Baruch is a native Israeli who is a Christian pastor and well known author.
ALSO NOTE THIS:
Baruch has also been just as vocal in criticizing the Israeli government on certain issues in his articles.
This article is taken from his Breaking News column at www.themaozweb.com
You are welcome to distribute it as widely as you wish. If you do, please quote www.themaozweb.com
Baruch Maoz
Gaza Flotilla
Update No. 10
June 4 2010
The Flotilla
Eight ships, including four cargo vessels, headed for Gaza in defiance of a combined Israeli and Egyptian closure on the territory, clashed with Israeli troops.
Israel acted according to International law, defending itself on the high seas against efforts to aid Hamas, internationally recognized as a terrorist organization which has openly avowed its intention to destroy Israel.
Both Israel and Egypt have imposed a closure on Gaza and cooperate in maintaining it. Egypt has carefully avoided the public eye over this affair.
Who Initiated the Flotilla
The recent attempt to break Israel and Egypt’s blockade of Gaza was initiated by a Turkish organization, Insani Yardim Vakfi (IHH), founded in Turkey in 1992, registered in 1995 and is presently led by Bülent Yildirim. London’s Daily Telegraph has described the IHH as “a radical Islamist group masquerading as a humanitarian agency.” According to the Wikipedia, several newspapers and credible international terrorism research institutions have indicate the organization’s links with Al-Qaeda and other global jihad networks. Henri Barkey, an analyst for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said that the IHH is, “an Islamist organization … deeply involved with Hamas.”
In 2006, the Danish Institute for International Studies published a report titled “The Role of Islamic Charities in International Terrorist Recruitment and Financing”. This report was authored by American analyst Evan Kholman. Kohlman claims that major international Islamic charities, such as IHH, provide genuine humanitarian relief, but their charitable activities actually function as a façade, and that all such are “charitable front groups that provide support to Al-Qaida.” Kohlman also blamed IHH for assisting the Iraqi Sunni insurgency that claimed so many Iraqi and American lives, and reminded his readers of a 1997 raid of IHH offices in Istanbul, following which the Turkish police found weapons, explosives and bomb-making instructions including “firearms, explosives, bomb-making instructions” and records of telephone conversations to an al-Qaida guest house in Milan.
The Turkish-based Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief (IHH), an Islamic charity that organized the flotilla, has publicly described its connections to Egypt’s radical Islamic Brotherhood and to Hamas. It has been a central actor in financing terror for Hamas worldwide. For example, a 2006 report by the Danish Institute for International Studies written by counter-terrorism expert Evan Kohlmann described the IHH as a front for funding terrorist organizations, and for recruiting and sending fighters to countries such as Afghanistan, Bosnia and Chechnya. Interrogation of passengers who were aboard the Marmara – the Gaza aid flotilla’s flagship – has revealed that the majority of those who attacked the Israeli troops have direct and indirect Global Jihad ties, and were recruited by the same IHH handler who organized the flotilla. A number stated prior to boarding the ship that, in so doing, they were engaging in world-wide Jihad. Some wrote their wills in radical Islamic fashion, expecting to die as martyrs.
The Openly Professed Goal
The passengers, claimed they were innocent citizens, peace activists, on their way to provide Gaza with needed supplies. Their conduct was anything but peaceful.There is no shortage of supplies in Gaza, as Israel weekly assists the import into Gaza of 15,000 tons of food and other supplies. Food, medicine and all basic supplies are allowed in without limit, and Gazan exports to Europe and the rest of the world assisted. A UN investigation confirmed there is no humanitarian crises in Gaza. Knesset Member Zuabi, an Israeli Arab parliamentarian who took part in the flotilla’s attempt openly stated that the purpose for which the flotilla was organized was specifically to force Israel to lift the blockade on Gaza.
A search of the vessel’s cargo has revealed a very small quantity of what could be termed humanitarian supplies, but extremely large caches of knives, axes, crow bar, metal and wooden clubs, chains and other cold weapons. Israel offered to allow the supplies into Gaza, subject to inspection. The offer was rejected, coupled with an explanation that the aim of the flotilla was to force liftage of the siege imposed on Gaza.
Israel imposed its part of the siege following repeated rockets attacks and aggressive intrusions from Gaza, peaked by an intrusion three years ago that ended with the kidnapping of Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, who has been held incommunicado ever since. Egypt imposed its siege due to the threat the extreme Hamas regime represents to the stability of Egypt. In the past, Israel offered to lift its siege of the Hamas-led regime in Gaza provided if Hamas released Shalit, brought an end to the attacks and ceased its weapons smuggling. Hamas rejected the offer, which still stands. The international recent demand that Israel lifts its blockade of Gaza is meant by its instigators to leave Israel defenseless.
The blockade is as legal, as justified and as necessary as was President Kennedy’s blockade of Cuba when Russia moved attack missiles onto Cuban soil.
The Boarding
The operation began at about 4:30 A.M. on Monday. The flotilla was ordered, according to international law, to change course. Following a final warning, while drawing near the largest of the vessels in the flotilla, the Mavi Marmara, stun grenades were thrown at the Israeli boats and men on the Mavi Marmara brandished various cold weapons. Nevertheless, the Israel soldiers were dropped onto the Mavi Marmara equipped with paint-gun rifles and merely their side arms for personal defense. Upon boarding, the seals discovered that women, children and the elderly had been ordered to the lower decks. The seals were confronted by dozens of activists, attacking in an organized manner.
As seen on a video documenting the takeover, the first four commandos to rappel onto the deck were attacked by activists with bars, axes and knives. The fourth commando, K., saw his team leader on the deck, with a professed peace activist holding a pistol, snatched from the team leader and pointing it to his head. K. jumped from the rope and shot the activist. This happened 20 seconds after the first soldier landed on the deck. The commandos cared for the wounded and secured part of the upper deck.
Two minutes after the incident began, following shooting by the activists, the naval commandos were permitted to use live ammunition. Prior to that, they had been strictly ordered to refrain from the use of lethal force, except in self defense. Post-operation assessments have the number of hard-core activists involved in the fighting at between 60 and 100. They were trained, experienced in hand-to-hand fighting (some of them did not retreat when shots were fired) and well equipped. An arsenal of cold weapons was found, including scores of knives and code books used to pass on orders from group leaders. The activists had prepared for the boarding by accumulating a large number of metal bars, and had brought materials and electric saws with them as they entered the ship. Obviously, they were preparing for a battle.
Six minutes into the operation, another force landed from a second helicopter. They discovered that three of their men were missing and began looking for them. A short while later dozens more soldiers boarded the ship. The search involved limited shooting on the bridge and on the lower deck, until the three men were recovered. They had been stunned and dragged into a cabin, apparently in an attempt to kidnap and bring them to Gaza, where Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit is held for the last three years.
The soldiers reported that the activists had fired on them during the confrontation. At least two Israeli commandos suffered gunshot wounds. After the incident, 9mm bullet casings of the kind ammunition not used by the seals were found on deck, as well as other ammunition cases and a sniper’s gun sight. The captain of the ship told the naval commando chief that activists threw guns overboard before the take-over was completed.
The wounded activists, together with wounded Israeli soldiers, were airlifted to Israel for treatment. Some of the activists were seriously injured, and their lives were saved by the immediate evacuation.
Go to the following link for a relevant video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzqcqNPHkk4&feature=popular
Peace Activists Anything But Peaceful
“The attack on the Israeli soldiers was beyond all doubt premeditated. The weapons used had been prepared in advance,” Israeli Ambassador, Aharon Leshno Yaar said, Tuesday June 1, in Geneva meeting. This was not a humanitarian mission but one of provocation and incitement. Flotilla passengers were made up of two kinds. Hiding among the majority of “useful fools“, naive enough to be used by the rest, was a specially recruited body of men. These carried no identification papers, were all able bodied, young and physically impressive. They were equipped with cold weapons(knives, clubs, axes, chains, hammers and other heavy metal tools), night vision equipment, military grade flack-jackets, and gas masks. They were organized in detachments and led by a body of trained men.
These men used knives and clubs as soon as the first Israeli soldiers boarded the ships, equipped with paint guns. They shot two soldiers, leaving the Israeli forces had no choice but to defend themselves. They were briefed in advance and divided into two main groups, the largest being posted on the upper deck. Some of this group’s members had stated that they had written their last will and testament.” (The Daily Telegraph, Richard Spencer, May 31 2010). Obviously, they had come with the clear intention to force Israeli troops to use lethal force.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, stated Tuesday that Israel deeply regretted the loss of nine lives, but defended the Israel Defense Forces soldiers and commended their restraint. “This was not a peace flotilla, but a violent force,” he said.
Boarding the Flotilla
According to international law, Israeli troops boarded the vessels in international waters, following prior warning. The commando troops were equipped with paint-gun rifles, indicative of their intention to avoid violence. They carried handguns but were ordered not to use them except in self defense.
Upon boarding the vessels, they were attacked with knives and metal clubs, fired upon and thrown from the upper to the lower deck. One soldier sustained severe head wounds. Still the soldiers showed restraint until, in response to the gun fire, they were ordered to use discriminate lethal force when necessary. They did so, aiming only at those who attacked them and whom they could not restrain by other means. Nine passengers were killed and some 50 wounded. The large number of casualties is indicative of the level of violence used against the soldiers.
The captain of the elite marines unit who carried out the operation said Tuesday. “We knew there would be resistance, but not at such a strong level,” said R., who was wounded in the mission. “They tried to kill us“, he said. R. was the second commando to be dropped from a military helicopter onto the Turkish-flagged ship. During the mission, a large mob of the activists hurled him from the upper to lower deck of the ship. From the Hospital in Haifa, R. said that every commando who entered the ship was met by a number of activists who charged the soldiers and physically attacked them.
An overwhelming majority of the activists in the vessels boarded by Israeli troops took part in what the soldiers later described as an attempted “lynch.” “I was the second to be lowered in by rope,” said R. “My comrade who had already been dropped in was surrounded by a bunch of people. It started off as a one-on-one fight, but then more and more people started jumping us. I had to fight against quite a few terrorists who were armed with knives and batons.”
R., an officer, said that he was forced to cock his gun and shoot once when one of the activists came toward him with a knife. “At that point, another twenty people starting coming at me from every direction,” said R. “They jumped at me and hurled me to the deck below the bridge. Then I felt a stabbing in my stomach – it was a knife. I pulled it out and somehow managed to get to the lower level. There, was another mob of people.”
The unit had seized control of the ship by that point, save for the lower-most level. “Another soldier and I managed to get out of there and jump into the water.” The commandos had been prepared for the mission, said R., and had taken into account that the activists might respond with violence. “We thought it would be passive resistance, maybe verbal, but not at such strength,” he said. Despite the tragic results, R. said he felt his soldiers had operated in a justified fashion. “We worked in an outstanding way, in accordance to the humane values instilled in us by the army,” he said. “We only turned our weapons against those who put us in danger.”
The Troop’s Behavior
Former US Ambassador to Mauritania Edward Peck, one of the strongest opponents of his country’s policy in the past few years, was on one of the ships. At a demonstration against Israel on Tuesday, May 31, he stated, “After the Israelis gained control of the ship, they didn’t harm anybody. They harmed some folks in getting on board as people tried to block them from taking over.“ Israeli President Shimon Peres also commended the troops, saying that “Any other army would have immediately used their guns. What we saw was an exemplar of troops who preferred getting hurt rather than hurting someone else. This is the epitome of humane behavior”.
One hundred and twenty of the 682 passengers were transferred Tuesday evening to the border crossing with Jordan, from where they will be returned to their home countries. Forty five were deported on Tuesday. Others have refused deportation and have been were jailed, or are being treated for injuries in a local hospital prior to deportation.
Blockade to Continue
PM Netanyahu has reiterated that the blockade of Gaza is necessary to prevent weapons from being smuggled into the Gaza Strip. “Weapons entering Gaza are being used against our civilians. Gaza is a terror state funded by the Iranians, and we must prevent weapons being brought into Gaza by air, sea and land,” he said.
Referring to an Antiguan-flagged ship that Israel intercepted off the coast of Cyprus in November 2009, he reminded his audience that, “On the Francop, making its way to Lebanon, we confiscated some 200 tons of weapons being smuggled to Hezbollah. Opening a naval route to Gaza will present an enormous danger to the security of our citizens,” said Netanyahu. “We will stand firm, maintain the naval blockade and inspect all incoming ships. It’s true that there is international pressure and criticism of this policy, but [the world] must understand that it is crucial to preserving Israel’s security and the right of the State of Israel’s to defend itself.”
Israel is not the only State blockading Gaza. Egypt has a land-border with the Hamas-led strip, and has refused to allow the free passage of goods into Gaza so long as Hamas rules there. All real humanitarian needs can, therefore, be met through the Egyptian border crossing. It is also allowed by Israel, who continues to provide Gaza with water, electricity, tax money, agricultural produce and the possibility to export goods to the rest of the world.
The Protests
Protests against Israel’s actions have broken out around the world, in many cases questioning the legitimacy of the Jewish State and calling for its “removal” (a threatening euphemism) from “Muslim land”. There have been no protests against Hamas’ repeated attacks, no public calls for the release of Shalit, no international protests against bus, coffee house and restaurant attacks, and no call issues for the Palestinians to make for peace. There was no international protest when Israeli towns and villages were attacked from Gaza for eight long years. But once Israel lifts a hand to defend itself, it is subject to international outrage.
A visceral hatred of the Jewish people has once again raised its ugly head. Jews are to lie down and be trodden upon. They have no right to be numbered as part of humanity. They must not defend themselves.
Another Ship on the Way to Gaza
Israel had offered to transfer all goods carried by the now-stopped flotilla, provided it was allowed to inspect the cargo and ensure to contraband was included. The flotilla organized refused, clearly stating their intention was not primarily to transfer aid but to break the blockade. Another ship, the Rachel Corrie, is now making its way toward Gaza, and an acceptable agreement between Israel and the ship’s organizers appears to be imminent.
Rachel Corrie will dock without incident at the Israeli port of Ashdod, where its cargo will be inspected and then transferred by Israeli authorities to Gaza, provided no contraband is included. As agreed with the ship’s organizers, any contraband found will be confiscated. The ship is expected to arrive by the weekend. The Rachel Corrie’s trip to Gaza is sponsored by two non-governmental organizations in Ireland and Malaysia. On board is Irish Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mairead Maguire and former United Nations deputy secretary-general Denis Halliday. Also on board are Malaysians from a group sponsored by the former prime minister of Malaysia.
The Corrie was to have been part of the original flotilla that was stopped at sea early Monday morning, but the Corrie was delayed due to technical problems. Its cargo is described as including cement and medical equipment, such as a tomograph (CT), toys and paper for printing. European diplomats and senior Israeli Foreign Ministry officials said Israel had been communicating with the organizers of the ship through the Irish government. The most recent messages from Halliday were said to be particularly encouraging.
Halliday said the ship intended to reach Gaza, but the 15 passengers aboard pledged that if the Israel Navy stopped them, they would refrain from the use of violence, and that they would obey instructions. Israeli Foreign Ministry officials said that talks between the parties have been good, and that the ship is likely to sail directly to Ashdod, offload its humanitarian cargo there and ensure its immediate transfer to the Gaza Strip. Israel has stated that its only concern is the safety and security of its own citizens, and that it wishes the citizens of the Gaza Strip well.
International Hypocrisy
Many in the world are presently engaged in a hypocritical outrage against Israel. How dare Turkey, with its history of massacres against the Armenians and its present determined conflict with the Druze, so much as raise an accusing finger against Israel? How dare the Republic of Ireland, in light of its past clandestine record or supporting terror in Northern Ireland, play the righteous critic toward Israel?
Which of the castigating countries would have acted differently in any way if they had reason to believe that a nearby country, openly committed to their destruction, was accumulating weapons?
How many protested when the USA blockaded Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crises? How many protested Britain’s forcible closure of Israel’s shores to Jewish refugees, fleeing the ravages of the Second World war and Nazi cruelty? Did France, Britain, America, Cuba or Argentina open their ports to the SS St. Louis, with its human cargo of 930 Jews fleeing Nazi Germany in 1946? (All 930 were forced back to Germany, where most of them were exterminated). How many demonstrated against the Taliban’s massacre of Muslims in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Iran’s brutal suppression of its loyal opposition, Turkey’s continued horror against the Kurds,North Korea’s repressive regime, Sudan’s systematic murder of its Christian citizens, or China’s persecution of religious groups? Why is Israel, only Israel, always Israel, criticized by the international community?
I have, on these pages and elsewhere, been highly critical of some of actions taken by some Israeli governments. But the boarding of and forcible arrest of those involved in this facade of peace-loving supporters of terrorism is nothing less than outright hypocrisy. Israel cannot, ought not and will not surrender its right and duty to defend itself against radical Islamic terrorism. Unless the West finds the courage to face reality, it will soon be engulfed by the same forces that threaten Israel.
We here, in Israel, carry this terrible “genetic disease”, effectively identified some in the middle of the 20th century by competent and famously humane geneticists in Germany. Tremendous efforts have failed to eradicate it. Our parents brought it with them to Israel and to many parts of the civilized world: we’re Jewish.
Remember the famous words Shakespeare puts into the mouth of his Shylock (here slightly modified to suit the occasion): “He hath disgraced me, and hindered me half a million; laughed at my losses, mocked at my gains, scorned my nation, thwarted my bargains, cooled my friends, heated mine enemies; and what’s his reason? I am a Jew.
Hath not a Jew eyes? hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions? fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer, as a Christian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed? if you tickle us, do we not laugh? if you poison us, do we not die? and if you threaten us, shall we not defend ourselves?”
We have no place to hide but behind the broad shoulders of our determination to live. We prefer to be alive yet unpopular than mourned – or unmissed.
What say ye?
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