The Freedom Flotilla to Gaza: More facts of the case
It’s actually very simple. Men with guns descend from helicopters onto boats in international water. Civilian passengers on boats killed. Done. Another vessel in the Free Gaza movement, The MV Rachel Corrie is set to arrive in Gazan waters soon. Israel has threatened to attack this legal shipment of humanitarian aid as well with similar deadly violence. What follows are some facts of the case with sources provided.
UPDATE: MV Rachel Corrie crew is requesting a UN escort and has said they will allow UN observers to inspect cargo for anything that is outside of international law. That should be sufficient for Israel . I’m still in favor of the Turkish option.
Products (source: the Israeli human rights organization Gisha) barred from Gaza by the Israeli occupation. Graphic by that bastion of the radical left, The Economist
“UN statistics show that around 70% of Gazans live on less than $1 a day, 75% rely on food aid and 60% have no daily access to water. Humanitarian aid is in theory allowed in, but UN agencies and charities claim that the Israelis have banned any items that are humanitarian in nature but could be put to alternative use. Items said to face delays getting into Gaza include shelter kits, health and paediatric hygiene kits, bedding, kitchen utensils, school textbooks and stationery. The World Bank estimates that 80% of Gaza’s imports are smuggled in by tunnel. The goods, which are taxed by Hamas, attract inflated prices that are out of the reach of most ordinary residents.” — The Guardian
freegaza.org
The embargo on goods to Gaza is illegal under international law. The United Nations Security Council has called for it to be lifted. — UN Security Council Resolution 1860
The Israeli embargo meets the definition of “collective punishment,” a war crime under the Fourth Geneva Convention. “Art. 33. No protected person may be punished for an offence he or she has not personally committed. Collective penalties and likewise all measures of intimidation or of terrorism are prohibited.” — ICRC
No foreign power, even an occupying power, has the authority to restrict delivery of Humanitarian aid under any circumstances according to the Fourth Geneva Convention. — ICRC
“Israel has no right to control Gaza’s sea as its own territorial waters and to stop aid convoys arriving that way. In doing so, it proves that it is still in belligerent occupation of the enclave and its 1.5 million inhabitants. And if it is occupying Gaza, then under international law Israel is responsible for the welfare of the Strip’s inhabitants. Given that the blockade has put Palestinians there on a starvation diet for the past four years, Israel should long ago have been in the dock for committing a crime against humanity.” — Jonathan Cook
A ship delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza was flying under the Turkish flag when it was attacked by Israeli commandos last night leading to a still unknown number of civilian deaths. Turkey is a member of NATO. Article 5 of the NATO charter declares that armed attacks against any NATO member in Europe or North America will be considered an attack against all of them, with each taking action. Article 6 lists the Mediterranean Sea as one location where an attack will bring about a response. — NATO
The Law of the Sea also applies to the attack on the Turkish vessel, and the U.S. was wrong to suggest in the UN that Israel should lead (or even take part) in any investigation of the incident. In international waters, the applicable laws are those of the country whose flag the ship where the altercation took place was flying. It was a Turkish ship, hence it’s Turkish territory and Turkish laws and jurisdiction apply. — The Law of the Sea
Unless…
Because the action took place on open waters, one of two scenarios currently exists provided by Craig Murray (citation link at bottom):
- ” Possibility one is that the Israeli commandos were acting on behalf of the government of Israel in killing the activists on the ships. In that case Israel is in a position of war with Turkey, and the act falls under international jurisdiction as a war crime.”
- “Possibility two is that, if the killings were not authorised Israeli military action, they were acts of murder under Turkish jurisdiction. If Israel does not consider itself in a position of war with Turkey, then it must hand over the commandos involved for trial in Turkey under Turkish law.”
So, if Israel isn’t at war with Turkey then it should turn over any suspects to Turkish authorities. If Israel claims it has the authority, it’s an act of war. — Craig Murray, former British Ambassador and an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Lancaster School of Law
Taking all this into account, you’d think the MV Rachel Corrie would find some smooth sailing into the Port of Gaza. But then you’d be thinking about a government that was behaving in a rational manner. Think again.
Identity is our legacy and not our inheritance; our invention and not our memory.
