Gaza: Israel Facing Criticism in European Parliament

On Tuesday, speaking at a hearing in the European Parliament, a member of the Israeli Parliament (Knesset), Afu Aghbaria of the Hadash Party, declared, "In its 62 years of existence, Israel has attacked its neighbors and its Arab citizens nonstop. Israel prevents the passage of medicines and medical supplies to Gaza. As a result of this, 700 Gazans have died at the border crossings."

Aghbaria called on the international community to judge Israeli leaders at the Hague, "[Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu, [Minister of Defense Ehud] Barak, [Foreign Minister Avigdor] Lieberman and [opposition leader Tzipi] Livni should be brought to the International Criminal Court in The Hague."

Europe's Inter-Parliamentary Union on Wednesday asked Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin for clarification of the recent recommendation to revoke the privileges of Israeli Arab MK Hanin Zoabi because she was on the Freedom Flotilla.

The European Union's Council of Foreign Ministers, had already issued a statement on Gaza, demanding an impartial inquiry with international representation into the attack on the Flotilla, an end to the Gaza blockade with guarantees of Israel's security, Hamas' release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, and an end to the firing of missiles into Israel.

Gaza Latest (13 June): Rumblings of the Next Flotilla

1400 GMT: Mahmoud Abbas denied that he had asked Obama to prevent the lifting of the naval blockade on Gaza. However, Netanyahu, during a meeting of Likud ministers, said that he supports easing the three-year blockade Israel has imposed on the Gaza Strip, but that he would not approve the lifting of the naval blockade.

1315 GMT: U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice has said there should be international participation in Israel's investigation into its raid of the flotilla. Israel's vice premier Dan Merridor replied: "There will be international elements in the commission which is going to be formed. For the moment it is not totally clear but the commission will be composed of five Israelis and two or three foreigners."

1245 GMT: Nabila Abu Rdineh, spokesman for Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas, said in an interview with local newspaper al-Ayyam, that an international mechanism to end the blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip might be formed within a few days. He added: "President Abbas told the U.S. administration that lifting the Gaza blockade is not less important than peace talks."

However, the issue is more complicated than it seems. On Wednesday, following President Barack Obama's political support for the "unsustainable" situation in Gaza along with $400 million pledge to Gazans, Abbas told Obama that the easing of the siege should not bolster Hamas. His suggestion was not to end the naval siege by Israel for the time being.

1200 GMT: Former MP George Galloway is planning a land and sea convoy in September. He said: "Following our negotiations in Istanbul, I can announce to you that the day after Ramadan [September 10], two mighty convoys, one by sea and one by land, will begin. The land convoy will leave from London, will travel though Europe, Turkey, Syria and Jordan, and it will sail from Aqaba to Sinai and enter the gates of Rafah, and I ask the Egyptian government, in the name of millions of people, open those gates and let the convoy through."

1130 GMT: An EA reader has just reported that 70 Iranian MPs are also volunteered to aboard.

1100 GMT: The Israeli Defense Ministry has announced that Defense Minister Ehud Barak will stay in Israel while the government creates a committee to investigate the raid on the Gaza-bound flotilla. He was supposed to be present at a new Israeli booth at the Eurosatory 2010 air show in Paris and to meet French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner. Barak took a decision following pro-Palestinian groups' threats that they would do their best to bring Barak to be justice for his alleged war crimes.

The former commander of the navy and Shin Bet, Ami Ayalon, also called on Barak to "accept responsibility for the consequences of the decision to raid flotilla" and to resign.

1045 GMT: The Voice of Israel reports that the Turkish delegation announced two weeks ago that it wasn’t coming to the conference on International Holocaust Education organized by Yad VaShem (Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority).

1030 GMT:  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the former Supreme Court chief justice Yaakov Tirkel will be appointed to head an investigation into Israeli Defense Forces' operation to Freedom Flotilla.

0900 GMT: Agence France Presse reports that the Iranian Red Crescent equipped and loaded two ships with aid and is awaiting the permission of the Foreign Ministry to set sail to Gaza. Iranian officials claim that 100.000 people have already volunteered to go aboard.

On Thursday, Israel's Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center warned that extremist Islamic organizations were planning to send more ships to the Gaza Strip.

0800 GMT: The head of the Arab League, Amr Moussa, is the first senior Arab official visiting Gaza since 2007. He met with Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas at the Rafah crossing, which Egypt is still keeping "temporarily" open,before seeing Hamas officials today to find a basis for the continuation of the reconciliation talks. Moussa said, "This blockade which we are all here to confront must be broken and the position of the Arab League is clear."

Gaza Flotilla LiveBlog (6 June): Israel Blames "Islamist Mercenaries"

2030 GMT: Turkey's minister of energy and natural resources, Taner Yildiz, has announced that there will be no new energy or water projects with Israel until relations between the two countries improve: "At a time when we are focused on the humanitarian aspects of what Israel did, we can't talk about commercial and economic matters. We won't start any project with Israel until relations with them have been normalized."

NEW Gaza Flotilla: Israel "Passengers Linked to Hamas, Al Qa'eda, Terrorist Organisations"
Turkey Inside Line: Erdogan Roars at Israel, Extends His Hand to Iraqi Kurdistan
Gaza Flotilla LiveBlog (5 June): Israel Forces Board the Rachel Corrie

1920 GMT: A group of senior Israel Navy officers have publicly called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak to establish an independent and external commission of inquiry to investigate the Mavi Marmara raid: "We believe that the operation ended in a disaster on a military and diplomatic level," the reserve officers who served as commanders of Navy ships wrote in the letter.


1845 GMT: We have posted, in a separate entry, the dramatic press release from the Israeli military that five of the passengers of the Mavi Marmara are linked to Hamas, Al Qa'eda, and other "terrorist organisations".

1815 GMT: This Should Be Interesting. Israel's Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, not noted for diplomatic subtlety, is reportedly planning to meet "with envoys and representatives of Israel, and Jewish communities in the US and Canada, to explain the Israeli government's position on the flotilla affair".

There are no indications Lieberman will meet US Government or UN officials during the trip.

1650 GMT: It appears that, contrary to earlier reports (1105 GMT), Israel will reject the UN's proposal of an international enquiry into the attack on the Mavi Marmara. Michael Oren, Israel's Ambassador to the US, has told Fox News, "We are rejecting an international commission. We are discussing with the Obama administration a way in which our inquiry will take place."

Mark Regev, the Israeli Government's primary spokesman, has just repeated the line on CNN.

1639 GMT: The Battle of the Photographs. We noted in our initial update (1045 GMT) that defenders of the Israeli military action have been circulating a photograph, taken from the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet, that they claim shows passengers attacking an injured Israeli soldier.

Defenders of the Flotilla are now pointing out that the one picture is out of context: the full set of nine photographs from Hurriyet, Turkish newspapers, and other sources show the Flotilla's activists caring for Israeli troops (see inset photograph).

1635 GMT: The Free Gaza Movement reports that the five Irish passengers from the Rachel Corrie have been deported and will return to Ireland tomorrow.

1615 GMT: Israel has deported eight Flotilla activists to Jordan. Seven are from the Rachel Corrie; the eighth is an Indonesian who was injured in the attack on the Mavi Marmara.

No word on the other passengers of the Rachel Corrie.

1545 GMT: Blame Turkey, An illuminating clash in approach between two of America's largest newspapers: while The New York Times has an analysis noting the re-assessment amongst some US insiders of the relationship with Israel, The Washington Post's editorial team directs its fire at Ankara:

Western governments have been right to be concerned about Israel's poor judgment and botched execution in the raid against the Free Gaza flotilla. But they ought to be at least as worried about the Turkish government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, which since Monday has shown a sympathy toward Islamic militants and a penchant for grotesque demagoguery toward Israel that ought to be unacceptable for a member of NATO.

1230 GMT: Eyewitness Testimony. Journalist Abbas Al Lawati, who was aboard the Mavi Marmara, has posted the third part of his account, focusing on his interrogation by Israeli authorities.

1210 GMT: Israeli Foreign Ministry officials have said that West Jerusalem not apologize to Turkey for the deaths of eight Turkish and 1 Turkish-American activists on the Mavi Marmara.

A "top official"laimed that the Turkish demand for an official apology was mainly an excuse to allow Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to cut diplomatic ties with Israel.

The Foreign Ministry officials said they were surprised by the request for an apology from Turkey's Ambassador to the US, Namik Tan, who "was known to be a supporter of Israel".

(Hmm.... If a "supporter of Israel" is calling for the apology, I would think that Israeli officials might consider how serious the diplomatic situation has become.)

1130 GMT: The New Israeli Line. Speaking at the opening of a Cabinet meeting,Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced, ""Evidence shows separate group of violent Islamists boarded flotilla....[They] boarded the ship at a separate port, did their own provisioning, and were not subject to the same security check of their luggage as all the other passengers.”

The Israeli Defense Forces are briefing the press that a group of about 50 men of the 700 on board the Mavi Marmara were trained fighters recruited from the northwestern Turkey city of Bursa. None had ID cards or passports; each carried an envelope with $10,000 in cash.

1105 GMT: Ha'aretz reports that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has given Israel a proposal for an international committee of inquiry into the raid on the Mavi Marmara. The newspaper says that senior Israeli officials are recommending a positive response because Turkey will probably oppose it.

The committee would be headed by former New Zealand Prime Minister Geoffrey Palmer, an expert on maritime law, and include representatives from the US, Turkey, and Israel. Ban made the proposal in a phone call to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

1045 GMT: The immediate tragedy and dramas of two Israeli boardings of Freedom Flotilla ships may be over, but there is still a lot of uncertainty and political tension about today.

Israel's official line is that most of the activists from the MV Rachel Corrie, the ship seized by the Israeli military yesterday and towed to Israel's port of Ashdod, will be deported.

The Free Gaza Movement, however, says, "Nothing from the kidnapped passengers. [Nobel Prize laureate] Mairead [Corrigan]'s husband said no contact with her. Israel refuses to allow lawyers to talk to them."

The battle of words and pictures also continues. There are claims that Israel altered the audio on supposed communications with the Mavi Marmara (see Friday's updates for the Israeli version of the exchange), the ship attacked on Monday, to create the impression of passengers shouting insults such as "Shut up, go back to Auschwitz".

And discussion is heating up over photographs in Hurriyet,  the Turkish newspaper, showing an injured Israeli commando surrounded by passengers of the Mavi Marmara.

Gaza Flotilla Analysis: US Official Position "My Israel, Right or Wrong" (Yenidunya)

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Tuesday that "the situation in Gaza is unsustainable and unacceptable". However, when she turned from the "humanitarian side" of the issue, she emphasised: "Israel’s legitimate security needs must be met."

Translated: We are sorry for some Gazans who are suffering from the blockade but Israel needs to continue its struggle against Hamas and we do support this cause.

Gaza Flotilla LiveBlog (3 June): Pressure on Israel Grows

(Clinton also did not emphasize the need of an international investigation. On Tuesday, Israel's ambassador to the U.S., Michael Oren, was offered an investigation led by an "international" judge as a chair with a US representative as an observer. West Jerusalem has not responded.)


On Wednesday, Vice President Joe Biden, appearing on the US Public Broadcasting Service, put all the blame on Hamas and said, "I think Israel has an absolute right to deal with its security interest". As for the enquiry, he opened the door for West Jerusalem, "Well, an investigation run by the Israelis, but we're open to international participation..."

Here is a part of the transcript of Biden's interview:

Charlie Rose: Prime Minister Netanyahu was scheduled to come to Washington. He did not. He went back to Israel. There is a blockade. Should they end the blockade in lieu of what's happened here?

Joe Biden: I think Israel has an absolute right to deal with its security interest. I put all this back on two things: one, Hamas, and, two, Israel's need to be more generous relative to the Palestinian people who are in trouble in Gaza. Let me explain that very briefly. Sometimes, because we deal so much at least which you know so much about, we have to remember how we got here. Remember, it was Ehud Barak who decided to pull all Iraqi troops --- I mean, excuse me, all Iraqi --- all Israeli troops out of Gaza. He did that back in '06.

Then there was an election, an election for their Parliament with a president named Mahmoud Abbas who in fact was the successor of [Yasser] Arafat in the Fatah [Party]. That produced a majority of members of the Parliament, which was the West Bank and Gaza, of Hamas.

The international community, the so-called Quartet; the United States, Europe, Russia, and the U.N., said, "Look, in order for you to be part of that government, you have to agree to four conditions. One, you'll abide by previous agreements that have been made by the government of --- by the Palestinians. Two, you are going to renounce terror. Three, you're going to recognize Israel, and basically that you have to accept” --- and here's what happened. They then got in a fight among themselves. They physically took over by force of arms, killed members of the existing government, exile them, took over and started firing rockets into Israel. Over 3,000 went in last year.

And as we put pressure, and the world put pressure on Israel to let material go into Gaza to help those people who are suffering, the ordinary Palestinians there, what happened? Hamas would confiscate it, put it in a warehouse, sell it, they were -- so the problem is this would end tomorrow if Hamas agreed to form a government with the Palestinian Authority on the conditions the international community has set up.

And so I mean again, look, you can argue whether Israel should have dropped people onto that ship or not and the -- but the truth of the matter is, Israel has a right to know --- they're at war with Hamas --- has a right to know whether or not arms are being smuggled in. And up to now,

Charlie, what's happened? They've said, "Here you go. You're in the Mediterranean. This ship --- if you divert slightly north you can unload it and we'll get the stuff into Gaza." So what's the big deal here? What's the big deal of insisting it go straight to Gaza? Well, it's legitimate for Israel to say, "I don't know what's on that ship. These guys are dropping eight --- 3,000 rockets on my people." Now, the one thing we have to do is not forget the plight of these Palestinians there, not Hamas, the --- they're in bad shape. So we have put as much pressure and as much cajoling on Israel as we can to allow them to get building materials in, glass....

Charlie Rose: That's what they're trying to bring in, building materials.

Joe Biden: Yes, we know that, but they could have easily brought it in here and we'd get it through. And so now the question is what do we do? Well, we had made it clear, the President of the United States has spoken three times, yesterday with Bibi, or the day before yesterday, he's spoken once yesterday with a guy that I have spent a fair amount of time with, with Prime Minister Erdogan in Turkey; the Turks, we passed a resolution in the U.N. saying we need a transparent and open investigation of what happened. It looks like things are ---

Charlie Rose: International investigation ---

Joe Biden: Well, an investigation run by the Israelis, but we're open to international participation, just like the investigation run on the sunken sub in -- off the coast of Korea. That was run by South Korea, but the international community joined in that investigation. And so that is very possible here as well. I might add by the way for all those who say the Israelis, you know, you know, you can't trust them, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled today that every one of the people on those ships had to be released immediately, immediately.

Charlie Rose: So what's the ---

Joe Biden: It's a rule of law. It works.

Charlie Rose: I said it was my last question, so I'll make it my last question then. So are you saying that the relationship between Israel and the United States is okay, that there are ---

Joe Biden: It's more than okay. Look, we always have had disagreements tactically with the Israeli government, but when I was in Israel, Bibi Netanyahu and I held a press conference before all the flap about a new settlement, etc, and ---

Charlie Rose: Right, yeah, yeah. Exactly, oh, the President got very upset about that because of what he did while you were in the country. I mean, that was the ---

Joe Biden: That's true but here's the point. We stood there at that press conference I'm making a major speech at the University of Tel Aviv, major meaning laying out U.S. policy, and Bibi pointed out that no administration in history has been as up-front and supportive of Israel's security as this administration. We've done everything from provide missile defense. We've made sure they've maintained their qualitative edge. There's a new program they call Iron Dome that we're helping fund for them to be able to protect themselves. We have joint maneuvers. They've never been closer on the strategic side with Israel than today.

Gaza Flotilla LiveBlog: Limiting an Enquiry, Maintaining a Blockade? (2 June)

2100 GMT: British Prime Minister David Cameron, speaking in Parliament, has strongly denounced both the Israeli attack on the Freedom Flotilla and the blockade of Gaza:

What has happened is completely unacceptable. We should be clear about that and we should also deplore the loss of life....We should do everything we can to make sure this doesn't happen again - and I stressed this point in a conversation with President Netanyahu of Israel....



Friends of Israel - and I count myself a friend of Israel - should be saying to the Israelis that the blockade actually strengthens Hamas's grip on the economy and on Gaza, and it's in their own interests to lift it and allow these vital supplies to get through.

NEW Gaza Flotilla: A Legal Opinion “The Occupying Power Had to Facilitate the Passage”
NEW Gaza Flotilla Video & Transcript: Hillary Clinton’s Statement (1 June)
Gaza Flotilla: The Text of the UN Security Council Statement
Gaza Flotilla: A Short Note on Why Our “New Media” Are Essential
Blaming the Gaza Flotilla: Text of US Remarks in Security Council
The Flotilla: Has Israel Lost Its Second Gaza War? (Burston)
Gaza Flotilla LiveBlog: The Politics After the Attack (1 June)

1720 GMT: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in the middle of a press conference defending Monday's attack. Calling the Freedom Flotilla a "hate boat", he said, "The State of Israel will continue to practice its right to defend itself. It's important for all of us to be united."


1715 GMT: The Israeli Line. The Israeli military is now realising selective clips from cameras on the Mavi Marmara to establish that "rioters" initiated the confrontation with the commandos.

I'll leave it to readers to critique the footage, but ask this question: if this is an effort at establishing the "truth" about the attack, rather than propaganda to justify it, why not release all the film from the cameras, rather than this edited, partial clip?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZlSSaPT_OU[/youtube]

1640 GMT: Hamas has refused Israel's delivery of wheelchairs that were amongst the aid on the Freedom Flotilla. "We refuse to receive the humanitarian aid until all those who were detained aboard the ships are released," said Ahmed Kurd, Minister for Social Welfare. "We also insist that the equipment be delivered in its entirety."

Kurd said that the passage of the wheelchairs was a "deception," claiming that the batteries that operate them had been removed, and was designed to divert attention from Monday's "massacre".

Kurd also welcomed Egypt's decision to reopen the Rafah border crossing.

1635 GMT: The "You Don't Say" Headline of Day. Reuters makes a surprising discovery, "Experts say Gaza convoy raid may boost militancy".

1625 GMT: Haneen Zoubi, an Arab member of the Israeli Parliament who was on the lead ship of the Freedom Flotilla, said Israeli naval vessels had surrounded the Mavi Marmara and fired on it a few minutes before commandos abseiled onto the deck.

Zoubi said passengers were forced off the deck when water was sprayed at them and she was not aware of any provocation or resistance. She added that within minutes of the raid, three bodies were brought to the main room on the upper deck, two with gunshot wounds to the head.

1330 GMT: In a separate entry, we have posted a legal opinion that the Israeli military was obligated to escort the Freedom Flotilla to a Gaza port.

1325 GMT: Israel's Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilna'i has told the Israeli Parlimaent, the Knesset that all nine passengers killed were involved in violent clashes, Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilna'i said on Wednesday.

Vilna'i praised Israel's commando unit, Shayetet 13, as "unique in the world....While their friends are being lynched....[they were] calling on each other to hold fire."

Vilna'i was heckled by Arab members of the Knesset, six of whom were ejected, and right-wing members, one of whom was removed from the chamber.

1320 GMT: CNN reports that Turkey has informally told the US it will pull out of a trilateral military exercise planned for August with the US and Israel.

1225 GMT: MV Rachel Corrie Halts Journey. The merchant ship MV Rachel Corrie is now going to stop in Crete while the Free Gaza Movement meets tonight to review its journey.

The Movement is reportedly reluctant for the ship to proceed because it does not want the Rachel Corrie to attract all media attention when there are still activists, including Free Gaza board member Lubna Masarwa, who are still in an Israeli prison.

1210 GMT: More Pressure on Israel. Britain's Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has said, "[The blockade] is an absolute humanitarian catastrophe, and we should acknowledge it as such, but it is also not in Israel's own long-term self-interest....The blockade on Gaza is neither sustainable nor tenable in its present form."

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu says Ankara is ready to normalise ties with Israel if the blockade is lifted.

1200 GMT: Britain's Channel 4 reports that Irish Minister of Foreign Affairs Michael Martin has called on Israel to allow the aid ship MV Rachel Corrie to reach Gaza.

As the MV Rachel Corrie sails, the European Campaign to End the Siege on Gaza announced that they received funding for three more ships as part of a new flotilla "Freedom 2".

1140 GMT: Jack Shenker of The Guardian of London reports from the Gaza-Egypt border, "A total of three buses are believed to have made it across from Gaza to Egypt today. An estimated 3000+ people are still waiting."

1130 GMT: Israeli Defense Forces have released a new video, claiming that it shows passengers opened fire at soldiers first.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFGuwUGaI9o&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

1120 GMT: Limits of Criticism Continue. Turkish political parties have failed to agree on a Human Rights Commission declaration condemning Israel.  The opposition party, the Republican Peoples' Party, wanted to add "Parliament expects economic and military measures against Israel", but the Justice and Development Party rejected the change.

1110 GMT: The Human Rights Commission of the Turkish Parliament, TBMM, has condemned Israel's raid in a strongly-worded resolution.

Several hundred Turkish demonstrators, amidst tight security, gathered outside the Israeli Ambassador's residence in Ankara.

1100 GMT: Speaking at the opening of an economic conference in Beersheba, Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas has asked the UN Security Council to the lift the blockade on Gaza and to endorse an international investigation of the blockade and Monday's raid on the Flotilla raid. He said that the Palestinian people are encountering daily occurrences of Israeli terror.

1045 GMT: Defense Minister Ehud Barak welcomed Shayetet 13, the commando unit carried out the operation. He told them that "they did exactly what [they] were supposed to do" and added: "We are not in Western Europe: here there is no reward for the weak, there is no second chance for those who do not know how to defend themselves."

1030 GMT: Speaking to Army Radio, former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said: "The government needs to make a big effort to rehabilitate the political situation with friendly nations that are angry at us and to avoid sinking into isolation. We need to return the situation to what it was not too long ago when we were a friend of the world."

1010 GMT: The UN Human Rights Council is expected to vote on a draft resolution this afternoon. The resolution harshly condemns Israel and says Israel violated international law when it took over the ships in the middle of the ocean. The resolution also calls on Israel to lift the blockade on Gaza and to supply immediate humanitarian aid to Gaza, in the forms of food, gas, and medications. Similar to the Goldstone Report, it calls for an independent fact-finding mission to investigate international law violations.

1000 GMT: During yesterday's meeting between Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, the latter targeted Israel: "Psychologically, this attack is like 9/11 for Turkey. Turkish citizens were attacked not by terrorists but by a political decision of a state".

0945 GMT: Sherine Tadros of Al Jazeera reports that 77 women, the last female passengers in detention, will soon be freed. She says about 100 men remain in the Israeli prison.

0907 GMT: Israel has ordered the families of its diplomats to leave Turkey.

0904 GMT: Journalist Rachel Shabi says there is still no information on the number of passengers remaining in the Israeli prison, with no access for lawyers. Israel has still not released the names of the dead and injured.

0900 GMT: The BBC has posted the account of Hasan Nowarah, the first British passenger to return from the Freedom Flotilla. Nowarah had been on the attacked lead ship, the Mavi Marmara, but was moved to another craft before the assault:

As we finished our prayers all we could hear were people screaming, we looked at the Marmara ship and saw the Israeli helicopters dropping soldiers. We heard more screaming and shouting before bullets were fired all over the place.

On our ship we could hear 'tick, tick, tick, tick' around the body of the ship, but they were not real bullets, it turns out it was paintballing guns they were shooting at us.

0700 GMT: Donald Macintyre of The Independent of London makes a powerful case, "It's Up to Us to Lift the Blockade":

But blaming Israel – and Egypt, which repeatedly enforces closures on Gaza's southern border – for the blockade is too easy. For just as the international ban on talking to Hamas isolated its more pragmatic elements, so the West's tolerance of the siege has strengthened the Islamic faction's more repressive ones, turning Gaza in on itself. A lawful naval relief operation – or even a threat of it that might produce a real easing of what the UN sees as an unlawful blockade – might help to restore international influence over a territory which remains crucial to any settlement in the Middle East. And it would certainly would go a long way to redeeming the West's woeful inaction over the last three years.

0655 GMT: Israel freed 124 of the Flotilla's passengers before sunrise this morning, sending them to Jordan.

0630 GMT: More than 48 hours after the Israeli attack on the Freedom Flotilla, and the battle to open up both the enquiry into the incident and the economic blockade of Gaza continues.

We've posted the video and transcript of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's statement as the US Government tries to defend an Israeli --- rather than an "independent" --- investigation of the attack. At the same time, Washington's language on the Israeli blockade has shifted, even if it is set against the perpetual of Israel's security: "The situation in Gaza is unsustainable and unacceptable."

The challenge to Israel may have escalated with Egypt's decision to open its border with Gaza for the first time in more than a year, as thousands immediately made the crossing. West Jerusalem is trying to hold the line with the statement of an "ongoing dialogue" with the international community over the blockade.

And around the politics circulates the clash of statements and videos over what happened on Monday aboard the Mavi Marmara, the lead ship of the Flotilla, as nine passengers were killed. A series of survivors, deported from Israel, gave vivid testimony of an Israeli attack on unarmed civilians. The Israelis countered by putting forth its video version of the clash and the Israeli commando officer who was supposedly thrown over a railing.