Israeli forces storm Gaza aid ship, and beat people on board. Fatalities reported.

[butchersapron]

Israeli soldiers fired at Gaza aid flotilla in self-defence, says inquiry

Israeli soldiers opened fire in self-defence during a raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla of aid ships in which nine activists were killed, an Israeli inquiry concluded today.

The assault last May - which triggered a worldwide furore - did not violate international law, the 300-page report from the government-appointed commission of inquiry found.

The commission, headed by retired supreme court judge Yaakov Turkel, was announced last June, almost a month after the deadly interception of the flotilla which was carrying aid to the blockaded Gaza Strip.

Its conclusions were endorsed by two international observers, who were appointed to the commission following claims that an internal Israeli investigation into the raid would not be objective

 

[two sheds]

I'm surprised at the Guardian - headline:

Israeli raid on Gaza flotilla "was legal"
Soldiers opened fired in self-defence during interception of aid ships in which nine activists were killed, inquiry concludes

You have to click the link to find that it was an Israeli inquiry that found that the Israeli solders acted legally. Well 'duh'.

 

[laptop]

I'm surprised at the Guardian - headline:

Israeli raid on Gaza flotilla "was legal"
Soldiers opened fired in self-defence during interception of aid ships in which nine activists were killed, inquiry concludes

You have to click the link to find that it was an Israeli inquiry that found that the Israeli solders acted legally. Well 'duh'.

Sub-editors tend to assume that readers understand as much as they do by "scare quotes". They're wrong

Drop 'em a note - might not be too late to change the print headline, or change it online.

Within the same column width:

Israel says flotilla raid was legal

 

[two sheds]

Good point well made

Done

 

[Divisive Cotton]

# Tonight at 8pm GMT the Guardian will release confidential documents relating to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

so they say

 

[laptop]

These are 1600 documents leaked from the Palestinian side:

The 1,600 confidential records of hundreds of meetings between Palestinian, Israeli and US leaders, as well as emails and secret proposals, were leaked to the Qatar-based satellite TV channel al-Jazeera and shared exclusively with the Guardian. They cover the period from the runup to the ill-fated Camp David negotiations under US president Bill Clinton in 2000, to private discussions last year involving senior officials and politicians in the Obama administration.

...

The bulk of the documents are records, contemporaneous notes and sections of verbatim transcripts of meetings drawn up by officials of the Palestinian negotiation support unit (NSU), which has been the main technical and legal backup for the Palestinian side in the negotiations.

The unit has been heavily funded by the British government via the free-market thinktank the Adam Smith Institute. Other documents originate from inside the PA's extensive US- and British-sponsored security apparatus.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/23/story-behind-leaked-palestine-papers

Adam Smith Institute?

And the headline content:

Palestinian negotiators secretly agreed to allow Israel to annex all but one of the settlements built in occupied East Jerusalem in the most far-reaching concessions ever made over the bitterly contested city. The offer was turned down by Israel's then foreign minister as inadequate.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/23/palestinians-israel-biggest-jerusalem-history

* goes off to see whether there's a new thread *

There wasn't... is now

 

[Balbi]

Did Israel really just about get away with 'move along, move along, nothing to see here, sure you've all got homes that we've bulldozed to go to'

 

[laptop]

New thread on the leak

 

[ymu]

New thread on the leak

Cheers! And DC for the heads up.

 

[teqniq]

In the face of a leaked United Nations panel report on the Mavi Marmara incident, which includes accusations both against Israel and Turkey, Turkey on Friday announced that it is further reducing diplomatic relations and cutting military ties with Israel over the country's refusal to apologize for last year's deadly raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla.​

​

​

The decision effectively expels Israeli diplomats in Turkey.

​

​

"The time has come for Israel to pay for its stance that sees it above international laws and disregards human conscience," Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said at a press conference in Ankara. "The first and foremost result is that Israel is going to be devoid of Turkey's friendship."....

http://www.todayszaman.com/news-255...with-israel-suspends-military-agreements.html

 

[teqniq]

*bump*

It appears that the Turks are going ahead with a prosecution:

By Philip Giraldi
The Passionate Attachment
June 7, 2012

A Turkish court’s decision last week to press ahead with the criminal prosecution of four former senior Israeli military officers should be welcomed by everyone who agrees that some accountability is long overdue in response to the Israeli Defense Forces’ (IDF) well-documented history of extreme brutality. Turkey has notified the Israeli government’s Justice Ministry of the charges of having “killed monstrously and tortured.” It has also informed Tel Aviv that the four men will be expected to appear in court when the trial begins on October 6th. The Istanbul court is prepared to produce a reported 490 witnesses to the Israeli attack on the Turkish owned and manned ferry Mavi Marmara, which was attempting to break the blockade of Gaza to deliver relief supplies. Nine unarmed Turks were killed when Israeli commandoes boarded the vessel in international waters. Turkey has demanded a full apology plus compensation and, with the court action, is making clear that it will not let the issue go away. Israel has refused to apologize and has agreed to only limited compensation.

If the Israelis do not appear for trial (the Netanyahu government has instructed them to refuse cooperation) an international arrest warrant will be issued which can be served in any country that the four men subsequently travel to, including the United States. One of the Israeli officers is Gabi Ashkenazi, former chief of staff for the IDF and another is Eliezer Marom, former commander of the Israeli navy.....

http://thepassionateattachment.com/2012/06/07/the-terrible-turk/

 

[teqniq]

Ehud Barak served US lawsuit over Gaza flotilla slaying

 

[teqniq]

ICC prosecutor ordered to investigate Israeli attack on Mavi Marmara

 

[teqniq]

Largely symbolic but still...

Spanish court issues arrest warrant for Israeli PM Netanyahu