• Abbas to Obama: I'm against lifting the Gaza naval blockade
    19 replies, posted
[b]The Palestinian president reportedly told Obama that lifting the naval blockade of Gaza would bolster Hamas, a move that shouldn't be done at this stage.[/b] [url]http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/abbas-to-obama-i-m-against-lifting-the-gaza-naval-blockade-1.295771[/url] [quote] Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is opposed to lifting the naval blockade of the Gaza Strip because this would bolster Hamas, according to what he told United States President Barack Obama during their meeting at the White House Wednesday. Egypt also supports this position. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu once more put off announcing the creation of a committee of inquiry into the naval commando raid on the Gaza Strip flotilla, and the matter will not be brought before the cabinet for a vote this morning. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and U.S. President Barack Obama Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and U.S. President Barack Obama Photo by: Archive Netanyahu and his advisers had hoped to announce the establishment of a committee of inquiry as early as yesterday evening for a vote in the cabinet today. Nonetheless, the Prime Minister's Bureau said yesterday evening that the conditions have not matured for such an announcement "due to political reasons." Talks have been held with the U.S. administration and several European countries to rally support for the mandate of the committee of inquiry and approval of its makeup. The Americans have rejected - a number of times - Israel's proposals and asked that a retired Supreme Court justice head the probe. The issue was resolved when Justice Yaakov Tirkel was proposed for the post. The Americans have also been busy with the issue of sanctions against Iran at the United Nations Security Council and also with the visit to the U.S. capital by Abbas and so exchanges with Netanyahu's bureau on the committee of inquiry were delayed. Apparently, there is another cause for delay involving exchanges between the Americans, Israel and European countries concerning the proposed foreign observers on the committee of inquiry and their authority. One of the foreign observers on the committee will be a senior American jurist. Washington has made it clear that the administration would like at least two European observers to be involved in order to strengthen the legitimacy of the Israeli panel. The issue of the Gaza flotilla and lifting the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip was the main topic of discussion between Obama and Abbas last Wednesday night. European diplomats updated by the White House on the talks said that Abbas had stressed to Obama the need of opening the border crossings into the Gaza Strip and the easing of the siege, but only in ways that do not bolster Hamas. One of the points that Abbas raised is that the naval blockade imposed by Israel on the Strip should not be lifted at this stage. The European diplomats said Egypt has made it clear to Israel, the U.S and the European Union that it is also opposes the lifting of the naval blockade because of the difficulty in inspecting the ships that would enter and leave the Gaza port. Abbas told Obama that actions easing the blockage should be done with care and undertaken gradually so it will not be construed as a victory for Hamas. The Palestinian leader also stressed that the population in the Gaza Strip must be supported, and that pressure should be brought to bear on Israel to allow more goods, humanitarian assistance and building materials for reconstruction. Abbas, however, said this added aid can be done by opening land crossings and other steps that do not include the lifting of the naval blockade. On Friday, Netanyahu met with Quartet representative Tony Blair in his office. This was the third meeting between the two during the last eight days, and centered on ways of easing the blockade on the Strip. Senior Israeli officials and European diplomats say there is agreement that policy on the blockade should be altered, but this should be done carefully and discretely. "There is agreement that no major declarations should be made so Hamas will not to be allowed to score points," a source familiar with the talks with Blair said. [/quote] Even the Palestinians know the blockade is for stopping HAMAS eh.
Bloody hell, this situation is dire...
Your source looks pretty biased.
That's an Israeli newspaper; I'm gonna wait for another source to believe it. [b]EDIT:[/b] Although apparently it is "Israel's most vehemently anti-settlement daily paper" sooo I dunno.
Why the hell does it matter if he says it? That fatass doesn't even know how it feels like, he's been enjoying his royalty and superior life style as president.
Fuck the president of palestine.
[QUOTE=starpluck;22578041]Why the hell does it matter if he says it? That fatass doesn't even know how it feels like, he's been enjoying his royalty and superior life style as president.[/QUOTE] Be quiet.
[QUOTE=Sickle;22578070]Fuck the president of palestine.[/QUOTE] This. [editline]01:50PM[/editline] [QUOTE=HellNaw;22578098]Be quiet.[/QUOTE] What the fuck?
The blockade isn't even illegal anyway. The Israeli fleet is SEARCHING incoming ships, then transporting the supplies to Gaza and Palestine. It's when people act like dumbasses, like the case of the Turkish fleet, trying to break through the blockade at random, that things get bad. [QUOTE=Sickle;22578070]Fuck the president of palestine.[/QUOTE] Gee, I guess people can't understand that Palestine isn't totally against Israel. :bandwaggon: [editline]09:20AM[/editline] And hell, Hamas is the one blocking all aid at this point, not Israel.
I like the common misconception that this seems biased. When Hamas does the same thing. Either way both are very biased against one another. :foxnews:
Really does seem like everyone with a decent idea of the situation is against lifting the blockade. I'm sure everyone is for letting in more supplies, but lifting the blockade completely would cause more harm than it would prevent.
[QUOTE=blacksam;22578612]I like the common misconception that this seems biased. When Hamas does the same thing. Either way both are very biased against one another. :foxnews:[/QUOTE] So it isn't a misconception at all?
Boy it sure would suck to live over there in the sandbox.
[QUOTE=Kalinium;22578741]So it isn't a misconception at all?[/QUOTE] It could be a misconception, but get your facts first. Don't just say "everything that doesn't villainize Israel is biased".
[QUOTE=Gmod_Fan77;22578757]It could be a misconception, but get your facts first. Don't just say "everything that doesn't villainize Israel is biased".[/QUOTE] Uh no we don't. Except when Thom22211 posts Israelnationalnews, who can take that shit seriously? Just read one of their articles! ------------------------------------------------ It's Official: There was No Humanitarian Aid on Mavi Marmara The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has informed Israel's representatives the world over that there were never any humanitarian supplies or equipment aboard the Mavi Marmara, where Israeli commandos were ambushed by armed mercenaries posing as peace activists. The commandos opened fire and killed nine of the attackers after three soldiers had been brutalized and temporarily captured. * Of the seven flotilla ships that were intercepted by Israel on May 31 and afterward, only four were freight ships, the MFA reported to its embassies and consulates: The Challenger 1 (a small yacht), the Sfendonh (a small passenger boat) and the Mavi Marmara (a passenger ship) did not carry any humanitarian aid, and had only the passengers' personal belongings. The four freight ships are the Gaza, the Sofia, the Defeny and the Rachel Corrie. As of* June 7, Israel had only offloaded equipment from the Defeny. The equipment offloaded was loaded onto 26 trucks, and an additional eight trucks are waiting at the Kerem Shalom crossing to enter Gaza. The equipment includes: * 1. 300 wheelchairs 2. 300 new mobility scooters 3. 100 special mobility scooters for the disabled 4. Hundreds of crutches 5. 250 hospital beds 6. 50 sofas 7. Four tons of medicine 8. 20 tons of clothing, carpets, school bags, cloth and shoes 9. Various hospital equipment - closets and cabinets, operating theater equipment, etc. 10. Playground equipment 11. Mattresses * The equipment remaining at Ashdod Port on the three *cargo ships which have not been offloaded include some 2000 tons of construction equipment - building materials and tools, and construction waste (rubble, toilets, sinks and cement) for re-use. * The MFA noted that: * The equipment does not constitute humanitarian aid in the accepted sense (basic foodstuffs, new and functional equipment, fresh medicines). * The humanitarian aid on the four cargo ships was scattered in the ships' holds and thrown onto piles and not packed properly for transport. The equipment was not packaged and not properly placed on wooden bases. Because of the improper packing, some of the equipment was crushed by the weight in transit. * The medicines and sensitive equipment (operating theater equipment, new clothing, etc.) are being kept in cool storage at the Defense Ministry base. Some of the medicines had already expired, and some will expire soon. The operating theater equipment, which should be kept sterile, was carelessly wrapped. A large part of the equipment, particularly shoes and clothing, was used and worn.*(IsraelNationalNews.com) :cawg:
[QUOTE=Sickle;22578070]president of palestine.[/QUOTE] :lol:
I always though Mahmoud Abbas was a relatively good guy. Haaretz isn't biased by the way, it is the most leftist (anti-current government) newspaper in Israel.
[QUOTE=starpluck;22578991]Uh no we don't. Except when Thom22211 posts Israelnationalnews, who can take that shit seriously? Just read one of their articles! ------------------------------------------------ It's Official: There was No Humanitarian Aid on Mavi Marmara The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has informed Israel's representatives the world over that there were never any humanitarian supplies or equipment aboard the Mavi Marmara, where Israeli commandos were ambushed by armed mercenaries posing as peace activists. The commandos opened fire and killed nine of the attackers after three soldiers had been brutalized and temporarily captured. * Of the seven flotilla ships that were intercepted by Israel on May 31 and afterward, only four were freight ships, the MFA reported to its embassies and consulates: The Challenger 1 (a small yacht), the Sfendonh (a small passenger boat) and the Mavi Marmara (a passenger ship) did not carry any humanitarian aid, and had only the passengers' personal belongings. The four freight ships are the Gaza, the Sofia, the Defeny and the Rachel Corrie. As of* June 7, Israel had only offloaded equipment from the Defeny. The equipment offloaded was loaded onto 26 trucks, and an additional eight trucks are waiting at the Kerem Shalom crossing to enter Gaza. The equipment includes: * 1. 300 wheelchairs 2. 300 new mobility scooters 3. 100 special mobility scooters for the disabled 4. Hundreds of crutches 5. 250 hospital beds 6. 50 sofas 7. Four tons of medicine 8. 20 tons of clothing, carpets, school bags, cloth and shoes 9. Various hospital equipment - closets and cabinets, operating theater equipment, etc. 10. Playground equipment 11. Mattresses * The equipment remaining at Ashdod Port on the three *cargo ships which have not been offloaded include some 2000 tons of construction equipment - building materials and tools, and construction waste (rubble, toilets, sinks and cement) for re-use. * The MFA noted that: * The equipment does not constitute humanitarian aid in the accepted sense (basic foodstuffs, new and functional equipment, fresh medicines). * The humanitarian aid on the four cargo ships was scattered in the ships' holds and thrown onto piles and not packed properly for transport. The equipment was not packaged and not properly placed on wooden bases. Because of the improper packing, some of the equipment was crushed by the weight in transit. * The medicines and sensitive equipment (operating theater equipment, new clothing, etc.) are being kept in cool storage at the Defense Ministry base. Some of the medicines had already expired, and some will expire soon. The operating theater equipment, which should be kept sterile, was carelessly wrapped. A large part of the equipment, particularly shoes and clothing, was used and worn.*(IsraelNationalNews.com) :cawg:[/QUOTE] What's wrong with it?
[QUOTE=Devodiere;22578718]Really does seem like everyone with a decent idea of the situation is against lifting the blockade. I'm sure everyone is for letting in more supplies, but lifting the blockade completely would cause more harm than it would prevent.[/QUOTE] This.
[QUOTE=Thom12255;22580486]What's wrong with it?[/QUOTE] Nothing, Israel is making it seem like they have weapons so that the Palestinians don't get any relief. Israel treats Palestinians like dirt, and they want to keep it that way.
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