Peace in the Middle East ?

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[Forty Watt]

Partial list of items prohibited into the Gaza Strip

sage, cardamom, cumin, coriander, ginger, jam, halva, vinegar, nutmeg, chocolate, fruit preserves, seeds and nuts, biscuits and sweets, potato chips, gas for soft drinks, dried fruit, fresh meat, plaster, tar, wood for construction, cement, iron, glucose, industrial salt, plastic/glass/metal containers, industrial margarine, tarpaulin, sheets for huts, fabric (for clothing), flavor and smell enhancers, fishing rods, various fishing nets, buoys, ropes for fishing, nylon nets for greenhouses, hatcheries and spare parts for hatcheries, spare parts for tractors, dairies for cowsheds, irrigation pipe systems, ropes to tie greenhouses planters for saplings, heaters for chicken farms, musical instruments, size A4 paper, writing implements, notebooks, newspapers, toys, razors, sewing machines and spare parts, heaters, horses, donkeys, goats, cattle, and chicks

[Sirenoftitan]

Partial list of items prohibited into the Gaza Strip

sage, cardamom, cumin, coriander, ginger, jam, halva, vinegar, nutmeg, chocolate, fruit preserves, seeds and nuts, biscuits and sweets, potato chips, gas for soft drinks, dried fruit, fresh meat, plaster, tar, wood for construction, cement, iron, glucose, industrial salt, plastic/glass/metal containers, industrial margarine, tarpaulin, sheets for huts, fabric (for clothing), flavor and smell enhancers, fishing rods, various fishing nets, buoys, ropes for fishing, nylon nets for greenhouses, hatcheries and spare parts for hatcheries, spare parts for tractors, dairies for cowsheds, irrigation pipe systems, ropes to tie greenhouses planters for saplings, heaters for chicken farms, musical instruments, size A4 paper, writing implements, notebooks, newspapers, toys, razors, sewing machines and spare parts, heaters, horses, donkeys, goats, cattle, and chicks

Are these going to be used for building rockets?   I'd heard about the toys, crayons and paper.  Deplorable. 

[Sirenoftitan]

Israel was tonight under pressure to allow an independent inquiry into its assault on the Gaza aid flotilla after autopsy results on the bodies of those killed, obtained by the Guardian, revealed they were peppered with 9mm bullets, many fired at close range.

Nine Turkish men on board the Mavi Marmara were shot a total of 30 times and five were killed by gunshot wounds to the head, according to the vice-chairman of the Turkish council of forensic medicine, which carried out the autopsies for the Turkish ministry of justice today.

Gaza flotilla activists were shot in head at close range by Robert Booth, The Guardian

Israeli troops say they have taken control of an aid ship trying to break the blockade of the Gaza Strip.   The Israeli military says its soldiers boarded the Irish-owned vessel from the sea and did not meet any resistance.  It says the ship is now being taken to the Israeli port of Ashdod. There has been no word from those on board.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/10245176.stm

[Forty Watt]

Al Jazeera's Dan Nolan looks at both sides of the story:  Video

Al Jazeera had its own camera crews travelling on the Gaza aid convoy, but all of the video they shot has been confiscated by Israeli authorities. There is no word on when - or if - the pictures might be released.

[Forty Watt]

Oh dear!

Egypt's supreme court has upheld a decision to strip citizenship from Egyptian men who wed Israeli women if the marriage poses a threat to national security.

With ties between the two countries strained, particularly over the situation in the Gaza Strip, Saturday's verdict is being seen as a reflection of Egyptian sentiment towards Israel.

Mohammed al-Husseini, a judge with the supreme administrative court, said Egypt's interior ministry must ask the country's cabinet to take the necessary steps to strip Egyptian men married to Israeli women, and their children, of citizenship.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/06/201065162218512205.html

[Sirenoftitan]

<snip>
Mr Elshayyal, a reporter for the Arab channel al-Jazeera, was standing to one side of the ship and had a view of the front and back of the vessel when the fighting started. By his account, soldiers fired down on the protesters from the helicopters before an Israeli soldier had even set foot on the ship. A man next to him was shot through the top of his head, dying instantly.

"What I saw were shots being fired from the helicopter above and moments later from below – from the ships," Mr Elshayyal said. "As far as I am concerned, it's a lie to say they only started shooting on deck."

At least two other eyewitnesses saw soldiers firing from above the ships before they landed on the Marmara's deck. It is possible that this is what prompted the fierce resistance to the soldiers when they dropped down. Several passengers recount how organisers urged their peers to stop hitting the soldiers, aware of how it would harm their claim to be peaceful protesters.

The hijacking of the truth: Film evidence 'destroyed' by Catrina Stewart, The Independent on Sunday

[Forty Watt]

Israel 'to reject international ship raid inquiry'

"We are rejecting an international commission. We are discussing with the Obama administration a way in which our inquiry will take place," Mr Oren told Fox News Sunday.

He said Israel would not apologise for the incident. Eight of those killed were Turkish, and the ninth had joint US-Turkish nationality.

Mr Netanyahu was due to discuss Mr Ban's proposal with senior cabinet ministers on Sunday.

But Mr Oren said: "Israel is a democratic nation. Israel has the ability and the right to investigate itself, not to be investigated by any international board."

[Irishgirl]

Israel 'to reject international ship raid inquiry'

"We are rejecting an international commission. We are discussing with the Obama administration a way in which our inquiry will take place," Mr Oren told Fox News Sunday.

He said Israel would not apologise for the incident. Eight of those killed were Turkish, and the ninth had joint US-Turkish nationality.

Mr Netanyahu was due to discuss Mr Ban's proposal with senior cabinet ministers on Sunday.

But Mr Oren said: "Israel is a democratic nation. Israel has the ability and the right to investigate itself, not to be investigated by any international board."

Why am I not surprised?

[Forty Watt]

After Israel released a tape purportedly showing passengers on the Mavi Marmara making inflammatory comments, many questioned the authenticity of the tapes and charged that they had been edited. Leaders on the ship said that they never radioed the IDF to tell them “Go back to Auschwitz” and that they are “helping Arabs go against the U.S., don’t forget 9/11.” Now, the IDF has issued an unedited tape and admitted that the earlier version was edited. It also admits that it is not clear that these comments came from the Mavi Marmara.

You can hear both versions here.

[Forty Watt]

Right!  This sounds like a really good idea.  <heavy sarcasm>

Iran would be willing to send its Revolutionary Guard members to accompany further aid ships to Gaza, Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Sunday in an interview cited by Reuters.

"The naval wing of the Revolutionary Guard is ready to assist the peace flotilla to Gaza with all its effort and capabilities," Khamenei's Revolutionary Guard spokesman Ali Shirazi stated. 

http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=177635

[pacos_gal]

Not only has the Revolutionary Guard offered to send ships to accompany aid ships, as mentioned in the post by Forty Watt, but Iran is now sending 3 ships to Gaza.  2 of those ships will leave within the next week.  The third, a medical ship will leave later.  Whether or not they will be accompanied by Revolutionary Guard ships, is unknown at this time. 
Iran is also sending a plane loaded with supplies to Egypt for Gaza.

http://www.newshoggers.com/blog/2010/06/iran-gets-in-on-gaza-aid-ship-action.html

The Iranian branch of the Red Crescent organisation is sending at least three aid ships to try to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza, with the first two vessels expected to sail as soon as this coming weekend.

I feel like Iran is just itching to stir up a fight with Israel and has latched onto this.  After all, Gaza has been under blockaid for few years now and suddenly it is important to Iran?  Maybe they feel that finally public opinion would be on their side on something within the international community and let us not forget that the UN is considering further sanctions against Iran at this time.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/middle_east/10270820.stm

Iran faces its toughest sanctions for failing to comply with UN demands over its nuclear enrichment, the US says.

The Security Council is to vote on a fourth round of sanctions to tighten financial curbs on Iran, while expanding a limited arms embargo.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said they were "the most significant sanctions that Iran has ever faced".

[Sirenoftitan]

The UN Secretary General has insisted other nations should oversee an investigation into Israel's deadly boarding of a Turkish ship.  Ban Ki-Moon restated the demands days after Israel rejected a similar suggestion that the probe be carried out by an international tribunal.  Israel is insisting it should carry out the investigation itself.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/10269169.stm

[Sirenoftitan]

Most reality television shows keep their aspirations modest: good ratings, plenty of gossip and at least one participant who makes their way on to the front pages.

A French programme debuting this autumn, however, is aiming rather higher. Its mission – for 12 teenagers who choose to accept it – is nothing less than a road map to peace in the Middle East.

Les Accords de Marseille, which is expected to be broadcast on the public channel France5 in September, will bring together a dozen 18-year-olds – six from Israel, six from the Palestinian territories – and make them co-habit as they hold negotiations aimed at establishing a peace deal.

French TV wants 12 teenagers to find a road map to Middle East peace by Lizzy Davies, The Guardian

[Sirenoftitan]

Israel last night flouted pressure for an independent international inquiry into the lethal assault two weeks ago on a flotilla of ships attempting to break the blockade on Gaza, announcing an internal investigation with two foreign observers.

The White House gave its approval for the Israeli formula, which will be confirmed by the Israeli cabinet today.

White House backs Israeli internal inquiry into Gaza flotilla deaths by Harriet Sherwood, The Guardian

[Sirenoftitan]

Israel's blockade of Gaza is a clear violation of international humanitarian law, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has said.  In a statement, the ICRC describes the situation in Gaza as dire, saying the only sustainable solution is a lifting of the blockade.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/10306193.stm

[Sirenoftitan]

Israel's plans to hold an inquiry into its deadly raid on a convoy of Gaza-bound aid ships have been dismissed by Turkey and the Palestinians.  Turkey said Israel could not run an impartial probe into the deaths of nine Turkish activists during a 31 May raid.  And Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said the inquiry would not meet demands made by the UN Security Council.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/10311653.stm

[Forty Watt]

I don't see how any country could hold an impartial inquiry into their own actions, especially when there is this degree of doubt and controversy. Perception and action being, by nature, tightly intertwined, the *facts* are always going to be as the interpreter interprets them to be -- on all sides. 

The only possibility is putting the different interpretations into play with each other and  making the best possible effort to see what emerges. I doubt any inquiry will satisfy anyone at the end of the day. 

[Forty Watt]

Israel to allow aid into Gaza

Israel says an agreement has been reached with the United Nations to deliver thousands of tonnes of aid from a Gaza-bound aid flotilla that was attacked by Israeli naval commandos, to the blockaded Strip.

[Sirenoftitan]

Here's a bit more about the relaxation of the blockade

<snip>
The decision to ease the blockade, agreed by Israel's security cabinet after a two-day meeting, will see the expansion of the number of products Israel will allow into Gaza, including construction materials.

BBC Middle east correspondent Tim Franks says the key now will be just how far and how fast these measures take place.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/10338199.stm

<snip>
The new arrangements, which were decided upon in a series of meetings between the Middle East Quartet envoy Tony Blair and Netanyahu, over the past 10 days, are expected to cover three areas:

• A list of prohibited goods not allowed into Gaza, replacing the current system of a list of approved goods

• Agreement to allow construction materials for UN-sponsored projects

• Israel to consider allowing EU monitors to be stationed at crossings between Israel and Gaza

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jun/17/israel-to-ease-gaza-blockade

[pacos_gal]

They should also establish a checkpoint monitored by the UN, or some other third party at the port and allow it to reopen.  This would allow for more shipments of goods to come in, instead of docking in Israel and then transporting to Gaza. 

Will chocolate and clothing still be not allowed?