Israeli naval commandos forcefully boarded another Gaza aid boat, diverting it to the Israeli port of Ashod:
“Now, the activists are held in a building in the port where they are going through various interviews. Their boat is going to be thoroughly checked for weapons and cargo, which the Greek captain said he did not have on board.
[…] “This ‘little’ boat symbolises the determination of the international solidarity movement to break the blockade on Gaza and express its support for the 1.6 million Palestinians imprisoned there since 2007,” a statement released from the boat said.
Yes, the aim of the people on this boat was the same as previous Gaza-bound flotillas: to provide much needed aid to people that are suffering…a malicious pursuit if there ever was one.
Meanwhile, Jonah Goldberg points to a poll claiming that 60% of Palestinians reject a two state solution (among other cruel absurdities) and plays down the importance of the settlement issue, sarcastically titling the post “Nothing a Settlement Freeze Won’t Fix, Right?” What is really important, if one is to construct these kinds of arguments, is to completely ignore three important things.
- Most polls show overwhelming majorities of Palestinians supporting a two state solution and opposing suicide bombings in Israel. Both the PLO as well as Hamas – the two authorities that officially represent the Palestinians – have consistently voiced support for the two state solution provided Israel freeze settlements which are illegal in any case. (The conductors of the poll Goldberg points to have distorted things before.)
- This has remained the demonstrable consensus despite uninterrupted confiscation of Palestinian land, ceaseless settlement construction, abusive military occupation, and unrelenting military attacks on innocent Palestinians.
- Both the actions of the Israeli government as well as official statements of policy show that the established Israeli position is to reject the two state solution and to use disproportionate violence against civilians in order to achieve this political aim (precisely what Goldberg’s poll condemns the Palestinians for preferring).
So while Israel continues to deny Palestinians the sovereignty and security the Israelis demand for themselves, to misrepresent the preferences of the Palestinian people, and to prevent humanitarian aid from reaching Gaza by invoking false claims of malicious intent, the U.S. government is continuing to follow in lock step, most recently with this attempt to strip foreign aid if Palestine seeks U.N. recognition. And Goldberg still believes Palestinians are the malicious ones.
i hate liars.. have a good life
Goldberg never met an uncomfortable distortion that he wouldn't embrace with relish. Seems the Israelis sent about half a dozen war ships to "intercept" that French vessel bound for Gaza. Overkill or piracy? Gosh, it's kind of hard to tell the difference. "Malicious intent" no doubt.
Eventually Israel will have to close the concentration camp that Israel created in Gaza. Israel looks terrible in it conduct of oppression towards people that many in Israel call cockroaches. Israel has had a very long and impressive run with the victory from the 1967 war that Israel started but they are now approaching civil war between the ultra orthodox and secular. Israel never could control the Ultra Orthodox and today they are becoming a major power in Israel. The problem is they do not work and you cannot have a nation which only reads the bible. Israel always had massive inflow of money from overseas but the orthodox will not be able to project the slick image that the secular have been so successful using. The arabs are a very growing number and when Israel finds it cannot expel the people of Gaza they will be faced with accepting and giving citizenship to the arabs and then the divided jewish population will have a really bad problem with keeping the policies of Israel since 1948. So many problem facing Israel and silly conduct of keeping the blockade going will only hurt. BTW Israel everyone knows you are only trying to steal the natural resource off the coast.
"" Jonah Goldberg points to …""
Goldberg? Somehow that name alone taints the spin being peddled.
I hate to make such a sweeping generalization, but there you have it.
Jonah Goldberg is an Israel-First chickenhawk. I'm underwhelmed by anything he says.
When future historians are puzzling over the ruins of the United States, they'll wonder why the U.S. Government sold out to Israel, that vile Zionist entity.
Israel is bizarre . It is a 21st Century country trying to emulate a 19th Century colonial power with its intent upon stealing land from and driving off or exterminating the natives and importing its racist and excess population from home to fill the vacuum.