Jenin on the high seas
Jonathan Kay has a good op-ed in the National Post that offers another account, this one from an Israeli commando, of what happened on board the Mavi Marmara, the Turkish ship raided by Israel after it refused to obey Israel’s demands to stop heading toward Gaza:
Comments (4) »“They beat us up with metal sticks and knives,” one Israeli commando told the Los Angeles Times. “There was live fire at some point against us. … They were shooting at us from below deck.” Based on the same source, the Times also reported that “activists tossed some of the soldiers from the top deck to the lower deck and the soldiers jumped in the water to save themselves. Activists grabbed some soldiers and tried to hold them hostage, stripping them of their helmets and equipment.”
If this narrative stands up, then every drop of blood spilled on Monday morning rests on the hands of those activists who initiated the deadly exchange. When you attack Israeli soldiers — or at any soldiers — with lethal force, they will respond in kind.
Tuesday, June 1st, 2010 at 1:02 PM | David Kuner
A brutal ambush at sea
More on the “peace activists” and their ”humanitarian mission”:
Navy commandoes slid down to the vessel one by one, yet then the unexpected occurred: The passengers that awaited them on the deck pulled out bats, clubs, and slingshots with glass marbles, assaulting each soldier as he disembarked. The fighters were nabbed one by one and were beaten up badly, yet they attempted to fight back.
However, to their misfortune, they were only equipped with paintball rifles used to disperse minor protests, such as the ones held in Bilin. The paintballs obviously made no impression on the activists, who kept on beating the troops up and even attempted to wrest away their weapons.
One soldier who came to the aid of a comrade was captured by the rioters and sustained severe blows. The commandoes were equipped with handguns but were told they should only use them in the face of life-threatening situations. When they came down from the chopper, they kept on shouting to each other “don’t shoot, don’t shoot,” even though they sustained numerous blows.
The media is full right now of tales of Israel’s alleged brutality toward innocent victims. Don’t believe a word of it.
Comments (5) »Tuesday, June 1st, 2010 at 10:54 AM | David Kuner
Don’t believe the hype
Writing for the Melbourne, Australia, Herald-Sun, Andrew Bolt comments on the “peaceful” intentions of the Gaza flotilla:
Comments (1) »And a strident report in The Age, Australia’s most Left-wing metropolitan daily, conceded that video of the Israeli soldiers being lowered on to the ships from helicopters did show that some of the “hundreds of politicians and protesters” on board did offer “signs of resistance”.
Here are some of those “signs of the resistance” that this Age reporter tactfully failed to detail.
You see the Israeli commandos, at first brandishing just paint-ball guns, being grabbed by mobs as they landed, dragged to the ground, and beaten brutally with metal pipes and clubs.
On another clip, apparently shot by protesters, you see a soldier stabbed in the back, and then in the front.
Another soldier is shown being beaten and thrown over the side.
Photographs show two Israeli soldiers, one of them shot, being carried off with serious wounds.
This isn’t what you’d normally expect from “peace protesters” or “humanitarian activists”, even those armed merely “with a few knives”.
Tuesday, June 1st, 2010 at 7:29 AM | David Kuner
About those “peace activists” …
Public reaction to the deaths of ten activists aboard ships headed for Gaza on Sunday night has been extreme. People who support Israel and the values it stands for are standing with Israel in her time of need, while her foes are using this incident as a launching pad for spreading hatred towards the Jewish state.
In their haste to condemn Israel, there are many questions Israel’s foes are ignoring: Who organized the flotilla ships headed for Gaza and what was their intention in doing so? What happened on the Gaza flotilla? Who initiated the violence aboard the ships? Was Israel left with an option other than the one that left some of the activists dead and activists and IDF soldiers injured?
First things first. The organization which arranged the flotilla, IHH, has its headquarters in Turkey. IHH brings humanitarian relief to distressed areas in Muslim countries. It also supports Hamas and – according to a study performed by the Danish Institute for International Studies the IHH – has links to Al-Qaeda. Several years ago its headquarters were raided by Turkish forces, who found weapons, explosives, and instructions on how to make and plant IEDs, as well as phone records of a call to al-Qaeda operatives in Italy. Despite this, IHH insists that the flotilla headed towards Gaza was a peaceful mission to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza residents who are live under an Israeli blockade.
And what about that blockade? Israel has maintained a blockade on Gaza since Hamas’ violent takeover of the area in order to ensure that weapons are not smuggled into Gaza. But despite the blockade it is important to note that Israel allows trucks with essential supplies like food and medicine to enter Gaza every day. Additionally, Israel has allowed cement and other building material to enter Gaza, provided that the UN agency responsible for Gaza ensures that these materials will be used for civilian purposes and not to build underground bunkers for Hamas terrorists and weapon storage houses.
For weeks prior to the flotilla incident, Israel had been offering to bring IHH’s supplies to Gaza…
Read More » Comments (71) »Tuesday, June 1st, 2010 at 7:13 AM | Amichai Farkas
IDF: “Aid” mission is a provocation
Eight ships carrying hundreds of activists are making their way through the Mediterranean towards Gaza. The ships, which were organized by the Turkish group IHH together with other leftist European organizations, are said to be on an “aid” mission.
But Colonel Moshe Levi, commander of the Gaza District Coordination Office, told reporters that there is no shortage of food or equipment in the Hamas-ruled territory. Currently, Israel allows 100 trucks to enter Gaza each day. In the last few months these trucks have delivered over 1,200 tons of medicine and medical eqiupment, 155 tons of food, 2,900 tons of clothes and footwear, and approximately 3.85 million gallons of deisel oil.
It is clear that if there is a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, it’s not because of Israel. The “aid mission” on its way to Gaza seems to have a political agenda, not a humanitarian one.
Comments (3) »Wednesday, May 26th, 2010 at 2:18 PM | Amichai Farkas
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