As Penny pointed out, due to yours truly's busy life, Haaretz has reported that the IDF will use all methods available to stop the Free Gaza Movement from breaking the siege:
Haaretz
According to the Foreign Ministry, Israel is within its rights to use force against the seafarers.
The subject of the Greek-flagged boats which the Free Gaza group said it would sail from Cyprus to Gaza this week prompted defense officials to hold a series of discussions; they said allowing the ships to reach the Gaza coastline could create a dangerous precedent
It is not only Israeli officials threatening these boats, the members of the Free Gaza Movement themselves have been personally threatened:
Threats and Intimidation
Ramzi Kysia Date : 08-17-2008
It’s appalling enough to receive phone calls, warning us that our boats will be blown up or asking us if we know how to swim, but when the callers go after our families, then that crosses the line from adolescent intimidation to psychological terrorism. This past Thursday, Lauren Booth received one such call.
“On the 14th of August 2008, an anonymous man called my home in France as my daughters played hide and seek in the garden. This stranger spoke to my husband, warning him that 'your wife is in great danger. These ships will be blown up.' My husband asked how it was this person had obtained our private home number. No response was forthcoming, but the illicit threats carried on.”
Other members of our nonviolent project have had their families in Occupied Palestine threatened with violence as well. From these threats, a pernicious pattern of intimidation is beginning to emerge. The question, of course, is just who benefits the most by trying to terrorize and stop us from breaking Israel’s terrible siege on 1.4 million Palestinians in Gaza?
Israel had better be very careful how she deals with this non-violent voyage and political action. It could turn out to be a very negative PR disaster for them if any kind of harm should come to these brave folks. But then again - when has Israel ever really cared about others' opinion of her? (Hint: never).
5 comments:
Isn't that despicable, to resort to terrorist tactics?
Threatening death!
How low can one go?
Par for the course with extremists of all stripes sadly.
We just don't hear about the Jewish ones as much (make that pretty much NOT at ALL) as we constantly hear about the Muslim and to a lesser degree, Christian ones.
It's that old double (or triple?) standard.
I hope Israel does nothing and lets them land - though as they have already stated it would set a dangerous precident - what exactly?? That the siege should be broken? That finally Israel has gone too far and the world has had enough?
Of course if anything terrible were to happen to these brave souls it would, as I stated, be VERY bad for Israel - if she cares.
The precedent would be that of 'showing Israel for what it is'. This cannot be allowed. Israel does care what others think. The bloc-media's central task is to control precisely that. This Free-Gaza effort threatens to posit an alternative view to that the Israelis would have us see.
For mine, the single genius of the Jewish people, is their understanding that perception trumps reality. If one controls perceptions one can get away with anything. Here, for the first time in ages, someone opposed to them is on the verge of breaking the totality of their control of our perceptions. Believe it or not, in Israel, this is as big a crisis as exists. This is a far bigger threat than Qasams, Hamas, Lebanon, anything. For the first time ever, they lose control of the message...
Hey nobody, I think you hit the nail on the head.
Any harm coming to these people will expose her real face to the world - problem being - WHO will report this in the mainstream media?
Not sure how it is in Aus, but in Canada never a nasty word is written over Israel. (Sure now and again a few little snippets are allowed - but they are always out of context and coupled with 'qassams fired at Sderot').
So, even if the Israelis DO stop the vessels and detain (read torture) the protestors - will the world find out?
Sorry,
I missed your reply. But will it get in the media? It hasn't so far. But then, not much has happened yet. But I have a feeling that it will all come to a head. And I don't see how the media will be able to avoid it. Let's view 'it' here not as the event itself, but as the splash it makes in the net. The net is now able to push stories into the media. If stories are big enough, with a big enough percentage of the population knowing about it, the media is forced to acknowledge it. I think that that will be the mechanism here. Fingers crossed.
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