastating assault on the strip in January 2009, but smaller militant groups still occasionally fire rockets and trade fire with Israeli troops.It was unclear if the latest attacks were linked to Monday's Israeli maritime raid on an international aid convoy bound for Gaza in which nine pro-Palestinian activists were killed.

Israel navy braced to intercept next Gaza aid ship
Tue Jun 1, 12:38 pm ET


DUBLIN/JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Activists vowed on Tuesday to try to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza with another ship, and an Israeli officer pledged to halt it, setting the stage for a fresh confrontation after Monday's deadly clash.The MV Rachel Corrie, a converted merchant ship bought by pro-Palestinian activists and named after an American woman killed in the Gaza Strip in 2003, set off Monday from Malta, organizers said.We are an initiative to break Israel's blockade of 1.5 million people in Gaza. Our mission has not changed and this is not going to be the last flotilla,Free Gaza Movement activist Greta Berlin, based in Cyprus, told Reuters.Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen described the vessel as Irish-owned and said it should be allowed to finish its mission. The ship was carrying 15 activists including a northern Irish Nobel Peace laureate.The government has formally requested the Israeli government to allow the Irish-owned ship ... to be allowed to complete its journey unimpeded and discharge its humanitarian cargo in Gaza, Cowen told parliament in Dublin.An Israeli marine lieutenant, who was not identified, told Israel's Army Radio his unit was prepared to block the ship.

We as a unit are studying, and we will carry out professional investigations to reach conclusions, the lieutenant said, referring to Monday's confrontation in which his unit shot nine activists aboard a Turkish ferry.And we will also be ready for the Rachel Corrie,he added.Passengers include Northern Irish Nobel peace laureate Mairead Corrigan-Maguire and Denis Halliday, an Irish former senior UN diplomat, and several other Irish citizens.Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin told parliament he had spoken with Halliday Tuesday afternoon.We will be watching this situation very closely -- as indeed will the world -- and it is imperative that Israel avoid any action which leads to further bloodshed, Martin said.Israel's Army Radio reported that the ship would reach Gazan waters by Wednesday, but activist Berlin said it might not attempt to reach Gaza until early next week.We will probably not send her till (next) Monday or Tuesday,she said of the 1,200 ton cargo ship. The Israeli navy stormed aboard a Turkish ferry leading a six-ship convoy Monday, killing nine people in what authorities said was self-defense but sparking a world outcry, a crisis in diplomatic relations with Turkey and condemnation from the United Nations Security Council.The Rachel Corrie was carrying medical equipment, wheelchairs, school supplies and cement, a material Israel has banned in Hamas-ruled Gaza, organizers said.

Mark Daly, a member of Ireland's upper house of parliament who had been due to join the convoy but was refused permission to leave Cyprus, told Reuters in Dublin that the ship had fallen behind the rest of the convoy because it was slower.Passengers aboard it had heard about the attacks but decided not to turn back, he said.After having a discussion among themselves about what to do, they decided to keep going, Daly said.(Reporting by Dan Williams in JERUSALEM, Marie-Louise Gumuchian in DUBLIN, and Michele Kambas in NICOSIA; editing by Peter Graff)

Kuwait MPs call for withdrawal from Arab peace plan
Tue Jun 1, 12:26 pm ET


KUWAIT CITY (AFP) – Kuwaiti MPs on Tuesday blasted Israel as a criminal state over its attack on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla and called on the government to withdraw from an eight-year-old Arab peace initiative.Parliament approved a non-binding recommendation by 32 votes to six, urging the government to pull out of the plan that offered Israel full normalisation of ties in exchange for its complete withdrawal from occupied Arab land.MPs met in an emergency session to debate the deadly Israeli attack on the aid vessels which had on board 18 Kuwaiti activists, including MP Waleed al-Tabtabai and six women.Communications Minister Mohammed al-Baseeri told reporters after the session that the government would deal positively with the recommendations.Other recommendations included urging Arab and Muslim states with diplomatic ties with Israel to suspend them, initiating a criminal suit against Israel at the International Criminal Court and securing the release of the Kuwaiti activists.During the debate, MPs strongly condemned Israel for its criminal actions and called for lifting of the three-year-old blockade of Gaza and hailed Turkey's stance.This attack reflects Israel's criminal nature over the past 60 years, since Israel came into existence, Islamist MP Adnan Abdulsamad said during the debate.

Relatives of Kuwaitis held in Israel attended the session wearing yellow ribbons and were greeted by MPs.Liberal MP Marzouk al-Ghanem said one of the women activists, Senan al-Ahmad, raised 1.38 million dollars in donations and bought a vessel in Turkey to take part in the aid journey to Gaza.Turkey was praised by a majority of the lawmakers.We salute the position of the Turkish government, which has helped expose the criminal actions of Israel, said MP Maasuma al-Mubarak.A statement issued by parliament described the attack on the vessels as a heinous crime committed by the Zionist entity, a serious escalation, and an act of black piracy.

Israel holds 480 activists, expelling 48: report
Tue Jun 1, 1:01 am ET


JERUSALEM (AFP) – Israel has detained 480 pro-Palestinian activists captured in its deadly commando raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla and will expel 48 others, public radio reported Tuesday.Those detained were being held at the southern Israeli prison of Ashdod, while the other 48 were being taken to Ben Gurion international airport to be sent back to their home countries, said the report.

Netanyahu gives military full backing over raid
Mon May 31, 9:21 am ET


OTTAWA (AFP) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave his full backing Monday to Israel's military forces after a raid on a flotilla carrying aid to the Gaza Strip, which left up to 19 people dead.The prime minister... reiterated his full backing for the IDF (Israeli Defence Forces) and inquired about the well being of the wounded, his office told AFP in Ottawa.Netanyahu was meeting Monday with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper ahead of a high-profile visit to Washington on Tuesday, where he is due to hold talks with President Barack Obama.Up to 19 people aboard a flotilla of ships carrying aid for the Gaza Strip were killed earlier Monday when Israeli navy commandos stormed the vessels in international waters.The incident prompted a wave of international condemnation, as Israel said it was forced to board the ships to uphold its blockade of the Hamas-ruled Palestinian territory.Netanyahu is scheduled to meet Obama on Tuesday in their first face-to-face talks since a frosty White House meeting in March that was viewed by many as an attempt to humiliate Netanyahu in the wake of a spat over settlements.

THIS ONE REALLY SHOT THE BIAS PROPAGANDA AGAINST ISRAEL LIKE USUAL.

Israel in eye of storm over deadly Gaza ship raid
Mon May 31, 8:57 am ET


ANKARA (AFP) – Israel's allies froze military ties and summoned its ambassadors Monday over the storming of an aid flotilla bound for Gaza, as Muslim leaders slammed the deadly raid as criminal and inhuman.UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he was shocked by the Israeli navy's assault on a convoy carrying hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists, lawmakers and journalists through international waters towards besieged Gaza.Ban called on Israel to urgently explain itself over the raid, which Israel's Channel 10 TV left 19 passengers killed and 36 wounded, many of them Turks.Israel's closest ally Washington described the loss of life as a tragedy, on the eve of talks between President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.The United States deeply regrets the loss of life and injuries sustained and is currently working to understand the circumstances surrounding this tragedy, a White House spokesman said.As the Vatican voiced deep sadness and concern and Middle East peace envoy Tony Blair expressed deep regret and shock at the loss of life, capitals across Europe summoned Israel's ambassadors to explain the assault.Ankara responded with fury, recalling its ambassador from Tel Aviv and warning the assault would have irreparable consequences to bilateral ties.

Police held back angry crowds shouting Damn Israel outside Israel's missions to the country, as Turkey accused Israel of a flagrant breach of international law, and disregard for human life and peaceful initiatives.Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc also said plans for three joint military exercises with Israel had been scrapped.
Greece, which had dozens of nationals in the convoy, pulled out of joint military exercises with Israel and cancelled a visit by its air force chief, as an aid group claimed that commandos in helicopters had fired on a Greek vessel.Israel said its troops were attacked after they stormed six ships loaded with thousands of tonnes of aid and with hundreds of activists aboard, and that both sides used live fire.Muslim leaders united in condemning what Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas called a massacre and Arab League chief Amr Mussa said was a crime.The Islamist movement Hamas which rules Gaza urged world Muslims to rise up in protest, as Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad denounced the raid as inhuman Zionist regime action.

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, which his country currently chairs.Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani strongly condemned the attack on a peaceful flotilla, as politicians, lawmakers and journalists staged a peaceful protest in Islamabad against Israel.Egypt condemned the acts of killing by Israel forces while Kuwait's parliament speaker said the storming of the flotilla, which was carrying 16 Kuwaitis including an MP, was a heinous Israeli crime.And Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, said there was no basis for Israel's assault.

In Europe, condemnation was equally swift. The European Union foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton demanded Israel mount a full inquiry,as member states ordered an emergency meeting of their ambassadors to the EU. Spain -- the current European Union president -- France, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Austria and Greece summoned Israel's respective ambassadors, with Madrid slamming the operation as unacceptable.
France's President Nicolas Sarkozy accused Israel of a disproportionate use of force.
Germany's Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said he was deeply concerned about the deaths, while Italy's Foreign Minister Franco Frattini deplored the loss of civilian life. British Foreign Secretary William Hague similarly deplored the loss of life, saying Israel must act with restraint -- but also said London had warned of the risks of attempting to access Gaza in defiance of the blockade. Thousands of Palestinian refugees and activists demonstrated across Lebanon to denounce the raid, some chanting slogans like Give us weapons, give us weapons and send us on to Gaza.

Maen Bashur, a Lebanese coordinator for the mission, said activists considered those seized on board the ship as war prisoners.A Cyprus MEP Kyriacos Triantafyllides, who was involved with the mission, said activists had expected a strong reaction from Israel.But nobody believed it would come to this point, where they would face something akin to an invading army,he said.

At least 10 dead as Israel storms aid convoy: Israeli TV
Mon May 31, 2:08 am ET


JERUSALEM (AFP) – At least 10 people were killed as Israeli forces stormed a boat carrying pro-Palestinian activists bound for Gaza, Israeli television and radio stations reported on Monday, sparking a strong reaction from Turkey.According to Israel's private channel 10 television, Israeli marine commandos had opened fire after being attacked with axes and knives by a number of the passengers on board the aid ships, the television said, without giving the source of its information.The station did not say whether the dead and injured were passengers or members of the Israeli navy.Israel's army radio said between 10 and 14 people had been killed in clashes which broke out after the passengers allegedly tried to grab weapons off the naval commandos who tried to storm one of the boats.It was not clear whether the clashes were taking place on just one of the six boats making up the aid convoy, and the Israeli army had no immediate comment on the incident.Shortly afterwards, the Israeli military censor ordered a block on all information regarding those injured or killed during the storming of the ship.The Israeli ambassador was summoned to the Turkish foreign ministry Monday after the incident, a Turkish diplomat said.The ambassador (Gabby Levy) was summoned to the foreign ministry. We will convey our reaction in the strongest terms,the diplomat, who asked not to be named, told AFP.

The raid on the ships, among them Turkish vessels, may lead to irreparable consequences in bilateral ties, Turkey's foreign ministry said.By targeting civilians, Israel has once again shown its disregard for human life and peaceful initiatives. We strongly condemn these inhumane practices of Israel, a written statement said.This deplorable incident, which took place in open seas and constitutes a fragrant breach of international law, may lead to irreparable consequences in our bilateral relations, it said.Hamas on Monday urged Arabs and Muslims to rise up in front of Israeli embassies across the globe in protest against the raid.We call on all Arabs and Muslims to rise up in front of Zionist embassies across the whole world, said Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri, using the Arabic word intifada.Ismail Haniya, the Islamist movement's prime minister in Gaza, slammed the ugly attack in a statement in which he called for the United Nations to protect the activists on board the boats.

Future Palestinian state must be demilitarized: Netanyahu
Sun May 30, 3:17 pm ET


TORONTO (AFP) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that a future Palestinian state must be effectively demilitarized to prevent Iran setting up a proxy state in the West Bank.

We must ensure that we achieve a peace that is anchored in security, the only peace that will endure is a peace we can defend, Netanyahu said, speaking to some 7,000 members of Toronto's Jewish community at a pro-Israel rally.A future Palestinian state must be effectively demilitarized.Netanyahu is on a visit to Canada ahead of a trip to Washington to discuss with US President Barack Obama fragile US-brokered indirect peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.Israel has pushed for the talks to focus on security.Netanyahu said that after previous Israeli withdrawals from southern Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, the areas were taken over by Iranian-supported Hezbollah and Hamas.We cannot afford to have that mistake repeated a third time, we cannot afford a Iranian presence on the hills over Tel Aviv. he said.

Aid ships set out to defy Gaza blockade
Sun May 30, 2:57 am ET


GAZA CITY (AFP) – A convoy of ships containing pro-Palestinian activists and aid destined for the blockaded Gaza Strip on Sunday steamed south from Cyprus towards Israeli naval vessels determined to stop them.The five ships, carrying more than 700 passengers, are on the last leg of a high-profile mission to deliver tonnes of aid to Gaza, which has been subjected to a crippling Israeli blockade since 2007.Five ships left Cypriot waters this morning at around 5:00 am (0200 GMT), Audrey Bomse told AFP, adding that the fleet expected to reach Gaza territorial waters some time after 4:00 pm (1300 GMT).In Gaza City, dozens of Palestinian fishing boats were preparing to set sail to meet the flotilla, which is carrying hundreds of civilians and a handful of European MPs as well as dozens of Muslim activists.Bomse said two vessels which had been due to join the so-called Freedom Flotilla had not been able to set sail after sustaining damage over the weekend, in a move which the convoy's organisers claimed was sabotage.Now we are thinking of sending a second wave of boats including these two and the Rachel Corrie, which is still en route from Ireland, she said, adding that the second convoy would probably set off around Tuesday.We're going to see how the others get on -- either they will reach Gaza or Israel will stop them and there will be a confrontation, Bomse said.The flotilla of cargo and passenger ships, which is carrying 10,000 tonnes of aid for Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip, had been due to reach Gaza on Saturday.

But its departure was delayed because of technical problems affecting two of the vessels.Israel has slammed as illegal the convoy's attempt to break its blockade on Gaza, and has naval forces at the ready to intercept the ships and detain the pro-Palestinian activists on board.Gaza has been subjected to a crippling Israeli blockade since 2007 after Hamas -- an Islamist movement committed to the destruction of Israel -- seized power in the impoverished and overcrowded Palestinian territory.

Pro-Palestinian activists have landed in Gaza five times, with another three unsuccessful attempts since their first such voyage in August 2008. The latest is their biggest operation.To date, the amount of aid has been largely symbolic but organisers say this convoy is laden with 10,000 tonnes, ranging from pre-fabricated homes to pencils.

Israeli air strike follows Gaza rocket attacks
Sun May 30, 2:26 am ET


GAZA CITY (AFP) – Israeli warplanes launched a double air strike overnight on targets in the Gaza Strip after militants fired two rockets at the Jewish state, Palestinian and Israeli military officials said on Sunday.

No casualties were reported in Gaza or Israel.The Israeli aircraft twice struck a target in the area of the disused and wrecked Gaza airport at Rafah in the south, bordering Egypt, a Palestinian medical source said.An Israeli military spokesman said the raid was in response to rocket fire on Saturday, and that the target was a tunnel used to infiltrate terrorists into Israel.On Saturday, Palestinian militants in the densely populated enclave had fired two rockets at southern Israel, causing neither casualties nor damage, the military said.One rocket, fired from the north of the territory, hit open ground near the southern port city of Ashkelon, the military spokesman said, adding that the second fell inside the Gaza Strip itself.It was the second night in a row that Israeli warplanes attacked Gaza. Overnight on Friday, Palestinian security officials and witnesses reported six raids, while Israel said there were just two.Again, no casualties were reported.

Israeli PM in Toronto, seeking support before US meet
Sat May 29, 1:40 am ET


TORONTO (AFP) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Canada for a four-day visit aimed at cementing ties with one of Israel's strongest backers in the international community.Netanyahu, on the first visit to Canada by an Israeli premier in 16 years,is hoping to build support ahead of talks next week with US President Barack Obama on the fragile US-brokered indirect peace talks with the Palestinians.I welcome the opportunity to spend time with Prime Minister Stephen Harper, a leader of vision and conviction and a great friend of Israel and a champion of peace, Netanyahu said ahead of his arrival.Netanyahu said he planned to discuss Israel's quest for peace with the Palestinians and efforts to boost cooperation between Israel and Canada in the fields of high-tech, renewable energy and water conservation.The friendship between Israel and Canada is exceptionally warm. We are sister democracies that seek peace with security, progress and prosperity, he told reporters on his plane.This is the first visit by an Israeli prime minister to Canada since Yitzhak Rabin toured in 1994.Relations took a downturn after forged Canadian passports were used in a botched assassination attempt by Israel's Mossad intelligence agency against Hamas Chief Khaled Meshaal.

The mission was approved by Netanyahu, then in his first term as prime minister.
However, ties have warmed substantially since, with Canada giving Israel considerable support at international institutions, particularly the United Nations.

Netanyahu is scheduled to attend a pro-Israel rally by Canada's Jewish community in Toronto on Sunday, before travelling to Ottawa for meetings with government and opposition leaders.Netanyahu arrived in Toronto from Paris, where he accepted an invitation for Israel to join the prestigious Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Israeli gunships head to sea to block flotilla By IAN DEITCH, Associated Press Writer – Fri May 28, 6:23 pm ET

HAIFA, Israel – Israeli gunships headed out to sea Friday to stop a flotilla of pro-Palestinian activists from reaching the Gaza Strip, the military said, setting the stage for what could become a dramatic showdown on the high seas.Israel's foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, said the country was prepared to stop the flotilla at any cost. He called the aid mission a provocation and urged the international community to show understanding for the tough response.We really have all determination and political will to prevent this provocation against us, he said.I think that we're ready at any cost ... to prevent this provocation.Military officials said an initial group of gunships went out to sea Friday to prepare for the flotilla's arrival. But plans to dispatch additional gunships were put on hold late Friday after reports that the flotilla had encountered mechanical problems, military officials said.The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity under military guidelines, said the gunships would remain in port until the flotilla got closer.The military says it will intercept the ships, escort the vessels to shore and give the activists the choice of deportation or going to jail. Israel says that after a security check, it will transfer the cargo to Gaza through the United Nations.

Officials say they hope the situation will be resolved peacefully, but they are prepared to use force if necessary. Masked naval commandos have been trained for the mission, and Israel has built a large makeshift detention center in a southern port to process the activists.The activists, among them a Nobel peace laureate, are trying to draw attention to a 3-year-old Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip — imposed after Hamas militants violently seized control of the territory. They say they are carrying tons of desperately needed humanitarian aid.Greta Berlin, one of the organizers of the effort, said a total of seven ships were headed to Gaza, after an eighth vessel suffered a malfunction and had to turn back.The organizers' website said the flotilla remained off the southern coast of Cyprus, some 250 miles (400 kilometers) northwest of Gaza, Friday evening. Berlin said the flotilla would halt under darkness, and resume the journey early Saturday. It was unclear when they would reach Israeli waters, she said.The ships originally embarked from Turkey, Greece and other European ports.Israel says the blockade is needed to prevent Hamas, which has fired thousands of rockets into Israel, from rearming.It rejects claims that a humanitarian crisis is brewing in Gaza, saying it allows more than enough food and medicine into the strip. Critics, however, say the blockade has crushed Gaza's economy, eliminated some 100,000 jobs and prevented the territory from repairing the destruction caused by an Israeli military offensive early last year.

Israel has reached out to its Mediterranean neighbors to stop the flotilla from approaching. Turkey, whose president has harshly condemned Israel's Gaza offensive, has rejected the gesture. A Turkish charity is spearheading the aid mission, and Turkish authorities have declined to intervene.But on Friday, Cyprus said was banning any ship from sailing to Gaza from its shores because organizers of a flotilla trying to break a blockade of the Palestinian territory ignored a government appeal not to involve the island.Acting government spokesman Titos Christofides condemned the Israeli blockade and expressed solidarity with the Palestinian people, but said the appeal was made to protect the island's vital interests.This is the ninth time that the Free Gaza Movement, the pro-Palestinian organization behind the effort, has sent a flotilla of supplies to Gaza. Israel permitted five deliveries to reach Gaza, but has not allowed any ships through since its military offensive, which ended in January 2009.Among the passengers are Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mairead Corrigan Maguire, former U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney, a Holocaust survivor in her 80s, a retired U.S. army colonel and lawmakers from a dozen European countries.