Turkey Readies Indictments of Israelis Over Gaza Flotilla

Turkey continues pressing ahead with a potential indictment of top Israeli military leaders over the Gaza flotilla that had nothing to do with humanitarian aid and everything to do with seeking a violent confrontation with Israel.

Turkish newspapers are noting that Ankara's prosecutor is preparing a 144-page document that accuses top Israeli officers, including former army chief Gabi Ashkenazi, of ordering intentional killing, wounding of Turkish nationals on Mavi Marmara; charges still need to be approved by Istanbul district prosecutor.

According to the Turkish daily Sabah, Ankara's chief prosecutor Abdurrahman Yalcinkaya is due to file a 144-page indictment targeting Ashkenazi, former Military Intelligence chief Amos Yadlin, former Israel Navy chief Eliezer Maron, and former head of Israel Air force's intelligence wing Avishai Levy over the raid on the Mavi Marmara, which resulted in the deaths of nine Turkish nationals.

The report indicated that Turkey intended to charge the former officials for ordering IDF troops to intentionally kill, wound, and abduct Turkish activists, as well as encourage their torture and loot their belongings.

Turkey issued warrants against all four former Israeli officers, and they could be arrested on arrival in Turkey, the report added.

Israel's raid of the Gaza-bound flotilla proved a watershed moment in Israel-Turkey relations, with the once staunch allies trading blame over responsibility for the incident.

Turkey has insisted that Israel apologize for the raid and its consequences, as well as pay reparations to the families of those killed; Israel has, thus far, refused to do so.

Israeli commandos raided the Mavi Marmara as part of Israel's right to conduct a blockade of Gaza and were met with violence, including individuals carrying knives who assaulted the commandos. It was once those commandos were threatened that they responded with deadly force. Evidence shows that the people on board the Mavi Marmara, including those from the group IHH, had every intention of creating a violent confrontation. That will likely be ignored by the Turkish officials pushing this indictment.

Other ships in the flotilla were raided but no confrontations occurred on them.

The whole purpose of the flotilla was meant to confront Israel over its ongoing sea blockade of Gaza to prevent Hamas from being supplied with weapons and personnel.

That's despite the fact that the UN found that Israel was legally within its rights to enforce the blockade and that its actions were within Israel's legal rights. It hasn't stopped Turkey's leaders from pandering to the Islamists by pushing for indictments and straining its relations with Israel.

Israeli Humanitarian Aid Reaches Turkey; Turkish Government Unmoved

After the machinations of Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan to ingratiate himself with the Islamists and set about pushing a confrontation with Israel over its blockade of Gaza that led to the Mavi Marmara incident, Turkey has continued on its demands for apologies and reparations for Israel's actions.

Israel refuses to give an apology over the incident, and under international law it has no reason to do so. It was justified to engage in the blockade to prevent the terror group Hamas from being resupplied by sea, and terrorists on board the Mavi Marmara assaulted the boarding Israeli forces who had to use deadly force in self-defense.

One would think then that Israel would then do nothing when a deadly earthquake struck Turkey, with a death toll that is now well over 500.

You would be wrong.

Israel has sent humanitarian aid and offered search and rescue services. This is what Israel does. Israel will send humanitarian aid all over the world, including to other Arab countries in times of need, and gets nothing but scorn and derision from those countries' regimes in return.

The Israeli plane brought seven prefabricated houses and other supplies, NTV television reported said. The plane was redirected to Ankara because the airport near Van, the hardest-hit area, was too small.

Eight other countries were expected to deliver mobile homes and blankets during the day, news reports said.

The Foreign Ministry emphasized Turkey’s appreciation for the Israeli assistance but reiterated that humanitarian gestures during a natural disaster would not affect strained relations.

Turkey is demanding an official Israeli apology and compensation for the relatives of eight Turks and an American citizen of Turkish descent who were killed when Israeli commandos intercepted a Turkish aid flotilla attempting to break the blockade of Gaza last year.

As desperation grew in the affected areas, TV news reports on Wednesday showed chaotic scenes of people grabbing supplies from relief trucks, and an official with the Turkish Red Crescent put the number of trucks that had been ransacked at 17, the Anatolian Agency reported.

More than 50 countries offered assistance almost immediately after the earthquake; the government initially declined the offers, saying it had sufficient resources. But as the needs for tents and other supplies have become more clear, the government has begun reaching out for foreign aid.

Turkey has accepted the humanitarian aid, which includes prefabricated buildings, which are critical since the affected region around Van has been hit with a snowstorm and cold weather. It's miserable conditions to say the least, and Israel's assistance will be greatly appreciated by those who get the aid.

Yet, Turkey's government says that this does nothing to change its stance towards Israel.

Because that's what hypocritical governments and people do.

Tit For Tat Continues Between Turkey and Israel

Turkish leader Tayyip Erdogan continues courting Islamists and anti-Israel supporters throughout the Middle East with his statements calling on the UN to impose sanctions against Israel for its role in the Mavi Marmara flotilla incident and its general position towards the Palestinians.

Speaking to Time magazine, Erdogan criticized the UN for leveling sanctions on Iran and Sudan, while avoiding implementing trade measures against Israel - a move, Erdogan said, could have helped solved the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Erdogan was not optimistic about the Quartet efforts, saying that if it was truly interested in improving Israeli-Palestinian relations, it would pushed for imposing sanctions on Israel.

"Until today, the UN Security Council has issued more than 89 resolutions on prospective sanctions related to Israel, but they've never been executed. When it's Iran in question, you impose sanctions. What happens with Israel then?" he asked.

The Turkish prime minister made "a call out to humanity", saying that the Palestinians cannot be left to struggle any longer and countries that do not recognize their demands for statehood "will never be able to settle their accounts with history."

It's rather cynical and hypocritical of Turkey to claim that sanctions should be imposed against Israel for Israel's self-defense as a sovereign nation when Turkey engages in the same kind of actions against the Kurds. Moreover, Turkey has repeatedly invaded Northern Iraq to attack Kurdish groups that it believes are supporting the PKK. Its repeated human rights violations are legion and yet the UN takes no action against Turkey.

If there was a call out to humanity, sanctions would have been dropped on Turkey and Syria years ago for their despicable treatment of Kurds who are the forgotten people of the Middle East - and whose land claims span across Turkey, Syria, and Iraq.

Fact is that Iran and Syria's sanctions are well deserved - openly firing on crowds of peaceful protesters for months on end in Syria for instance. The violent crackdown by the Iranian regime against all opposition shows a level of violence that is simply not present in Israel. Israel's actions have been to defend itself against incessant terror attacks and the persistent threat of attacks.

But for the Palestinians failing to accept a true 2-state solution, Israel would not have needed the kinds of security measures that led to the flotilla incident. They would not have needed to enforce a blockade to prevent shipments of weapons and terrorists into Gaza. Hamas refuses to recognize Israel's right to exist and condones such attacks on Israel, but that's somehow's Israel's fault in Erdogan's distorted worldview.

Turkey Expels Israeli Ambassador After UN Report Finds Flotilla Raid Legal

The United Nations somehow managed to conclude that Israel's actions as a sovereign nation to defend itself was legal (which isn't a given when it comes to the United Nations) but still somehow managed to fault Israel for its use of force when its boarding party used force to defend itself from terrorists on board one of the boats in the flotilla seeking to break the blockade around Gaza.

The report, expected to be released Friday, also found that when Israeli commandos boarded the main ship, they faced “organized and violent resistance from a group of passengers” and were therefore required to use force for their own protection. But the report called the force “excessive and unreasonable,” saying that the loss of life was unacceptable and that the Israeli military’s later treatment of passengers was abusive.

The 105-page report, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times, was completed months ago. But its publication was delayed several times as Turkey and Israel sought to reconcile their deteriorating relationship and perhaps avoid making the report public. In reactions from both governments included in the report, as well as in interviews, each objected to its conclusions. Both said they believed that the report, which was intended to help mend relations, would instead make reconciliation harder.

Turkey is particularly upset by the conclusion that Israel’s naval blockade is in keeping with international law and that its forces have the right to stop Gaza-bound ships in international waters, which is what happened in the 2010 episode. That conclusion oversteps the mandate of the four-member panel appointed by the United Nations secretary general and is at odds with other United Nations decisions, Turkey argued.

The report noted that the panel did not have the power to compel testimony or demand documents, but instead had to rely on information provided by Israel and Turkey. Therefore, its conclusions cannot be considered definitive in either fact or law.

The Foreign Ministries in Turkey and Israel declined to comment publicly on the report, saying they preferred to wait for its official release. No one was available to comment in the office of the United Nations spokesman.

Israel considers the report to be a rare vindication for it in the United Nations. A United Nations Security Council statement at the time assailed the loss of life, and Israel faced widespread international condemnation. It thought that by offering to negotiate an agreement with Turkey that would stop the report’s publication, Turkish officials might soften their position.

The fact that the United Nations had to issue a report about a sovereign nation's inalienable right to defend itself shows the farcical nature of the Arab-Israeli conflict and how the United Nations has gotten wrapped up into knots over the ongoing conflict to the point that any action taken by Israel is instantly criticized and only later does a potential vindication come.

It should have been self-evident that Israel had the right to stop the blockade and to protect itself. Deaths resulting from the stop should be on the IHH, not Israel. But the report lays blame on Israel for not giving sufficient warnings and using too much force (as though the terrorists on board were not willing to use deadly force themselves - as viewed in the videos and photos taken before and during the raid).

For that, Turkey has decided to send Israel's ambassador packing.

Never mind that Turkey has no problem invading a sovereign nation - Iraq - in the ongoing hunt of Kurdish terrorists and has caused tens of thousands of casualties over the years and not once has the United Nations sought to issue a report or criticize the cross-border raids.

Israel was completely within its rights to board and search the Turkish flotilla that was organized by an extremist group, the IHH. It's another one of those but-for situations.

But for Palestinian terrorism, Israel would not have needed to impose a blockade, let alone carry out a raid to thwart pro-terrorist sympathizers from running the blockade to Israel's security detriment.

It was not unreasonable for the Israelis to carry out the raid, and members of the IHH aboard the Mavi Marmara were armed and were seeking to induce a conflict. They were more than willing to use deadly force against the Israeli commandos, and therefore Israel's actions were fully justified. Once the terrorists aboard the ship attacked the commandos, the Israeli commandos were justified in their use of force.

That is borne out in the harsh criticism of the IHH and its reckless disregard for safety. In other words, the UN considered the IHH flotilla a stunt and that Israel was justified to carry out the search.

Yet, Turkey's government is whipping up the Islamists and anti-Israel sentiment over the raid and would rather see its relations with Israel falter rather than admit that its own actions were in poor judgment. The diplomatic expulsion is meant for domestic consumption in Turkey, and it shows that the Islamists in Turkey are increasingly taking control over the political process there, which will be detrimental to Turkey's future economic and sociopolitical development.

Israel Releases New Flotilla Video Footage Showing "Peace Activists" Inciting To Violence

Here's some of the video that Israel has released showing just what the "peace activists" of the IHH behind the May 31 flotilla incident were saying to their fellow travelers before Israel intercepted the ships as they tried to run Israel's blockade of Gaza.



Also seen in these newly released videos:

Another speaker told those present in Arabic, "Don't be like the ones who turned back and don't turn back." Sheikh Raed Salah, head of the Islamic Movement's northern branch can be seen sitting among the crowd.

Salah is a piece of work and has ties to Hamas.

The "peace activists" also chanted we will throw them into the sea. For those who haven't followed Middle East history since 1947- that's the same line that the Arabs have chanted every time they call for Israel's destruction. Throw the Jews into the sea. Eliminate Israel.

That's what this is about. It isn't about humanitarian aid - it's about undermining Israel's right to exist.

Also, the person leading the chant "Martyrs marching into Gaza by the millions" was apparently an Egyptian parliamentarian. That's someone who is a part of the Egyptian government that signed a peace deal with Israel in 1979 and which specifically refused to take Gaza in the peace treaty along with Sinai.
Yeah, what a lovely bunch.

In other words, these were anything but peace activists in the true sense of the word peace, but were instigators and using the rhetoric of violence and incitement to again call for Israel's destruction.

That you have media outlets continuing to claim that these were peace activists is a clear distortion of reality as they were nothing of the sort.

Reuters Cropping Photos From Israeli Flotilla Raid

Media outlets are slowly releasing photos that were taken at various stages during the Israeli raid on the Mavi Marmara that led to nine activists on board being killed by Israeli commandos trying to recover the Israeli troops that had been severely beaten and seriously wounded by "activists" on board.

Yet, it seems that Reuters opted not to release one particular photo in its original form. It cropped key details.

 The image shows a wounded Israeli soldier that had been dragged below decks. By itself, you have no idea what happened to the soldier.

That's the uncropped photo, and you see someone holding a knife at the bottom right corner.

Reuters opted to crop the photo, and by doing so it appears to have violated its
code of principals. Moreover, it may be a violation of the Reuters Guide to Standards and Photoshop.

While cropping is permitted by Reuters, this particular instance fundamentally changes the nature of the photo and the story being conveyed and I think it would violate those terms. The guide does permit cropping, but does not permit adding or removing details. Here, the cropped photo does just that - it removes details.

Reuters officials need to explain how and why they opted to crop the photo in this fashion - and why they did not follow their own guidelines.

UPDATE:
And this isn't the only photo either - there is another photo sequence that shows someone on board brandishing a military style knife, but Reuters opted to edit out that detail.

Palestinian Sympathizers Prepare Another Blockade Run

The pro-Palestinian sympathizers aren't in this to provide humanitarian relief to Gazans, but rather want the blockade lifted so that Hamas can do what it has always sought to do - have the means to wage war against Israel's existence. The flotilla's organizers admit as much:

In World War II, with full international legality, the United States blockaded Germany and Japan. And during the October 1962 missile crisis, we blockaded ("quarantined") Cuba. Arms-bearing Russian ships headed to Cuba turned back because the Soviets knew that the U.S. Navy would either board them or sink them. Yet Israel is accused of international criminality for doing precisely what John Kennedy did: impose a naval blockade to prevent a hostile state from acquiring lethal weaponry.

Oh, but weren't the Gaza-bound ships on a mission of humanitarian relief? No. Otherwise they would have accepted Israel's offer to bring their supplies to an Israeli port, be inspected for military materiel and have the rest trucked by Israel into Gaza -- as every week 10,000 tons of food, medicine and other humanitarian supplies are sent by Israel to Gaza.

Why was the offer refused? Because, as organizer Greta Berlin admitted, the flotilla was not about humanitarian relief but about breaking the blockade, i.e., ending Israel's inspection regime, which would mean unlimited shipping into Gaza and thus the unlimited arming of Hamas.

Israel has already twice intercepted ships laden with Iranian arms destined for Hezbollah and Gaza. What country would allow that?

Another group of ships is apparently heading to run the blockade, and there are unconfirmed reports from a propaganda outfit that one of the ships the MV Rachel Corrie, has lost contact - claiming that the ship has been sabotaged by Israel.

UPDATE:
The Telegraph provides a mixed message on the whereabouts of the Corrie (which was named for a pro-Palestinian activist who was killed by an Israeli bulldozer while protecting Palestinian terror tunnels from being destroyed. Pro Palestinian groups claim that they lost contact, but the report goes on to say:

The Free Gaza Movement said that it assumed Israel must have sabotaged systems on board the ship, whose passengers include a Nobel Peace Prize winner and a former UN assistant secretary-general.

As a result they plan to pull it back to port and pack it with celebrities and journalists, in a direct challenge to Israel.

The cargo ship, laden with building supplies, cement, medical and educational equipment and wheelchairs as well as Irish and Malaysian activists, set off on Saturday despite warnings from Israel that it would halt any attempt to break the blockade.

So, now potential mechanical trouble with a ship that was launched in 1967 (that's more than 40 years old) is treated as Israel sabotaging the boat and its attempt to run a lawful blockade of Gaza. Gotcha.

The ship is apparently still in contact with someone on board if the Free Gaza activists are planning to pull it back to port and pack it with celebrities and journalists.

Moreover, losing contact could have simply been because the ship was hastily put to sea without the necessary equipment or crew. In fact, earlier this year, a considerable amount of navigational equipment was stolen from the ship while it was in port in Ireland. The report seems to indicate that the ship is seaworthy.

Still, this is nothing more than another propaganda attempt to attack Israel and its lawful right to protect itself from Hamas.

UPDATE:
As a reminder - the blockade runners aren't about providing humanitarian aid. They're about running the blockade so that Hamas can resupply with weapons.

The organizers behind the MV Corrie and the other ships refused a deal brokered by the Irish govt to have the ships sail to Ashdod where their cargoes would be transferred to Gaza.

The Irish Foreign Minister, Dr. Michael Martin announced on Friday night that an agreement had been reached with Israel, whereby the Rachel Corrie would proceed to Ashdod where its contents would be checked, unloaded and shipped to Gaza under observation by representatives of the activists, the UN and the Irish government. The activists rejected this offer, continuing to insist on sailing to Gaza and breaking the Israeli blockade, but also stated (according to the Irish FM) that they would not resist the IDF, should it decide to board the ship.

The ship is expected to close in on Gaza Saturday morning. It's the second attempt this week by the Free Gaza Movement to break Israel's naval blockade of Gaza as well as its closure of that area's land passages to all but humanitarian aid.

Critics Complaining Israel Using Protesters Own Video As Proof

Cry me a river for the Foreign Press Association which is busy complaining that Israel is using the activists' own videos against them.

Israel's army has been using confiscated videos to justify its deadly raid against a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, and the Foreign Press Association wants it to stop.

The organization, which represents hundreds of journalists in Israel and the Palestinian territories, says the military seized video and equipment from dozens of reporters on board the main ship.

The FPA demanded Thursday that the military stop using the captured material without permission and identify the source of the video already released. The material appeared Wednesday on the army's YouTube site labeled as "captured."

The activists were busy preparing for a violent encounter with the Israelis on board the Mavi Marmara and made numerous videos in preparation for the flotilla of ships attempting to run the Israeli blockade.

The Israeli military boarded four other ships in the flotilla without incident. Only those on board the Mavi Marmara engaged in violence - attacking the Israelis who attempted to stop the ship without violence and with nonlethal paintball guns. When the Israelis were attacked with deadly force and with deadly intent did the Israelis resort to using deadly force.

Apparently the activists dislike the fact that their own propaganda is being used against them. The Foreign Press Association is busy providing cover, where none should exist.

Too bad.

Had the activists on board not engaged in violence, this situation would have ended without the loss of life, but that was never the intention of those on board the Mavi Marmara. They wanted a violent encounter to further their propaganda.

They thought they could win a propaganda coup, but now find that Israel is releasing all manner of video showing just what those activists were up to- and it was evil.

Meanwhile, Turks continue holding rallies in support of Hamas.

Tens of thousands gathered in Istanbul Thursday for prayers for activists killed in Israel's raid on aid ships bound for Gaza, condemning the Jewish state and shouting support for Hamas.

"Damn Israel! Israel is the angel of death!" chanted the crowd which overflowed the sprawling courtyard of the Fatih Mosque, waving Turkish and Palestinian flags.

The Turkish government sanctioned the flotilla that was intercepted by Israel and Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan is moving squarely into the Iranian camp and Turkey is sliding towards Islamization after decades of pursuing a secularist agenda. Erdogan is content to move towards a cozier relationship with Iran because he sees Iran having greater longevity than US or Israeli commitments. Turkey isn't about challenging Israel's hegemony as commentator David Ignatius claims, it's about picking sides and choosing the Iranians over Israel and the West. Erdogan is busy spreading the Islamist agenda, and feeding the anti-Israel sentiment is a way to stay in power in the Middle East, particularly when Iran is leading the way on anti-Israel sentiment.

UPDATE:
Even some newscasters are wondering why their media outlets are running stories that are clearly biased in favor of terror groups:

I’m writing for some clarification about how we are supposed to cover the Gaza flotilla story. If we, as a news organization, are supposed to be acting as a public relations arm of Hamas, or Hezbollah, both internationally recognized terrorist organizations, or if we are supposed to be jumping on the bandwagon of 1930’s style anti-Semitism that’s presently sweeping much of the world, then we are doing a fine job. If we are supposed to be acting as a news organization that covers the story objectively, then our coverage is a travesty and an embarrassment.

I just finished watching XXXX’s piece on yesterday’s 5pm newscast, so I could better understand the grotesquely distorted and biased voice-over that ran on this morning’s show. XXXX interviewed former diplomat Edward Peck, who was onboard the “Gaza Flotilla,” without describing his views on the Middle East. Some perspective would have helped. Among other things, Peck spoke these words, later famously used by the Rev. Jeremiah Wright:”We bombed Hiroshima, we bombed Nagasaki, and we nuked far more than the thousands in New York and the Pentagon, and we never batted an eye…and now we are indignant, because the stuff we have done overseas is now brought back into our own front yards.”

"Peace Activists" Show True Colors

You just can't make this stuff up. The folks on board the ships attempting to run the Israeli blockade were intent on creating a bloody encounter with the Israeli forces, and were quite busy in their preparations:



Just because they didn't have modern weapons to do so doesn't mean that they didn't have deadly intent or the intention to create a bloody encounter specifically for propaganda purposes. They still managed to fire stun grenades (which can kill or cause serious injury). Those who were passing out the weapons and those who were accepting those weapons knew what they were doing and why they were doing so. Some were even prepared to die in order to maximize the propaganda against Israel and undermine Israel's legitimate blockade of Hamas and Gaza.

Still, all these videos and statements of intent by those involved in the flotilla will not dissuade Hamas' supporters or the anti-Israel gang out there because they will not stop until Israel is put in its place (and for Hamas that means eliminated).

Israeli Prime Minister Netenyahu is correct in noting the ongoing international hypocrisy over the incident.

Moreover, the aid that was intercepted by Israel from the flotilla and brought to Ashdod was rejected by Hamas as so much more propaganda:

"We refuse to receive the humanitarian aid until all those who were detained aboard the ships are released," said Ahmed Kurd, Minister for Social Welfare in the Hamas government said. "We also insist that the equipment be delivered in its entirety."

Kurd said that Israel's decision to allow a number of wheelchairs to be delivered to the Gaza Strip was a "deception," claiming that the batteries that operate them had been removed, making them useless.

The Hamas minister said that Israel's decision to send some of the aid that was seized aboard the ships to the Gaza Strip was designed to divert attention from the "massacre".

Hamas has every intention in thwarting the disposition of the humanitarian aid because it wants the blockade lifted so that it can further its own agenda of conflict with Israel.

Meanwhile, Israel is busy attempting to deport hundreds of protesters captured in the blockade operation, and some of those being deported aren't going quietly. In fact, they're rioting and assaulting the Israeli security forces escorting them to the airport. At the same time, Turkish officials who came to Israel to oversee the conditions of those Turkish individuals awaiting deportation had only good things to say about Israel's treatment.