[QUOTE](CNN) -- Two days after Israel's deadly raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, another ship packed with activists and assorted supplies sailed defiantly toward the Palestinian territory.
The Rachel Corrie, a ship named for an American activist killed in Gaza several years ago, was planning to arrive in Gaza late Friday or early Saturday. The vessel left Ireland carrying 550 tons of cement, educational materials, toys and medical equipment -- the latest effort by peace activists to deliver supplies and break Israel's blockade of Gaza.
Free Gaza Movement activist Derek Graham said that once the Rachel Corrie reaches Gaza, they intend to unload the vessel and return to Ireland.
However this risks further confrontation with Israel, which is intent on halting ships from delivering aid to Gaza because it fears military materiel will be delivered to militants in the Hamas-controlled territory.
How has the world reacted to the raid?
It won't be the last ship attempting to break the blockade. The European Campaign to End Siege on Gaza announced on Wednesday that it has received the funding of the first three ships of a new fleet headed to Gaza.
Edward Peck, a former U.S. ambassador to Mauritania who was a passenger on one of the ships in the flotilla, said Wednesday he hopes Israel doesn't respond to the Rachel Corrie in the same way its military did to the Miva Marmara vessel Monday. He said it won't serve Israeli or U.S. interests.
"The Israelis had said that their response is going even more proactive than before," Peck told CNN's "American Morning." "I hope they don't do it."
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that Iran continues to smuggle weapons into Gaza and Hamas -- which controls the territory -- continues to arm itself.
Speaking of the boat where the violence occurred, Netanyahu said: "That was not a love boat. That was a boat of hatred. It was not a peaceful flotilla."
"The soldiers who boarded the ship were attacked by clubs, batons and knives. They had the weapons kidnapped from them and shot at them," he said, calling the behavior of the people on the one ship where violence occurred an attempted lynching.
Palestinian spokesman Ghassan Al-Khateeb on Wednesday deplored the raid and criticized Israel's blockade of Gaza.
There are no direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians because of "continuous Israeli violations of human rights," said Al-Khateeb. Indirect peace talks, with the United States engaging separately with Israel and the Palestinians, are occurring, but Israeli human rights violations through settlement expansion and other issues "will further defer the possibilities of moving into direct negotiations," he said.
The commando raid that led to the deaths of nine people and the wounding of many more early Monday continues to focus much of the world's attention.
It has sparked outrage in capitals across the world and on the streets, from the Americas to Asia, with many decrying the latest actions as well as Israel's ongoing blockade of Gaza.
In Central America, Nicaragua announced it was suspending relations with Israel. In Saudi Arabia, the Organization of Islamic Conference -- a group representing Muslim nations -- will be meeting at the foreign ministry level to huddle over the incident.
"For years, many in the international community have been complicit in a policy that aimed at isolating Gaza in the hope of weakening Hamas," said the International Crisis Group, the think tank that denounced the Israeli action.
"This policy is morally appalling and politically self-defeating. It has harmed the people of Gaza without loosening Hamas' control. Yet it has persisted regardless of evident failure."
Turkey, whose citizens were killed and injured in the flotilla violence, and the Turkish citizenry are seething over the incident. Its prime minister has delivered strong rhetoric toward the Jewish state -- a one-time close ally -- and its ambassador has been yanked from Tel Aviv.
Turkish officials have said they want Israel to end the Gaza blockade to return to normal ties. But in the meantime, their relationship continues to fray.
In the first known military fallout from the Israeli action, a U.S. official said Turkey will informally cancel a trilateral military exercise with the United States and Israel set for August in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Attorneys for a Muslim humanitarian group have filed a petition asking Turkish prosecutors to sue Israel for murder.
The Gaza issue is spurring both security alarms and moral consternation among many Israelis, who see themselves as between a rock and a hard place when it comes to how to approach the issues in that territory.
The Israeli government is concerned that lifting the blockade will help replenish militant groups intent on staging attacks against Israelis. At the same time, many Israelis are disturbed by the dire living conditions in Gaza.
The Israeli state attorney general's office, in a response to the Israeli Supreme Court on two petitions regarding the flotilla, defended the Israeli actions on Wednesday. It said the "Hamas terrorist organization" controls Gaza and is intent on deliberately assaulting civilians.
As a result, Israel has been intent on thwarting the infiltration of weapons and ordnance from tunnels between Egypt and Gaza and has imposed a naval blockade on Gaza to stop the weapons smuggling."The blockade is not intended to harm residents of the [Gaza] Strip. It is designed to prevent direct and free access to the Gaza Strip, not via Israel, in order to thwart, minimize, block and hinder the Gaza Strip from becoming a giant arsenal for the terrorist organizations to use in deliberately targeting Israelis in the framework of murderous terrorist actions that have been perpetrated over the years," the office said.
After Monday's incident, the Israeli government detained around 600 flotilla passengers and held them at the Beer Sheva prison.
On Wednesday, all foreign detainees left the prison amid the international uproar over the raid, and they were taken to Ben Gurion Airport, where they headed home. Four Israeli Arab activists on the flotilla, however, remain in Israeli custody; a judge on Monday night remanded them till June 8.
As for the Rachel Corrie, the Free Gaza Movement said the ship was inspected in Ireland for weapons by customs officials and a senator from the Irish Green Party. No weapons were found. There are five Irish and six Malaysian people on the boat. The paid crew members include a Briton, a Cuban and six Filipinos.
Reflecting on the flotilla efforts, Peck told "American Morning" that "our hope was let's put a wedge into the situation and provide an opportunity for a peaceful humanitarian act to be seen as accepted by everyone."
But he acknowledged that "people like myself are perhaps unrealistically hopeful that the Israeli government would have seen this is an opportunity to have it just go the other way."[/QUOTE]
Source: [url]http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/06/02/gaza.raid.activists/index.html?hpt=T3[/url]
I don't [I]think[/I] a thread has been made yet about the new flotilla.
They should hire pirates to protect it.
[QUOTE=Emperorconor;22328798]They should hire pirates to protect it.[/QUOTE]
You apparently didn't see the video of ruskies on a pirate boat doing stuff to them.
Don't they have the Turkish navy to back them up this time.
[QUOTE=Emperorconor;22328798]They should hire pirates to protect it.[/QUOTE]
Letters of Marque!
[editline]02:50PM[/editline]
[QUOTE=bravehat;22328824]Don't they have the Turkish navy to back them up this time.[/QUOTE]
They do indeed.
War is pretty close.
Yeah if Israel tries anything this time there will be at very least a naval scuffle.
[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;22328832]Letters of Marque!
[editline]02:50PM[/editline]
They do indeed.
War is pretty close.[/QUOTE]
No they don't.
Isn't that ship from Ireland?
[QUOTE=Glorbo;22329068]Isn't that ship from Ireland?[/QUOTE]
i think that's this ship. i read that they were going to have a webcam onboard, does someone have a link?
[editline]10:05PM[/editline]
livestream webcam
[QUOTE=Cuel;22329202]i think that's this ship. i read that they were going to have a webcam onboard, does someone have a link?
[editline]10:05PM[/editline]
livestream webcam[/QUOTE]
Israel isn't going to go and board the ship this time, I THINK.
They've had enough damage already.
i don't think they will either.
[QUOTE=Cuel;22329268]i don't think they will either.[/QUOTE]
So wait, where is THIS ship coming from?
Article is too huge.
"The[B] Rachel Corrie[/B], a ship named for an American activist killed in Gaza several years ago, was planning to arrive in Gaza late Friday or early Saturday. [B]The vessel left Ireland [/B]carrying 550 tons of cement, educational materials, toys and medical equipment -- the latest effort by peace activists to deliver supplies and break Israel's blockade of Gaza."
[QUOTE=Glorbo;22329320]So wait, where is THIS ship coming from?
Article is too huge.[/QUOTE]
Ireland.
shit stop posting so quickly cuel
[QUOTE=Zeke129;22329342]Ireland.
shit stop posting so quickly[/QUOTE]
Oh, so it has no relation what so ever to the turkish navy.
"Ankara warned that [B]further supply vessels[/B] will be sent to Gaza, escorted by the Turkish Navy, a development with unpredictable consequences."
don't think so.
No, this one doesn't have a Turkish Naval escort.
[QUOTE=Cuel;22329423]"Ankara warned that [B]further supply vessels[/B] will be sent to Gaza, escorted by the Turkish Navy, a development with unpredictable consequences."
i don't know.[/QUOTE]
Maybe they are only reffering turkish ships, as in "further supply vessels from turkey will be sent to gaza"?
Lets hope they don't throw paper balls at the IDF :ohdear:
[editline]05:54PM[/editline]
[sp]I know I'm late to this party, being recently unbanned and all, but jesus fucking christ this boils my fucking blood[/sp]
[QUOTE=Glorbo;22329454]Maybe they are only reffering turkish ships, as in "further supply vessels from turkey will be sent to gaza"?[/QUOTE]
yup, i think so
I'd like to see everyone with a boat start driving it towards Israel. A huge wall of boats.
Canoes and shit too. Everything that floats.
So. How many kills this time ? I hope they brought metal poles.
Idiots, provoking a war.
Actually, maybe they are smart, this way more and more people hate Israel, which means they reached their goal.
Israel is a faggot
[QUOTE=wanksta11;22330831]Israel is a faggot[/QUOTE]
Yeah, I hate him too... Goddamn fatass faggot!
[QUOTE=Crhem van der B;22330822]Idiots, provoking a war.
Actually, maybe they are smart, this way more and more people hate Israel, which means they reached their goal.[/QUOTE]
They're brave.
Standing up to an internationally illegal oppressive state.
[QUOTE=NoDachi;22330904]They're brave.
Standing up to an internationally illegal oppressive state.[/QUOTE]
You're a great troll man, your posts make my blood boil.
Israel just wants to keep all the awesome toys
[QUOTE=Crhem van der B;22330927]You're a great troll man, your posts make my blood boil.[/QUOTE]
Yeah right, your country is right. And they totally show you the entire truth
Keep in mind that the IDF is being considered as a "Predator for the freedom of the press" by [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reporters_Without_Borders]Reporters without Borders[/url].
[QUOTE=Crhem van der B;22330927]You're a great troll man, your posts make my blood boil.[/QUOTE]
stop trolling
[QUOTE=pikzen;22331105]Yeah right, your country is right. And they totally show you the entire truth
Keep in mind that the IDF is being considered as a "Predator for the freedom of the press" by [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reporters_Without_Borders]Reporters without Borders[/url].[/QUOTE]
Lol @ Israel being the most free in the whole Middle East.
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.
