Posted on August 12th, 2010 by Marian Houk
According to a report in Haaretz, the IDF Chief of Staff Gaby Ashkenazi testified Wednesday, at the Turkel Commission investigating the “maritime incident” which occurred when Israeli forces boarded the Mavi Marmara and five other ships sailing toward Gaza in a “Freedom Flotilla” on 31 May, that “the raid quickly became ‘chaotic’, and the soldiers [...]
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Filed under: Boundaries & Borders, Gaza, Human Rights, Humanitarian Aid, International Humanitarian Law, International Law, Israel, Sanctions
Posted on August 11th, 2010 by Marian Houk
There is a silly and irritating — and also dangerous — debate going on about cutting off American military aid to the Lebanese Army in the wake of its firefight with IDF forces who insisted on going ahead with “routine maintenance” along the Blue Line separating the two country’s armies, despite advice and strong requests [...]
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Filed under: Boundaries & Borders, Israel, Lebanon, Sanctions, USA
Posted on August 10th, 2010 by Marian Houk
Barak Ravid wrote in Haaretz about Prime Minister Netanyahu’s testimony before Israel’s non-IDF commission of inquiry into the Flotilla fiasco that Netanyahu yesterday called a “maritime incident” that: “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seemed visibly unprepared for his public testimony before the Turkel Committee yesterday – hesitating over key details, evading questions and finally [later] publishing [...]
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Filed under: Boundaries & Borders, Gaza, Human Rights, Humanitarian Aid, Israel, Sanctions
Posted on August 9th, 2010 by Marian Houk
Israel’s Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu said Monday to Turkel Commission investigating what Netanyahu called the “maritime incident” that occurred when Israeli naval forces boarded the Freedom Flotilla at sea on 31 May that “As part of the effort to prevent the entry of weapons into the Gaza Strip, my government has continued the naval blockade [...]
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Filed under: Boundaries & Borders, Gaza, Human Rights, Humanitarian Aid, International Law, Israel, Palestine & Palestinians, Sanctions
Posted on July 14th, 2010 by Marian Houk
A Libyan-chartered Greek ship flying the Moldovan flag and carrying 2,000 tons of food and medical supplies destined for Gaza has reportedly developed mechanical problems [in the engine? with communications devices?] overnight as it approached its declared destination of the Egyptian port of El-Arish.
Israeli warships are reportedly tracking the Amalthea. The Israeli Minister of [...]
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Filed under: Blogging, Gaza, Human Rights, International Humanitarian Law, International Law, Israel, Law of the Sea Convention, Sanctions
Posted on July 12th, 2010 by Marian Houk
Maj. Gen. (Res.) Eiland delivered his report on the Freedom Flotilla fiasco to the IDF Chief of Staff today, and said that “the issue should be viewed with perspective, being that the damage caused to Israel is not as severe as it seemed following the incident”.
According to Haaretz, Eiland told journalists after he delivered the [...]
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Filed under: Boundaries & Borders, Gaza, International Humanitarian Law, International Law, Israel, Palestine & Palestinians, Sanctions
Posted on July 10th, 2010 by Marian Houk
Israeli Foreign Ministry officials told Haaretz that Minister Avigdor Lieberman has contacted the Greek and Moldovan Foreign Ministers, and asked them to stop a Moldovan-flagged cargo ship which intended to sail, imminently, from Greece to Gaza.
Reports indicated, Saturday evening, that the ship had just sailed.
The voyage for this ship from Greece to Gaza [...]
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Filed under: Boundaries & Borders, Gaza, Human Rights, Humanitarian Aid, International Humanitarian Law, International Law, Israel, Law of the Sea Convention, Palestine & Palestinians, Sanctions, UN General Assembly, UN Secretary-General, UN Security Council, United Nations
Posted on July 8th, 2010 by Marian Houk
Two Turkish-speaking Israelis who were asked to interpret after the Israeli naval assault at sea on the Freedom Flotilla on 31 May, and the subsequent processing of some 700 passengers and crew in Ashdod port and beyond, wrote about their experience and their views of who was on board in a piece published on Zeek.Forward.com.
Medi [...]
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Filed under: Boundaries & Borders, Gaza, Human Rights, Humanitarian Aid, International Law, Israel, Sanctions
Posted on July 5th, 2010 by Marian Houk
The Israeli Foreign Ministry, as reported earlier, did release “the lists” — of items specifically prohibited by Israel from entering Gaza, otherwise known as “Lists of Controlled Entry Items”.
This is being described as a “significant easing” of the system that has been in place around Gaza.
The lists are published here, and they are:
List no. 1: [...]
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Filed under: Boundaries & Borders, Gaza, Human Rights, International Humanitarian Law, Israel, Sanctions
Posted on July 5th, 2010 by Marian Houk
Later today, the Israeli Foreign Ministry is expected to publish a new list — of items forbidden to enter Gaza. This is the revamp of Israel’s sanctions policy that was announced in the wake of the 31 May Israeli attack on the Freedom Flotilla attempting to “break the siege on Gaza” by sea, which [...]
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Filed under: Boundaries & Borders, Gaza, Human Rights, Humanitarian Aid, Israel, Palestine & Palestinians, Sanctions