Gaza Latest (25 June): Iranian Flotilla "Cancelled"; US Says Aid Ships "Irresponsible"; Europe Calls for End to Blockade

One of the organizers of an Iranian aid flotilla said Thursday that the event has been cancelled due to "Israeli threats". Nevertheless, Israel's Army Radio reported that a separate Iranian ship, carrying 60 Iranian activists, was being prepared to sail to Gaza via the Caspian Sea, which seems a rather unusual route.

The U.S. State Department issued a statement calling the aid flotillas to Gaza irresponsible:

Mechanisms exist for the transfer of humanitarian assistance to Gaza by member states and groups that want to do so. Direct delivery by sea is neither appropriate nor responsible, and certainly not effective, under the circumstances.

The Council of Europe's parliamentarians have called on Israel to end its siege of the Gaza Strip, describing Israel's recent ease of blockade as a "first step". A large majority in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) said that goods must be delivered to Gaza both by sea and land, "without prejudice to [Israel's] security", so that Palestinians can enjoy "normal living conditions".

The parliamentarians also criticized the Israeli raid of Freedom Flotilla last month as a breach of international law, calling it "manifestly disproportionate".

The proceedings of the Terkel committee examining the IDF’s raid on the Gaza flotilla will be made open to the public, The Jerusalem Post announced.

Middle East Inside Line: Coalition Changes in Israel?; Netanyahu's War for Legitimacy; Israel Warns Lebanon

Lieberman-Netanyahu War?: Tension is increasing between Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The latter needs the opposition, "centrist" party Kadima in the coalition, butKadima's leader Tzipi Livni wants the Foreign Ministry.

Lieberman doesn't seem to be too receptive. On Tuesday, he told reporters that Kadima could join the coalition as long as Kadima members agreed to support a land and population swap as a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He continued:

This coalition will not change. We are willing to consider a shift in the coalition only if the entire coalition, including Kadima, supports the concept of a populated land swap rather than the concept of land for peace.

Israel’s Political/Military Alternative to Turkey: Romania?
Gaza Latest: Is Egypt Going to Make a Stand Against Israel? (Yenidunya)

Lieberman has a second condition as well: Kadima will agree to the continuation of construction when the freeze in the West Bank ends in September.

What about Netanyahu? The pressure on his shoulders is increasing day by day.

Here is the latest sign: leaders of Netanyahu's coalition partner Labor have said that, unless Kadima joins the government soon, they may not continue in government. That in turn could start a war between Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu and Netanyahu's Likud, ending up with an early election.

On Thursday, Ha'aretz headlined, "Striking Shift: Complete Lift of Gaza Blockade". According to Israel's Channel Two television, Lieberman proposed to his Italian counterpart, Franco Frattini, that Frattini head a delegation of European diplomats to the Gaza Strip. Although this is a change of policy but a change of tactics, Lieberman might be willing to extend his hand to Netanyahu at this first stage with a "concession".

Netanyahu's War for Israel's "Attacked" Legitimacy: Haaretz learned late Tuesday that Arab and Muslim members of the United Nations, led by Malaysia, are working toward assembling an emergency UN session to discuss Israel's last month raid of a Gaza-bound flotilla.

This was enough for Netanyahu. On Wednesday, during a Knesset discussion on Israel's collapsing international status,  Netanyahu warned  that West Jerusalem's legitimacy is being attacked. He said:

They want to strip us of the natural right to defend ourselves. When we defend ourselves against rocket attack, we are accused of war crimes. We cannot board sea vessels when our soldiers are being attacked and fired upon, because that is a war crime.

They are essentially saying that the Jewish nation does not have the right to defend itself against the most brutal attacks and it doesn't have the right to prevent additional weapons from entering territories from which it is attacked.

Then he targeted the "source of trouble":

The Palestinian side promoted the Goldstone report, organized boycotts, and tried to prevent our entrance into the OECD. The Palestinian Authority has no intentions of engaging in direct talks with us.

I call on [PA President Mahmoud] Abbas, yet again, to enter direct talks with us, because there is no other way to solve the conflict between us without direct dialogue. How could we possibly live side by side if they can't even enter the same room as us?

Lastly, Netanyahu called on activists to go to Iran, not to Gaza:

I call on all human rights activists in the world - -- go to Tehran. That's where there is a human rights violation.

Israel Warns Lebanon: Respondingto Lebanon parliament speaker Nabih Berri's  warning to his Government to start exploring offshore natural gas reserves, claiming that otherwise Israel would claim the resources, Israel's Infrastructure Minister Uzi Landau told Bloomberg that Israel would "not hesitate to use force and strength to protect not only the rule of law but the international maritime law".,

Lebanon's former Prime Minister and current member of parliament, Fouad Siniora, also urged the Lebanese government to take the issue of offshore gas reserves in the country's territorial waters seriously.

Israel's Political/Military Alternative to Turkey: Romania?

On Wednesday, the Southeast European Cooperation Process (SEECP), meeting in Istanbul,  issued a joint declaration: "We deplore the loss of life and injuries during the incident in international waters", a reference to Israel's raid on the Freedom Flotilla on 31 May. The 13-member-organization also stated that it wants "an impartial, independent and internationally credible investigation on this matter".

The Turkish daily, Hurriyet, points out that there was no specific condemnation of Israel because of an objection by Romania. 

Gaza Latest: Is Egypt Going to Make a Stand Against Israel? (Yenidunya)

That is politically significant, but it may also have military implications. Officials in West Jerusalem have told journalists, "As Turkey no longer allows the Israel Air Force to train in Turkish airspace, maneuvers may in the future take place over Romania."

Gaza Latest: Is Egypt Going to Make a Stand Against Israel? (Yenidunya)

Israel's "Gaza" and Egypt's Manoeuvres: Israeli officials have stated their concerns over a confrontation with a Gaza-bound Iranian ship if Egypt does not prevent the ship from passing through the Suez Canal.

Egyptian official Mohammad Abdelwahab responded that the ship would not be halted.

The immediate explanation? Egyptian authorities do want to carry the main responsibility for halting aid to Gaza, especially following the passage of  12 United Stateswarships and at least one Israeli ship from the Suez Canal towards the Red Sea on last Friday.

Gaza Latest: Israel Warns Iranian & Lebanese Flotillas; UN Calls for Lifting of Blockade

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Wednesday accused Israel of trying to make Egypt carry the blame for the situation in Gaza. He said: "We reject attempts by Israel, the occupying force, to free itself of responsibility towards the strip and place it on Egypt."

There may be another reason for Cairo to give such a direct response to West Jerusalem. Last week, Hamas said that it would only accept the Egyptian initiative for Palestinian reconciliatoin if Cairo agreed to some changes. Egypt may be reading that statement not as defiance but as willingness of Hamas willing to negotiate over its relations with the rival party Fath.

There is a bigger question, however. Egypt's current manoeuvres follow years of acceptance of, even cooperation with, Israel's unwillingness to improve the situation of Gazans by lifting the economic siege. After all, it was not only Israeli crossings that were closed or restricted; there is also Egypt's border with Gaza at Rafah.

Is Mubarak really going to say now, "We are exerting all efforts to lift the Israeli blockade on Gaza"?

Israel-Palestine: Plan to Raze 22 More Palestinian Houses in East Jerusalem

Israel's efense Minister Ehud Barak, reacting to the decision of the Jerusalem municipal planning committee to destroy 22 houses in the Arab neighborhood of Silwan in East Jerusalem, has criticised, "The Jerusalem municipality and the planning committee have shown a lack of common sense and sense of timing – and not for the first time."

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4PcIbAYZ7M[/youtube]

Gaza Latest: Israel Warns Iranian & Lebanese Flotillas; UN Calls for Lifting of Blockade

For Jerusalem mayor Nir Barakt has said the razing of 22 Palestinian homes --- which the authority claims were built illegally and construction of a park would attract tourism, but local Palestinian residents claim that the purpose is to increase the hold of Jewish settlers over the neighbourhood. Haaretz claimed that an additional 66 homes built by Jewish residents, without the proper permits, would receive approval retroactively.

Barkat quickly reacted to the Defense Minister:

Instead of helping the municipality strengthen the city and confront the serious neglect inherited over many years in the eastern part of the city, the defense minister acts without checking the facts.

The new plan for Silwan allows for the addition of thousands of housing units for the Arab sector and the resolution of hundreds of construction violations. Barak should be one of the primary supporters of the plan.

"This is expressly the kind of step that we think undermines trust that is fundamental to making progress in the proximity talks," said State Department spokesman Phillip Crowley.