Israelis attack aid flotilla

BY ED FELIEN

On Tuesday, June 1, more than 200 peace and justice activists met in front of Senator Klobuchar’s office at 1200 Washington Ave. S. to protest the Israeli attack on the flotilla of ships that was making its way to Gaza. They marched and bannered traffic from 4 to 6 p.m. About 20 people went inside to talk with Klobuchar’s state director, John Kavanagh. He took more than three pages of notes and was very attentive.

At about that time Congressman Keith Ellison released a statement regarding the Flotilla Incident: “I am deeply shocked and saddened by reports that at least nine civilians have been killed, with dozens more injured, in a raid as Israeli armed forces intercepted a convoy carrying humanitarian supplies and construction materials to the people of Gaza.

“This tragedy did not need to happen. This event is the result of the ongoing, counterproductive blockade on Gaza. The blockade punishes ordinary
citizens and strengthens Hamas’ control over commerce. I am concerned for Israel’s security, and an undernourished and unemployed Gazan population
does not promote this goal.

“There should be a full investigation by responsible parties regarding how this incident occurred.

“As President Obama stated last year in his speech in Cairo: ‘Israel must also live up to its obligations to ensure that Palestinians can live, and work, and develop their society. The continuing humanitarian crisis in Gaza does not serve Israel’s security.’

“I urge President Obama and other international leaders to take this tragedy as a catalyst to end the blockade on Gaza. All parties must come together
to move toward a durable peace in the region.”

Senator Klobuchar’s office has not responded to requests for a statement on the Flotilla Incident or on the continuing Israeli blockade of Gaza.

Israel has been condemned by the United Nations Security Council and world opinion for its attack on the flotilla of ships bringing humanitarian aid to Gaza. The act has been called piracy and murder. Israel insists it has a right to intercept ships trying to run its blockade. The attack occurred in international waters.

Gaza had an election and Hamas was chosen to head the government. Israel,
Egypt and the U. S. have rejected this decision by the people of Gaza and
have refused to recognize the government. Over a year ago Israel bombarded
Gaza and invaded it and killed 1,400 people. One member of the Israeli
government said they were not trying to starve the people of Gaza, they were
just putting them on a diet. It is a war crime and contrary to international law to exercise collective punishment on the people of a belligerent country. According to most accepted legal opinions the Israeli blockade of Gaza is illegal.

The Christian Science Monitor News Service quoted Douglas Guilfoyle, a
specialist in international and maritime law at King’s College London: “Is
the blockade itself lawful? Everything else turns on that.

“Mr. Guilfoyle says that under the international Law of Armed Conflict a state that has legally established a blockade can enforce it by boarding vessels in international waters that it reasonably expects might breach the blockade.

“But a blockade itself is illegal, he says, ‘if it will cause excessive damage to the civilian population in relation to the military advantage gained. ... so therefore intercepting a vessel on the high seas to support or enforce the blockade would not be lawful.’

“Israel says the blockade is necessary to protect if from rocket fire, but it has also led to economic collapse in Gaza, where the employment rate is now over 40 percent and the quality of medical care is deteriorating. Gazans say they can’t see how prohibiting the import of fishing lines or canned goods—two of the items on Israel’s banned list—enhances Israel’s security, and conclude instead that a policy of collective punishment is being pursued against Gaza’s people for having elected the Islamist Hamas movement to govern them.”

Public opinion even in Israel is beginning to condemn the attack on the flotilla. Ari Shavit, writing in the Israeli liberal daily Haaretz for Thursday, June 3, says Israel must admit it is wrong. The lead editorial says, “Israel’s blockade of Gaza has failed.” And Gideon Levy in scathing irony says, “All the prime minister’s predictions have come true. He always said the whole world was against us—now he is right.”