By Sheera Frenkel, McClatchy Newspapers, June 9, 2010
JERUSALEM — As Israel ordered a slight easing of its blockade of the Gaza Strip Wednesday, McClatchy obtained an Israeli government document that describes the blockade not as a security measure but as "economic warfare" against the Islamist group Hamas, which rules the Palestinian territory.
Israel imposed severe restrictions on Gaza in June 2007, after Hamas won elections and took control of the coastal enclave after winning elections there the previous year, and the government has long said that the aim of the blockade is to stem the flow of weapons to militants in Gaza.
Last week, after Israeli commandos killed nine volunteers on a Turkish-organized Gaza aid flotilla, Israel again said its aim was to stop the flow of terrorist arms into Gaza.
However, in response to a lawsuit by Gisha, an Israeli human rights group, the Israeli government explained the blockade as an exercise of the right of economic warfare.
"A country has the right to decide that it chooses not to engage in economic relations or to give economic assistance to the other party to the conflict, or that it wishes to operate using 'economic warfare,'" the government said.
McClatchy obtained the government's written statement from Gisha, the Legal Center for Freedom of Movement, which sued the government for information about the blockade. The Israeli high court upheld the suit, and the government delivered its statement earlier this year.
Sari Bashi, the director of Gisha, said the documents prove that Israel isn't imposing its blockade for its stated reasons, but rather as collective punishment for the Palestinian population of Gaza. Gisha focuses on Palestinian rights.
(A State Department spokesman, who wasn't authorized to speak for the record, said he hadn't seen the documents in question.)
The Israeli government took an additional step Wednesday and said the economic warfare is intended to achieve a political goal. A government spokesman, who couldn't be named as a matter of policy, told McClatchy that authorities will continue to ease the blockade but "could not lift the embargo altogether as long as Hamas remains in control" of Gaza.
President Barack Obama, after receiving Mahmoud Abbas, the head of the Palestinian Authority, said the situation in Gaza is "unsustainable." He pledged an additional $400 million in aid for housing, school construction and roads to improve daily life for Palestinians — of which at least $30 million is earmarked for Gaza.
Israel's blockade of Gaza includes a complex and ever-changing list of goods that are allowed in. Items such as cement or metal are barred because they can be used for military purposes, Israeli officials say.
According to figures published by Gisha in coordination with the United Nations, Israel allows in 25 percent of the goods it had permitted into Gaza before the Hamas takeover. In the years prior to the closure, Israel allowed an average of 10,400 trucks to enter Gaza with goods each month. Israel now allows approximately 2,500 trucks a month.
The figures show that Israel also has limited the goods allowed to enter Gaza to 40 types of items, while before June 2007 approximately 4,000 types of goods were listed as entering Gaza.
Israel expanded its list slightly Wednesday to include soda, juice, jam, spices, shaving cream, potato chips, cookies and candy, said Palestinian liaison official Raed Fattouh, who coordinates the flow of goods into Gaza with Israel.
"I think Israel wants to defuse international pressure," said Fattouh. "They want to show people that they are allowing things into Gaza."
It was the first tangible step taken by Israel in the wake of the unprecedented international criticism it's faced over the blockade following last week's Israeli raid on the high seas.
While there have been mounting calls for an investigation into the manner in which Israel intercepted the flotilla, world leaders have also called for Israel to lift its blockade on Gaza.
At his meeting with Abbas, Obama said the Security Council had called for a "credible, transparent investigation that met international standards." He added: "And we meant what we said. That's what we expect."
He also called for an easing of Israel's blockade. "It seems to us that there should be ways of focusing narrowly on arms shipments, rather than focusing in a blanket way on stopping everything and then, in a piecemeal way, allowing things into Gaza," he told reporters.
Egypt, which controls much of Gaza's southern border, reopened the Rafah crossing this week in response to international pressure to lift the blockade.
Egypt has long been considered Israel's partner in enforcing the blockade, but Egyptian Foreign Minister Hossam Zaki said the Rafah crossing will remain open indefinitely for Gazans with special permits. In the past, the border has been opened sporadically.
Maxwell Gaylard, the U.N.'s humanitarian coordinator in the Palestinian territories, said the international community is seeking an "urgent and fundamental change" in Israel's policy regarding Gaza rather than a piecemeal approach.
"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," he said.
Hamas officials said that they were "disappointed" by Israel's announcement, and that the goods fell far short of what was actually needed.
"They will send the first course. We are waiting for the main course," Palestinian Economy Minister Hassan Abu Libdeh said in Ramallah, specifying that construction materials were the item that Gazans need most. Many Palestinians have been unable to build their homes in the wake of Operation Cast Lead, Israel's punishing offensive in the Gaza Strip in December 2008 and January 2009.
Israel said the cement and other construction goods could be used to build bunkers and other military installations.
Some of those goods already come into Gaza via the smuggling tunnels that connect it to Egypt.
(Frenkel, a McClatchy special correspondent, reported from Jerusalem. Warren P. Strobel and Steven Thomma contributed to this article from Washington.)
Showing posts with label Turkey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Turkey. Show all posts
June 5: Global Day To Break The Israeli Siege Of Gaza & Support Aid Flotilla
Sat., June 5, 2010
1:00 PM
Caterpillar
9000 Statesville Rd
Charlotte, NC
(protest at corner of WT Harris Blvd & Statesville Rd)
We will demonstrate in front of Caterkiller in solidarity with the Freedom Flotilla taking humanitarian aid to Gaza. This day also marks the 43rd anniversary of Israel's Six Day War in 1967 against Palestine & her neighbors.
The company which best exemplifies the interest of US corporations in the Occupation and the complete refusal to address human rights concerns in the region is Caterpillar. The most destructive weapon of the Occupation may not be an F-16 or helicopter gunship, but rather, an armor plated D-9 or D-11 bulldozer. These are the machines that have demolished thousands of homes, uprooted countless olive trees, and carved gaping holes in roads, making them impassable. Even when used in Israel’s colonial intrusions on the land through construction of illegal housing or bypass roads, CAT equipment is being used daily in the commission of war crimes and violations of human rights.
Call for Action: Global Day to Break Israeli Siege
Today we watched with horror as Israel committed its massacre against the Freedom Flotilla to Gaza murdering at least 9 unarmed civilians and leaving over 50 injured. The peaceful Flotilla carrying over 10,000 tones of humanitarian aid to Gaza and over 700 pro-Palestinian activists was attacked by Israeli Navy forces using live ammunition, teargas, grenades…etc.
The Israeli apartheid state has again acted in full impunity against international law and needs to be held accountable for the murder of unarmed civilians at sea and illegal barbaric piracy of civilian vessels in international water carrying humanitarian aid for Gaza.
In memory of the brave men and women who lost their lives on the Freedom Flotilla to Gaza, today we are calling all free citizens and people of conscience around the world to a Global Day of Action to carry forward Freedom Flotilla’s cause of breaking the Israeli siege of Gaza.
Let’s mark Saturday, 5th June 2010 as Global Day to Break Israeli Siege with protests and demonstrations in front of Israeli embassies and consulates all over the world. We call on you to join us on this day to demand in a global united voice, from our governments to:
- Take a stance against this horrid inhumanity committed by Israel against armless humanitarians and activists by following Turkey’s footsteps in shutting down Israeli’s consulates. Crimes against inhumanity are inexcusable and will not be welcome in our countries.
- Join the growing international Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement in cutting all political, economic, cultural and academic ties with Israel as a statement that crimes against humanity are inexcusable, unwelcome and will not pass unchallenged.
- Impose full sanctions against Israel until they fully abide by international law and UN conventions in relation to the siege in Gaza, occupation and apartheid in Palestine as well as the right of return of refugees.
- If you do not have an Israeli embassy in your country, protest in front of major corporations or institutions with economic, political, cultural or academic ties with Israel.
We stand today at an urgent and critical point in our global quest for justice and human rights. The brutal attack on activists aboard the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, resulting in at least 9 deaths and tens of injuries, proves that Zionism indiscriminately targets human rights advocates of all nationalities. We must not allow this massacre to pass quietly.
Please register your event on Global Day to Break Israeli Siege by sending us an email to support@breaksiege.com or by submitting your event details here.
Join the growing critical mass around the world with a commitment to the day when Palestinians are entitled to the same rights as any other people, when the siege is lifted, the occupation is over and the 6 million Palestinian refugees are finally granted justice.
For more information:
http://charlotteaction.blogspot.com
For more info on the Global Day To Break The Israeli Siege of Gaza:
http://www.breaksiege.com/
http://gazafreedommarch.org
1:00 PM
Caterpillar
9000 Statesville Rd
Charlotte, NC
(protest at corner of WT Harris Blvd & Statesville Rd)
We will demonstrate in front of Caterkiller in solidarity with the Freedom Flotilla taking humanitarian aid to Gaza. This day also marks the 43rd anniversary of Israel's Six Day War in 1967 against Palestine & her neighbors.The company which best exemplifies the interest of US corporations in the Occupation and the complete refusal to address human rights concerns in the region is Caterpillar. The most destructive weapon of the Occupation may not be an F-16 or helicopter gunship, but rather, an armor plated D-9 or D-11 bulldozer. These are the machines that have demolished thousands of homes, uprooted countless olive trees, and carved gaping holes in roads, making them impassable. Even when used in Israel’s colonial intrusions on the land through construction of illegal housing or bypass roads, CAT equipment is being used daily in the commission of war crimes and violations of human rights.
Call for Action: Global Day to Break Israeli Siege
Today we watched with horror as Israel committed its massacre against the Freedom Flotilla to Gaza murdering at least 9 unarmed civilians and leaving over 50 injured. The peaceful Flotilla carrying over 10,000 tones of humanitarian aid to Gaza and over 700 pro-Palestinian activists was attacked by Israeli Navy forces using live ammunition, teargas, grenades…etc.
The Israeli apartheid state has again acted in full impunity against international law and needs to be held accountable for the murder of unarmed civilians at sea and illegal barbaric piracy of civilian vessels in international water carrying humanitarian aid for Gaza.
In memory of the brave men and women who lost their lives on the Freedom Flotilla to Gaza, today we are calling all free citizens and people of conscience around the world to a Global Day of Action to carry forward Freedom Flotilla’s cause of breaking the Israeli siege of Gaza.
Let’s mark Saturday, 5th June 2010 as Global Day to Break Israeli Siege with protests and demonstrations in front of Israeli embassies and consulates all over the world. We call on you to join us on this day to demand in a global united voice, from our governments to:
- Take a stance against this horrid inhumanity committed by Israel against armless humanitarians and activists by following Turkey’s footsteps in shutting down Israeli’s consulates. Crimes against inhumanity are inexcusable and will not be welcome in our countries.
- Join the growing international Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement in cutting all political, economic, cultural and academic ties with Israel as a statement that crimes against humanity are inexcusable, unwelcome and will not pass unchallenged.
- Impose full sanctions against Israel until they fully abide by international law and UN conventions in relation to the siege in Gaza, occupation and apartheid in Palestine as well as the right of return of refugees.
- If you do not have an Israeli embassy in your country, protest in front of major corporations or institutions with economic, political, cultural or academic ties with Israel.
We stand today at an urgent and critical point in our global quest for justice and human rights. The brutal attack on activists aboard the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, resulting in at least 9 deaths and tens of injuries, proves that Zionism indiscriminately targets human rights advocates of all nationalities. We must not allow this massacre to pass quietly.
Please register your event on Global Day to Break Israeli Siege by sending us an email to support@breaksiege.com or by submitting your event details here.
Join the growing critical mass around the world with a commitment to the day when Palestinians are entitled to the same rights as any other people, when the siege is lifted, the occupation is over and the 6 million Palestinian refugees are finally granted justice.
For more information:
http://charlotteaction.blogspot.com
For more info on the Global Day To Break The Israeli Siege of Gaza:
http://www.breaksiege.com/
http://gazafreedommarch.org
Israel using 'pirated' footage to defend raid: media body
TurkishPress.com, June 3, 2010
JERUSALEM — The Israeli military's YouTube site is using 'pirated' footage confiscated from journalists on board a Turkish vessel in a bid to defend its botched flotilla raid, a press body charged on Thursday.
"The Foreign Press Association (FPA) strongly condemns the use of photos and video material shot by foreign journalists, now being put out by the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) spokesman's office as 'captured material'," a statement from the organisation said.
The complaint centres on footage shot on board the Mavi Marmara passenger ship, which was the focus of a deadly Israeli commando raid at dawn Monday, in which nine foreign aid activists were killed, provoking an international outcry.
One of the clips on YouTube, entitled: "Flotilla Passenger: I Want to Be a Shahid (Martyr)" shows a passenger being interviewed on the boat before the raid, by someone holding a microphone with 'Press TV' stamped on it.
The 23-second clip, in which the man talks about wanting to become a martyr, is not credited to any journalist or media outlet, and only described as "footage captured on the Gaza flotilla."
Several other unattributed clips shown on the IDF's YouTube channel also feature "footage captured on the Mavi Marmara" -- one of which shows activists hurling objects and hosing down troops trying to board the vessel from an assault craft.
"The material and/or equipment that was confiscated from journalists covering the events on the ships, should be returned to the owners and their media organisations," the FPA said.
"The use of this material without permission from the relevant media organisations is a clear violation of journalistic ethics and unacceptable," it said, warning media outlets to treat such material "with caution."
"We call upon the authorities to immediately clarify the source of the material."
The army had no immediate comment on the exact source of the footage, with a spokesman saying only it was "found" on board the Marmara after it was taken over by troops following the bloody operation.
Nearly 700 passengers were travelling on board the aid fleet, of which around 60 were journalists, press freedom group Reporters Without Borders said earlier this week, including correspondents from Al Jazeera, Al Arabiya and the Sydney Morning Herald.
Since Monday, the army has broadcast more than a dozen video clips on YouTube in a bid to back up its claim that the activists on the boat were not harmless peaceniks but Islamists bent on violence.
JERUSALEM — The Israeli military's YouTube site is using 'pirated' footage confiscated from journalists on board a Turkish vessel in a bid to defend its botched flotilla raid, a press body charged on Thursday.
"The Foreign Press Association (FPA) strongly condemns the use of photos and video material shot by foreign journalists, now being put out by the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) spokesman's office as 'captured material'," a statement from the organisation said.
The complaint centres on footage shot on board the Mavi Marmara passenger ship, which was the focus of a deadly Israeli commando raid at dawn Monday, in which nine foreign aid activists were killed, provoking an international outcry.
One of the clips on YouTube, entitled: "Flotilla Passenger: I Want to Be a Shahid (Martyr)" shows a passenger being interviewed on the boat before the raid, by someone holding a microphone with 'Press TV' stamped on it.
The 23-second clip, in which the man talks about wanting to become a martyr, is not credited to any journalist or media outlet, and only described as "footage captured on the Gaza flotilla."
Several other unattributed clips shown on the IDF's YouTube channel also feature "footage captured on the Mavi Marmara" -- one of which shows activists hurling objects and hosing down troops trying to board the vessel from an assault craft.
"The material and/or equipment that was confiscated from journalists covering the events on the ships, should be returned to the owners and their media organisations," the FPA said.
"The use of this material without permission from the relevant media organisations is a clear violation of journalistic ethics and unacceptable," it said, warning media outlets to treat such material "with caution."
"We call upon the authorities to immediately clarify the source of the material."
The army had no immediate comment on the exact source of the footage, with a spokesman saying only it was "found" on board the Marmara after it was taken over by troops following the bloody operation.
Nearly 700 passengers were travelling on board the aid fleet, of which around 60 were journalists, press freedom group Reporters Without Borders said earlier this week, including correspondents from Al Jazeera, Al Arabiya and the Sydney Morning Herald.
Since Monday, the army has broadcast more than a dozen video clips on YouTube in a bid to back up its claim that the activists on the boat were not harmless peaceniks but Islamists bent on violence.
Activists: We have funding for another larger Gaza flotilla
'Freedom 2' expected to set sail in coming weeks; Crew members of 'Rachel Corrie' ship, part of the first Gaza aid convoy, still determined to break Gaza blockade, saying 'we are a peaceful mission.'
By Avi Issacharoff and Reuters, Haaretz Daily Newspaper, June 2, 2010
The European Campaign to End the Siege on Gaza announced on Wednesday that they received funding for three more ships to be part of a new Gaza-bound flotilla dubbed "Freedom 2".
Dr. Arafat Madi, the head of the group, based in Brussels, said that they are planning a new Gaza flotilla comprised of many more ships and pro-Palestinian activists than the first one.
"Following the massacre done by the IDF forces in international waters, the world's calls for another flotilla are even more pressing."
The new flotilla is expected to set sail in the coming weeks, and the head of the group didn't discount the possibility of Turkey's semi-official participation in funding or organizing.
Meanwhile, the last aid ship of the first Gaza flotillais determined to finish its journey despite a naval blockade and expects to reach the point where Israeli commandos raided a flotilla later this week, a crew member said.
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 deadly raid on a Turkish-backed aid convoy between Friday evening and Saturday morning, crew member Derek Graham said.
The Israeli navy stormed a Turkish ferry leading a six-ship convoy on Monday, killing nine people in what authorities have said was self-defense. The killings have sparked a world outcry and condemnations of Israel.
"We had a meeting after what happened on Monday morning and we were more determined than ever to continue with our mission," Graham told Irish state broadcaster RTE on Wednesday.
He said he would inform Israeli authorities of the exact positions of the ship's passengers and urge those on board to remain peaceful.
"I will advise the passengers and crew to sit quietly with their hands shown so they cannot do like they did on Monday and claim we attacked them," he said. "We are a peaceful mission."
The Israeli government has offered to escort the vessel and deliver the civilian aid for it. It has said Egypt is prepared to do the same.
However Graham said he was concerned not all the cargo would be delivered. The ship is carrying medical equipment, school supplies and cement, a material Israel has banned from entering Gaza.
Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen, who described the vessel as Irish-owned, said it should be allowed to finish its mission.
.
By Avi Issacharoff and Reuters, Haaretz Daily Newspaper, June 2, 2010
The European Campaign to End the Siege on Gaza announced on Wednesday that they received funding for three more ships to be part of a new Gaza-bound flotilla dubbed "Freedom 2".Dr. Arafat Madi, the head of the group, based in Brussels, said that they are planning a new Gaza flotilla comprised of many more ships and pro-Palestinian activists than the first one.
"Following the massacre done by the IDF forces in international waters, the world's calls for another flotilla are even more pressing."
The new flotilla is expected to set sail in the coming weeks, and the head of the group didn't discount the possibility of Turkey's semi-official participation in funding or organizing.
Meanwhile, the last aid ship of the first Gaza flotillais determined to finish its journey despite a naval blockade and expects to reach the point where Israeli commandos raided a flotilla later this week, a crew member said.
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 deadly raid on a Turkish-backed aid convoy between Friday evening and Saturday morning, crew member Derek Graham said.
The Israeli navy stormed a Turkish ferry leading a six-ship convoy on Monday, killing nine people in what authorities have said was self-defense. The killings have sparked a world outcry and condemnations of Israel.
"We had a meeting after what happened on Monday morning and we were more determined than ever to continue with our mission," Graham told Irish state broadcaster RTE on Wednesday.
He said he would inform Israeli authorities of the exact positions of the ship's passengers and urge those on board to remain peaceful.
"I will advise the passengers and crew to sit quietly with their hands shown so they cannot do like they did on Monday and claim we attacked them," he said. "We are a peaceful mission."
The Israeli government has offered to escort the vessel and deliver the civilian aid for it. It has said Egypt is prepared to do the same.
However Graham said he was concerned not all the cargo would be delivered. The ship is carrying medical equipment, school supplies and cement, a material Israel has banned from entering Gaza.
Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen, who described the vessel as Irish-owned, said it should be allowed to finish its mission.
.
South Africa recalls its ambassador
Flotilla affair leads to further diplomatic fallout.
By AMIR MIZROCH, The Jerusalem Post, June 4, 2010
South African Embassy spokesman Judika Tladi told The Jerusalem Post that Ambassador Ismael Coovadia was being recalled to Pretoria so that the government can get a “better understanding” of what happened off the coast. He could not say when Coovadia, who was leaving the country this weekend, would return to Israel.
Tladi added that Pretoria was not planning on expelling Israel’s ambassador to South Africa or severing ties.
“This will not affect ties between the two countries. We have no intention of expelling the Israeli ambassador or cutting ties with Israel,” Tladi said.
Israeli Ambassador to South Africa Dov Sergev-Steinberg was summoned earlier this week to a meeting and given a demarche from Deputy Minister of International Relations and Co-operation Sue Van Der Merwe.
“This was done in order to register the Government’s strongest possible protest to the Israeli Government, for its unjustified military action and resultant loss of life inflicted by The State of Israel on a flotilla of ships carrying humanitarian relief supplies to Gaza,” Deputy International Relations Minister Ebrahim Ebrahim said in a statement to reporters on Thursday.
“The recall of Ambassador Ismael Coovadia for consultations is a way of protesting and a way of showing our strongest condemnation of the attack. This recent Israel aggression of attacking the aid flotilla severely impacts on finding a lasting solution to the problems of the region,” Ebrahim told journalists in Pretoria.
Some 3,500 protesters in Cape Town on Thursday called on South Africa to sever ties with Israel, E-tv, which is based in the city, reported.
South Africa’s diplomatic recall comes several days after Turkey recalled its ambassador to Israel. Turkish Ambassador Oguz Celikkol arrived in Ankara Thursday. Nicaragua cut ties with Israel earlier this week and Ecuador announced Thursday that it was recalling its ambassador as well.
Israel expressed its regret and disappointment at the South African move.
“Those who criticize Israel would be better advised to turn their criticism against the terror-supporting rioters from the flotilla, who have nothing to do with humaneness,” spokesman Yigal Palmor said in a statement.
Relations between Israel and South Africa are for all intents and purposes in a “freeze,” one diplomatic official said Thursday.
South Africa, a close trading partner with Iran, votes against Israel in almost every possible international forum.
“We try to strengthen ties and South Africa tries to break them. They are very much like Turkey now,” the official said.
Pretoria also joined the many in the international community calling for the naval blockade of Gaza to be immediately lifted.
“This siege, which has brought untold hardships to the ordinary people of Gaza and made their lives nightmarish, is unconscionable and unsustainable,” said Ebrahim.
Ebrahim also spoke of the government’s commitment to contributing towards peace in the region and ensuring an independent and viable Palestinian state.
“A long-term solution to the region can only be achieved through negotiation. What is needed is the creation of a climate of mutual trust and peace,” he said.
A low point in relations with South Africa was reached during Operation Cast Lead, when then-South African deputy minister of foreign affairs Fatima Hajaig unleashed an anti-Semitic tirade against Israel.
“In fact, no matter which government comes into power, whether Republican or Democratic, whether Barack Obama or George Bush, the control of America, just like the control of most Western countries is in the hands of Jewish money, and if Jewish money controls their country, you cannot expect anything else,” Hajaig was recorded as saying, to thunderous applause, at a pro-Palestinian rally in the Lenasia township outside of Johannesburg in January 2009.
South Africa had one citizen on board the flotilla. Gadija Davids, a journalist with Radio 786 in Cape Town, was aboard the Mavi Marmara , on which the deadly raid that killed nine activists occurred.
Radio 786 is a community radio station, whose license holder is the Islamic Unity Convention, The Mail and Guardian reported. The journalist was not hurt and is expected back in South Africa Friday.
In a statement released Thursday, the South African Jewish leadership said that while it is saddened over the deaths and injuries incurred during the Gaza flotilla incident, it nevertheless saw the South African government’s decision to temporarily recall its ambassador in response as “premature and inappropriate.”
“The relevant facts of the incident are not yet fully known; they will become so only after the investigation into its causes has completed its work and reported its findings to the international community,” the South Africa Jewish Board of Deputies said.
“In this regard, the leadership expresses its profound disappointment at the decision, as it goes against the South African way of engaging in dialogue and not jumping to conclusions before all the facts are known. The Jewish leadership regrets that South Africa is thus far the only country, aside from Turkey, to have taken so radical and disproportionate a step, despite not being directly involved in the matter,” the statement said.
By AMIR MIZROCH, The Jerusalem Post, June 4, 2010
“This was done in order to register the Government’s strongest possible protest to the Israeli Government, for its unjustified military action and resultant loss of life inflicted by The State of Israel on a flotilla of ships carrying humanitarian relief supplies to Gaza,” Deputy International Relations Minister Ebrahim Ebrahim said in a statement to reporters on Thursday.South Africa on Thursday announced that it was recalling its ambassador to Israel for consultations over the Gaza flotilla incident earlier this week.
“The recall of Ambassador Ismael Coovadia for consultations is a way of protesting and a way of showing our strongest condemnation of the attack. This recent Israel aggression of attacking the aid flotilla severely impacts on finding a lasting solution to the problems of the region,” Ebrahim told journalists in Pretoria.
Some 3,500 protesters in Cape Town on Thursday called on South Africa to sever ties with Israel, E-tv, which is based in the city, reported.
South African Embassy spokesman Judika Tladi told The Jerusalem Post that Ambassador Ismael Coovadia was being recalled to Pretoria so that the government can get a “better understanding” of what happened off the coast. He could not say when Coovadia, who was leaving the country this weekend, would return to Israel.
Tladi added that Pretoria was not planning on expelling Israel’s ambassador to South Africa or severing ties.
“This will not affect ties between the two countries. We have no intention of expelling the Israeli ambassador or cutting ties with Israel,” Tladi said.
Israeli Ambassador to South Africa Dov Sergev-Steinberg was summoned earlier this week to a meeting and given a demarche from Deputy Minister of International Relations and Co-operation Sue Van Der Merwe.
“This was done in order to register the Government’s strongest possible protest to the Israeli Government, for its unjustified military action and resultant loss of life inflicted by The State of Israel on a flotilla of ships carrying humanitarian relief supplies to Gaza,” Deputy International Relations Minister Ebrahim Ebrahim said in a statement to reporters on Thursday.
“The recall of Ambassador Ismael Coovadia for consultations is a way of protesting and a way of showing our strongest condemnation of the attack. This recent Israel aggression of attacking the aid flotilla severely impacts on finding a lasting solution to the problems of the region,” Ebrahim told journalists in Pretoria.
Some 3,500 protesters in Cape Town on Thursday called on South Africa to sever ties with Israel, E-tv, which is based in the city, reported.
South Africa’s diplomatic recall comes several days after Turkey recalled its ambassador to Israel. Turkish Ambassador Oguz Celikkol arrived in Ankara Thursday. Nicaragua cut ties with Israel earlier this week and Ecuador announced Thursday that it was recalling its ambassador as well.
Israel expressed its regret and disappointment at the South African move.
“Those who criticize Israel would be better advised to turn their criticism against the terror-supporting rioters from the flotilla, who have nothing to do with humaneness,” spokesman Yigal Palmor said in a statement.
Relations between Israel and South Africa are for all intents and purposes in a “freeze,” one diplomatic official said Thursday.
South Africa, a close trading partner with Iran, votes against Israel in almost every possible international forum.
“We try to strengthen ties and South Africa tries to break them. They are very much like Turkey now,” the official said.
Pretoria also joined the many in the international community calling for the naval blockade of Gaza to be immediately lifted.
“This siege, which has brought untold hardships to the ordinary people of Gaza and made their lives nightmarish, is unconscionable and unsustainable,” said Ebrahim.
Ebrahim also spoke of the government’s commitment to contributing towards peace in the region and ensuring an independent and viable Palestinian state.
“A long-term solution to the region can only be achieved through negotiation. What is needed is the creation of a climate of mutual trust and peace,” he said.
A low point in relations with South Africa was reached during Operation Cast Lead, when then-South African deputy minister of foreign affairs Fatima Hajaig unleashed an anti-Semitic tirade against Israel.
“In fact, no matter which government comes into power, whether Republican or Democratic, whether Barack Obama or George Bush, the control of America, just like the control of most Western countries is in the hands of Jewish money, and if Jewish money controls their country, you cannot expect anything else,” Hajaig was recorded as saying, to thunderous applause, at a pro-Palestinian rally in the Lenasia township outside of Johannesburg in January 2009.
South Africa had one citizen on board the flotilla. Gadija Davids, a journalist with Radio 786 in Cape Town, was aboard the Mavi Marmara , on which the deadly raid that killed nine activists occurred.
Radio 786 is a community radio station, whose license holder is the Islamic Unity Convention, The Mail and Guardian reported. The journalist was not hurt and is expected back in South Africa Friday.
In a statement released Thursday, the South African Jewish leadership said that while it is saddened over the deaths and injuries incurred during the Gaza flotilla incident, it nevertheless saw the South African government’s decision to temporarily recall its ambassador in response as “premature and inappropriate.”
“The relevant facts of the incident are not yet fully known; they will become so only after the investigation into its causes has completed its work and reported its findings to the international community,” the South Africa Jewish Board of Deputies said.
“In this regard, the leadership expresses its profound disappointment at the decision, as it goes against the South African way of engaging in dialogue and not jumping to conclusions before all the facts are known. The Jewish leadership regrets that South Africa is thus far the only country, aside from Turkey, to have taken so radical and disproportionate a step, despite not being directly involved in the matter,” the statement said.
Rachel Corrie' proceeding to Gaza
PAMELA NEWENHAM and MARY FITZGERALD, The Irish Times, June 3, 2010
An Irish-owned boat laden with humanitarian supplies is continuing its journey towards Gaza despite Israel’s insistence it will not allow any vessel break its blockade on the territory.
The MV Rachel Corrie , which has five Irish citizens aboard, including Nobel peace laureate Mairéad Corrigan-Maguire and former UN official Denis Halliday, is currently in Libyan waters some 640 km (400 miles) from Gaza.
The Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign tonight dismissed some reports that the boat was due to dock in Turkey and insisted it intends to maintain course with no stops until it reaches the Gazan port.
The boat, which is captained by Eric Harcis, is travelling at approximately 402 kms (250 miles) a day and expects to reach Gaza by Saturday. Film-maker Fiona Thompson from Dundalk and husband and wife Derek and Jenny Graham from Co Mayo are also on board.
“I spoke to Derek and he said they were going full throttle towards Gaza,” Freda Hughes from the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign said today. “Originally the boat was lagging behind the rest of the flotilla, now it looks like the one surviving member that might get to Gaza."
Ms Hughes said the activists would not accede to an Israeli request unloading the ship’s cargo at Ashdod port for transport to Gaza was not a deal the activists would strike with Israel, as the ship is carrying banned building materials including cement which would not be delivered.
“It’s bringing aid to Gaza that’s not allowed such as medical equipment and construction materials. If it docks in Ashdod, none of this aid will reach Gaza”.
Speaking from the ship today, Dennis Halliday said: “We want to emphasise that our aim is not provocation but getting our aid cargo into Gaza”.
We are calling on the UN to inspect the cargo and escort us into Gaza, he said, adding “we all remain in good spirits”.
Irish officials have been maintaining close contact with the 1,200-ton boat which was supposed to join the aid flotilla raided by Israeli commandos on Monday but was delayed due to mechanical problems.
“We have continued to make it clear to the Israeli government . . . that we want maximum restraint and we do not want any interception in international waters,” Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin said. “It has been a terrible week in terms of the loss of life and there is now an obligation on all involved to reduce tension . . . It is extremely important that we do not have a repeat of what happened earlier this week.”
Israel’s ambassador to Ireland, Zion Evrony, has said Israel does not expect any confrontation or violence when the MV Rachel Corrie approaches the exclusion zone.
The storming of the six-ship flotilla by Israeli commandos on Monday resulted in the deaths of nine activists and prompted renewed international criticism of Israel’s blockade.
An Irish-owned boat laden with humanitarian supplies is continuing its journey towards Gaza despite Israel’s insistence it will not allow any vessel break its blockade on the territory.The MV Rachel Corrie , which has five Irish citizens aboard, including Nobel peace laureate Mairéad Corrigan-Maguire and former UN official Denis Halliday, is currently in Libyan waters some 640 km (400 miles) from Gaza.
The Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign tonight dismissed some reports that the boat was due to dock in Turkey and insisted it intends to maintain course with no stops until it reaches the Gazan port.
The boat, which is captained by Eric Harcis, is travelling at approximately 402 kms (250 miles) a day and expects to reach Gaza by Saturday. Film-maker Fiona Thompson from Dundalk and husband and wife Derek and Jenny Graham from Co Mayo are also on board.
“I spoke to Derek and he said they were going full throttle towards Gaza,” Freda Hughes from the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign said today. “Originally the boat was lagging behind the rest of the flotilla, now it looks like the one surviving member that might get to Gaza."
Ms Hughes said the activists would not accede to an Israeli request unloading the ship’s cargo at Ashdod port for transport to Gaza was not a deal the activists would strike with Israel, as the ship is carrying banned building materials including cement which would not be delivered.
“It’s bringing aid to Gaza that’s not allowed such as medical equipment and construction materials. If it docks in Ashdod, none of this aid will reach Gaza”.
Speaking from the ship today, Dennis Halliday said: “We want to emphasise that our aim is not provocation but getting our aid cargo into Gaza”.
We are calling on the UN to inspect the cargo and escort us into Gaza, he said, adding “we all remain in good spirits”.
Irish officials have been maintaining close contact with the 1,200-ton boat which was supposed to join the aid flotilla raided by Israeli commandos on Monday but was delayed due to mechanical problems.
“We have continued to make it clear to the Israeli government . . . that we want maximum restraint and we do not want any interception in international waters,” Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin said. “It has been a terrible week in terms of the loss of life and there is now an obligation on all involved to reduce tension . . . It is extremely important that we do not have a repeat of what happened earlier this week.”
Israel’s ambassador to Ireland, Zion Evrony, has said Israel does not expect any confrontation or violence when the MV Rachel Corrie approaches the exclusion zone.
The storming of the six-ship flotilla by Israeli commandos on Monday resulted in the deaths of nine activists and prompted renewed international criticism of Israel’s blockade.
Martin calls on Israel to show restraint with Irish boat
MARY FITZGERALD and ALISON HEALY, The Irish Times, June 3, 2010
IRISH APPEAL: THE GOVERNMENT yesterday repeated calls for Israel to exercise restraint in dealing with an Irish-owned boat currently en route to Gaza to deliver aid in defiance of the Israeli blockade of the territory.
The Government has urged Israel to allow the MV Rachel Corrie, whose crew includes five Irish citizens, safe passage to discharge its cargo.
The activists onboard expect to reach the exclusion zone off Gaza by late Friday. Taoiseach Brian Cowen told the Dáil yesterday that the Government has been maintaining close contact with the 1,200-ton boat which was supposed to join the aid flotilla raided by Israeli commandos on Monday but had been delayed due to mechanical problems.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin said he had stressed the importance of restraint in conversations with Israel’s ambassador to Ireland Zion Evrony.
“We have continued to make it clear to the Israeli government ... that we want maximum restraint and we do not want any interception in international waters,” Mr Martin said.
“It has been a terrible week in terms of the loss of life and there is now an obligation on all involved to reduce tensions ... It is extremely important that we do not have a repeat of what happened earlier this week.”
Fianna Fáil TD Chris Andrews, whose plans to travel with the flotilla were scuppered when authorities in Cyprus did not allow him board the ships last week, said there were plans for another aid flotilla to Gaza.
“The events ... have only made people more determined,” he said, adding that if force were used against the MV Rachel Corrie , there “will be consequences for that”.
Green Party leader John Gormley said Israel’s attack on the flotilla showed it can act with “virtual impunity” because of “policy incoherence” at EU level.
“We don’t have that coherent response at a foreign policy level. That’s what’s required and if we had that I think Israel would listen.
“But at the moment they can act with virtual impunity because of the incoherence at European level and because they continue to get not just outright support but tacit support as well from the US.”
Mr Evrony has postponed an appearance in front of the Oireachtas Foreign Affairs Committee, which was scheduled to take place today. Committee chairman Dr Michael Woods said the postponement was “most disappointing”.
IRISH APPEAL: THE GOVERNMENT yesterday repeated calls for Israel to exercise restraint in dealing with an Irish-owned boat currently en route to Gaza to deliver aid in defiance of the Israeli blockade of the territory.
The Government has urged Israel to allow the MV Rachel Corrie, whose crew includes five Irish citizens, safe passage to discharge its cargo.
The activists onboard expect to reach the exclusion zone off Gaza by late Friday. Taoiseach Brian Cowen told the Dáil yesterday that the Government has been maintaining close contact with the 1,200-ton boat which was supposed to join the aid flotilla raided by Israeli commandos on Monday but had been delayed due to mechanical problems.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin said he had stressed the importance of restraint in conversations with Israel’s ambassador to Ireland Zion Evrony.
“We have continued to make it clear to the Israeli government ... that we want maximum restraint and we do not want any interception in international waters,” Mr Martin said.
“It has been a terrible week in terms of the loss of life and there is now an obligation on all involved to reduce tensions ... It is extremely important that we do not have a repeat of what happened earlier this week.”
Fianna Fáil TD Chris Andrews, whose plans to travel with the flotilla were scuppered when authorities in Cyprus did not allow him board the ships last week, said there were plans for another aid flotilla to Gaza.
“The events ... have only made people more determined,” he said, adding that if force were used against the MV Rachel Corrie , there “will be consequences for that”.
Green Party leader John Gormley said Israel’s attack on the flotilla showed it can act with “virtual impunity” because of “policy incoherence” at EU level.
“We don’t have that coherent response at a foreign policy level. That’s what’s required and if we had that I think Israel would listen.
“But at the moment they can act with virtual impunity because of the incoherence at European level and because they continue to get not just outright support but tacit support as well from the US.”
Mr Evrony has postponed an appearance in front of the Oireachtas Foreign Affairs Committee, which was scheduled to take place today. Committee chairman Dr Michael Woods said the postponement was “most disappointing”.
Israeli raid on Gaza Freedom Flotilla killed US citizen Furkan Dogan
Furkan Dogan – one of the activists killed in an Israeli raid on the Gaza 'Freedom Flotilla' and buried in Turkey today – was a US citizen. A friend, who had been on board the same ship, said Dogan was shot by five bullets.
By Scott Peterson, CSMonitor.com, June 3, 2010
Istanbul, Turkey - An American-Turkish dual citizen killed during an Israeli commando raid on a humanitarian aid flotilla was among activists buried in Turkey on Thursday.
Furkan Dogan was struck by five bullets shortly before dawn on Monday while atop the Turkish-flagged Mavi Marmara ship, according to friends who were on board at the time of the Israeli raid and attended the funeral for eight of the nine Turks who died.
The website of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan – who called the Israeli raid a "bloody massacre" and threatened to sever ties with Israel – listed Mr. Dogan's nationality as American. A State Department spokesman confirmed a dual US-Turkish citizen was killed and said the embassy in Turkey had offered consular services to the family.
Dogan’s death and his US citizenship were spoken of at the funeral.
“Furkan was my friend,” said Ali Yunusoalu, who went with Dogan for pre-dawn prayers on the top deck of the Mavi Marmar on Monday. Israeli naval boats soon approached the ship, he said, and then commandos dropped from helicopters.
“The soldiers started shooting and bombing” with bullets and percussion grenades, said Mr. Yunusoalu. “It was a big sound – you can’t hear a thing because of the noise.”
Dogan ran “everywhere” before he was killed, recalled Yunusoalu. “We were very afraid.”
Repercussions?
Though Dogan’s ongoing American ties appear to be limited, the death of a US citizen will make it harder for the Obama administration to side-step a diplomatic confrontation with Israel.
So far, the US public and government response has been more muted than those in Europe or the Middle East, with the administration caught between a powerful pro-Israel constituency at home, on the one hand, and growing anger among other allies, on the other.
But the death of a US citizen by violence usually prompts a response from the federal government and politicians.
After American activist Rachel Corrie was killed by an Israeli military bulldozer as she tried to stop it from destroying a Palestinian home in Gaza in 2003, senior US officials demanded a full investigation of the incident.
The results of the Israeli investigation into her death was that it was accidental, which drew charges of a whitewash from her supporters and her family, which this year sued the Israeli military over the incident. An Irish-owned humanitarian boat that is steaming towards Gaza and could challenge Israel’s blockade as soon as Saturday was named in her honor: the MV Rachel Corrie.
Dogan was not the only American casualty of Monday’s events. Shortly after Israel's raid on the flotilla, US college student Emily Henochowicz was struck by an Israeli tear gas canister and lost her eye while attending a pro-Palestinian protest at the Kalandia crossing, along the fence Israel erected between Jerusalem and the West Bank.
How they died?
Turkish media reported that initial examinations of the dead Turkish activists show they all had been killed by bullets, some fired at close range. A funeral for the ninth Turkish citizen killed was due on Friday.
Dogan’s apparent dual citizenship was not the only American connection weighing on some of several thousands mourners at the service at Istanbul’s Fatih mosque, where eight coffins draped with Turkish and Palestinian flags were lifted overhead to chants of “God is great!”
A few Turks also shouted: “Murderous United States of America.”
“No thanks to the Americans for supplying all arms to [the Israelis],” said Sakir Yildirim, a UK-British dual national who was also on the Mavi Marmara ship. He said he witnessed three or four deaths of activists within a few yards of him—one of the men shot in the forehead when the red light of a laser rifle sight alighted there. “All that stuff is American made.”
Staff writer Dan Murphy contributed from Boston.
By Scott Peterson, CSMonitor.com, June 3, 2010
Istanbul, Turkey - An American-Turkish dual citizen killed during an Israeli commando raid on a humanitarian aid flotilla was among activists buried in Turkey on Thursday.
Furkan Dogan was struck by five bullets shortly before dawn on Monday while atop the Turkish-flagged Mavi Marmara ship, according to friends who were on board at the time of the Israeli raid and attended the funeral for eight of the nine Turks who died.
The website of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan – who called the Israeli raid a "bloody massacre" and threatened to sever ties with Israel – listed Mr. Dogan's nationality as American. A State Department spokesman confirmed a dual US-Turkish citizen was killed and said the embassy in Turkey had offered consular services to the family.
Dogan’s death and his US citizenship were spoken of at the funeral.
“Furkan was my friend,” said Ali Yunusoalu, who went with Dogan for pre-dawn prayers on the top deck of the Mavi Marmar on Monday. Israeli naval boats soon approached the ship, he said, and then commandos dropped from helicopters.
“The soldiers started shooting and bombing” with bullets and percussion grenades, said Mr. Yunusoalu. “It was a big sound – you can’t hear a thing because of the noise.”
Dogan ran “everywhere” before he was killed, recalled Yunusoalu. “We were very afraid.”
Repercussions?
Though Dogan’s ongoing American ties appear to be limited, the death of a US citizen will make it harder for the Obama administration to side-step a diplomatic confrontation with Israel.
So far, the US public and government response has been more muted than those in Europe or the Middle East, with the administration caught between a powerful pro-Israel constituency at home, on the one hand, and growing anger among other allies, on the other.
But the death of a US citizen by violence usually prompts a response from the federal government and politicians.
After American activist Rachel Corrie was killed by an Israeli military bulldozer as she tried to stop it from destroying a Palestinian home in Gaza in 2003, senior US officials demanded a full investigation of the incident.
The results of the Israeli investigation into her death was that it was accidental, which drew charges of a whitewash from her supporters and her family, which this year sued the Israeli military over the incident. An Irish-owned humanitarian boat that is steaming towards Gaza and could challenge Israel’s blockade as soon as Saturday was named in her honor: the MV Rachel Corrie.
Dogan was not the only American casualty of Monday’s events. Shortly after Israel's raid on the flotilla, US college student Emily Henochowicz was struck by an Israeli tear gas canister and lost her eye while attending a pro-Palestinian protest at the Kalandia crossing, along the fence Israel erected between Jerusalem and the West Bank.
How they died?
Turkish media reported that initial examinations of the dead Turkish activists show they all had been killed by bullets, some fired at close range. A funeral for the ninth Turkish citizen killed was due on Friday.
Dogan’s apparent dual citizenship was not the only American connection weighing on some of several thousands mourners at the service at Istanbul’s Fatih mosque, where eight coffins draped with Turkish and Palestinian flags were lifted overhead to chants of “God is great!”
A few Turks also shouted: “Murderous United States of America.”
“No thanks to the Americans for supplying all arms to [the Israelis],” said Sakir Yildirim, a UK-British dual national who was also on the Mavi Marmara ship. He said he witnessed three or four deaths of activists within a few yards of him—one of the men shot in the forehead when the red light of a laser rifle sight alighted there. “All that stuff is American made.”
Staff writer Dan Murphy contributed from Boston.
Gaza responds to the freedom flotilla massacre
by Adam Horowitz, Mondoweiss, May 31, 2010
The following press release was sent out this morning:
We Gaza based Palestinian Civil Society Organizations and International activists call on the international community and civil society to pressure their governments and Israel to cease the abductions and killings in Israel’s attacks against the Gaza Freedom Flotilla sailing for Gaza, and begin a global response to hold Israel accountable for the murder of foreign civilians at sea and illegal piracy of civilian vessels carrying humanitarian aid for Gaza.
We salute the courage of all those who have organized this aid intervention and demand a safe passage through to Gaza for the 750 people of conscience from 40 different countries including 35 international politicians intent on breaking the Israeli-Egyptian blockade. We offer our sincerest condolences to family and friends who have lost loved ones in the attack.
By sailing directly to Gaza, outside of Israeli waters, with cargo banned illegally by Israel, such as the 10,000 tonnes of badly needed concrete, toys, workbooks, chocolate, pasta and substantial medical supplies, the flotilla is exercising international law and upholding article 33 of the Geneva Convention which clearly states that collective punishment is a crime against humanity.
The hardships of Israel's closure of Gaza have been well documented by all human rights groups operating, most recently by Amnesty International in their Annual Human Rights Report concluding that the siege has "deepened the ongoing humanitarian crisis. Mass unemployment, extreme poverty, food insecurity and food price rises caused by shortages left four out of five Gazans dependent on humanitarian aid. The scope of the blockade and statements made by Israeli officials about its purpose showed that it was being imposed as a form of collective punishment of Gazans, a flagrant violation of international law." The United Nations continuously states that only a fraction of the required aid is entering the Strip due to what it calls ‘the medieval siege’, with John Ging the Director of UNRWA in Gaza specifically expressing the need for the Flotilla to enter Gaza. The European Union’s new foreign affairs minister Catherine Ashton has just reiterated its call for, “an immediate, sustained and unconditional opening of crossings for the flow of humanitarian aid, commercial goods and persons to and from Gaza.”
The people of Gaza are not dependent people, but self sufficient people doing what they can to retain some dignity in life in the wake of this colossal man-made devastation that deprives so many of a basic start in life or minimal aspirations for the future.
We, from Gaza, call on you to demonstrate and support the courageous men and women who went on the Flotilla, many now murdered on a humanitarian aid mission. We insist on severance of diplomatic ties with Israel, trials for war crimes and the International protection of the civilians of Gaza. We call on you to join the growing international boycott, divestment and sanction campaign of a country proving again to be so violent and yet so unchallenged. Join the growing critical mass around the world with a commitment to the day when Palestinians are entitled to the same rights as any other people, when the siege is lifted, the occupation is over and the 6 million Palestinian refugees are finally granted justice.
The following press release was sent out this morning:
We Gaza based Palestinian Civil Society Organizations and International activists call on the international community and civil society to pressure their governments and Israel to cease the abductions and killings in Israel’s attacks against the Gaza Freedom Flotilla sailing for Gaza, and begin a global response to hold Israel accountable for the murder of foreign civilians at sea and illegal piracy of civilian vessels carrying humanitarian aid for Gaza.
We salute the courage of all those who have organized this aid intervention and demand a safe passage through to Gaza for the 750 people of conscience from 40 different countries including 35 international politicians intent on breaking the Israeli-Egyptian blockade. We offer our sincerest condolences to family and friends who have lost loved ones in the attack.
By sailing directly to Gaza, outside of Israeli waters, with cargo banned illegally by Israel, such as the 10,000 tonnes of badly needed concrete, toys, workbooks, chocolate, pasta and substantial medical supplies, the flotilla is exercising international law and upholding article 33 of the Geneva Convention which clearly states that collective punishment is a crime against humanity.
The hardships of Israel's closure of Gaza have been well documented by all human rights groups operating, most recently by Amnesty International in their Annual Human Rights Report concluding that the siege has "deepened the ongoing humanitarian crisis. Mass unemployment, extreme poverty, food insecurity and food price rises caused by shortages left four out of five Gazans dependent on humanitarian aid. The scope of the blockade and statements made by Israeli officials about its purpose showed that it was being imposed as a form of collective punishment of Gazans, a flagrant violation of international law." The United Nations continuously states that only a fraction of the required aid is entering the Strip due to what it calls ‘the medieval siege’, with John Ging the Director of UNRWA in Gaza specifically expressing the need for the Flotilla to enter Gaza. The European Union’s new foreign affairs minister Catherine Ashton has just reiterated its call for, “an immediate, sustained and unconditional opening of crossings for the flow of humanitarian aid, commercial goods and persons to and from Gaza.”
The people of Gaza are not dependent people, but self sufficient people doing what they can to retain some dignity in life in the wake of this colossal man-made devastation that deprives so many of a basic start in life or minimal aspirations for the future.
We, from Gaza, call on you to demonstrate and support the courageous men and women who went on the Flotilla, many now murdered on a humanitarian aid mission. We insist on severance of diplomatic ties with Israel, trials for war crimes and the International protection of the civilians of Gaza. We call on you to join the growing international boycott, divestment and sanction campaign of a country proving again to be so violent and yet so unchallenged. Join the growing critical mass around the world with a commitment to the day when Palestinians are entitled to the same rights as any other people, when the siege is lifted, the occupation is over and the 6 million Palestinian refugees are finally granted justice.
July is deadliest for US-led forces in Afghanistan
By ROBERT H. REID, AP, Google News, July 15, 2009
KABUL (AP) — July is shaping up as the deadliest month of the Afghan war for U.S.-led international forces, with the number killed already matching the highest full-month toll of the nearly eight-year conflict, according to figures compiled by The Associated Press.
As of Wednesday, at least 46 international troops, including 24 Americans, had been killed in Afghanistan this month, according to statements by the U.S. military and the NATO command. That matches the tolls for the two previous deadliest months — June and August of 2008.
The rate of deaths in July — about three a day — is approaching some of the highest levels of the Iraq war.
The latest reported deaths occurred Tuesday. They include an American soldier who was killed by a roadside bomb in eastern Afghanistan and two Turks, including a colonel, who died in a traffic accident in the north of the country.
In addition, six Ukrainian civilians and a 6-year-old Afghan were killed Tuesday when an Mi-6 transport helicopter crashed in southern Afghanistan. The helicopter's owners in the former Soviet republic of Modova said the helicopter was shot down, and the Taliban claimed responsibility.
In Washington, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell acknowledged that the U.S. has lost troops "at an alarming rate this month."
He told reporters that July has been "an extraordinarily difficult month for all of us who are so heavily invested in trying to better the situation in Afghanistan."
U.S. commanders have been expecting higher casualties since President Barack Obama ordered 21,000 additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan this year to curb a resurgent Taliban that threatens not only the U.S.-backed Kabul government but also Afghanistan's nuclear-armed neighbor, Pakistan.
There are about 57,000 U.S. troops currently in Afghanistan, and the number is expected to rise to at least 68,000 by the end of 2009.
Obama's decision has effectively shifted the focus on the global war against Islamic extremism from Iraq, where the United States still maintains about 130,000 troops. Only two U.S. service members have died in Iraq this month — both from non-hostile causes, according to the Pentagon.
With the increase in troops heading for Afghanistan, the U.S. has stepped up the tempo of combat operations. About 4,000 U.S. Marines this month launched their biggest offensive since 2001 to break the Taliban stranglehold on the southern province of Helmand, the center of the country's opium poppy cultivation and a major insurgent smuggling route from Pakistan.
British forces, meanwhile, have been locked in fierce combat with Taliban fighters in another part of Helmand. Britain's 9,000-strong military force has lost 15 soldiers this month — including eight in a 24-hour period. Those deaths have prompted national debate in Britain over whether the Afghan conflict is winnable.
For their part, the Taliban have increased their attacks, including deadly roadside or suicide bombings that rose by 25 percent in the first four months of 2009 over the same period last year. The U.S. command expects bombings to rise 50 percent this year to 5,700 — up from 3,800 last year.
Other deaths this month among international forces include four Canadian soldiers and one Italian paratrooper.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said this week that international troops in Afghanistan face a difficult summer of intense fighting. He has long called on other NATO allies, and European nations, to play a larger role in combat operations in Afghanistan and insisted that the Afghan army should provide larger numbers of soldiers.
The Afghan government provided only about 650 soldiers and police to join the ongoing Marine offensive in Helmand.
During a visit to Helmand on Wednesday, the outgoing chief of the British army, Gen. Richard Dannatt, said the international mission needs more soldiers to control territory won from the Taliban to give Afghans more confidence in security and wean them away from the Taliban.
"I have said before, we can have effect where we have boots on the ground. I don't mind whether the feet in those boots are British, American or Afghan. But we need more, to have the persistent effect to give the people confidence in us," Dannatt told BBC radio from the British base in the Helmand town of Sangin. "That is the top line and the bottom line."
The U.S. is sending thousands more soldiers to train Afghanistan's police and army.
Obama said Tuesday that he hopes military operations in Afghanistan can move to a different phase after the Afghan presidential election set for Aug. 20. Obama said he is looking for an exit strategy in which the Afghan army, police, courts and government take more responsibility for the country's security.
During last year's election campaign, Obama accused President George W. Bush of diverting U.S. resources from the war in Afghanistan, where al-Qaida's leadership planned the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in New York and Washington, to what he termed an unnecessary war to oust Saddam Hussein in Iraq.
KABUL (AP) — July is shaping up as the deadliest month of the Afghan war for U.S.-led international forces, with the number killed already matching the highest full-month toll of the nearly eight-year conflict, according to figures compiled by The Associated Press.
As of Wednesday, at least 46 international troops, including 24 Americans, had been killed in Afghanistan this month, according to statements by the U.S. military and the NATO command. That matches the tolls for the two previous deadliest months — June and August of 2008.
The rate of deaths in July — about three a day — is approaching some of the highest levels of the Iraq war.
The latest reported deaths occurred Tuesday. They include an American soldier who was killed by a roadside bomb in eastern Afghanistan and two Turks, including a colonel, who died in a traffic accident in the north of the country.
In addition, six Ukrainian civilians and a 6-year-old Afghan were killed Tuesday when an Mi-6 transport helicopter crashed in southern Afghanistan. The helicopter's owners in the former Soviet republic of Modova said the helicopter was shot down, and the Taliban claimed responsibility.
In Washington, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell acknowledged that the U.S. has lost troops "at an alarming rate this month."
He told reporters that July has been "an extraordinarily difficult month for all of us who are so heavily invested in trying to better the situation in Afghanistan."
U.S. commanders have been expecting higher casualties since President Barack Obama ordered 21,000 additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan this year to curb a resurgent Taliban that threatens not only the U.S.-backed Kabul government but also Afghanistan's nuclear-armed neighbor, Pakistan.
There are about 57,000 U.S. troops currently in Afghanistan, and the number is expected to rise to at least 68,000 by the end of 2009.
Obama's decision has effectively shifted the focus on the global war against Islamic extremism from Iraq, where the United States still maintains about 130,000 troops. Only two U.S. service members have died in Iraq this month — both from non-hostile causes, according to the Pentagon.
With the increase in troops heading for Afghanistan, the U.S. has stepped up the tempo of combat operations. About 4,000 U.S. Marines this month launched their biggest offensive since 2001 to break the Taliban stranglehold on the southern province of Helmand, the center of the country's opium poppy cultivation and a major insurgent smuggling route from Pakistan.
British forces, meanwhile, have been locked in fierce combat with Taliban fighters in another part of Helmand. Britain's 9,000-strong military force has lost 15 soldiers this month — including eight in a 24-hour period. Those deaths have prompted national debate in Britain over whether the Afghan conflict is winnable.
For their part, the Taliban have increased their attacks, including deadly roadside or suicide bombings that rose by 25 percent in the first four months of 2009 over the same period last year. The U.S. command expects bombings to rise 50 percent this year to 5,700 — up from 3,800 last year.
Other deaths this month among international forces include four Canadian soldiers and one Italian paratrooper.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said this week that international troops in Afghanistan face a difficult summer of intense fighting. He has long called on other NATO allies, and European nations, to play a larger role in combat operations in Afghanistan and insisted that the Afghan army should provide larger numbers of soldiers.
The Afghan government provided only about 650 soldiers and police to join the ongoing Marine offensive in Helmand.
During a visit to Helmand on Wednesday, the outgoing chief of the British army, Gen. Richard Dannatt, said the international mission needs more soldiers to control territory won from the Taliban to give Afghans more confidence in security and wean them away from the Taliban.
"I have said before, we can have effect where we have boots on the ground. I don't mind whether the feet in those boots are British, American or Afghan. But we need more, to have the persistent effect to give the people confidence in us," Dannatt told BBC radio from the British base in the Helmand town of Sangin. "That is the top line and the bottom line."
The U.S. is sending thousands more soldiers to train Afghanistan's police and army.
Obama said Tuesday that he hopes military operations in Afghanistan can move to a different phase after the Afghan presidential election set for Aug. 20. Obama said he is looking for an exit strategy in which the Afghan army, police, courts and government take more responsibility for the country's security.
During last year's election campaign, Obama accused President George W. Bush of diverting U.S. resources from the war in Afghanistan, where al-Qaida's leadership planned the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in New York and Washington, to what he termed an unnecessary war to oust Saddam Hussein in Iraq.
Lebanon: The Unknown Crisis - What is the USS Cole doing off the Lebanese coast?
Justin Raimondo, Antiwar.com, March 3, 2008
The USS Cole isn't engaged in a sightseeing tour of the Eastern Mediterranean: its sudden deployment just "over the horizon" near Lebanon – in tandem with two other warships – is a clear sign that the Americans are preparing for something big. That's what the Arab world seems to believe, anyway, if you listen to al-Jazeera and the chatter coming from other Arab news outlets. The Saudis, the Kuwaitis, and the government of Bahrain have all warned their citizens to get out of Lebanon, pronto. What's curious, however, is that, while it's big news in the Arab world, this "visit" by a guided-missile destroyer and accompanying flotilla has received scant attention in the U.S. news media. What's going on?
Well, it depends on what U.S. government spokesman is speaking on what day: "I would not specifically relate this to any kind of events in Lebanon or any place else," said State Department spokesman Tom Casey on Friday. However, according to White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe, it is "a show of support for regional stability." Responding to the accusations of Hezbollah, the Muslim resistance organization that sits in the Lebanese parliament, that this amounts to interference in Lebanon's internal political affairs, Johndroe averred: "I would express some of our own concerns with Hezbollah's actions."
These actions consist of opposing the government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, which has locked the opposition out of all governmental decisions, and effectively defending the country against the Israelis during the 30-Day War.
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Michael Mullen, was a bit blunter, responding to the question of whether the Cole was showing the flag off the Lebanese coast in order to influence the outcome of elections scheduled for March 11: "To say it is absolutely tied would be incorrect, although certainly we are aware elections are due there at some point in time." Those elections have already been postponed on no less than 15 occasions, and no one is betting that they'll come off this time – although that is certainly the result desired by the U.S. Department of State. The idea is that the poll will strengthen the Siniora government and lay Hezbollah low, but this latest move – a provocation, really – is almost guaranteed to have the opposite effect. So much so that Siniora was forced to distance himself from the Americans, denying that the ships were in Lebanon's territorial waters and declaring that his government did "not ask anyone to send warships."
Everyone knows which government asked Washington for the warships: the same one that is now slaughtering children in Gaza and has threatened the besieged city with an Arab holocaust, the government whose deputy defense minister recently warned that the response to continued rocket attacks would be a Palestinian "shoah." The Palestinians, he brayed on state radio, are "bringing upon themselves a greater shoah because we will use all our strength in every way we deem appropriate, whether in air strikes or on the ground."
The Lobby's line is that the whole thing is a misunderstanding based on a mistranslation. National Review's Tom Gross espies a radical difference between "a shoah" and "the Shoah." "It is like confusing a 'white house' with 'The White House,'" he writes – and furthermore, this was no innocent mistake. The whole brouhaha, in his considered opinion, is evidence of an anti-Semitic conspiracy by major American news organizations.
Such an interpretation can only succeed, however, if we wear the special blinders that the Lobby would have us don, which blank out the context in which this rhetoric is being uttered. The use of the word "shoah" against the backdrop of a major military operation in Gaza – one that seems to be escalating in ferocity – amounts to the very real threat of genocide. Any alternative explanation seems on the same factual and moral plane as garden-variety Holocaust denial. If, God forbid, the Israelis ever carry out their deputy defense minister's threat, these folks will morph into little David Irvings, busily spinning out heavily footnoted disquisitions on why it never happened.
Gaza, however, is just one prong in the U.S.-Israeli "surge." The main immediate target is Syria, not Gaza or Lebanon – and, standing behind them, Iran. The Americans and their Israeli allies have tried every sort of provocation to stir the Lebanese pot and lure the Syrians back into Lebanon, where a proxy war is brewing. With the Americans supplying cover by sea and air, the IDF may get revenge for its ignominious defeat in the 30-Day War by taking out Hezbollah once and for all, and then hitting Damascus – or so the most optimistic scenario would have it.
The USS Cole and accompanying warships are not merely making a strong gesture; they have also effectively blockaded the Lebanese coast and will surely be intercepting any arms coming from Turkey or elsewhere, readying the battleground for the Israeli incursion.
The first stages of the coming conflict with Iran will be fought as a proxy war in Lebanon against Hezbollah and Syria, as anticipated in this space on at least one occasion. In terms of predictive ability, however, my prognosis was hardly Nostradamus-like.
After all, the Israelis and their American sympathizers long ago set down in writing, and in plain English, the plan to do just what they are now doing. One need only consult "A Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm," written in 1996 by an influential group of future Bush administration officials as advice for then-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to make sense of recent U.S.-Israeli war moves.
While "A Clean Break" famously laid out a strategic rationale for deposing Saddam Hussein, it also offered a blueprint for "securing the northern border" that parallels what is happening and has been happening since the launching of the 30-Day War:
"Syria challenges Israel on Lebanese soil. An effective approach, and one with which Americans can sympathize, would be if Israel seized the strategic initiative along its northern borders by engaging Hizballah, Syria, and Iran, as the principal agents of aggression in Lebanon, including by: [1] paralleling Syria's behavior by establishing the precedent that Syrian territory is not immune to attacks emanating from Lebanon by Israeli proxy forces, [2] striking Syrian military targets in Lebanon, and should that prove insufficient, striking at select targets in Syria proper."
That's what's on the agenda of the radical Likud wing of the Israeli ruling elite, as represented in America as well as in Israel. The dogs of war are straining at the leash.
The War Party has never been shy about proclaiming its intentions. If only its ostensible opponents were half as bold. Yet we hear nothing – nothing – from either Barack Obama (or Hillary "Bring Them Home" Clinton) about the most significant and ominous American military mobilization since U.S. warships engaged in a massive show of force off the Iranian coast around this time last year. Of course, we don't have to ask John McCain where he stands on this deployment: he's for it. What the sudden outbreak of a major war in the Middle East will do for McCain's presidential prospects – currently rather dim – is a factor that is undoubtedly being considered by this White House.
Both Obama and Clinton have been mum on the Gaza shoah, and the coming storm in Lebanon seems not to have fazed them. Clinton can be relied on to keep her mouth shut, what with her support from the hawkish wing of the party. What we do know about Obama is that he, like Hillary, supported the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, albeit not with a degree of enthusiasm sufficient to impress the Lobby. However, if that invasion was okay, then why not the Gaza sweep? And why not invade Lebanon again? According to the logic of Obama's past positions, one would expect him to hop aboard the "Clean Break" express and ride it all the way to World War III (or is that IV?). But I guess we won't know until war breaks out and he gets that 3 a.m. call – from his campaign manager.
None of this is inevitable, of course. We don't have to wind up in a proxy war with Iran in the Levant, a conflict that could escalate until the entire region is aflame. Public pressure on Congress to hold hearings regarding the looming Lebanon intervention, including an inquiry into U.S. covert meddling in Lebanon's internal politics, would focus attention on the issue. We also need to pressure the candidates to at least issue statements on this rapidly developing situation.
I suppose we'll have to wait until the media declares this an official "crisis," but by that time the shooting will have already started – far too late to do anything about it. Which suits Obama and Clinton just fine – and, ultimately, serves McCain best of all.
The USS Cole isn't engaged in a sightseeing tour of the Eastern Mediterranean: its sudden deployment just "over the horizon" near Lebanon – in tandem with two other warships – is a clear sign that the Americans are preparing for something big. That's what the Arab world seems to believe, anyway, if you listen to al-Jazeera and the chatter coming from other Arab news outlets. The Saudis, the Kuwaitis, and the government of Bahrain have all warned their citizens to get out of Lebanon, pronto. What's curious, however, is that, while it's big news in the Arab world, this "visit" by a guided-missile destroyer and accompanying flotilla has received scant attention in the U.S. news media. What's going on?
Well, it depends on what U.S. government spokesman is speaking on what day: "I would not specifically relate this to any kind of events in Lebanon or any place else," said State Department spokesman Tom Casey on Friday. However, according to White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe, it is "a show of support for regional stability." Responding to the accusations of Hezbollah, the Muslim resistance organization that sits in the Lebanese parliament, that this amounts to interference in Lebanon's internal political affairs, Johndroe averred: "I would express some of our own concerns with Hezbollah's actions."
These actions consist of opposing the government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, which has locked the opposition out of all governmental decisions, and effectively defending the country against the Israelis during the 30-Day War.
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Michael Mullen, was a bit blunter, responding to the question of whether the Cole was showing the flag off the Lebanese coast in order to influence the outcome of elections scheduled for March 11: "To say it is absolutely tied would be incorrect, although certainly we are aware elections are due there at some point in time." Those elections have already been postponed on no less than 15 occasions, and no one is betting that they'll come off this time – although that is certainly the result desired by the U.S. Department of State. The idea is that the poll will strengthen the Siniora government and lay Hezbollah low, but this latest move – a provocation, really – is almost guaranteed to have the opposite effect. So much so that Siniora was forced to distance himself from the Americans, denying that the ships were in Lebanon's territorial waters and declaring that his government did "not ask anyone to send warships."
Everyone knows which government asked Washington for the warships: the same one that is now slaughtering children in Gaza and has threatened the besieged city with an Arab holocaust, the government whose deputy defense minister recently warned that the response to continued rocket attacks would be a Palestinian "shoah." The Palestinians, he brayed on state radio, are "bringing upon themselves a greater shoah because we will use all our strength in every way we deem appropriate, whether in air strikes or on the ground."
The Lobby's line is that the whole thing is a misunderstanding based on a mistranslation. National Review's Tom Gross espies a radical difference between "a shoah" and "the Shoah." "It is like confusing a 'white house' with 'The White House,'" he writes – and furthermore, this was no innocent mistake. The whole brouhaha, in his considered opinion, is evidence of an anti-Semitic conspiracy by major American news organizations.
Such an interpretation can only succeed, however, if we wear the special blinders that the Lobby would have us don, which blank out the context in which this rhetoric is being uttered. The use of the word "shoah" against the backdrop of a major military operation in Gaza – one that seems to be escalating in ferocity – amounts to the very real threat of genocide. Any alternative explanation seems on the same factual and moral plane as garden-variety Holocaust denial. If, God forbid, the Israelis ever carry out their deputy defense minister's threat, these folks will morph into little David Irvings, busily spinning out heavily footnoted disquisitions on why it never happened.
Gaza, however, is just one prong in the U.S.-Israeli "surge." The main immediate target is Syria, not Gaza or Lebanon – and, standing behind them, Iran. The Americans and their Israeli allies have tried every sort of provocation to stir the Lebanese pot and lure the Syrians back into Lebanon, where a proxy war is brewing. With the Americans supplying cover by sea and air, the IDF may get revenge for its ignominious defeat in the 30-Day War by taking out Hezbollah once and for all, and then hitting Damascus – or so the most optimistic scenario would have it.
The USS Cole and accompanying warships are not merely making a strong gesture; they have also effectively blockaded the Lebanese coast and will surely be intercepting any arms coming from Turkey or elsewhere, readying the battleground for the Israeli incursion.
The first stages of the coming conflict with Iran will be fought as a proxy war in Lebanon against Hezbollah and Syria, as anticipated in this space on at least one occasion. In terms of predictive ability, however, my prognosis was hardly Nostradamus-like.
After all, the Israelis and their American sympathizers long ago set down in writing, and in plain English, the plan to do just what they are now doing. One need only consult "A Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm," written in 1996 by an influential group of future Bush administration officials as advice for then-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to make sense of recent U.S.-Israeli war moves.
While "A Clean Break" famously laid out a strategic rationale for deposing Saddam Hussein, it also offered a blueprint for "securing the northern border" that parallels what is happening and has been happening since the launching of the 30-Day War:
"Syria challenges Israel on Lebanese soil. An effective approach, and one with which Americans can sympathize, would be if Israel seized the strategic initiative along its northern borders by engaging Hizballah, Syria, and Iran, as the principal agents of aggression in Lebanon, including by: [1] paralleling Syria's behavior by establishing the precedent that Syrian territory is not immune to attacks emanating from Lebanon by Israeli proxy forces, [2] striking Syrian military targets in Lebanon, and should that prove insufficient, striking at select targets in Syria proper."
That's what's on the agenda of the radical Likud wing of the Israeli ruling elite, as represented in America as well as in Israel. The dogs of war are straining at the leash.
The War Party has never been shy about proclaiming its intentions. If only its ostensible opponents were half as bold. Yet we hear nothing – nothing – from either Barack Obama (or Hillary "Bring Them Home" Clinton) about the most significant and ominous American military mobilization since U.S. warships engaged in a massive show of force off the Iranian coast around this time last year. Of course, we don't have to ask John McCain where he stands on this deployment: he's for it. What the sudden outbreak of a major war in the Middle East will do for McCain's presidential prospects – currently rather dim – is a factor that is undoubtedly being considered by this White House.
Both Obama and Clinton have been mum on the Gaza shoah, and the coming storm in Lebanon seems not to have fazed them. Clinton can be relied on to keep her mouth shut, what with her support from the hawkish wing of the party. What we do know about Obama is that he, like Hillary, supported the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, albeit not with a degree of enthusiasm sufficient to impress the Lobby. However, if that invasion was okay, then why not the Gaza sweep? And why not invade Lebanon again? According to the logic of Obama's past positions, one would expect him to hop aboard the "Clean Break" express and ride it all the way to World War III (or is that IV?). But I guess we won't know until war breaks out and he gets that 3 a.m. call – from his campaign manager.
None of this is inevitable, of course. We don't have to wind up in a proxy war with Iran in the Levant, a conflict that could escalate until the entire region is aflame. Public pressure on Congress to hold hearings regarding the looming Lebanon intervention, including an inquiry into U.S. covert meddling in Lebanon's internal politics, would focus attention on the issue. We also need to pressure the candidates to at least issue statements on this rapidly developing situation.
I suppose we'll have to wait until the media declares this an official "crisis," but by that time the shooting will have already started – far too late to do anything about it. Which suits Obama and Clinton just fine – and, ultimately, serves McCain best of all.
Hamas is pushing for a cease-fire
KHALED ABU TOAMEH, The Jerusalem Post, March 3, 2008
Beleaguered Hamas leaders on Sunday signaled their willingness to reach a cease-fire with Israel, sources close to Hamas said.
The sources said Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh sent urgent messages to the leaders of Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia urging them to work toward ending the IDF military operations in the Gaza Strip.
The sources told The Jerusalem Post that Haniyeh and other Hamas leaders also appealed to Turkey to intervene and convince Israel to halt its offensive.
Hamas's apparent readiness to reach a cease-fire with Israel is seen by some Palestinians as evidence of the Islamist movement's concern that it may lose control over the Gaza Strip should the military operations continue.
"Hamas is nervous," remarked a senior Palestinian Authority official in Ramallah. "All their leaders have gone underground. They didn't expect such a massive attack from Israel."
Other Palestinians, however, said Hamas's call for a cease-fire at this stage of the fighting was aimed at showing that Israel had failed in achieving its primary goal of toppling the Hamas regime.
Taher a-Nunu, a spokesman for the Hamas government, confirmed that the Hamas leadership had sought the intervention of a number of Arab countries in reaching a cease-fire with Israel.
He said Hamas had also invited Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa to visit the Gaza Strip in solidarity with the Palestinians.
"Hamas wants to end the genocide and holocaust in the Gaza Strip," the spokesman said. "We have urged a number of Arab and Muslim leaders to exert pressure on the Americans and Europeans to save the Palestinians."
He also accused Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas of providing Israel with an excuse to attack the Gaza Strip by declaring that al-Qaida had established bases there. "Some of the leaders of the Mukata [presidential compound] in Ramallah gave Israel a green light to launch its aggression on the Gaza Strip," he added. "The Americans have also given their blessing to the attack."
Hamas leaders and spokesmen expressed deep concern over the failure of the Arab and Islamic governments to put pressure on Israel and the US to stop the IDF operations. "The Arabs and Muslims are not only sleeping," said a Hamas official. "They are actually partners to the Israeli aggression."
He said Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Jordan's King Abdullah II were the only Arab leaders who were actively working toward reaching a cease-fire between Hamas and Israel.
The Egyptians and Jordanians are clearly worried that the violence in the Gaza Strip would trigger unrest in their countries. Over the weekend, thousands of Palestinians, Jordanians and Egyptians demonstrated in protest against the IDF raids and the "continued silence" of the Arab leaders.
Mubarak on Sunday decided to reopen the Rafah border crossing to allow Palestinians to be brought into Egypt for medical treatment. Some 200 Palestinians were transferred immediately from the Gaza Strip to different hospitals in Egypt. Jordan also decided to open its hospitals to Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile, PA officials in Ramallah voiced concern over growing protests in the West Bank in the aftermath of the IDF military operations. The officials warned that the ongoing offensive and the growing number of casualties in the Gaza Strip could spark a "new intifada" in the West Bank.
According to a PA official, Palestinian policemen refused Sunday to confront demonstrators in many West Bank cities out of fear of being branded "collaborators" with Israel. "The Israeli military escalation is weakening the Palestinian Authority," the official warned. "Israel is rallying more and more Palestinians behind Hamas."
Abbas, who has been facing heavy criticism from Hamas and many Arabs, on Sunday succumbed to pressure to halt peace talks with Israel. His decision also received the backing of the Fatah and PLO leadership.
Nabil Abu Rudaineh, a spokesman for Abbas, said the PA president decided to suspend negotiations and "all forms of contacts on all levels [with Israel] because it has become meaningless in the wake of the continued Israeli aggression."
Beleaguered Hamas leaders on Sunday signaled their willingness to reach a cease-fire with Israel, sources close to Hamas said.
The sources said Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh sent urgent messages to the leaders of Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia urging them to work toward ending the IDF military operations in the Gaza Strip.
The sources told The Jerusalem Post that Haniyeh and other Hamas leaders also appealed to Turkey to intervene and convince Israel to halt its offensive.
Hamas's apparent readiness to reach a cease-fire with Israel is seen by some Palestinians as evidence of the Islamist movement's concern that it may lose control over the Gaza Strip should the military operations continue.
"Hamas is nervous," remarked a senior Palestinian Authority official in Ramallah. "All their leaders have gone underground. They didn't expect such a massive attack from Israel."
Other Palestinians, however, said Hamas's call for a cease-fire at this stage of the fighting was aimed at showing that Israel had failed in achieving its primary goal of toppling the Hamas regime.
Taher a-Nunu, a spokesman for the Hamas government, confirmed that the Hamas leadership had sought the intervention of a number of Arab countries in reaching a cease-fire with Israel.
He said Hamas had also invited Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa to visit the Gaza Strip in solidarity with the Palestinians.
"Hamas wants to end the genocide and holocaust in the Gaza Strip," the spokesman said. "We have urged a number of Arab and Muslim leaders to exert pressure on the Americans and Europeans to save the Palestinians."
He also accused Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas of providing Israel with an excuse to attack the Gaza Strip by declaring that al-Qaida had established bases there. "Some of the leaders of the Mukata [presidential compound] in Ramallah gave Israel a green light to launch its aggression on the Gaza Strip," he added. "The Americans have also given their blessing to the attack."
Hamas leaders and spokesmen expressed deep concern over the failure of the Arab and Islamic governments to put pressure on Israel and the US to stop the IDF operations. "The Arabs and Muslims are not only sleeping," said a Hamas official. "They are actually partners to the Israeli aggression."
He said Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Jordan's King Abdullah II were the only Arab leaders who were actively working toward reaching a cease-fire between Hamas and Israel.
The Egyptians and Jordanians are clearly worried that the violence in the Gaza Strip would trigger unrest in their countries. Over the weekend, thousands of Palestinians, Jordanians and Egyptians demonstrated in protest against the IDF raids and the "continued silence" of the Arab leaders.
Mubarak on Sunday decided to reopen the Rafah border crossing to allow Palestinians to be brought into Egypt for medical treatment. Some 200 Palestinians were transferred immediately from the Gaza Strip to different hospitals in Egypt. Jordan also decided to open its hospitals to Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile, PA officials in Ramallah voiced concern over growing protests in the West Bank in the aftermath of the IDF military operations. The officials warned that the ongoing offensive and the growing number of casualties in the Gaza Strip could spark a "new intifada" in the West Bank.
According to a PA official, Palestinian policemen refused Sunday to confront demonstrators in many West Bank cities out of fear of being branded "collaborators" with Israel. "The Israeli military escalation is weakening the Palestinian Authority," the official warned. "Israel is rallying more and more Palestinians behind Hamas."
Abbas, who has been facing heavy criticism from Hamas and many Arabs, on Sunday succumbed to pressure to halt peace talks with Israel. His decision also received the backing of the Fatah and PLO leadership.
Nabil Abu Rudaineh, a spokesman for Abbas, said the PA president decided to suspend negotiations and "all forms of contacts on all levels [with Israel] because it has become meaningless in the wake of the continued Israeli aggression."
Turkey's Anti-War Diva
By PELIN TURGUT/ISTANBUL, TIME, Feb. 28, 2008
Better known for her tabloid love affairs, plastic surgery and husky voice, transsexual Turkish diva Bulent Ersoy makes the unlikeliest political activist. Yet she has caused a storm of outrage by becoming the only public personality to speak out against Turkey's invasion of northern Iraq. So pervasive is the nationalist climate that Ersoy has been vilified for declaring — on a national TV equivalent of American Idol, where she is a judge — that if she had a son, she would not have sent him to fight this war. She is now under investigation for being "anti-military".
Ersoy is widely popular but the response to her declaration has been bellicose. Turkey's TV watchdog said it has been inundated with calls protesting Ersoy's comments. Officials at the Star TV channel are said to be contemplating dropping her as a judge on the show. An Istanbul prosecutor has begun an investigation into her remarks on the grounds that they could put people off military service, compulsory for men over the age of 18. Many of those killed in Iraq have been conscripts. (This is not the first time Ersoy has been on the wrong side of the military: she was banned from performing for several years following a military coup in 1980.)
When she delivered her remarks on the air, Ersoy immediately got into a fight with a fellow celebrity judge, the singer Ebru Gündeþ, countered that were she to have a son, she would have no hesitation in having him "fight like a lion." "Martyrs killed in action do not die, the country will never be divided," she said. Ersoy retorted that there was no point taking refuge in clichés.
Turkey's military has said it has killed 230 PKK rebels in the current operation while Turkish losses stood at 27, but the casualty reports cannot be independently confirmed. The conflict has killed up to 40,000 people since 1984.
The U.S., mindful of upsetting Iraq's only fairly peaceful region, is urging Turkey for a quick end to the invasion targeting separatist Kurdish rebels based in the mountains of north Iraq. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, in Ankara today, called for the operation to be over shortly and for the government to address the economic and social concerns of its Kurdish minority, which complains of cultural and other restrictions as well as deep poverty.
But his call appears to be falling on deaf ears. Turkey is awash in fervent nationalism — newspapers are emblazoned with military heroics and jingoistic slogans. The government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is loathe to upset a cosy alliance with the far right Nationalist Action Party, which helped it push through a recent law allowing headscarves in universities. Although thousands of Kurds in the southeast have taken to the streets in recent days to protest the invasion, there has otherwise been virtually no public opposition (with the exception of Ersoy's comment) to the invasion. A political solution to the Kurdish issue appears a long way off.
Since November, the U.S. has been providing military intelligence to the Turkish army, helping target air strikes. Now that the Turkish army is engaged on the field in north Iraq, it may not want to pull back quickly. Ankara is deeply suspicious of the regional Kurdish government there, which it accuses of supporting the PKK. It is also concerned that the largely autonomous region may seek independence, in turn fomenting similar demands by its own restive Kurdish population. In response to Gates' remarks, the Turkish military did not set a timetable for withdrawal. "Short term is a relative notion. Sometimes it is a day, sometimes a year," Chief of Staff Yasar Buyukanit said after his meeting with Gates.
Better known for her tabloid love affairs, plastic surgery and husky voice, transsexual Turkish diva Bulent Ersoy makes the unlikeliest political activist. Yet she has caused a storm of outrage by becoming the only public personality to speak out against Turkey's invasion of northern Iraq. So pervasive is the nationalist climate that Ersoy has been vilified for declaring — on a national TV equivalent of American Idol, where she is a judge — that if she had a son, she would not have sent him to fight this war. She is now under investigation for being "anti-military".
Ersoy is widely popular but the response to her declaration has been bellicose. Turkey's TV watchdog said it has been inundated with calls protesting Ersoy's comments. Officials at the Star TV channel are said to be contemplating dropping her as a judge on the show. An Istanbul prosecutor has begun an investigation into her remarks on the grounds that they could put people off military service, compulsory for men over the age of 18. Many of those killed in Iraq have been conscripts. (This is not the first time Ersoy has been on the wrong side of the military: she was banned from performing for several years following a military coup in 1980.)
When she delivered her remarks on the air, Ersoy immediately got into a fight with a fellow celebrity judge, the singer Ebru Gündeþ, countered that were she to have a son, she would have no hesitation in having him "fight like a lion." "Martyrs killed in action do not die, the country will never be divided," she said. Ersoy retorted that there was no point taking refuge in clichés.
Turkey's military has said it has killed 230 PKK rebels in the current operation while Turkish losses stood at 27, but the casualty reports cannot be independently confirmed. The conflict has killed up to 40,000 people since 1984.
The U.S., mindful of upsetting Iraq's only fairly peaceful region, is urging Turkey for a quick end to the invasion targeting separatist Kurdish rebels based in the mountains of north Iraq. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, in Ankara today, called for the operation to be over shortly and for the government to address the economic and social concerns of its Kurdish minority, which complains of cultural and other restrictions as well as deep poverty.
But his call appears to be falling on deaf ears. Turkey is awash in fervent nationalism — newspapers are emblazoned with military heroics and jingoistic slogans. The government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is loathe to upset a cosy alliance with the far right Nationalist Action Party, which helped it push through a recent law allowing headscarves in universities. Although thousands of Kurds in the southeast have taken to the streets in recent days to protest the invasion, there has otherwise been virtually no public opposition (with the exception of Ersoy's comment) to the invasion. A political solution to the Kurdish issue appears a long way off.
Since November, the U.S. has been providing military intelligence to the Turkish army, helping target air strikes. Now that the Turkish army is engaged on the field in north Iraq, it may not want to pull back quickly. Ankara is deeply suspicious of the regional Kurdish government there, which it accuses of supporting the PKK. It is also concerned that the largely autonomous region may seek independence, in turn fomenting similar demands by its own restive Kurdish population. In response to Gates' remarks, the Turkish military did not set a timetable for withdrawal. "Short term is a relative notion. Sometimes it is a day, sometimes a year," Chief of Staff Yasar Buyukanit said after his meeting with Gates.
'No timetable' for Turkey assault
BBC News, Feb. 27, 2008
A senior Turkish official has said there is no timetable for an end to military operations against Kurdish PKK separatists in northern Iraq.
Speaking after a meeting in Iraq's capital Baghdad, Ahmet Davutoglu said they would continue "until terrorist bases are eliminated".
But Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said the action was unacceptable and violated Iraq's sovereignty.
The US says it wants the offensive to end as soon as possible.
US Defence Secretary Robert Gates is due to visit Ankara and says he has already raised concerns at the highest levels.
Casualty figures
But Mr Davutoglu, chief foreign policy advisor of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, told reporters: "Our objective is clear. Our mission is clear and there is no timetable... until the terrorist bases are eliminated."
Mr Zebari, speaking at the news conference with Mr Davutoglu after the talks, said Iraq wanted an immediate withdrawal.
"We condemn the terrorists and the PKK, but we also condemn the violations of the sovereignty of Iraq at the same time and we have to be very clear on that," he said.
Mr Zebari, himself a Kurd, added that the Kurdish regional government had expressed willingness to work with Turkey "to eliminate the threat from the PKK".
The Turkish military has been attacking bases of PKK rebels, who want a homeland in south-east Turkey.
Following the latest clashes, the military said 77 rebels and five of its soldiers had been killed. It says 230 rebels and 24 soldiers have been killed since the offensive was launched on Thursday.
The PKK rebels say they have killed at least 81 Turkish soldiers. Neither report can be independently verified.
Intelligence help
Speaking to the BBC in Delhi before leaving for Turkey, Mr Gates said the Turkish military operation against PKK bases should be very short and very precisely targeted.
Then, he added, the Turks should withdraw back across the border.
"They cannot solve the PKK terrorist problem which is a very real one from the Turks' standpoint," he said.
"A lot of innocent Turks have been killed by these terrorists. But they can't solve that problem entirely by military means and they need to begin thinking about what they're going to do in the non-military arena."
He said the US had provided additional intelligence and reconnaissance help to Turkey, but would also be ready to offer non-military solutions to the problem.
More than 30,000 people have been killed since the PKK began their campaign in 1984.
Ankara says as many as 3,000 PKK members use northern Iraq as a safe haven.
The US, the EU and Turkey consider the PKK to be a terrorist organisation.
A senior Turkish official has said there is no timetable for an end to military operations against Kurdish PKK separatists in northern Iraq.
Speaking after a meeting in Iraq's capital Baghdad, Ahmet Davutoglu said they would continue "until terrorist bases are eliminated".
But Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said the action was unacceptable and violated Iraq's sovereignty.
The US says it wants the offensive to end as soon as possible.
US Defence Secretary Robert Gates is due to visit Ankara and says he has already raised concerns at the highest levels.
Casualty figures
But Mr Davutoglu, chief foreign policy advisor of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, told reporters: "Our objective is clear. Our mission is clear and there is no timetable... until the terrorist bases are eliminated."
Mr Zebari, speaking at the news conference with Mr Davutoglu after the talks, said Iraq wanted an immediate withdrawal.
"We condemn the terrorists and the PKK, but we also condemn the violations of the sovereignty of Iraq at the same time and we have to be very clear on that," he said.
Mr Zebari, himself a Kurd, added that the Kurdish regional government had expressed willingness to work with Turkey "to eliminate the threat from the PKK".
The Turkish military has been attacking bases of PKK rebels, who want a homeland in south-east Turkey.
Following the latest clashes, the military said 77 rebels and five of its soldiers had been killed. It says 230 rebels and 24 soldiers have been killed since the offensive was launched on Thursday.
The PKK rebels say they have killed at least 81 Turkish soldiers. Neither report can be independently verified.
Intelligence help
Speaking to the BBC in Delhi before leaving for Turkey, Mr Gates said the Turkish military operation against PKK bases should be very short and very precisely targeted.
Then, he added, the Turks should withdraw back across the border.
"They cannot solve the PKK terrorist problem which is a very real one from the Turks' standpoint," he said.
"A lot of innocent Turks have been killed by these terrorists. But they can't solve that problem entirely by military means and they need to begin thinking about what they're going to do in the non-military arena."
He said the US had provided additional intelligence and reconnaissance help to Turkey, but would also be ready to offer non-military solutions to the problem.
More than 30,000 people have been killed since the PKK began their campaign in 1984.
Ankara says as many as 3,000 PKK members use northern Iraq as a safe haven.
The US, the EU and Turkey consider the PKK to be a terrorist organisation.
Turkey 'launches new Iraq raids'
BBC News, Feb. 25, 2008
Turkish forces have launched further attacks against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq, officials there say.
The security officials say the raids targeted Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) positions near the border overnight. There is no word on any casualties.
The Iraqi government has urged Turkey to withdraw its forces, which were sent across the border on Thursday to confront PKK rebels.
The new fighting prompted the Turkish president to postpone an African trip.
The Turkish army on Monday released new footage of helicopters taking off from an unnamed military base in the south.
It also showed military vehicles transporting soldiers, as well as infrared sensor images of bombing attacks.
It is not clear where or when the footage was recorded, but Iraqi Kurd officials say Turkish forces struck PKK positions about 20km (12 miles) from the border early on Monday.
US concern
The Turkish authorities launched the cross-border attack on Thursday night, after accusing the Iraqi government of failing to stop the PKK from using the area as a safe haven.
Ankara says more than 112 PKK militants have been killed, as well as 15 of its own soldiers, since the fighting flared up again.
Washington has called on Turkey to keep its campaign in Iraq - another US ally - as short as possible.
Turkish President Abdullah Gul was due to begin a four-day trip to Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Congo on Tuesday.
A presidential spokesman told AFP news agency that the visit had been postponed because "the president wished to be in Ankara while the operation is still under way".
More than 30,000 people have been killed since the PKK began fighting for a Kurdish homeland in south-eastern Turkey in 1984.
The US, the EU and Turkey regard the PKK as a terrorist organisation.
Turkish forces have launched further attacks against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq, officials there say.
The security officials say the raids targeted Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) positions near the border overnight. There is no word on any casualties.
The Iraqi government has urged Turkey to withdraw its forces, which were sent across the border on Thursday to confront PKK rebels.
The new fighting prompted the Turkish president to postpone an African trip.
The Turkish army on Monday released new footage of helicopters taking off from an unnamed military base in the south.
It also showed military vehicles transporting soldiers, as well as infrared sensor images of bombing attacks.
It is not clear where or when the footage was recorded, but Iraqi Kurd officials say Turkish forces struck PKK positions about 20km (12 miles) from the border early on Monday.
US concern
The Turkish authorities launched the cross-border attack on Thursday night, after accusing the Iraqi government of failing to stop the PKK from using the area as a safe haven.
Ankara says more than 112 PKK militants have been killed, as well as 15 of its own soldiers, since the fighting flared up again.
Washington has called on Turkey to keep its campaign in Iraq - another US ally - as short as possible.
Turkish President Abdullah Gul was due to begin a four-day trip to Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Congo on Tuesday.
A presidential spokesman told AFP news agency that the visit had been postponed because "the president wished to be in Ankara while the operation is still under way".
More than 30,000 people have been killed since the PKK began fighting for a Kurdish homeland in south-eastern Turkey in 1984.
The US, the EU and Turkey regard the PKK as a terrorist organisation.
The new invasion of Iraq
Up to 10,000 Turkish troops launch an incursion which threatens to destabilise the country's only peaceful region
Patrick Cockburn, The Independent, Feb. 23, 2008
A new crisis has exploded in Iraq after Turkish troops, supported by attack planes and Cobra helicopters, yesterday launched a major ground offensive into Iraqi Kurdistan.
The invading Turkish soldiers are in pursuit of Kurdish guerrillas hiding in the mountains. They are seeking to destroy the camps of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) along the border between Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan. "Thousands of troops have crossed the border and thousands more are waiting at the border to join them if necessary," said a Turkish military source.
"There are severe clashes," said Ahmed Danees, the head of foreign relations for the PKK. "Two Turkish soldiers have been killed and eight wounded. There are no PKK casualties." Turkish television said that the number of Turkish troops involved was between 3,000 and 10,000, and they had moved 16 miles inside Iraq.
But the escalating Turkish attacks are destabilising the Kurdish region of Iraq which is the one peaceful part of the country and has visibly benefited from the US invasion.
The Iraqi Kurds are America's closest allies in Iraq and the only Iraqi community to support fully the US occupation. The president of the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government, Massoud Barzani, said recently he felt let down by the failure of the Iraqi government in Baghdad to stop Turkish bombing raids on Iraqi territory.
The incursion is embarrassing for the US, which tried to avert it, because the American military provides intelligence to the Turkish armed forces about the location of the camps of Turkish Kurd fighters. Immediately before the operation began, the Turkish Prime Minister, Tayyip Erdogan, called President George Bush to warn him.
The US and the Iraqi government are eager to play down the extent of the invasion. Rear Admiral Gregory Smith, a US spokesman for Iraq, said: "We understand [it] is an operation of limited duration to specifically target PKK terrorists in that region." The Iraqi Foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari, claimed that only a few hundred Turkish troops were in Iraq.
But since last year Turkey has succeeded, by making limited incursions into Kurdistan, in establishing a de facto right to intervene militarily in Kurdistan whenever it feels like it.
Many Iraqi Kurdish leaders are convinced that a hidden aim of the Turkish attack is to undermine the Kurdish region, which enjoys autonomous rights close to statehood. Ankara has always seen the semi-independence of Iraqi Kurdistan, and the Kurds' claim to the oil city of Kirkuk, as providing a dangerous example for Kurds in Turkey who are also demanding autonomy.
Many Turkish companies carrying out construction contracts in the region have already left. And businesses that remain are frightened that Ankara will close Iraqi Kurdistan's lifeline over the Harbour Bridge into Turkey.
During the 1990s the Turkish army carried out repeated attacks in Iraqi Kurdistan with the tacit permission of Saddam Hussein, but this is the first significant offensive since the US invasion of 2003. "A land operation is a whole new level," said the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Bryza, adding that the incursion was "not the greatest news".
The Turkish army is unlikely to do much damage to the PKK, which has some 2,500 fighters hidden in a mountainous area that has few roads, with snow drifts making tracks impassable.
The Turkish ground offensive was preceded by bombing. "We were certain yesterday after this bombing that a military operation would take place and we got ready for it," said Mr Danees, adding that bombing and artillery had destroyed three bridges on the Iraq-Turkish border as well as a PKK cemetery.
Another reason why Turkey has launched its offensive now has as much to do with Turkish internal politics as it does with any threat posed by the PKK. The PKK launched a military struggle on behalf of the Kurdish minority in eastern Turkey in 1984 which lasted until the PKK's leader Abdullah Ocalan was seized in Kenya in 1999 and later put on trial in Turkey. The PKK has been losing support ever since among the Turkish Kurds, but at the end of last year it escalated guerrilla attacks, killing some 40 Turkish soldiers.
Limited though the PKK's military activity has been, the Turkish army has used it to bolster its waning political strength. For its part, the mildly Islamic government of Mr Erdogan is frightened of being outflanked by jingoistic nationalists supporting the military. Mr Erdogan has pointed out that previous Turkish army incursions into Kurdistan in the 1990s all failed to dislodge the PKK.
The area which the Turkish army has entered in Iraqi Kurdistan is mostly desolate, with broken terrain in which bands of guerrillas can take refuge. The PKK says it has left its former bases and broken up into small units. The main bases of the PKK are along Iraq's border with Iran, notably in the Kandil mountains, to the south of where the Turkish troops entered. At this time of year the villagers, many of them herders and shepherds, leave their houses and live in the towns in the plain below the mountains until the snow melts.
Patrick Cockburn, The Independent, Feb. 23, 2008
A new crisis has exploded in Iraq after Turkish troops, supported by attack planes and Cobra helicopters, yesterday launched a major ground offensive into Iraqi Kurdistan.
The invading Turkish soldiers are in pursuit of Kurdish guerrillas hiding in the mountains. They are seeking to destroy the camps of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) along the border between Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan. "Thousands of troops have crossed the border and thousands more are waiting at the border to join them if necessary," said a Turkish military source.
"There are severe clashes," said Ahmed Danees, the head of foreign relations for the PKK. "Two Turkish soldiers have been killed and eight wounded. There are no PKK casualties." Turkish television said that the number of Turkish troops involved was between 3,000 and 10,000, and they had moved 16 miles inside Iraq.
But the escalating Turkish attacks are destabilising the Kurdish region of Iraq which is the one peaceful part of the country and has visibly benefited from the US invasion.
The Iraqi Kurds are America's closest allies in Iraq and the only Iraqi community to support fully the US occupation. The president of the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government, Massoud Barzani, said recently he felt let down by the failure of the Iraqi government in Baghdad to stop Turkish bombing raids on Iraqi territory.
The incursion is embarrassing for the US, which tried to avert it, because the American military provides intelligence to the Turkish armed forces about the location of the camps of Turkish Kurd fighters. Immediately before the operation began, the Turkish Prime Minister, Tayyip Erdogan, called President George Bush to warn him.
The US and the Iraqi government are eager to play down the extent of the invasion. Rear Admiral Gregory Smith, a US spokesman for Iraq, said: "We understand [it] is an operation of limited duration to specifically target PKK terrorists in that region." The Iraqi Foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari, claimed that only a few hundred Turkish troops were in Iraq.
But since last year Turkey has succeeded, by making limited incursions into Kurdistan, in establishing a de facto right to intervene militarily in Kurdistan whenever it feels like it.
Many Iraqi Kurdish leaders are convinced that a hidden aim of the Turkish attack is to undermine the Kurdish region, which enjoys autonomous rights close to statehood. Ankara has always seen the semi-independence of Iraqi Kurdistan, and the Kurds' claim to the oil city of Kirkuk, as providing a dangerous example for Kurds in Turkey who are also demanding autonomy.
Many Turkish companies carrying out construction contracts in the region have already left. And businesses that remain are frightened that Ankara will close Iraqi Kurdistan's lifeline over the Harbour Bridge into Turkey.
During the 1990s the Turkish army carried out repeated attacks in Iraqi Kurdistan with the tacit permission of Saddam Hussein, but this is the first significant offensive since the US invasion of 2003. "A land operation is a whole new level," said the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Bryza, adding that the incursion was "not the greatest news".
The Turkish army is unlikely to do much damage to the PKK, which has some 2,500 fighters hidden in a mountainous area that has few roads, with snow drifts making tracks impassable.
The Turkish ground offensive was preceded by bombing. "We were certain yesterday after this bombing that a military operation would take place and we got ready for it," said Mr Danees, adding that bombing and artillery had destroyed three bridges on the Iraq-Turkish border as well as a PKK cemetery.
Another reason why Turkey has launched its offensive now has as much to do with Turkish internal politics as it does with any threat posed by the PKK. The PKK launched a military struggle on behalf of the Kurdish minority in eastern Turkey in 1984 which lasted until the PKK's leader Abdullah Ocalan was seized in Kenya in 1999 and later put on trial in Turkey. The PKK has been losing support ever since among the Turkish Kurds, but at the end of last year it escalated guerrilla attacks, killing some 40 Turkish soldiers.
Limited though the PKK's military activity has been, the Turkish army has used it to bolster its waning political strength. For its part, the mildly Islamic government of Mr Erdogan is frightened of being outflanked by jingoistic nationalists supporting the military. Mr Erdogan has pointed out that previous Turkish army incursions into Kurdistan in the 1990s all failed to dislodge the PKK.
The area which the Turkish army has entered in Iraqi Kurdistan is mostly desolate, with broken terrain in which bands of guerrillas can take refuge. The PKK says it has left its former bases and broken up into small units. The main bases of the PKK are along Iraq's border with Iran, notably in the Kandil mountains, to the south of where the Turkish troops entered. At this time of year the villagers, many of them herders and shepherds, leave their houses and live in the towns in the plain below the mountains until the snow melts.
'Dozens dead' in Turkish assault
BBC News, Feb. 23, 2008
Turkey's army says its ground offensive in northern Iraq has left five soldiers and dozens of Kurdish rebels dead.
Turkey said its ground forces had crossed the border to tackle rebels late on Thursday after an air and artillery bombardment.
PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said the offensive is limited in scale and troops will return as soon as possible.
The UN secretary general and the US have urged Turkey to show restraint in the offensive.
A Turkish army statement said: "It has been understood from preliminary information that the terrorists have suffered heavy losses under long-range weapons fire and air strikes."
It said that 24 Kurdish rebels had been killed in clashes, and at least another 20 by artillery fire and rounds from helicopter gunships.
A Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) spokesman, Ahmad Danas, earlier said two Turkish troops were killed and eight wounded in fighting.
Neither report can be independently confirmed.
Mr Erdogan had told Turks on television: "The target, purpose, size and parameters of this operation are limited.
"Our armed forces will come back in the shortest time possible as soon as they achieve their objectives," he said, insisting that members of the PKK were the sole targets.
Correspondents say the aim is to isolate the organisation and prevent it using northern Iraq as a launch pad for attacks on Turkish soil.
Washington said it had been informed of the incursion in advance and that it had urged the Turks to limit their action to precise targeting of rebel Kurdish targets.
Reports from Turkey on the size of the assault force have varied from 3,000 to 10,000 soldiers.
But senior Iraqi Kurdish sources told the BBC the Turkish side had exaggerated the operation, which they believe to be "very, very limited", and in a remote border area.
'Unusual timing'
Turkey's military said the cross-border ground operation backed by the Air Force was launched at 1900 [1700 GMT on Thursday].
The protection of civilian life on both sides of the border remains the paramount concern
Ban Ki-moon
UN secretary general
Turkey has carried out at least one ground incursion, as well as frequent air and artillery strikes, against suspected PKK targets in Iraq since parliament authorised the army to act in October 2007.
But this operation's timing is unusual as the mountainous border area is still covered with heavy snow, the BBC's Sarah Rainsford reports from Istanbul.
Nor have there been any major PKK attacks inside Turkey for some time, she adds.
More than 30,000 people have been killed since the PKK began fighting for a Kurdish homeland in south-eastern Turkey in 1984.
The US, the EU and Turkey consider the PKK to be a "terrorist" organisation.
President's call
Top Iraqi Kurdish and government officials are saying there has been no crossing at the Habur bridge, the only major land route into Iraq, the BBC's Jim Muir reports from Baghdad.
Kurdistan Democratic Party militants who control the area in question inside northern Iraq say they have not detected any Turkish forces near any of their own lines.
The office of Turkish President Abdullah Gul says the leader phoned his Iraqi counterpart, Jalal Talabani, about the operation on Thursday evening.
Mr Talabani's office confirmed a conversation had taken place during which Mr Gul invited him to visit Ankara officially, and also assured him that any Turkish operations were against the PKK, not against the Iraqi Kurds.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed concern about the situation.
"The protection of civilian life on both sides of the border remains the paramount concern," he said.
Turkey's army says its ground offensive in northern Iraq has left five soldiers and dozens of Kurdish rebels dead.
Turkey said its ground forces had crossed the border to tackle rebels late on Thursday after an air and artillery bombardment.
PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said the offensive is limited in scale and troops will return as soon as possible.
The UN secretary general and the US have urged Turkey to show restraint in the offensive.
A Turkish army statement said: "It has been understood from preliminary information that the terrorists have suffered heavy losses under long-range weapons fire and air strikes."
It said that 24 Kurdish rebels had been killed in clashes, and at least another 20 by artillery fire and rounds from helicopter gunships.
A Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) spokesman, Ahmad Danas, earlier said two Turkish troops were killed and eight wounded in fighting.
Neither report can be independently confirmed.
Mr Erdogan had told Turks on television: "The target, purpose, size and parameters of this operation are limited.
"Our armed forces will come back in the shortest time possible as soon as they achieve their objectives," he said, insisting that members of the PKK were the sole targets.
Correspondents say the aim is to isolate the organisation and prevent it using northern Iraq as a launch pad for attacks on Turkish soil.
Washington said it had been informed of the incursion in advance and that it had urged the Turks to limit their action to precise targeting of rebel Kurdish targets.
Reports from Turkey on the size of the assault force have varied from 3,000 to 10,000 soldiers.
But senior Iraqi Kurdish sources told the BBC the Turkish side had exaggerated the operation, which they believe to be "very, very limited", and in a remote border area.
'Unusual timing'
Turkey's military said the cross-border ground operation backed by the Air Force was launched at 1900 [1700 GMT on Thursday].
The protection of civilian life on both sides of the border remains the paramount concern
Ban Ki-moon
UN secretary general
Turkey has carried out at least one ground incursion, as well as frequent air and artillery strikes, against suspected PKK targets in Iraq since parliament authorised the army to act in October 2007.
But this operation's timing is unusual as the mountainous border area is still covered with heavy snow, the BBC's Sarah Rainsford reports from Istanbul.
Nor have there been any major PKK attacks inside Turkey for some time, she adds.
More than 30,000 people have been killed since the PKK began fighting for a Kurdish homeland in south-eastern Turkey in 1984.
The US, the EU and Turkey consider the PKK to be a "terrorist" organisation.
President's call
Top Iraqi Kurdish and government officials are saying there has been no crossing at the Habur bridge, the only major land route into Iraq, the BBC's Jim Muir reports from Baghdad.
Kurdistan Democratic Party militants who control the area in question inside northern Iraq say they have not detected any Turkish forces near any of their own lines.
The office of Turkish President Abdullah Gul says the leader phoned his Iraqi counterpart, Jalal Talabani, about the operation on Thursday evening.
Mr Talabani's office confirmed a conversation had taken place during which Mr Gul invited him to visit Ankara officially, and also assured him that any Turkish operations were against the PKK, not against the Iraqi Kurds.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed concern about the situation.
"The protection of civilian life on both sides of the border remains the paramount concern," he said.
Turkey invades Iraq again
Turkish troops enter north Iraq
BBC News, Feb. 22, 2008
Turkish forces have crossed into Iraq in what seems to be their biggest operation against Kurdish rebels sheltering there in years.
Up to 10,000 troops may be involved in the operation which, according to the army, began on Thursday evening after an air and artillery bombardment.
Turkey promised its force would "return home in the shortest time possible after its goals have been achieved".
The US military says it believes the operation is "of limited duration".
Turkey has promised to do everything possible to avoid "collateral damage to innocent civilians or Kurdish infrastructure," said Rear Adm Gregory Smith, a US spokesman in Iraq.
But another US official quoted by Reuters news agency appeared to express concern about the scale of the Turkish operation.
It was "not the greatest news" and marked "a whole new level", Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Bryza said in Brussels
'Unusual timing'
"A cross-border ground operation backed by the Air Force was launched at 1900 [1700 GMT on Thursday]," the military said.
Turkey has carried out at least one, smaller ground incursion, as well as frequent air and artillery strikes, against suspected PKK targets in Iraq since parliament authorised the army to act in October 2007.
The Turks made several major incursions against the PKK in northern Iraq in the years before the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
After Turkish broadcaster NTV reported that 10,000 soldiers had crossed the border on Thursday, a Turkish military source confirmed for Reuters news agency that two brigades had been deployed.
A brigade numbers up to 5,000 troops, the agency notes.
The operation's timing is unusual as the mountainous border area is still covered with heavy snow, the BBC's Sarah Rainsford reports from Istanbul.
Nor have there have been any major PKK attacks inside Turkey for some time, she adds.
More than 30,000 people have been killed since the PKK began fighting for a Kurdish homeland in south-eastern Turkey in 1984.
Baghdad 'unaware'
As news of the operation broke, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told the BBC he was not aware of any incursion since speaking to BBC correspondent Jim Muir late on Thursday.
The minister, himself a Kurd from northern Iraq, said he had been in touch with people in the north and in Istanbul, as well as being in close contact with the US.
Rear Adm Smith said the US supported Turkey's "right to defend itself from the terrorist activities of the PKK" and encouraged it to "co-ordinate closely with the government of Iraq".
On Thursday, there was a tense stand-off between Kurdish Peshmerga forces and Turkish troops who had advanced out of the two fixed bases they have inside northern Iraq, our correspondent adds.
The Turkish troops returned to base without shots being fired.
BBC News, Feb. 22, 2008
Turkish forces have crossed into Iraq in what seems to be their biggest operation against Kurdish rebels sheltering there in years.
Up to 10,000 troops may be involved in the operation which, according to the army, began on Thursday evening after an air and artillery bombardment.
Turkey promised its force would "return home in the shortest time possible after its goals have been achieved".
The US military says it believes the operation is "of limited duration".
Turkey has promised to do everything possible to avoid "collateral damage to innocent civilians or Kurdish infrastructure," said Rear Adm Gregory Smith, a US spokesman in Iraq.
But another US official quoted by Reuters news agency appeared to express concern about the scale of the Turkish operation.
It was "not the greatest news" and marked "a whole new level", Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Bryza said in Brussels
'Unusual timing'
"A cross-border ground operation backed by the Air Force was launched at 1900 [1700 GMT on Thursday]," the military said.
Turkey has carried out at least one, smaller ground incursion, as well as frequent air and artillery strikes, against suspected PKK targets in Iraq since parliament authorised the army to act in October 2007.
The Turks made several major incursions against the PKK in northern Iraq in the years before the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
After Turkish broadcaster NTV reported that 10,000 soldiers had crossed the border on Thursday, a Turkish military source confirmed for Reuters news agency that two brigades had been deployed.
A brigade numbers up to 5,000 troops, the agency notes.
The operation's timing is unusual as the mountainous border area is still covered with heavy snow, the BBC's Sarah Rainsford reports from Istanbul.
Nor have there have been any major PKK attacks inside Turkey for some time, she adds.
More than 30,000 people have been killed since the PKK began fighting for a Kurdish homeland in south-eastern Turkey in 1984.
Baghdad 'unaware'
As news of the operation broke, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told the BBC he was not aware of any incursion since speaking to BBC correspondent Jim Muir late on Thursday.
The minister, himself a Kurd from northern Iraq, said he had been in touch with people in the north and in Istanbul, as well as being in close contact with the US.
Rear Adm Smith said the US supported Turkey's "right to defend itself from the terrorist activities of the PKK" and encouraged it to "co-ordinate closely with the government of Iraq".
On Thursday, there was a tense stand-off between Kurdish Peshmerga forces and Turkish troops who had advanced out of the two fixed bases they have inside northern Iraq, our correspondent adds.
The Turkish troops returned to base without shots being fired.
US: 9 Iraq civilians accidentally killed
By LAUREN FRAYER, AP, Feb. 4, 2008
BAGHDAD - The U.S. military said Monday it accidentally killed nine Iraqi civilians during an operation targeting al-Qaida in Iraq — the deadliest known case of mistaken identity in recent months.
In northern Iraq, Turkish warplanes on Monday bombed some 70 Kurdish rebel targets, the Turkish military said. It was the fifth aerial attack against Kurdish rebel bases there in two months.
Also Monday, 15 suspected militants were killed in U.S. raids targeting a possible hideout for a senior al-Qaida in Iraq leader northeast of Baghdad, the military said.
The Iraqi civilians were killed Saturday near Iskandariyah, 30 miles south of the Iraqi capital, Navy Lt. Patrick Evans told The Associated Press.
Evans did not say exactly how the civilians died, but said the killings occurred as U.S. forces pursued suspected al-Qaida in Iraq militants. The incident is under investigation, he said.
Iraqi police said the victims, including two women, were in two houses in the village of Tal al-Samar, which was bombed by American warplanes late Saturday. They were all Sunnis, an officer said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
The U.S. planes struck after an American convoy came under enemy fire in Tal al-Samar and soldiers called for air support, the Iraqi officer said.
"We offer our condolences to the families of those who were killed in this incident, and we mourn the loss of innocent civilian life," Evans said in a statement e-mailed to the AP.
The Turkish bombings early Monday hit the Avasin-Basyan and Hakurk regions of northern Iraq, the Turkish military said on its Web site.
Turkey has frequently targeted members of the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, in cross-border raids into Iraq, where thousands of the rebels are based. The PKK has been fighting for autonomy in southeastern Turkey for more than two decades.
Since Dec. 16, the Turkish military has confirmed five cross-border aerial raids into Iraq, though Iraqi Kurdish officials have reported other airstrikes. Turkey's military says the raids have killed as many as 175 PKK rebels.
Adem Uzun, a member of the rebel command, said 15 to 20 Turkish jets bombed rebel areas in northern Iraq, according to Firat, a Kurdish news agency. Uzun told a Denmark-based Kurdish television station that the rebels had not suffered casualties, the agency reported.
The United States — which like Turkey and the European Union considers the PKK a terrorist organization — has cautioned Ankara against a large incursion into Kurdish areas of northern Iraq, fearing it could disrupt one of Iraq's more stable regions.
U.S. and Iraqi officials said Monday they will meet later this month to negotiate future relations and the long-term presence of American forces in Iraq. The U.S. currently has about 160,000 troops in Iraq under a United Nations mandate that has been extended on a yearly basis since the 2003 invasion, but Iraqi officials have said they will not renew it after 2008.
In the raids targeting a possible al-Qaida in Iraq hideout northeast of Baghdad, the military said it had no information about whether the targeted leader was among those killed or captured. Eight suspected militants were detained in the raids.
Separately, 14 al-Qaida linked militants were detained in other raids Sunday and Monday in northern Iraq, including four suspects seized during an operation targeting the leader of a suicide bombing cell in the volatile city of Mosul.
Iraqi police said at least five Iraqis died in separate attacks elsewhere, including a Foreign Ministry attache, Waleed Haithem, when gunmen opened fire on his car in the western Baghdad neighborhood of Mansour.
Two policemen were also killed when a roadside bomb exploded on their patrol in northeast Baghdad's Azamiyah area. And gunmen opened fire on a bus east of Baqouba, killing two passengers, police said.
An al-Qaida front group said in a statement posted on the Web that it was launching its own campaign in Mosul, and urged volunteers to carry out suicide attacks on U.S. troops, Iraqi Shiites and Kurdish troops.
The Sunni militant group, known as Mosul's regional command of the Islamic State of Iraq, said its campaign would be a "vengeance raid" but gave no details.
Iraqi officials have said a military push to clear al-Qaida-linked insurgents from Mosul is imminent.
Also Monday, criticism mounted among some Sunni lawmakers over a new law that will allow thousands of Saddam Hussein-era officials to return to government jobs. One Sunni bloc's leader predicted the legislation would have a "short life."
The measure — issued a day earlier by the Iraqi presidency council — is the first of 18 key U.S.-set benchmarks to become law, and the Bush administration views it as central to mending deep differences between minority Sunni Arabs and Kurds and the majority Shiites. But it was issued without the signature of Iraq's Sunni vice president, and the presidency council itself plans to seek changes in the bill — clouding hopes it would encourage reconciliation.
BAGHDAD - The U.S. military said Monday it accidentally killed nine Iraqi civilians during an operation targeting al-Qaida in Iraq — the deadliest known case of mistaken identity in recent months.
In northern Iraq, Turkish warplanes on Monday bombed some 70 Kurdish rebel targets, the Turkish military said. It was the fifth aerial attack against Kurdish rebel bases there in two months.
Also Monday, 15 suspected militants were killed in U.S. raids targeting a possible hideout for a senior al-Qaida in Iraq leader northeast of Baghdad, the military said.
The Iraqi civilians were killed Saturday near Iskandariyah, 30 miles south of the Iraqi capital, Navy Lt. Patrick Evans told The Associated Press.
Evans did not say exactly how the civilians died, but said the killings occurred as U.S. forces pursued suspected al-Qaida in Iraq militants. The incident is under investigation, he said.
Iraqi police said the victims, including two women, were in two houses in the village of Tal al-Samar, which was bombed by American warplanes late Saturday. They were all Sunnis, an officer said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
The U.S. planes struck after an American convoy came under enemy fire in Tal al-Samar and soldiers called for air support, the Iraqi officer said.
"We offer our condolences to the families of those who were killed in this incident, and we mourn the loss of innocent civilian life," Evans said in a statement e-mailed to the AP.
The Turkish bombings early Monday hit the Avasin-Basyan and Hakurk regions of northern Iraq, the Turkish military said on its Web site.
Turkey has frequently targeted members of the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, in cross-border raids into Iraq, where thousands of the rebels are based. The PKK has been fighting for autonomy in southeastern Turkey for more than two decades.
Since Dec. 16, the Turkish military has confirmed five cross-border aerial raids into Iraq, though Iraqi Kurdish officials have reported other airstrikes. Turkey's military says the raids have killed as many as 175 PKK rebels.
Adem Uzun, a member of the rebel command, said 15 to 20 Turkish jets bombed rebel areas in northern Iraq, according to Firat, a Kurdish news agency. Uzun told a Denmark-based Kurdish television station that the rebels had not suffered casualties, the agency reported.
The United States — which like Turkey and the European Union considers the PKK a terrorist organization — has cautioned Ankara against a large incursion into Kurdish areas of northern Iraq, fearing it could disrupt one of Iraq's more stable regions.
U.S. and Iraqi officials said Monday they will meet later this month to negotiate future relations and the long-term presence of American forces in Iraq. The U.S. currently has about 160,000 troops in Iraq under a United Nations mandate that has been extended on a yearly basis since the 2003 invasion, but Iraqi officials have said they will not renew it after 2008.
In the raids targeting a possible al-Qaida in Iraq hideout northeast of Baghdad, the military said it had no information about whether the targeted leader was among those killed or captured. Eight suspected militants were detained in the raids.
Separately, 14 al-Qaida linked militants were detained in other raids Sunday and Monday in northern Iraq, including four suspects seized during an operation targeting the leader of a suicide bombing cell in the volatile city of Mosul.
Iraqi police said at least five Iraqis died in separate attacks elsewhere, including a Foreign Ministry attache, Waleed Haithem, when gunmen opened fire on his car in the western Baghdad neighborhood of Mansour.
Two policemen were also killed when a roadside bomb exploded on their patrol in northeast Baghdad's Azamiyah area. And gunmen opened fire on a bus east of Baqouba, killing two passengers, police said.
An al-Qaida front group said in a statement posted on the Web that it was launching its own campaign in Mosul, and urged volunteers to carry out suicide attacks on U.S. troops, Iraqi Shiites and Kurdish troops.
The Sunni militant group, known as Mosul's regional command of the Islamic State of Iraq, said its campaign would be a "vengeance raid" but gave no details.
Iraqi officials have said a military push to clear al-Qaida-linked insurgents from Mosul is imminent.
Also Monday, criticism mounted among some Sunni lawmakers over a new law that will allow thousands of Saddam Hussein-era officials to return to government jobs. One Sunni bloc's leader predicted the legislation would have a "short life."
The measure — issued a day earlier by the Iraqi presidency council — is the first of 18 key U.S.-set benchmarks to become law, and the Bush administration views it as central to mending deep differences between minority Sunni Arabs and Kurds and the majority Shiites. But it was issued without the signature of Iraq's Sunni vice president, and the presidency council itself plans to seek changes in the bill — clouding hopes it would encourage reconciliation.
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