1
2010
Israel: Rogue State or Peacekeepers?
An article by 
Credit: Reuters / Uriel Sinai
“Damn Israel”.
That’s what Turkish protesters have been yelling outside the Israeli consulate in Istanbul. Israel is accused of attacking a flotilla of vessels bringing aid to Gaza. Apparently 10,000 tonnes of aid was aboard. About 9 “activists” were killed in the incident.
Like most other news emanating from any Israeli-Palestinian conflict – truth is the first casualty. Even a brief perusal of a number of news sources shows contradictory and confusing information.
The Telegraph reports that:
One of the main groups involved in the flotilla [...] was the Turkish Foundation for Human Rights and Freedom and Humanitarian Relief, which is a radical Islamist group masquerading as a humanitarian agency.
Israeli authorities claimed that the group is “sympathetic to al-Qaeda”.
Here we run into the confusing world of geo-political name-calling. One man’s “freedom fighter” is another man’s “terrorist”. An aid worker becomes an activist and is then referred to as a “militant”.
The exact facts surrounding the incident are clouded. What exactly was in the “aid”? Who attacked who first? Why bring 700 “aid workers” to deliver aid? There are so many reports and even contrary video evidence – that it is bewildering.
Whatever the truth, one adage seems to remain true: violence never brings peace.
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About the Author: James Foster
James is currently doing undergraduate studies on 3rd-World development, and has a keen interest in ideas and initiatives that empower the poor and oppressed.
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The casualty figure Al Jazeera gives is 16, BBC WS says 9, but I’ve heard 19…
I think there’s much less doubt about what happened than you seem to be saying. The local librarian assured me today that she *knew* the flotilla was armed and out for Israeli blood. This is obvious nonsense, so where does she *know* it from? The Daily Telegraph is an unlikely source in New Zealand, where only American sources seem to have credibility for some insane reason.
If you heard the BBC sound file of the words of the Captain of one of the ships as it was being boarded, that would take away any credibility the IDF has in its claims that the “activists” attacked first!
Please just check the picture below in the link. You will see who were on the ships.
Israel attacked and murdered totally innocent people.
http://www.cnnturk.com/fotogaleri/turkiye/2010/06/01/israil.saldirisini.yasayan.bebek.dondu/8170.7/index.html#photoGal
Reminds me of SS Exodus in 1947. Trying to stop terrorist from reaching Palestine. Deja Vu
Scott, funny you should say that. I wrote a piece on the SS Exodus last night. It went live this morning and can be read as the article above this one on the home page.