This night a crime was perpetrated in the middle of the sea, by order of the government of Israel and the IDF Command
Only a crazy government that has lost all restraint and all connection to reality could something like that – consider ships carrying humanitarian aid and peace activists from around the world as an enemy and send massive military force to international waters to attack them, shoot and kill.
No one in the world will believe the lies and excuses which the government and army spokesmen come up with.
This is a day of disgrace to the State of Israel, a day of anxiety in which we discover that our future was entrusted to a bunch of trigger-happy people without any responsibility. This day is a day of disgrace and madness and stupidity without limit, the day the Israeli government took care to blacken the name of the country in the world, adding convincing evidence of aggressiveness and brutality to Israel’s already bad international image, discouraging and distancing the few remaining friends.
Indeed, today a provocation took place off the coast of Gaza – but the provocateurs were not the peace activists invited by the Palestinians and seeking to reach Gaza. The provocation was carried out by Navy ships commandos at the bidding of the Israeli government, blocking the way of the aid boats and using deadly force.
It is time to lift the siege on the Gaza Strip, which causes severe suffering to its residents. Today the Israeli government ripped the mask of its face with its own hands and exposed the fact that Israel did not “disengage” from Gaza. Real disengagement from the area does not go together with blocking the access to it or sending soldiers to shoot and kill and wound those who try to get there.
The State of Israel promised in the Oslo Accords 17 years ago to enable and encourage the establishment of a deep water port in Gaza, through which Palestinians could import and export freely to develop their economy. It’s time to realize this commitment and open the Port of Gaza. Only after the Gaza port will be open to free and undisturbed movement, just like the Ashdod and Haifa ports, will Israel really have disengaged from the Gaza Strip. Until then, the world will continue – and rightly so – to consider the Gaza Strip under Israeli occupation and the State of Israel as responsible for the fate of the people living there.
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The following ad was placed by Gush Shalom in today's Haaretz:
What happened yesterday is a crime. A crime against the State of Israel.
A band of foolhardy, irresponsible and power-drunk persons decided on an action that was bound to result in people being killed and injured.
No sensible person in Israel or abroad will buy the collection of lies and pretexts with which those responsible are trying to justify themselves. The more so since no one of the victims has been allowed to speak.
Not only was this operation immoral, but it is also turning against us the last of our sympathizers in the world and adding strength to those who call for a boycott on Israel.
There is only one way to limit the damage:
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- TO CALL for the immediate appointment of an international board of inquiry to investigate the event.
- TO LIFT at once the immoral and illegal blockade against the million and a half inhabitants of the Gaza Strip.
- TO IMPLEMENT the proposed prisoner exchange and free Gilad Shalit.
Huge damage has been done. We must try to repair it as best as possible
