Free Republic

The diplomatic dispute between Israel and Turkey may have come to an end earlier this year when Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu apologized to his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan for the May 2010 Gaza flotilla raid, but a new poll shows that trust between the two nations has yet to recover. According to the poll, which was commissioned by the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies and appeared on Monday in the Israel Hayom daily, 85% of Israelis say the chances of their going on vacation to Turkey in the near future are very low. Only 28% of Israelis believe that...

One of the larger drawbacks to having John Kerry as secretary of state is his inane statements now have worldwide impact, instead of being limited to a domestic audience as was the case previously. Even worse, what he says now can cause real damage, while as a senator Kerry’s bloviating was relatively harmless since he was part of large collection of publicity-seeking bloviators. Kerry’s latest occurred last Sunday when he compared the jihadists trying to break Israel’s Gaza blockade aboard the Mavi Marmara with the victims of the Boston bombing. .... Israeli commandos were lowered to the deck from a...

Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday expressed sympathy for the families of nine Turkish activists killed during violent clashes with Israeli commandos who raided a ship trying to break the security blockade of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. Speaking in Istanbul, Kerry commented on a recent U.S.-mediated deal aimed at ending a diplomatic rift between Israel and Turkey, whose Islamist government is supportive of Hamas. The agreement entailed an Israeli apology for “any errors that could have led to loss of life” during the 2010 incident and a pledge to negotiate compensation. … Speaking alongside Kerry, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet...

Former foreign minister Avigdor Liberman slammed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday for his decision to apologize to his Turkish counterpart for the “operational errors” made by Israel during the 2010 raid that led to Turkish fatalities on the Turkish-registered, Gaza-bound ship Mavi Marmara. “Israel’s apology for the soldiers activity against a terrorist organization is a serious mistake,” said Liberman, who served as Israel’s top diplomat during the height of the crisis with Turkey, and who is also Netanyahu’s No. 2 in their joint Knesset Likud-Beytenu faction. “Anyone who watched the photos taken on the ship Mavi Marmara understands beyond...

MK Hanin Zoabi (Balad), who was on the Mavi Marmara when IHH terrorists attacked IDF soldiers who boarded the ship, said Friday that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s apology to Turkey over the Marmara incident is “not enough”. Earlier, Netanyahu spoke on the phone with his Turkish counterpart and apologized for the deaths of nine Turks in a 2010 raid on the Gaza-bound flotilla. The two agreed to normalize the relations between the two countries. In response, MK Zoabi said, “We’re talking about human life and about the killing of nine political activists.” She called for the establishment of an international...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a phone call arranged with help from President Obama, apologized to Turkey Friday for the deaths of its citizens during a 2010 Gaza flotilla raid -- in a move to restore ruptured ties between the two nations. Netanyahu acknowledged "operational mistakes" in the raid, according to one official, and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan accepted the apology. The phone call, which Obama also joined, was described as a "first

In a dramatic development that occurred just as US President Barack Obama was leaving the country, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spoke with Turkey's Tayyip Erdogan for the first time since the Israeli prime minister took power in 2009. Netanyahu voiced regret for the loss of life in the 2010 Mavi Marmara incident, apologizing for any mistakes that led to the death of nine Turkish activists. Breaking a three-year deadlock, the two agreed to normalize relations. "Prime Minister Netanyahu expressed an apology to the Turkish people for any error that may have led to the loss of life, and agreed to...

Gaza flotilla sponsor publishes tweet blaming Jews for Holocaust Tristin Hopper | Oct 4, 2012 2:35 AM ET | Last Updated: Oct 4, 2012 4:38 PM ET More from Tristin Hopper | @TristinHopper The Free Gaza Movement, a U.S.-based activist group known for provisioning ships to run the Israeli-Egyptian blockade of Gaza, was hit with charges of anti-Semitism on Wednesday after posting a tweet claiming that Jews were responsible for the Holocaust. “Zionists operated the concentration camps and helped murder millions of innocent Jews,” read a tweet posted Sunday to @freegazaorg, the official Twitter feed of the group, which includes...

The military commander of Tripoli, a key figure in the revolution that overthrew Muammar Gaddafi, called on other militias to pull their weapons out of Tripoli, accusing them of terrorizing the city's population. The remarks by Abdulhakim Belhadj, whose Tripoli Military Council claims a mandate from Libya's new rulers, follow rising concern about potential conflict among armed groups that converged on Tripoli to overthrow Muammar Gaddafi and have stayed on to demand stakes in a future government. They also follow the announcement a day earlier of another group that it would collect weapons and provide security in the name of...

Gulf media is reporting on the “International Conference for the Defence of occupied Jerusalem” opening in Qatar today. According to a Gulf News report: February 22, 2012 Manama: Qatar’s Emir Shaikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani will open the International Conference for the Defence of occupied Jerusalem, to be held in Doha next week. The conference will include speeches by the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, the Arab League Secretary-General Nabeel Arabi, Secretary-General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Ekme Al Deen Ihsanoglu, and United Nations Coordinator for the peace process in the Middle East Robert Serry. Some 350 figures...

According to the Spanish daily ABC, a Libyan rebel commander who played a key role in overthrowing the rule of Muammar Qaddafi previously participated in the May 2010 attempt to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza aboard the Turkish-owned vessel the Mavi Marmara. The operation famously culminated in a deadly clash between Israel Defense Force commandos and “activists” armed with iron rods and knives aboard the ship. The paper’s source for the story is the rebel leader himself: Mahdi al-Harati, the commander of the so-called Tripoli Brigades, which are widely credited with having played a decisive role in the rebel...

With the exception of the United States, nearly all the world's nations; newspapers, radio and TV news stations; the United Nations; and the world's Leftist academics and organizations have condemned Israel over the Gaza flotilla incident. The characterizations of the Jewish state range from a society so evil that it should not be allowed to exist to a villainous nation that is responsible for a) the suffering of millions of innocent Palestinian men, women and children; b) the lack of Mideast peace; therefore c) the Muslim world's anger at the West; and therefore d) Islamic terrorism itself. Let's hope the...

Hundreds of anti-Israel activists arrived at Ben Gurion International Airport on Friday as part of a “fly in flotilla.” Border officials refused to grant 124 of them entrance, and they were brought to Givon and Ela prisons to await deportation. Those refused entrance – citizens of Belgium, Germany, Spain, France, Holland, and the United States – were on a list sent out to airports in advance of the planned fly-in. Another 200 of those whose names were on the list were prevented from boarding planes to Israel. Many others successfully entered Israel. From there, some continued to a Palestinian Authority-controlled...

The flotilla to the Gaza Strip seemed to come to an official end on Thursday after organizers decided to send more than half of the activists in Athens home as they consider their options in face of Greece’s continued refusal to let the ships sail to the Gaza Strip. Huwaida Arraf, one of the leaders of the Free Gaza Movement behind the flotilla, told The Jerusalem Post that most of the activists had been sent home to engage in education and advocacy. A few dozen activists have remained behind in Athens to continue fighting for the release of the ships,...

Greek authorities on Saturday arrested the captain of the U.S. ship the "Audacity of Hope" that intended to take part in the Gaza Flotilla aimed at breaking Israel's legal blockade of Gaza, repors CNN. The ship was prevented from sailing on Friday. The captain is being held by the police and will be brought before a judge on Tuesday. The Greek Coast Guard claims he will be accused of attempting to leave the port without proper permits and endangering the lives of the boat's passengers. The Turkish daily "Hurryat" reported that inspection of the technical problem on the Irish boat...

Greece has banned Gaza Strip-bound ships from leaving Greek ports, and a vessel carrying several dozen US activists seeking to deliver aid to the Palestinian territory was asked to return after departing without permission. Greece on Friday banned ships heading to the Gaza Strip from leaving Greek ports, and a vessel carrying several dozen Americans which left port without permission was asked to return. A flotilla of nine Greek and foreign-flagged vessels and several hundred activists have said they want to break Israel’s sea blockade and deliver aid to the Palestinian territory. Greece’s Civil Protection Ministry said coast guard authorities...

How a brilliant legal strategy might prevent the Free Gaza Movement’s next propaganda strike against Israel.The logic is simple. Hamas is recognized by the United States government as a terrorist organization, thus it is a crime to provide material support for them. The Free Gaza Movement (FGM) is preparing another international “freedom flotilla” which seeks to deliver supplies to Hamas-controlled Gaza, bypassing the established channels that Israel has set up to allow the flow of humanitarian goods into the region. Therefore, any company which collaborates with the flotilla in any way is aiding a terrorist group and is vulnerable to...

The Dutch-Italian boat Stefano Chiarini which is part of the international flotilla to Gaza carries some 8 activists from The Netherlands. Dutch journalists (including one from Trouw) also applied, but they have all backed out of the Flotilla. What’s going on? “What we talked about confidentially last night appeared this morning in the Telegraaf! A journalist has leaked our information!” Anne de Jong (30) looked around furiously. In the Iliada-hotel in Gouvia, Corfu 14 people were sitting: 8 activists, 2 documentary-makers and 4 journalists. They were supposed to go along on the Dutch-Italian boat to Gaza.

Gaza Freedom Flotilla Establishes Information Websites (photo) There is food in Gaza, but no democracy. By Joel Leyden Israel News Agency Jerusalem, Israel ---- June 28, 2011 .... The organizers of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla have established two Websites to provide information and daily updates to the media and the general public. The Gaza Flotilla Website is located at Gaza Freedom Flotilla Website and the Justice For Gaza information Website is located at: JusticeForGaza.com. Sources tell the Israel News Agency that the organizers of the second Gaza flotilla who come from Iran, Syria, Turkey, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, IHH, Qatar, Libya,...

It’s really getting hard to distinguish this crackpot from any other far left America-hating Jew-hating radical… Crazy Ron Paul says that Israel’s Gaza blockade is an act of war. For the record, Ron. The people of Gaza are not starving as every week 10,000 tons of food, medicine and other humanitarian supplies are sent by Israel to Gaza. But, they have shot off 4,000 rockets at Israel since the voluntary withdrawal from Gaza. (video at source link)