IDF: Hamas stops flotilla aid delivered by Israel

[Recursion]

IDF: Hamas stops flotilla aid delivered by Israel

Israel has attempted to deliver humanitarian aid from an international flotilla to Gaza, but Hamas - which controls the territory - has refused to accept the cargo, the Israel Defense Forces said Wednesday.

Palestinian sources said trucks that arrived from Israel at the Rafah terminal at the Israel-Gaza border were barred from delivering the aid over protests that members of the flotilla were not delivering the materials.

Israel had 20 trucks of aid found on the ships, such as expired medications, clothing, blankets, some medical equipment and toys.

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/06/02/idf-hamas-stops-flotilla-aid-delivered-by-israel/

This is an IDF press release, so take with some salt, but the basic claims of this pass the whiff test for me. Sigh.

[sixmile]

1. Well, there you have it then...

The Palestinians must have everything they need. It truly is a land of milk and honey.
No more need for flotillas, aid or fighting the blockade.

[Recursion]

2. Sigh

Can we just all shut the fuck up with scoring points for five minutes and agree that children in Gaza shouldn't starve just because the Gazan and Israeli governments are full of homicidal idiots?

[LakeSamish706]

3. Seriously, the Israeli Government needs to change and the Palestinians need

to rid themselves of Hamas.

[proteus_lives]

4. Watch this thread sink like a stone.

It doesn't fit the beloved DU meme of "Palestinians are pure and innocent and the Israelis are evil monsters."

[Recursion]

5. Oh get over yourself

There's people willing to see nuance everywhere on this board except for one particular group of posters. *cough*

[movonne]

9. +1000

[proteus_lives]

13. Which group would that be?

:eyes:

[Recursion]

14. I just realized how that sounded. I actually *didn't* mean "pro-Israel posters"

I meant "there are a small group of posters here who refuse to see this except in black and white and bug the shit out of the rest of us"

[proteus_lives]

18. Yeah, I hate that.

There's no such thing as black and white.

But try convincing the anti-Israel folks of that.

[EFerrari]

6. It's an IDF press release and deserves the same consideration

as a Pentagon press release. Little to none.

[Recursion]

7. Like I said, it passes the whiff test for me

Though I have no doubt there were some stipulations on the delivery that the IDF isn't mentioning. Either way, my response to Hamas is the same as it is to Israel: grow the fuck up, swallow your pride, and let the ships through (Israel's case) / let the trucks through (Hamas's case).

And it amuses me that people doing apologetics for the Israeli government are so willing to leave this at "The Israeli government has as little concern for innocent lives as Hamas"

[EFerrari]

11. The IDF's framing is almost always bs. It is useful, though,

to read their stuff to see what the new wave of bs will be for the day. :)

[Tripmann]

10. If DU is such a sespit of Israel Hatred

Why do you associate with it and continue to be a member?

I know I wouldn't associate myself with neo-nazi or right wing sites.

[proteus_lives]

12. You've tried this fail before and I've answered before.

Run along boyo.

[Tripmann]

33. And yet you're stil here

associating yourself with haters of Israel?

[Dutch]

34. Because some of us aren't ready to abandon a progressive left site to the Israel-haters

without a fight, however much you might like DU to be cleansed of dissenters.

[EFerrari]

8. This CSM says Hamas is refusing delivery until the hostages are freed:

After Israeli raid, Freedom Flotilla aid starts to flow to Gaza

Ships involved in the "Freedom Flotilla" were towed into the Israel port of Ashdod after the Israeli raid Monday. Some of the humanitarian aid is being delivered by Israel to Gaza. But Hamas says it won't accept it until flotilla activists are released from Israeli detention.

more:

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2010/0601/After-Israeli-raid-Freedom-Flotilla-aid-starts-to-flow-to-Gaza

[Fozzledick]

15. The "aid shipment" was never anything but a pretext for assaulting the blockade

They failed to break the blockade.

They failed to deliver weapons, supplies or cash to Hamas.

They failed to kill or kidnap any Israeli soldiers.

But they succeeded in their primary goal of provoking a bloody confrontation, and they're going to milk it for all they can.

The cargo of "humanitarian aid" has already fulfilled it's purpose of providing a cover story for the assault and is no longer needed.
It was never intended to help the people of Gaza.

[EFerrari]

16. LOL

[Recursion]

17. The "rocket craters" were never anything but a pretext for blockading the strip

See how fun it is to write complete bullshit?

[Mosby]

19. did the organizers of the FGM

Really consider the timing of their attempt to break the blockade? The peace process was just getting started again before the flotilla incident, I think we can assume that it will have a very negative impact on peace/negotiation efforts. Now that turkey is sending more ships to try and break the blockade the goal of two states looks even dimmer, one has to wonder if turkey and the FGM people really care about peace between the palestinians and israelis because their timing could not have been worse.

[Recursion]

20. Maybe they thought the Gazans shouldn't have to wait for politicians any longer?

Since the political leadership of the entire region has clearly and unarguably failed (if you disagree with that, you need to have your lobotomy extended enough to paralyze your hands so you'll stop wasting valuable bandwidth on message boards), they may have decided anything would be a step forward.

[Mosby]

21. the new round of negotiations

Has not been given a chance to succeed or fail, personally I was hopeful that the obama team would be able to finally make some progress.

While trying to help gazans by breaking the blockade might sound like a good idea to some the only long term/sustainable solution to the problem is a negotiated settlement between all the parties involved based on something along the lines of the geneva initiative. How hamas and fatah can reconcile their differences though I don't know - perhaps an election?

[Recursion]

23. They had an election. Hamas won.

Then Fatah tried to kick the winners out. Hamas managed to fight them off (but this keeps being called a "coup").

I am perfectly willing to deal with the fact that neither Likud nor Hamas accepts the other as a legitimate political organization. Like it or not, there is absolute parity in this lack of recognition. Both populations (wrongly) view this lack of recognition as a desire on the part of the other party to exterminate their entire population. Neither is interested in that, because both the Israeli government and Hamas have shown that their particular political vision for the Levant is worth less to them than innocent lives. But this is the level of mistrust we have at this point.

So drop all the BS about preconditions for negotiations, and "proximity talks", and get the people who can actually make decisions in the same room.

[shira]

22. Haven't you heard? Egypt opened its border to Gaza. No need for more aid ships to bust the blockade

There is no blockade anymore!

[ChangoLoa]

24. Looks like it worked then.

Relieved?

[shira]

27. That's one way to look at it. Egypt and Israel offered to get all aid, minus cement, to Gaza

....before the fiasco.

Imagine if all the ships complied.

[Recursion]

28. And coriander

And they need a shitload of cement. Israel keeps launching missiles at them and the corrugated tin just doesn't do it.

[shira]

29. LOL. Do you actually believe Hamas would use cement to protect Gazan civilians from attack?

Given that Hamas deliberately uses Gazans as human PR shields?

[Recursion]

30. Yep

The "Gaza human shields" is as much BS as the "Sderot human shields".

[shira]

31. LOL! classic.

[ChangoLoa]

32. Too bad Israel still won't let Gazan fishermen go get their fish

Maybe they'll authorize chocolate as a compensation.
...to enrich their "diet"

[Recursion]

25. Yep. The blockade running worked.

Some good news, at least. Though Egypt still isn't letting construction materials through.

[Ignis]

26. They sure did an amazing job of provoking a dawn commando raid...

...and they did this from international waters! That's quite a bit of provocation!

"How could the IDF possibly resist such provocation? It's absolutely impossible, of course! The IDF had to murder ~20 civilians! They had no other choice at all! No choice! Their hands were tied! Have pity on the poor soldiers!"

:eyes:

What a steaming load of crap.

I've seen video of the Sfendoni being loaded with wheelchairs for Gaza.
I've personally spoken with several of the US peace activists.

You, on the other hand, are just making shit up to fit your agenda. :thumbsdown: