Turkey's New Attack on Israel Through Comoros Over Mavi Marmara

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                        

The 3 year old incident of the Turkish ship, the Mavi Marmara who sailed into the sea near Gaza in trying to break the Israeli blockade.  A Turkish backed and organized flotilla had been created to back the Palestinians who had been firing mortars, missiles and rockets into Israel since 2001. The attacks from Gaza increased from 2006 on since Israel had pulled out in 2005 and it became a launching pad of death and destruction into Israel.  

 The flotilla of 6 ships was organized by the Free Gaza Movement and  The Turkish Foundation For Human Rights and Freedom and  Humanitarian Relief  (İHH).   Israel was trying to keep weapons from reaching the Palestinians so had forewarned this flotilla that it had the international right to search all the ships for contraband such as anything like these weapons.  They were all saying that they were just bringing in goods that they had been deprived of.  It was well known that trucks from Israel went into Gaza everyday with shipments of goods so that was just not the case.

All ships were in compliance with the regulations of allowing Israeli commandos on board to be checked except the Mavi Marmara, registered in Comoros,  who attacked the young sailors who then were fighting for their own lives. Israel's commandos met up with 40 "hardcore" activists  armed with iron bars and knives.  10 Israeli commandos were wounded, one severely.  According to the AP report in this morning's paper, it was "Israeli commandos storming the ship."  They did have to board from a helicopter because the ship was large and high up.  A motorboat wouldn't have helped them.  In the resistance of Israeli checking, the Turks lost 8 and another who was a Turkish-American.  Several other pro-Palestinian activists were wounded as well.                                                  

                                                 Gaza Open Air Market (Shuk)
When President Obama last visited Netanyahu in Israel, he talked the Israeli Prime Minister into apologizing to the Turkish President.  Actually, many of us feel that it was the Turks who needed to apologize for not only breaking the blockade in the first place but in attacking  the fellows whose job it was to check the ship.  Other ships hadn't reacted like they had. They had used passive resistance.   The Turks had brought on the attack themselves.  Since then, Turkey has demanded this and demanded that, including a huge lump of cash.

The prime minister of Turkey involved in all of this is Recep Tayyip Erdogan.  He wants Israel to pay a lot of reparations.  He is a strong Muslim, more inclined to be in the axis of the Muslim Brotherhood.. This incident is used as the reason of the break in relations between Israel and Turkey.   The newest development out of Turkey towards this blockade incident that happened May 31, 2010, is being that the ship was registered in the tiny country of Comoros, they are having Comoros complain to the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands and expects them to investigate. As it is, a Turkish law firm is the representation for Comoros.  It might as well be Turkey!

Comeros is a tiny African state and a member of the court.  Israel and Turkey are not members.  Turkey is using Comeros's position to get more negativity thrown at Israel.  Comoros became a member of the UN in November 1975.  It is an archipelago near Madagascar  in which France still maintains control over one of 4 islands that make it up.. This tiny state is a member of many groups:  the African Union, the Arab League, the European Development Fund, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the Indian Ocean Commission, and the African Development Bank.  They accepted the Kyoto Protocol to the UN Framework convention on climate Change.  I wonder if it doesn't cost anything to belong to each group?   The state has a population of about 798,000 and is 98% Sunni Muslim.  Islam is the state religion. It is the 43rd largest out of 48 Muslim majority countries with Qatar being the 44th largest.   The Muslim Brotherhood is out to destroy Israel and is using this approach as well as missiles.

Israel's account is that "according to Israeli Home Front Defense Minister Matan Vilnai,  all of the dead were "involved in the fighting". Vilnai told a Knesset hearing that "there were no innocents among the dead."

Resource: Oregonian newspaper 5/15/13, page A7, Crime complaint cites Israel by Toby Sterling -AP
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comoros
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Muslim-majority_countries
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_Minister_of_Turkey
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_flotilla_raid
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Summer_Rains

U.S. Public Relations Firm Working Against Israel

U.S Public Relations Firm Working Against Israel

Nadene Goldfoot

Fenton Communications, a U.S. public relations firm has been working for "Al Fakhoora, a Qatar group that was involved with the illegal flotilla to Gaza. They urged action against Israel. This group is funded by Her Highness Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned, 2nd wife of Emir of Qatar. They're being paid about $240,000 for services from March 1 to Aug 31, 2010. The director of Al Fakhoora, Farooq Burney, a Canadian national, was on the Turkish ship on May 31st when they ran a blockade on Gaza. He was in partnership with IHH, who has jihadist ties and considered to be a terror group. Passengers on that ship had connections with Al Qaeda, Hamas and other terrorist organizations.

Fenton Communications, of which is named for it's originator, David Fenton, has a motto. "We frame the issues so they speak to people's hearts and minds and change their behavior." Yes, David. I see you are changing people's attitudes towards Israel in favor of a group that has been antagonistic and warlike ever since Israel's inception. Lying hasn't been left out of your planning as the lies that were told on the Mavi Marmara about the goings on when Israeli soldiers were attacked by martyrs hoping to die for their cause.

I note that the far away country of Qatar is getting in on the act, no doubt to impress its peers. I wonder if it's their gas money that they are spending.

Resource: The Israel Project press@theisraelproject.org: U.S. PR firm on Payroll of Qatari Group that Took Part in Gaza Flotilla-Qatar-based initiative Encouraged Action against Israel

Blockading Israel

Nadene Goldfoot

Israel has lifted the 3 year old blockade on most all goods entering Gaza, keeping out weapons or things with a military use. The big change is in allowing building materials that could have become part of the tunnels supplying terrorists with weapons. Now projects in Gaza will have international supervision. Cement was one of the items banned before. Before the flotilla blockade, the international community was doing nothing to assist Israel in its defense procedures.

However, back in the United States we see that in the port in Oakland, California, protesters against Israel are picketing because an Israeli ship is due to arrive. They intend to stop the ship from being unloaded. the longshoremen have agreed to not crossing the picket line. What are they protesting? Could it be that they want the Gazans to have weapons against Israel?

6/21/10 I just read that the UN wants the whole blockade lifted to get building materials in Gaza, plus they want to enter at a bigger entrance way, probably to avoid checking for weapons and such. Everyone is getting into the act and against Israel in her desperate endeavor to protect itself. We know that the terrorists are not planning on stopping their attacks on Israel. They just feel encumbered in their ability to get weapons, now. It would be wonderful if they were a peaceful lot who just wanted to live and rebuild, but living graciously isn't in their plans-with many not even wanting to live to a ripe old age. The sad part is that the UN is not an unbiased group. They are top-heavy with Palestinian sympathizers.

Reference Oregonian Newspaper 6/21/10 page A6: Ban ends on most goods for Gaza-from Jerusalem
pageA2: Israel protest.
Yahoo News 6/21/10
http://www.theisraelproject.org/

Mercenaries on the Gaza Flotilla

Nadene Goldfoot

Operation Sea Breeze

This so called peaceful flotilla whose goal was to bring in a shipment of goods for Gazans by breaking the blockade had at least 50 mercenaries on board trained to attack Israelis stopping the blockade.

Who funded the flotilla in the first place? The radical Turkish Islamic group IHH. The leader of this group had gone to Bursa in NW Turkey and allegedly recruited 50 mercenaries from there. About 350 of the passengers on board were from Turkey. These 50 men were not carrying ID cards or passports but each one had an envelope with about $10,000 in cash in his pocket. They were equipped with night-vision goggles, bulletproof vests, stun grenades, knives, axes and metal pipes and of course the bats we saw used against the soldiers on the video.

It had been repeated so often that Israel took them at their word that they were a peaceful flotilla. The leader of the operation was experienced Vice-Admiral Eliazer Marom who experienced the same type of operation in 2002 when they dealt with the ship Karine A, an Iranian arms ship carrying advanced weaponry to Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip.

They boarded the same way this time that they did then because this ship was so large that they could not do it any other way. They did not realize how they would be greeted this time. The 13 Israeli navel commandos who make up the unit known as the Shayetet, ranking among the IDF's most elite soldiers, were only armed with paintball guns and 9mm glock pistols for emergency. They were told not to fire, and went through training to be prepared only for mild violence and mostly curses, shoves and spitting in the face.

Now they are met with criticism all over the world for stopping a blockade to the Gaza Strip where Israel is continuing to suffer from missile strikes that no one cares to stop except Israel itself. I haven't heard of any criticism of Gazans continuing their missile attacks. Israelis live a life of Russian roulette never knowing when or where they could be hit.

An IDF officer said, "It might just be that whatever we do these days there will be a Goldstone report waiting around the corner." Gosh, I'd love to transplant Mr. Goldstone to Ashkelon and have him live there for a year and see how he would react.

Resource: http://www.jpost.com/LandedPages/PrintArticle.aspx?id=177432