Gaza Latest: Israel Prepares Confrontation with "Freedom Flotilla"

On Saturday, seven ships from a "Freedom Flotilla", bringing aid, will try and reach Gaza. It will be met by at least 12 Israeli naval boats, helicopters, and a "counter-flotilla".

On Friday, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman denounced the flotilla:

The aid convoy is violent propaganda against Israel, and Israel will not allow its sovereignty to be threatened in any way, in any place - land, air or sea.

There is no humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. Despite Hamas' war crimes against Israeli citizens and the thousands of rockets fired at Israeli towns, Israel continues to respond in the most humane way possible.

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Israeli gunships were ordered to take position to stop the convoy, and West Jerusalem made clear that it would overtake the ships as soon as they enter a 20-mile Israeli-controlled zone off Gaza. If the ships do not stop, Israel will attempt to connect the flotilla to naval boats and tow them to the Israeli port of Ashdod where the Israelis have prepared a detention centre. Those who do not want to take a flight back home will be taken to jail.


On Friday, Greta Berlin, one of the organizers of the effort, said a total of seven ships were headed to Gaza after an eighth vessel suffered a malfunction and had to turn back. Halting during darkness, they are expected to reach Israeli waters on Saturday.

The Israel Defense Forces responded that they will not hesitate to use limited force. The Turkish daily Hurriyet reports that the IDF will use a special technology to blackout media coverage in case of an operation.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Ministry Director General Yossi Gal held a round of explanatory calls with foreign ministers from countries whose citizens are participating in the flotilla. The Israeli message is that the activists are welcome to bring the humanitarian aid to the port of Ashdod, where it will be examined and, if found suitable, will be permitted to enter the Gaza Strip through land crossings. If the activists try to break the siege, they will be arrested.

The spokesman of the Humanitarian Relief Foundation, Umit Sonmez, said that the organisation does not trust Israeli officials who took the members of an earlier convoy into custody for 21 days for no reason. The HRF had written to Israeli officials regarding the planned journey to Gaza but had not received any reply.

Amos Harel and Avi Issacharoff, writing in Haaretz, assess:

The flotilla is not expected to alter in any substantial way the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip. It is mostly a battle of public relations that is meant to strike a blow at Israel. Perhaps if Israel was less eager to confront the activists, some of the media attention would have dissipated. Had the flotilla been allowed in, Hamas would have its day, and the entire affair would evaporate quickly.

Haaretz's editors urged the Israeli Government to resume indirect talks with Hamas, to be more flexible about releasing prisoners and to lift the siege on Gaza. They argue  that blockade, siege, and military operations, with the hope that Gazans would topple Hamas, has failed: "The suffering that Israel is causing 1.5 million people for this purpose is not only inhuman, but extremely detrimental to Israel's status around the world".

The editors warn, "Even if Israel manages to prevent the flotilla from reaching Gaza, it will still have to contend with other demonstrations of support."

Middle East Inside Line: Israel's Settlements; Syria's Defiance

Pressure on Netanyahu over Settlements: On Thursday, fifty-six members of the Knesset petitioned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak to allow construction of a neighbourhood in the West Bank settlement of Ariel. The building would break Netanyahu's promise to freeze building in the West Bank for 10 months.

The neighourhood would house evacuees of the former Gaza Strip settlement of Netzarim, who have been without permanent housing since Israel's disengagement in 2005.

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Syria Takes No "Step Back": Syrian President Bashar al-Assad met with French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner in Damascus on Sunday and urged the West to "break its silence" in the face of Israeli "aggression" in the Middle East. According to Syria's official news agency SANA, Assad said:

The region has changed and the West's policy in the area is no longer acceptable, keeping silent over Israeli violations is no longer acceptable.

If the West wants security and stability to be established in the Middle East, [it] must start to play an effective role to contain Israel and put an end to its extremist policies.

Then, he defended Damascus' ally and neighbour Iran:

The countries involved need to change their attitude to Iran's civil nuclear program, because this agreement is an important opportunity to reach a diplomatic solution and prevent a tragic dispute in the region and the world at large.

Late Sunday, Foreign Minister Walid Moallem sharpened Syria's tone during a meeting with his German counterpart Guido Westerwelle. He said that Damascus "will not be a policeman for Israel" and added:

Why are arms forbidden to Arabs and allowed to Israel? Did Israel ever stop arming itself, did it stop instigating violence or making military maneuvers?

Israel is beating the drum of war. In the absence of real peace every thing is possible.

Israel's Drill and Hezbollah: Hezbollah has mobilized thousands of its militants in southern Lebanon ahead of a major Israel Defense Forces drill, "Turning Point 4", AFP reported.

While Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo ahead of his visit to Washington, Hezbollah's deputy head, Nabil Qaouk, said thousands of Hezbollah fighters will not take part in Lebanon's municipal elections on Sunday because they are preparing for the possible attack by Israel.

Israel has sent messages to Arab states about the drill, stressing that it has no plans to launch an attack.

Washington Approves Israel's Iron Dome Defense System: The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday voted in favour of President Barack Obama's plans to help Israel fund the deployment of the Iron Dome anti-missile defense system.

Lawmakers, by a 410-4 margin, backed Obama's plan to give Israel $205 million for its production of a short-range rocket defense system.

Middle East Inside Line: IDF Concern over Settlers, Israel's Warning to Europeans, Barak's Tactics, Chomsky on "Stalinist" Israel

Israel Defense Forces Concern over Settlers: The head of Israel Defense Forces' Central Command, General Avi Mizrahi, told the troops of Kfir Infantry Brigade on Monday that the recent spate of settler violence could lead to a Palestinian uprising in the West Bank.

The Kfir Brigade, created in December 2005, consists of six battalions who man 30 percent of the roadblocks in the West Bank and are responsible for 60 percent of arrests. Although the IDF is not aware of any plan, Mizrahi said, the IDF must be ready for any escalation in the territory and for the possibility of fighting the Palestinian forces, trained in Jordan by US General Keith Dayton. Mizrahi continued:

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In most of the settlements, there is no problem,. Most are normative – but another mosque arson, and yet another arson, and it all comes together. But Yitzhar, Gilad's Farm, Maon, they don't believe in us at all as a state. They want only one thing, and when someone loses his boundaries, you don't know where it's going to go.

"Hands off Gaza": The Israeli Foreign Ministry warned Turkey, Greece, Ireland, and Sweden that any of their citizens setting sail for Gaza would be stopped before they could reach the coastal territory.

Earlier Monday, Israeli security forces released and deported a Turkish national arrested this month for allegedly belonging to an outlawed Islamic group.

Israel's Barak Aligning with Obama: Unlike his coalition partners, Ehud Barak prefers playing the "good guy" within the context of a regional peace under Washington's guidance. Possibly because of benefits when compared to partners' "intransigence", the Labor Party declines to hit the media with conservative and provocative statements on Jerusalem.

Barak on Monday urged Israeli lawmakers to refrain from taking any actions or making remarks that might present West Jerusalem's opposition to the Middle East peace process, according to Israel Radio. He also said that Israel must work to increase the mutual trust with its top ally, the United States, and added that the proximity talks must eventually lead to direct talks with the Palestinians.

Chomsky's Response to Israeli Officials: Having been refused entry into Israel on Sunday, Noam Chomsky likened Israel to a  "Stalinist regime". In a telephone conversation with Haaretz, Chomsky said from Jordan:

The official asked me why I was lecturing only at Bir Zeit and not an Israeli university. I told him that I have lectured a great deal in Israel. The official read the following statement: 'Israel does not like what you say.

I find it hard to think of a similar case, in which entry to a person is denied because he is not lecturing in Tel Aviv. Perhaps only in Stalinist regimes.

Israel's Lieberman on North Korea: Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Sunday responded to a personal attack from the North Korean Foreign Ministry, which called him "an imbecile". He said, "I see it as a compliment from the North Koreans."

Middle East Inside Line: Mitchell's Talks in Palestine; Israel's Official Perception of Peace

Mitchell in Ramallah: US envoy George Mitchell was in Ramallah on Friday for meetings with the Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas and the PA's top negotiator Saeb Erekat. Both Palestinians reiterated their call upon Israel to stop construction in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. Though the Palestinian Liberation Organization's executive committee has not made a formal decision yet, Erekat said:

If the price that we will pay for saying yes to Mitchell will be more settlements and more dictations, that's a big question mark about the possibility of continuing.

Now the Israeli government has a choice, either peace or settlements, and it can't have both.

Following Defense Minister Ehud Barak's request to delay the demolition date of illegal residential structures in the West Bank, Israeli officials told the High Court of Justice that they may legalize the Givat Hayovel outpost in the West Bank.



Livni's Call for an Agreement: In an interview with Haaretz, the opposition leader MK Tzipi Livni (Kadima) on Thursday called to combine the forces of "the two large Zionist parties in Israel" - Kadima and Likud - to reach a peace agreement with the Palestinians. Livni said:

The prime minister is the one preventing the change....Change is possible, but it will not be done with the agreement of the ultra-Orthodox parties. They have no reason [to agree], as long as Likud is the ruling party. Likud has bound its political destiny and all Israelis' fate to the ultra-Orthodox politicians' whims....Change is possible and the keys to change are in the hands of the Zionist parties representing the majority in Israel.

Israel's Official Perception of Peace: In an interview with The Jerusalem Post, Vice Premier and Regional Development Minister Silvan Shalom said: "No matter what we do, I do not see a Palestinian leader who is willing to accept what [Yasir] Arafat rejected, and I don’t see a Jewish prime minister who can give more than what [Ehud] Barak offered. Therefore, I see it as a dead end."

Shalom stated that the Palestinian Authority was already functioning like a de facto state. “True, they don’t have borders,” he said, “but we also don’t have borders.” He described the proximity talks as "bypass" talks and said their focus should be on economic projects, development of industrial areas, and joint projects in the spheres of electricity, sewage, water and infrastructure assistance. They could also increase freedom of movement in the West Bank, through the lifting of roadblocks, and help the Palestinians fight terrorism and enhance security.

Israel's Security: On Friday, President Shimon Peres told US envoy Mitchell that Israel placed security at the top of the agenda for the upcoming talks.

Israeli newspaper Maariv reported that FBI Director Robert Mueller came to Israel to discuss international crime and joint U.S-Israeli efforts to counter “terrorism” with Israeli Police Chief David Cohen.

Cohen said that the talks were positive and cooperation between security agencies in Israel and US had been fruitful in "the fight against organized and computer crimes as well as the fight against terrorism".