Flotilla hypocrisy excessive, but raid still legal - part 2

(continued from part 1)

So, though the Palmer report confirms that

• the blockade was legal
• that the flotilla tried to breach it
• that Israel must enforce its blockade for it to be effective
• that the flotilla had ties to terrorist organizations

Now here comes the brain fart: The Palmer report also says that the IDF soldiers used excessive force in response to the violence they encountered on board the Mavi Marmara, and that Israel should apologize to Turkey.

So, let's rewind a little to analyze why the IDF soldiers used the force they used.

The take-over began with an attempt to board from two speedboats. These withdrew when faced with resistance from Mavi Marmara passengers. IDF naval commandos were then landed on the vessel by fast-roping from three helicopters. Starting at 4.29 a.m. 15 IDF personnel began to fast-rope onto the roof of the vessel from the first helicopter and met with violent resistance from a group of passengers. 

Violent resistance? That's somewhat of a euphemism, isn't it?

The Naval commandos who abseiled on the vessel were Shayetet 13 soldiers. It is an elite naval commando unit of the Israeli Navy, considered to be among the world's special forces. These people are not easily subdued, it takes a lot of violence to do that. They were armed with paintball rifles in their hands, plastic bullet riot dispersal handguns at their sides, and hidden firearms. They were beaten with metal pipes and chairs as they were coming down, remember?

The passengers on board were separated into two groups, the "soldiers" on deck, and the "others" below deck. The "soldiers" were well prepared, with gas masks, bullet proof vests, metals bars, knives, chains, and organized into positions.

Three of the commandos were captured and taken below deck. Do you realize the intensity of the Mavi Marmara "soldiers" violence if they managed to neutralize three elite Shayetet 13 commandos? To reduce them to this?

After seeing three of their soldiers get captured and taken away (they couldn't guess that people below deck weren't as violent as the people above), the soldiers got serious.

IDF personnel involved in the operation needed to take action for their own protection and that of the other soldiers.
The Israeli report concluded that IDF personnel acted professionally in response, and switched back and forth between lethal and “less-lethal” weapons as appropriate during the incident, consistent with their rules of engagement and the exercise of self defence.

This is where the Israel Double Standards strike once more. 

Imagine, if you will, a bunch of hooligans, doing something illegal, who start to hit the police officers who come to arrest them. The hooligans manage to capture three police officers, basically holding them hostage, and they continue with their rage and violence, and face to face combat. What do you think would happen? No shots would be fired? And at the end of the day, who do you think would have the most "damage"? The trained, armed police officers, or the overweight hooligans who tried to hit armed soldiers with metal pipes? 

But replace "police officers" with "IDF soldiers" and "hooligans" with "flotilla activists", and of course the IDF used "excessive force".

And the metal pipes and knives the flotilla activists were using? Your light everyday stuff..

These are not butter knives

Gas masks always spell "peace" to me

Yeah, I would stop to consider non-lethal options when a knife that size approaches

 Once the soldiers saw that their non-lethal weapons weren't getting results, of course they weren't going to just stand there, and they had to escalate the situation to get back the advantage. Yes, 9 activists died, as a result of thinking that attacking soldiers while wearing flip-flops might actually have a positive outcome. Which makes the Palmer report state  this:

Israeli Defense Forces personnel faced significant, organized and violent resistance from a group of passengers when they boarded the Mavi Marmara requiring them to use force for their own protection.  Three soldiers were captured, mistreated, and placed at risk by those passengers.  Several others were wounded.
The loss of life and injuries resulting from the use of force by Israeli forces during the take-over of the Mavi Marmara was unacceptable.  Nine passengers were killed and many others seriously wounded by Israeli forces.  No satisfactory explanation has been provided to the Panel by Israel for any of the nine deaths.
Forensic evidence showing that most of the deceased were shot multiple times, including in the back, or at close range has not been adequately accounted for in the material presented by Israel.

What is this secret mathematical equation that makes this excessive? Wasn't the flotilla activists' reaction to the IDF on-boarding even more excessive?

But anyway, Israel has adopted the report, with a reservation.

At the same time, Israel does not concur with the Panel’s characterization of Israel’s decision to board the vessels in the manner it did as “excessive and unreasonable.”  [...] Israel feels that the Panel gave insufficient consideration to the operational limitations which determined the manner and timing of the boarding of the vessels and to the operational need for a covert takeover in order to minimize the chances for resistance on board.
As to the actions of Israel’s soldiers, given the panel’s conclusions regarding the resistance that they encountered when boarding the Mavi Marmara, it is clear that the soldier’s lives were in immediate danger.  [...]
Given these circumstances, Israel’s soldiers clearly acted in self-defense and responded reasonably, proportionally and with restraint, including the use of less-lethal weapons where feasible.  The Panel's characterization of the circumstances which led to the nine deaths on board the Mavi Marmara does not adequately take into account the complexities of what was clearly a chaotic combat situation.[...] Given the close range combat that clearly took place aboard the vessel, wounds sustained at close range do not in themselves suggest wrongdoing by Israeli soldiers. 

And while Israel refuses to apologize (and rightly so), they have not undertaken and steps to cut diplomatic relations with Turkey, and hope they can return to path of cooperation.
The Turkish reply?

• They reject the report
• They expell the Israeli ambassador
• They will challenge Israel's Gaza blockade at the International Court of Justice (because they love us there)
• They will escort aid ships to Palestinians in Gaza

All this, because Israel didn't apologize. I see. Turkey doesn't need to accept the Palmer report criticism of the support of IHH and their failure in stopping the flotilla, but they can embrace the tiny portion which is critical of Israel. Hypocrites.

Grow up Turkey, and take it like man, now move on with your life. Don't you have some Kurdish massacres to cover up?

It's Israel Double Standards time! Don't worry, it's only on days that end with a 'y'.

Flotilla hypocrisy excessive, but raid still legal - part 1

And no matter how many articles concentrating on Israel's use of "excessive force" are published, you can't change the fact that the raid was legal.

I wonder how many people actually bothered to read the 105-page report (notice the "Strictly confidential" at the top). It can easily be summarized with: The Gaza blockade is legal, the flotilla was provocative and without justification - all because Gaza won't pacify and come to negotiation tables (they prefer communication through the wonders of rocket technology). The report amazingly recognizes Israel's right to self-defense even though Gaza's legal status is undefinable.
The report reviewed the national investigations conducted by both Turkey and Israel, and then came to its own (lengthy, footnote-filled) conclusion.


Here's a little "best-of" from the report: (emphasis mine if present)

There was little need to organize a flotilla of six ships to deliver humanitarian assistance if only three were required to carry the available humanitarian supplies. The number of journalists embarked on the ships gives further power to the conclusion that the flotilla’s primary purpose was to generate publicity. 

That's what I've been telling friends since the 31st of May 2010, when I found myself to be the spokesperson of the Israeli position following the rampant ignorance flowing all around me. The flotilla was not humanitarian, it was a propaganda tool (with dubious IHH ties to boot). There was very little humanitarian cargo on three of the six ships, and quasi none on the Mavi Marmara, and it was all unnecessary given the large quantities of aid coming in regularly from Israel.

There is a further issue. No adequate port facilities exist in Gaza capable of receiving vessels of the size of the Mavi Marmara. It appears that arrangements had been made to offload the cargo onto smaller vessels at sea, which no doubt would be awkward and inefficient. Yet the flotilla rejected offers to unload any essential humanitarian supplies at other ports and have them delivered to Gaza by land. These offers were made even during the voyage. The conclusion that the primary objective of the flotilla organizers was to generate publicity by attempting to breach the blockade is further reinforced by material before the Panel that suggests that a reception for the flotilla had been arranged by Hamas.

Well, gee. Shocker, right? And since the blockade wasn't breached, Hamas didn't care so much about the so-called humanitarian aid. In fact, Hamas refused the flotilla's humanitarian aid when it was being delivered on land by Israel. Sure smells fishy...

It was foreseeable to the flotilla organizers as it was to the Turkish Government that there was a possibility of force being used against the ships to enforce the blockade. While the level of lethal force that was actually used may have been unforeseen, the organizers did anticipate that there would be an altercation with Israeli forces. The Panel is concerned that not enough was done to inform the participants in the flotilla (including the almost 600 passengers on the Mavi Marmara) of the risks of personal injury that the journey may have involved.

Are you kidding me? The participants were more than well informed, they were prepared for it, they were asking for it. Yes, there are videos of them doing so, why do you ask?

Then comes the report's main incoherence. They agree, in theory, that Israel is allowed to defend itself. But in practice, they don't agree with the method. Do they have other solutions? "Try less lethal next time". So no solutions, just empty words from people who've never been in a dangerous situation.

For Israel to maintain the blockade it had to be effective, so it must be enforced. That is a clear legal requirement for a blockade. Such enforcement may take place on the high seas and may be conducted by force if a vessel resists. To this point in the analysis no difficulty arises. But the subsequent steps taken raise serious questions as to whether the enforcement was executed appropriately in the circumstances.

Yes, because you would have taken out your magic wand and with a flick and swish said "Petrificus totalus" and the whole incident would be over.

The Panel questions whether it was reasonable for the Israeli Navy to board the vessels at the time and place that they did. [...] The distance from the blockade zone was substantial—64 nautical miles. There were several hours steaming before the blockade area would be reached. 

But - you JUST said - never mind.

Then there is the fact that the boarding attempt was made by surprise, without any immediate prior warning.

If you watch the youtube clip above, there was plenty of warning, and the boats were being shadowed for a while before they were boarded. Was the IDF supposed to forgo all tactical advantage and inform the Flotilla of their every move? Where is that written in the San Remo Manual?


Then, we get to the actual use of force on the Mavi Marmara, all that in the upcoming part 2!

Sderot Suing Hamas

Zaka, Sderot suing Hamas leader for crimes against humanity

They are going to sue Khaled Mashaal, Hamas's political leader in the International Court of Justice for the continuous Kassam rocket launching.

I don't actually approve of the use of the ICJ. They're either useless or harmful. Let's see what happens this time.

Why is it always Israel who has to do an act of goodwill towards the 'Palestinians' ?

Abbas: 'This is just the first group of prisoners to be freed'

What?? It was hard enough to find 250 prisoners with no blood on their hands.

Some prisoners knelt and kissed the ground as they arrived at the checkpoint and
boarded the buses. Leaning out of bus windows, some flashed V-for-victory signs and held up Palestinian flags and posters.

I think people don't realize this enough. When 'Palestinians' make a V sign with their fingers, it's NOT a sign of "peace, dude". It's a victory sign. So these newly released prisoners are flashing victory signs. Does this make anyone else feel uncomfortable? If freed terrorists claim victory, this is not a good sign.

The protesters voiced their opposition to the gesture and called for Jewish
prisoners to be released first, Israel Radio reported.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said the prisoner release was part of a package
of goodwill gestures that was to give new momentum to stalled peace efforts.

Why is it always Israel that has to do goodwill gestures? We're not the ones randomly firing homemade rockets into their civilian centers. We're not the ones who are holding captive one of their soldiers in a secret location, giving no one access to him, and giving him no access to anything. We're the ones who disengaged from Gaza. Wasn't that one big heck of a goodwill gesture?

I would think that what with the world always complaining that we're always abusing of our disproportionate force and that we must restrain ourselves, then just the fact that we didn't flatten Gaza completely should be considered a gesture of goodwill.

And where are our boys?

Bring our boys back home.

Sderot is All of Us

A great show of solidarity for Sderot, the Israeli town constantly hit by Katyusha rockets.
The economy of Sderot has been hit quite hard, as no one dares to go outside.
Just like in the second Lebanon conflict, if there are few Israeli casualties it is thanks to Israeli precaution. Palestinians are still aiming for civilians.

Yesterday, a concert was held in support of Sderot and its residents, organized by Tea-Packs' front man, Kobi Oz. He gathered together many of Israel's top performers - for free - and made this concert happen.

For the last seven years, Sderot has been under constant attack by Kassam
rockets fired by terrorists in the Gaza Strip.
The concert's title, "Sderot is All of Us," is meant to convey the message that
the Kassam attacks are not a local problem but a national one - if Sderot is
attacked, Israel is attacked.

This is an important message. If even in Israel we belittle the importance of these daily rocket attacks, why are we surprised that the UN doesn't give a hoot? And the MSM? If we don't make noise about this, no one will do it for us.

Recently, caravans of cars have been touring the streets of Tel Aviv on Fridays,
blaring their horns and displaying signs and banners reading "Sderot is here" and
"You might be next."
A group of students from Sapir College have also set up an exhibit of 50 exploded
Kassams on Rothschild Avenue, set up to look as if they had landed in the coastal
city. "We brought the rockets in untouched so that you really get the authentic
feeling," said organizer Lavie Vanunu. "We chose Rothschild because it's the
center of the center."
"We're not trying to criticize Tel Aviv residents, we just want them to remember
that Sderot is only 50 minutes away and that we're all in this together," he
added.

Here's a little flash animation I found on cusbara.com, a cynical news report about the different Israeli reaction if the Kassam rockets would have been hitting Tel Aviv. This is not an especially recent video, cusbara.com has had it up for at least a month. (It's in hebrew).

And to add to the show of solidarity for Sderot, last week we had 200 cars arrive in Sderot for solidarity shopping

Residents of the Center and the North arrived in Sderot Friday in a convoy of
some 200 cars in a display of solidarity for residents of the rocket-devastated
town and to give the town a financial boost by doing their Shabbat shopping
there.

From what I heard on the radio today, they are getting ready to do this again for this weekend.

Kol Hakavod.