ISRAELS INHERITED LAND IN THE FUTURE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytWmPqY8TE0&feature=player_embedded
DEUTERONOMY 7:7-8
7 The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people;(ISRAEL) for ye were the fewest of all people:
8 But because the LORD loved you,(ISRAEL) and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
ZECHARIAH 2:8
8 For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.
JEREMIAH 3:14
14 Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you:(ISRAEL) and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion:
ISAIAH 42:1
1 Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect,(ISRAEL) in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.
ISAIAH 45:4
4 For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me.
ISAIAH 65:9,22
9 And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains: and mine elect (ISRAEL) shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there.
22 They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect (ISRAEL) shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
ISAIAH 56:5
5 Even unto them (ISRAELIS) will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name,(ISRAEL) that shall not be cut off.
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.
Israel mulls flotilla probe but soldiers off limits by Patrick Moser - JUNE 9,10 11:12 AM
JERUSALEM (AFP) – Israel on Wednesday was discussing the format of an investigation into its deadly raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted soldiers would be off-limits.Israel was in talks with several members of the international community about the investigation, Netanyahu said, stressing that it should focus on the pro-Palestinian activists who fought the naval commandos with knives and clubs.He insisted the soldiers involved would only answer to the Israeli military, saying that is how the armed forces of our friends in the world always act and that is how we shall also act.Israel has been trying to work out how to get US backing for a limited probe of the deadly raid and reportedly was considering easing its blockade on Gaza, which the activists had hoped to break.Netanyahu stressed that Israel already knew the facts and that investigators should look at questions which the international community prefers to ignore.Who was behind the group of extremists on the deck of this ship? Who financed this gang? How did axes, clubs, knives and other weapons find their way on board the ship? What were large sums of money doing in the pockets of these people on deck and for whom was this money intended?
He spoke after he and the other members of the Forum of Seven senior ministers met behind closed doors to discuss the mandate of the proposed investigating team in the face of world calls for a far wider probe.
Israel appears particularly keen to get US backing for the plan, which could help deflect harsh criticism of the commando operation in international waters off the Israeli coast.Contacts are continuing with Washington to obtain its approval over the outlines of such a commission, a senior official said.The plan in its current form entails a panel of Israeli jurists, joined by an American and a European observer, media reported.The Haaretz daily said the panel would lack powers such as the right to issue subpoenas, and that its recommendations would not be binding.The raid on the ships plunged Israel into a diplomatic crisis and led Netanyahu to postpone a trip to Washington.He now plans to meet US President Barack Obama later this month, following a visit by Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, who was expected at the White House later on Wednesday.The talks come as the deadly raid turned the spotlight on the blockade which Israel imposed on Gaza in 2006 after the capture of one of its soldiers and tightened the following year when the Islamist Hamas movement seized power.We have always called for the lifting of the blockade, Vladimir Putin told AFP in an interview.Britain's Daily Telegraph reported that Israel is set to accept a plan under which it would ease the blockade in return for the international community agreeing to a limited probe into the raid.In Jerusalem, the seven ministers reportedly discussed a possible easing of the blockade while officials in Washington said Obama would discuss with Abbas specific projects to relieve the plight of the people of Gaza.International opposition to the blockade has gained momentum in recent days.
Spain, which currently holds the rotating EU presidency, has said it will soon unveil a proposal for the lifting of the blockade, while France has suggested the European Union inspect the cargoes of ships heading to Gaza as well as maintain a presence at the Rafah border crossing with Egypt. Hamas said on Tuesday that it is not opposed to the idea of EU inspections provided there is no interference by Israel.The closure of the Gaza Strip prevents all but basic goods from entering the territory and severely limits the ability of Palestinians to travel in and out. Israel has recently authorised the delivery of snacks and some other previously restricted goods into Gaza, a Palestinian official said Wednesday.But Israel maintains an embargo on many badly needed construction materials and industrial goods.Israel says the blockade is necessary to contain Hamas, which is sworn to the destruction of the Jewish state, and to prevent the smuggling of weapons. Critics slam it as collective punishment of Gaza's 1.5 million residents.
Netanyahu says ready to testify in flotilla inquiry By Jeffrey Heller - JUNE 9,10
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday he was willing to testify in an inquiry Israel intends to hold into its deadly raid on a convoy of aid ships bound for the Israeli-blockaded Gaza Strip.A formal Israeli announcement of an investigation of the May 31 bloodshed awaits the conclusion of consultations with Israel's main ally, the United States, on a format for the probe, Israeli officials said.We will be prepared to appear and give all the facts, Netanyahu said in a speech, mentioning himself, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Lieutenant-General Gabi Ashkenazi, the military's chief of staff.Israeli commandos killed nine Turks, including one who also held U.S. nationality, after boarding the Turkish-flagged Mavi Marmara and being swarmed by pro-Palestinian activists with clubs and knives.The bloodshed triggered an international outcry and strained relations between Israel and its once-close Muslim ally, Turkey. Israel called the troops' actions self-Defense.Turkey described the killings as state-sponsored terrorism.Amid world pressure to ease its Gaza blockade and agree to a U.S.-backed U.N. call for a prompt, impartial, credible and transparent investigation,Israel has expressed willingness to involve foreign observers in its own inquiry.
QUESTIONS
The examination must include answers to questions that some in the international community prefer to ignore: Who was behind the extremist group on the ship's deck? Who sponsored its members? Netanyahu said.All of the nine dead on the Mavi Marmara were members or volunteers for the Foundation for Human Rights and Freecoms and Humanitarian Relief (IHH).The IHH says it is an Islamic charity group funded entirely by donations. Israel says the IHH supports Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, and other militant Islamist groups. But it does not classify the IHH as a terrorist organization.The world needs to know the whole picture, Netanyahu said. And we will make sure the whole picture comes to light.He said Israel's investigation would also focus on how axes, clubs, knives and other light weapons were brought on board the ship and on the very large sums of money he contended were found in the pockets of those people on deck.The Israeli military has announced its own investigation, focusing on the operational aspects of a raid seen by many in Israel as a fiasco in which planners failed to gauge the strength of resistance on board.Netanyahu, echoing remarks made by a spokesman on Tuesday, said officers and soldiers would not testify at the government-ordered inquiry, which would rely on the statements they made to the military panel.Israel says its Gaza blockade is necessary to limit weapons smuggling to Hamas.The U.N. says the Israeli embargo, which includes a ban on cement crucial for reconstruction after the December 2008-January 2009 Gaza war, has caused a humanitarian crisis in the enclave. Israel rejects the allegation, citing its frequent shipments of fuel and medical aid into the area.(Editing by Diana Abdallah)
Israel eases Gaza blockade on some banned foods By DIAA HADID, Associated Press Writer - JUNE 9,10
JERUSALEM – Israel eased a three-year blockade of Gaza Wednesday to allow in some previously banned food items in an effort to defuse the worldwide furor over its deadly raid on a Gaza-bound international flotilla. But critics said the step falls far short of what is needed in the impoverished Palestinian territory.In the first tangible step to temper the uproar caused by last week's raid, Israel only narrowly expanded the list of items that can enter by adding little more than snack foods and spices. It did not permit the most sought after items, such as cement, steel and other materials needed to rebuild the war-devastated territory and it was unlikely to ease international pressure.The international community is united in seeking an urgent and fundamental change in Israel's policy of blockading Gaza, said Maxwel Gaylard, the U.N.'s most senior humanitarian official in the Palestinian territories. A modest expansion of the restrictive list of goods allowed into Gaza falls well short of what is needed. We need a fundamental change and an opening of crossings for commercial goods.Israeli officials said the move was meant to defuse pressure for an international investigation of the May 31 raid. The clashes broke out after Israeli naval commandos boarded one of six ships on the flotilla and some of the hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists on board attacked them with pipes and other makeshift weapons. The Israelis killed nine.The clash drew attention to the blockade, imposed by Israel and Egypt to punish and isolate Hamas militants who seized power of Gaza in 2007. Hamas does not recognize Israel, and refuses to renounce violence. Israel also wants to put pressure on Hamas to release a captured Israeli soldier it has held for four years.
The blockade prevents all but basic humanitarian items and consumer goods from getting in, bars exports and prevents the import of goods such as metal cans and tubs of margarine needed for industrial production.Israel says the restrictions are needed to prevent Hamas, a group that has fired thousands of rockets into Israel, from rearming. It claims construction materials such as cement or metal could be used for military purposes.Gaza has been mired in poverty for decades but the closure deepened the misery, erasing tens of thousands of jobs and preventing the area from repairing damage from a fierce Israeli military offensive last year launched in response to years of Hamas rocket attacks from the territory.Palestinian official Raed Fattouh, who coordinates the flow of goods into Gaza with Israel, said soda, juice, jam, spices, shaving cream, potato chips, cookies and candy were now permitted. He said military officials began approving the expanded list of permitted products in meetings with Palestinian liaison officials last week.Fattouh said Israeli officials rebuffed Palestinian requests for construction goods, raw materials for factories to operate and medical devices.I think Israel wants to diffuse international pressure, said Fattouh.They want to show people that they are allowing things into Gaza. But it's not important for Gaza. The important thing for us is construction materials, electrical goods, notebooks, many things.A Hamas spokesman, Sami Abu Zuhri, said the gesture was not worth commenting on.An Israeli government official said authorities would continue to ease the blockade but could not lift the embargo altogether as long as Hamas remains in control.The Israeli officials all spoke on condition of anonymity pending a formal government announcement.Some of the items banned from Gaza seem arbitrary. Basic foodstuffs such as instant coffee and coriander were barred as luxury items, while more expensive foods such as herbal tea, salmon steaks and low-fat yogurt were permitted.
Sari Bashi, an Israeli human rights advocate whose group, Gisha, has led criticism of the blockade, called Israel's easing a cosmetic gesture.We are pleased that juice and sesame paste are no longer considered threats to Israeli security, but Israel needs to let in raw materials necessary to allow Gaza residents to engage in dignified, productive work, she said.Israel has rejected calls for an international investigation into the raid, fearing it would be biased against the Jewish state. Instead, officials are working on a formula for an investigation to be run by Israelis while including some international observers. Israel has been seeking U.S. support for this approach, but so far has not been able to reach a formula. We are conferring with various factors in the international community regarding the appropriate process of investigation that will expose the facts on the Gaza flotilla. We know the truth, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told an investors' conference.Netanyahu said he, along with top government and military officials, would be willing to appear before the probe, but said it must look at key questions about the activists that clashed with the soldiers. Israel alleges they were hired mercenaries.
Obama to discuss Gaza's plight with Abbas
Wed Jun 9, 7:23 am ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) – US President Barack Obama will discuss specific projects to improve the plight of the people of Gaza Wednesday as he welcomes Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas to the White House, officials said.Abbas will meet Obama at the Oval Office with already volatile Middle East politics roiled by the aftermath of the deadly May 31 Israeli commando raid on a flotilla of boats seeking to beat the Gaza blockade.The Palestinian leader arrived in Washington on Tuesday, directly from Turkey, which fiercely condemned the raid that killed nine Turkish activists. He has called on Obama to make bold decisions to jump-start peace moves in the Middle East.The United States has joined other foreign governments and the United Nations in calling for an inquiry into the raid with an international component, saying it was key to any investigation's credibility.But Israel has rejected any international probe into the affair, a topic likely to feature in Obama's talks with Abbas.Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said his country would raise the controversial issue of who should investigate the incident at the UN and called for an end to the Jewish state's blockade of the tiny Gaza Strip.He called Israel's boarding of an aid ship in international waters a crude violation of international law.At the White House, Obama and Abbas will discuss steps to improve life for the people of Gaza, including US support for specific projects to promote economic development and greater quality of life,a US official said.
Obama also wants to discuss a long-term strategy for progress that we will advance through consultations with the Palestinians, Israelis, Egyptians and other partners, the official added on condition of anonymity.Despite the fallout from the Gaza raid, the pair will consider how to forge progress in proximity talks between Israel and the Palestinians mediated by US envoy George Mitchell.We look forward to engaging with President Abbas to move the process forward so that we can get to direct talks to address all the final status issues,the official said.Obama will also renew his call on Israelis and Palestinians to ensure that neither side take provocative steps that could stand in the way of progress,according to the official.Abbas will meet with Obama a week after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled his own White House trip to deal with the fallout from the Gaza crisis.The Palestinian leader set a clear rhetorical framework last week for his long-awaited summit with the US president.My message to Obama during our meeting in Washington next week will be that we need bold decisions to change the face of the region, he said at an investment conference in the West Bank.Abbas is also scheduled to meet with US lawmakers and National Security Adviser James Jones.
Former U.S. envoy favors talking to Hezbollah By Susan Cornwell – Tue Jun 8, 7:02 pm ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States should talk to the Lebanese Hezbollah movement, former U.S. diplomat Ryan Crocker said on Tuesday. But current U.S. officials rejected dealing with the group listed as a terrorist organization by Washington.Crocker, who was U.S. ambassador in Baghdad from 2007 to 2009, suggested Washington should engage with Hezbollah in the same way that Americans had engaged with some former Sunni insurgents in Iraq. As a result, they turned against al Qaeda helped and reverse the tide of sectarian conflict.One thing I learned in Iraq is that engagement can be extremely valuable in ending an insurgency, Crocker told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.We cannot mess with our adversary's mind if we are not talking to him,Crocker said. Hezbollah is a part of the Lebanese political landscape, and we should deal with it directly.Hezbollah, meaning Party of God in Arabic, shares the Shi'ite Islamist ideology of Iran. It was set up with the help of Iranian Revolutionary Guards to fight Israeli forces that invaded Lebanon in 1982 and aims ultimately to destroy the Jewish state.It is now part of a national unity government in Lebanon, and also the most powerful military force there. It still has strong support from Tehran and is also backed by Damascus.Crocker's suggestion followed recent comments by White House official John Brennan that the Obama administration wanted to build up moderate elements in Hezbollah.But State Department officials at Tuesday's hearing denied U.S. policy was in flux. We do not ... think that there is any room right now for engagement with Hezbollah, said Daniel Benjamin. the department's counter-terrorism coordinator.I don't anticipate that policy changing,said Jeffrey Feltman, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs. He said Washington could rethink its policy if Hezbollah would stop maintaining a militia, drop terrorist activities and evolve into a normal part of Lebanon's political fabric.Hezbollah fought a 34-day war with Israel in 2006. Recently Israel accused Syria of arming Hezbollah with long-range Scud missiles capable of hitting deep inside Israel.Crocker, one of Washington's most experienced Middle Eastern hands before he retired last year, also urged senators to confirm a new ambassador to Syria. President Obama's nominee, Robert Ford, has stalled in the Senate amid concerns that Syria may have transferred Scuds to Hezbollah.(Editing by Alan Elsner)
Israel isolated as Mideast-Asia forum condemns ship raid by Nicolas Cheviron – Tue Jun 8, 4:52 pm ET
ISTANBUL (AFP) – Asian and Middle Eastern leaders united in condemning an Israeli deadly raid on Gaza-bound aid ships at a security summit Tuesday, as host nation Turkey warned Israel was isolated in the region.Twenty-one states -- all the members of the CICA Asia security forum except Israel -- backed the text issued in Istanbul denouncing the May 31 assault on on a flotilla in international waters in the Mediterranean.The presidents Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran, Bashar al-Assad of Syria and Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan, as well as Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas were among the leaders present for the summit.
Together they expressed their grave concern and condemnation for the actions undertaken by the Israeli Defence Forces and denounced a blatant violation of international law.The states said they deeply deplored the killing of nine Turkish activists and lent support for the United Nations to set up an international commission to investigate the raid.This is a clear manifestation of how Israel has isolated itself,Turkish President Abdullah Gul, who chaired the summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), told reporters.The raid on the flotilla seeking to break Israel's blockade of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip sparked global outrage and plunged Israel's already strained ties with NATO member Turkey, once a close ally, into deep crisis.It is impossible for us to forgive the bloodshed, Gul said.This can be repaired a bit only if they (the Israelis) make up for that in an acceptable way. Otherwise, it is impossible for Turkey to forget that,he added.Ankara has recalled its ambassador from Tel Aviv and said that economic and defence ties with Israel would be reduced to a minimum level.
Putin said Russia would raise at the United Nations the controversial issue of who should investigate the Israeli raid, which he denounced as a crude violation of international law.We can't allow a new flame to flare up in the Middle East.... We will raise the issue at the United Nations, we're working at it,he told reporters.
Turkey said Monday that normalisation of ties with Israel would be out of the question if it failed to agree to an international probe, a move the Jewish state has so far rejected.On Tuesday Israel outlined plans to hold its own limited probes into the deadly raid, which will look exclusively into the legality of Israel's naval blockade of Gaza and of the May 31 raid.But the United States, Israel's closest ally, on Tuesday added its voice to the chorus calling for an international probe, echoing similar remarks by UN chief Ban Ki-moon.Tuesday's condemnation was issued as part of the chairman's conclusions to the summit, since a formal joint declaration would have required a consensus, which Israel's participation made impossible, Gul said.Israeli leaders shunned the Istanbul event, although Israeli ambassador to Turkey Gabby Levy took part.An overwhelming majority of the participants also called for a Middle East free of nuclear weapons -- an appeal that appeared to target Iran, which the West suspects of secretly developing an atomic bomb, and Israel, widely believed to be the region's sole if undeclared nuclear power. The CICA group was set up in 2002 on a proposal by Kazakhstan to promote peace, security and stability in Asia.
With the admission of Iraq and Vietnam on Tuesday, the number of its members reached 22, some with a history of mutual hostility such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Its other members are Azerbaijan, China, Egypt, India, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, the Republic of Korea, Russia, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan. Turkey, a NATO member vying for European Union membership, has in recent years pushed for a greater say in the Middle East.Together with Brazil, it brokered a nuclear fuel swap deal with Iran last month, but the proposed accord has been dismissed by the United States, which continues to push for fresh sanctions against Tehran. Ankara's improving ties with Iran and Syria, against the backdrop of simmering tensions with Israel, have led to concerns that its governing party, the moderate offshoot of a banned Islamist movement, is shifting the country away from the West.
Jewish settlers injured as clash with police
Tue Jun 8, 9:57 am ET
JERUSALEM (AFP) – Israeli police came under attack by Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, after authorities demolished two buildings put up by settlers without authorisation, police said.Eight officers were lightly injured when a crowd of about 150 settlers hurled rocks at police vehicles and tried to slash their tyres, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told AFP.He said 10 settlers were arrested but he had no information about any injuries. Public radio said 10 settlers were hurt by blows from batons or from tear gas inhalation.The confrontation broke out after two cabins at the entrance to the Beit El settlement near Ramallah were torn down because they were built without the necessary permits.In November, Israel announced a 10-month halt to new housing construction in the West Bank outside annexed Arab east Jerusalem, following months of US pressure for a relaunch of peace talks with the Palestinians suspended after it launched a devastating offensive against the Gaza Strip in December 2008.
Obama calls Thomas Palestinian remarks offensive
Tue Jun 8, 7:59 am ET
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama says he considers veteran White House correspondent Helen Thomas' remarks about Israel offensive.Asked during an interview with NBC about Thomas' comments urging Israel to get out of Palestine,Obama said he believes those statements were out of line.At the same time, he said he recognized Thomas' long service covering presidents dating back to John F. Kennedy.He said it was a shame that her career has ended in controversy, but called Thomas' retirement announcement the right decision.The 89-year-old Thomas retired Monday as a columnist for Hearst News Service.
Israeli president visits SKorea amid Gaza uproar By SANGWON YOON, Associated Press Writer – Tue Jun 8, 6:40 am ET
SEOUL, South Korea – Israeli President Shimon Peres arrived in Seoul on Tuesday for a working-level summit amid concerns the visit's timing could negatively affect South Korea's diplomatic efforts to censure North Korea at the United Nations.Seoul appealed to the U.N. Security Council on Friday to punish Pyongyang, accusing its nuclear-armed neighbor of blowing apart one of its warships with a torpedo, killing 46 sailors. It was the first time Seoul has taken Pyongyang to the Security Council over an inter-Korean dispute, despite a history of being attacked by the North.South Korea has been working to garner international backing for the diplomatic action. Israel, meanwhile, has come under intense international criticism for its raid on a ship carrying aid to Hamas-ruled Gaza that killed eight Turks and a Turkish-American. Israel claims its troops acted in self-defense.South Korean media reports have voiced worry over possibly risking its diplomatic effort against North Korea at the U.N. by hosting Peres and potentially being seen as favoring Israel.Government officials hesitated to hold the summit amid growing international criticism of Israel, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported Monday, citing unnamed officials at the presidential Blue House. Cho Hyun-jin, a presidential spokesman, declined to comment.
Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported Sunday on its Web site that the South Korean government lowered the status of Peres' trip from an official state visit to a routine working visit because of international pressure in the wake of Israel's deadly raid on the Gaza-bound flotilla. The report did not cite any sources.Peres' office strongly denied the claim, saying that the planned trip was originally meant as a working visit. A South Korean Foreign Ministry official backed up that view, saying the trip was never intended to be a state visit. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to media.Peres will meet South Korean President Lee Myung-bak on Thursday, according to the Blue House.They will discuss the political relationship between the two countries and the potential for increased economic and technological cooperation,Peres' office said. Peres will also tour several South Korean research and development centers.Peres had been scheduled to receive an honorary doctorate at Korea University and deliver a speech there during his trip, but both events were canceled, the South Korean Foreign Ministry official said. Ministry spokesman Kim Young-sun said Israeli Embassy officials in Seoul had pushed for the two events to take place, but they later gave up on the plan. He provided no reason.South Korea's official position on the raid has been one of regret for the loss of life during the incident,according to a Foreign Ministry statement on June 1. Seoul has called for negotiations through dialogue as it is the only solution toward peace in the region.In a reflection of sensitivities over the issue, Vietnam asked Peres to put off a scheduled working visit this week.
Israeli forces rappelled from helicopters onto six vessels in an international aid flotilla on May 31 to prevent them from breaking an Israeli blockade of Gaza, imposed in 2007 after Hamas overran the territory. Violence broke out on one of the ships, with video footage from the Israeli military and Turkish TV showing passengers with metal bars attacking Israeli soldiers descending on ropes onto a Turkish ship.Israel claims its troops acted in self-defense against the attackers. A preliminary autopsy report released by Turkey on Saturday said the nine men killed were shot a total of 30 times.Kim, the Foreign Ministry spokesman, said Peres' trip to South Korea was decided before the incident.Associated Press writers Aron Heller in Jerusalem and Kwang-tae Kim in Seoul contributed to this report.
Israeli patrol kills four militants in diving suits By Nidal al-Mughrabi – Mon Jun 7, 4:26 pm ET
GAZA (Reuters) – An Israeli naval patrol killed at least four Palestinian militants in diving gear off the Gaza coast on Monday, Hamas security officials and the Israeli army said.An Israeli naval patrol spotted a boat with four men in diving suits on their way to carry out a terror attack and fired at them, an Israeli army spokesman said, adding that the patrol had confirmed hitting its targets.The spokesman did not say what the army thought was the intended objective of the divers.
Hamas security sources said four bodies had been found and a fifth man was missing and presumed dead.The incident occurred eight days after Israeli marines killed nine Turks in violent confrontations on a Turkish cruise ship which was part of a six-vessel convoy that set out to challenge an Israeli-led blockade of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.A second attempt by pro-Palestinian activists to break the blockade on Gaza was stopped on Saturday by the Israeli navy without incident.Israeli media said Monday's sea patrol was carried out by naval commandos from the same unit that boarded the Gaza-bound ships last week. The military spokesman declined to comment on this.In a second incident in the Gaza Strip on Monday, Hamas security and medical officials said an Israeli aircraft fired a missile at a group of militants in an open area near Gaza City, seriously wounding one man.An Israeli army spokesman confirmed that a missile had targeted a group of militants trying to fire a rocket at Israel.Palestinian militants in Gaza frequently try to attack Israeli border patrols and sporadically fire rockets and mortar bombs at Israel. The military spokesman said that more than 10 had been launched at Israel in the past three weeks.
Attempts to attack from the sea are rare, however.In February, Palestinian militant groups in Gaza sent explosive devices, thought to be primitive sea mines, out to sea intending to hit naval vessels. At least three devices washed up on Israeli beaches and were detonated by sappers.(Writing by Ori Lewis; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
France seeks to stop hate incitement by Gaza TV
Mon Jun 7, 12:38 pm ET
PARIS (AFP) – The French government has asked its broadcasting authority to put an end to incitement to hatred on a Hamas-run television station broadcast via a Paris-based satellite company, officials said Monday.Foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said that France had received a warning from the European Commission that Al-Aqsa TV, which is accused of inciting hatred of Jews and Israelis, had repeatedly breached European rules.The station, broadcast via the Eutelsat satellite operator, shows programmes which incite hatred or violence for reasons of religion or nationality,Valero told reporters.He said French authorities were confident the CSA broadcast authority would take rapid action to ensure content broadcast via satellites owned by French-based firms and beamed into the EU respected French and EU law.The CSA in 2008 and 2009 warned Eutelsat about breaching French laws that ban incitement to hatred, but these warnings did not lead to any change in the content broadcast via its satellites.
Eutelsat said in a statement that it had always strictly complied with decisions taken by the CSA.In 2008 and in 2009, when the CSA informed us of its decisions concerning Al Aqsa, we immediately contacted our client Noorsat, the operator which handles the broadcasting of the Al Aqsa channel within its bouquet of programmes, it said.Eutelsat at that time stressed to Noorsat the necessity for the Al Aqsa channel to comply with EU directives, the firm said.Al Aqsa TV is run by Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group that controls the Gaza Strip.
Turkish PM presses for Palestinian unity, says ready to help
Mon Jun 7, 11:47 am ET
ISTANBUL (AFP) – Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan Monday urged for reconciliation between feuding Palestinian factions and said Ankara was ready to help.Healing the rift between the Fatah faction of Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas and the Islamist Hamas movement, which controls the Gaza Strip,is a must, Erdogan said, adding that Hamas welcomed a mediation role for Ankara.He made the remarks in comments on the situation in the Middle East in the wake of an Israeli raid last week on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, which claimed the lives of nine Turks and plunged Turkish-Israeli ties into deep crisis.Divisions should not persist in the current circumstances... I believe we can secure peace between Hamas and Fatah, he said at a joint news conference with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, in Istanbul for a regional security meeting.Hamas officials are giving us the required mandate on this issue and they are telling us that they want the problem to be resolved.
We have to see the same approach from Fatah and I'm going to have a meeting (with them) in a while,he said, referring to scheduled talks with Abbas, who was also in Istanbul.Erdogan reiterated that Hamas -- viewed by Israel and the West as a terrorist group -- should not be excluded from peace efforts.No one in the international community has the authority to put Hamas and Fatah on different status... Saying that Fatah is a group that one can talk to and dismissing Hamas as a terrorist organisation is a very serious mistake,he said.In an angry tirade against Israel over the bloody ship raid, Erdogan said Friday he did not view Hamas as a terrorist organisation, describing the group as resistance fighters who are struggling to defend their land.Ankara has previously urged the armed group, which calls for the destruction of Israel, to renounce violence and engage in peaceful politics.In February 2006, Ankara angered Israel when it hosted Hamas supremo Khaled Meshaal in what Turkish officials defended as an effort to press the militant group to lay down arms.
Free Gaza Movement to close Cyprus office in protest
Mon Jun 7, 9:48 am ET
NICOSIA (AFP) – A pro-Palestinian group which helped organise the Gaza aid flotilla intercepted by the Israeli navy in a raid which cost nine lives last week on Monday announced the closure of its headquarters in Cyprus.In protest at the lack of cooperation with the mission from the Cyprus government, the Free Gaza Movement's office is to close down on Tuesday and relocate at a later date to London.The Cyprus government banned ships and passengers from leaving the island to join the sea convoy which was anchored off the island before heading for Gaza when it came under Israeli attack in international waters on May 31.We leave tomorrow (Tuesday) and the office will be closed because we feel we are not welcome anymore on Cyprus and the government has made that clear, the movement's Audrey Bomse told AFP.She said her group had not been informed in advance of a secretive executive order banning the use of Cyprus as a staging post for the attempt to break Israel's blockade of Gaza.
If we knew about it, we would never have brought European MPs to Cyprus to join the flotilla,she said.Bomse said Cyprus had cooperated with several past missions to break the blockade by sea, allowing the Free Gaza Movement (FGM) to ferry passengers headed for Gaza into international waters.This time, the government said it issued the ban to protect the island's vital interests, although it has joined international criticism of Israel's deadly intervention as a criminal act.FGM is a registered charity in Cyprus with an office established on the island since December 2008.If this is how they treat Cypriot charities, it's time we moved elsewhere, said Bomse.The pro-Palestinian group has used Cyprus as platform to challenge the Israeli blockade on Gaza since August 2008, managing to breach the siege on five out of nine attempts to date including last week's bid.The group says it will still continue to challenge Israel's sea blockade but not from Cyprus.
Iran Red Crescent to send three aid ships to Gaza by Farhad Pouladi – Mon Jun 7, 6:55 am ET
TEHRAN (AFP) – The Iranian Red Crescent said on Monday that it will send three aid ships to Gaza in the latest bid to break the blockade imposed on the Palestinian territory by Iran's archfoe Israel.It will also send a plane carrying 30 tonnes of medical equipment to Egypt for onward delivery to Gaza.Red Crescent director for international affairs Abdolrauf Adibzadeh told Iranian media that two ships would leave for Gaza this week, followed at a later date by a third vessel.The first two ships will head to Gaza in coordination with the Turkish government.Of the two ships, one will carry 70 aid workers such as nurses and medics and the other will have foodstuffs and medicines,Adibzadeh was quoted as saying on the state television website.The (two) ships will be sent to Gaza by end of this week,Adibzadeh told the state IRNA news agency.The news agency said the third vessel would be equipped with an onboard operating theatre and would head for the Palestinian territory at a later date.Adibzadeh said the Red Crescent had called for Iranian volunteers to act as relief workers and accompany the first two vessels.The head of the Iranian Red Crescent, Abolhassan Fakhi, told the Fars news agency that 20,000 volunteers had already registered over the past three days.Adibzadeh said an aid plane would leave in a short time for Egypt in coordination with the Egyptian Red Crescent.The Iranian Red Crescent had previously sent an aid ship carrying food and medicines to Gaza in December 2008 but it was prevented from reaching the territory by the Israeli navy.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said such aid ships were symbols of the protest movement against the blockade.If this symbolic campaign continues, it will result in the surrender of the Zionist regime, which will certainly be one of its biggest defeats,the state television website quoted him as saying.The secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Saeed Jalili, urged Gulf countries to follow Iran's example and send aid ships to Gaza, Fars reported.
The decision to send new aid to Gaza comes hot on the heels of a report that Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards had expressed readiness to escort aid flotillas to Gaza.
If the respected leader of the revolution (supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei) gives an order in this regard, the Revolutionary Guards' naval forces will take a practical step using their capability and equipment to escort flotillas to Gaza, Khamenei's aide in the Guards' naval wing, Ali Shirazi, told the Mehr news agency on Sunday.It was unclear, however, how the Guards would escort the flotillas as their naval wing is largely made up of speed boats and light vessels.Last week's Israeli commando raid on an aid flotilla headed for Gaza, in which nine pro-Palestinian activitists died, has sparked outrage across the political spectrum in Iran. Blaming the United States, Britain and France for the deadly raid, Khamenei called for the prosecution of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Ehud Barak.President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad too lashed out at Israel, demanding that it face political sanctions for the raid. The animosity between Iran and its regional archfoe has only worsened under Ahmadinejad, with top Guards commanders repeatedly boasting that the elite force has missiles capable of reaching any target in Israel.
In turn, Israel, which has the Middle East's sole if undeclared nuclear arsenal, has refused to rule out a resort to military action against Iran to prevent it aquiring a nuclear weapons capability.Iran denies any such ambition.
France: EU can check ships heading to Gaza
Sun Jun 6, 6:30 pm ET
PARIS – The European Union is willing to check cargo on board ships heading to the Gaza Strip if Israel ends its blockade of the Hamas-ruled territory, France's Foreign Minister said Sunday.Bernard Kouchner, who spoke after dinner with British Foreign Secretary William Hague in Paris, noted that the EU has had monitors deployed at Gaza's border crossing with Egypt at Rafah, and could do so again.We can check the cargo of ships heading toward Gaza — we can do it, we want to do it, we would gladly do it, Kouchner said, adding that the European Union should do more for the Mideast peace process.Hague said the EU will show no lack of willingness ... to participate in solutions.France and Britain have pushed urgently for an end to the blockade since a deadly raid last week on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla. Nine activists were killed in an Israeli commando mission.Earlier Sunday, French President Nicolas Sarkozy's office said he spoke by phone to Israel's prime minister and urged him to accept an international inquiry commission into the deadly raid. Hague also said he spoke to Israel's defense minister about the need for an investigation.Israel's ambassador to the U.S. has said Israel rejects the idea.
Vatican says world ignores Christians in Mideast By VICTOR L. SIMPSON and MENELAOS HADJICOSTIS, Associated Press Writers – Sun Jun 6, 2:03 pm ET
NICOSIA, Cyprus – The Vatican said Sunday that the international community is ignoring the plight of Christians in the Middle East, and that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the war in Iraq and political instability in Lebanon have forced thousands to flee the region.A working paper released during Pope Benedict XVI's pilgrimage to Cyprus to prepare for a crisis summit of Middle East bishops in Rome in October also cites the extremist current unleashed by the rise of political Islam as a threat to Christians.The paper said that the line between religion and politics is blurred in Muslim countries, relegating Christians to the precarious position of being considered non-citizens, despite the fact that they were citizens of their countries long before the rise of Islam.The key to harmonious living between Christians and Muslims is to recognize religious freedom and human rights, it said.In his final Mass in Cyprus on Sunday, Benedict said he was praying that the October meeting will focus the attention of the international community on the plight of those Christians in the Middle East who suffer for their beliefs.He appealed for an urgent and concerted international effort to resolve the ongoing tensions in the Middle East, especially in the Holy Land, before such conflicts lead to greater bloodshed.
The Vatican considers mostly Greek Orthodox Cyprus as a bridge between Europe and the Middle East and invited bishops to come to the Mediterranean island to receive the working paper.The pope said Cyprus can play a particular role in promoting dialogue and cooperation in the region.A meeting between the pope and a Muslim leader was scrapped after the Turkish Cypriot official was delayed crossing the United Nations-controlled buffer zone that divides the island between ethnic Turks and Greeks, the Vatican said.Yusuf Suicmez, the head of Turkish Cypriots' religious affairs department, said he had hoped to pray with the pope for peace and brotherhood. Benedict briefly met with another Turkish Cypriot Muslim leader on Saturday as part of efforts to talk to both sides of the island's decades-old conflict and help foster reconciliation.Cyprus was ethnically split in 1974 when Turkey invaded after a coup by supporters of union with Greece. Turkish Cypriots declared an independent republic in the north in 1983, but only Turkey recognizes it, and it maintains 35,000 troops there.The island's Greek Cypriot President Dimitris Christofias and newly-elected Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu resumed long-running reunification talks in May after a two-month pause for the poll. The talks have yielded only limited progress so far.Benedict has tread a careful diplomatic path since arriving Friday on the island, but he made a poignant appeal for peace before leaving.The pope said he saw for himself the sad division of the island and that he was deeply moved by the pleas of Cypriots who wished to return to homes in the north that were lost during the war.Let me encourage you and your fellow citizens to work patiently and steadfastly with your neighbors to build a better and more certain future for all your children,the pope said.
A group of around 100 Orthodox Christian demonstrators earlier staged a peaceful protest against Benedict's visit outside the Nicosia sports stadium where the pope presided over Mass, holding aloft banners calling the pope a heretic.The Vatican estimates there are about 17 million Christians from Iran to Egypt, and that while many Christians have fled, new Catholic immigrants — mostly from the Philippines, India and Pakistan — have arrived in recent years in Arab countries to work as domestic or manual laborers.The 46-page document said input from clerics in the region blamed the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories for inhibiting freedom of movement, the economy and religious life, alleging that access to holy places is dependent on military permission that is sometimes denied on security grounds. It also complained that some Christian fundamentalists use biblical texts to justify Israel's occupation making the position of Christian Arabs an even more sensitive issue.The document said the rise of political Islam in Arab, Turkish and Iranian societies and its extremist currents are clearly a threat to everyone, Christians and Muslims alike.The Vatican expects about 150 bishops to attend the Oct. 10-24 meeting in Rome.
Israel deports seven aid ship passengers to Jordan
by Kamal Taha – Sun Jun 6, 7:59 am ET
ALLENBY BRIDGE, Jordan (AFP) – Israel deported to Jordan on Sunday seven of those who were on board the Rachel Corrie aid ship which tried to run the Israeli blockade of Gaza, an AFP correspondent at the border said.A Cuban and six Malaysians -- member of parliament Mohd Nizar Zakaria, two TV3 television journalists and three staff of the Perdana Global Peace organisation -- crossed the Allenby Bridge into the kingdom and were received by Jordanian officials.We are very disappointed because the whole idea was to get to Gaza. We should emphasise that we came with a message of hope and peace, Mattias Chang of Perdana told AFP.They did not use force with us. There was no necessity to use force against us.Chang said the organisation, chaired by former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, will try to go to Gaza again.We will not stop. We will try to have another mission to bring aid to Gaza and break the siege. Israelis, Palestinians, all must come together and stop the violence,he said.We are very sad for the loss of lives. I think that a clear message should be sent to Israel through the media of the world: Don't do that any more, don't use the gun.Eleven others detained on board the aid ship by Israeli troops were due to fly out of Ben Gurion international airport near Tel Aviv. They comprise Irish nationals, including Nobel Peace laureate Mairead Maguire, six Filipinos and the ship's Scottish captain.
Israeli forces intercepted and seized control of the Rachel Corrie on Saturday as it tried to reach the Gaza Strip, without use of force like that on Monday when nine people were killed as commandos stormed an aid flotilla.We are very sad for the people of Gaza. We wanted to go there and help in any way to bring them the aid, Chang's colleague Ahmad Faizal said.We are very relieved now that we are able to go back home. The Israelis have made us wait under the burning sun for several hours.The Irish-owned 1,200-tonne Rachel Corrie was escorted into the southern Israeli port of Ashdod, and the activists and crew taken to Holon immigration centre near Tel Aviv for questioning before being deported.Israel deported an Indonesian journalist on Sunday who had been among the passengers wounded on Monday in the interception of the flotilla.Surya Fachrizal, 28, was shot in the upper right chest, an Indonesian embassy official said, adding that the journalist was to be admitted to hospital in the Jordanian capital Amman before being flown home.A group of Fachrizal's Indonesian friends, who had been among 126 people deported by Israel to Jordan on Wednesday, gave him a warm welcome at the border, chanting Allahu Akbar and carrying national flags.Monday's operation has sparked global outrage, and many countries, including Jordan, which singed a 1994 peace treaty with Israel, have called for an international probe.Israel has blockaded the impoverished and overcrowded Gaza Strip since militants captured a soldier in a deadly cross-border raid in 2006. It further tightened its grip after the Islamist Hamas movement seized control of the territory the following year.
UN Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes has said the disastrous raid should be used as an opportunity to press Israel to change its policy on Gaza. We very much want to see what's happened -- or use what's happened, tragic as it is -- as an opportunity to try to ... persuade Israel to change policy, Holmes told AFP in Sydney, describing the blockade as unacceptable, counterproductive, (and) very damaging for the people of Gaza.
