Vier redenen voor het falen van de media in de Gaza-kwestie 'Incompetentie, politieke correctheid, het vertrek van ervaren verslaggevers en antipathie tegen Israël' Door Carel Brendel Een van de merkwaardigste 'dagbladen' is The Global Muslim Brotherhood Daily Report (GMBDR). Deze website brengt dagelijks nieuws en achtergronden over het wereldwijde netwerk van de Moslimbroederschap. Deze fundamentalistische beweging is ontstaan in Egypte, maar is inmiddels in 70 landen actief. De Moslimbroederschap kent, zoals minister Guusje ter Horst het vorig jaar formuleerde in antwoord op Kamervragen, 'een veelheid aan nationale en lokale bewegingen met doelstellingen die naar tijd en plaats verschillen'. De makers van GMBDR vinden dat er desondanks aanleiding genoeg is om informatie over deze veelheid van bewegingen te verzamelen en voor een breder publiek toegankelijk te maken. De GMBDR is vaag over de eigen achtergronden. "De hoofdredacteur van de GMBDR heeft tientallen jaren ervaring in research en onderzoek voor belangrijke NGO's, regeringsdiensten en internationale media in de VS en Europa. GMBDR wordt gebruikt door Amerikaanse en regeringsanalisten op het gebied van inlichtingen, defensie, wetshandhaving en beleid, door de wereld van deskundigen en academici en door journalisten." De ondertitel 'An intelligence digest' is daarentegen duidelijk genoeg. Het webdagblad moet niets hebben van de Moslimbroeders, en de organisaties die deel uitmaken van hun netwerk, waaronder Hamas (zie artikel 2 van het handvest van deze islamitische gezelligheidsvereniging), de Federation of Islamic Organisations in Europe (FIOE) en de European Council for Fatwa and Research (ECFR). Desondanks zijn de berichten van de GMBDR zeer informatief. De samenstellers baseren zich voornamelijk op openbaar toegankelijke en controleerbare bronnen, waaronder websites van de Moslimbroeders zelf, overheidsdocumenten en publicaties in de gevestigde media. De afgelopen dagen maakte de redactie overuren in verband met de veldslag aan boord van een schip op weg naar Gaza, waarbij maandag 19 doden vielen. De GMBDR belichtte de nauwe banden tussen de activisten en Hamas. Een van de berichten ging over de achtergronden van de Nederlandse 'vredesactivist' Amin Abou Rashed, die volgens de Hamas-watchers eerder betrokken was bij de Al Aqsa Stichting. Van deze stichting werden in 2003 de tegoeden bevroren, omdat de stichting volgens de AIVD geld inzamelde voor terroristische activiteiten van Hamas. Vandaag geeft de website uitleg over de verhevigde aandacht voor de Gaza-vloot. Deze aandacht is volgens de samenstellers gepast gezien de massieve aanwezigheid van Moslimbroeders en Hamas-aanhangers in de hulporganisaties. De vlootcampagne laat, aldus GMBDR zien, hoe goed de Moslimbroeders zijn georganiseerd en hoeveel invloed ze hebben bij westerse organisaties en regeringen. Een andere reden voor de extra aandacht is het collectieve falen van de media. "De internationale media hebben vrijwel algemeen de opvarenden en organisatoren omschreven als 'activisten'. Met uitzondering van één Nederlandse krant ontbrak het aan basale aandacht voor de werkelijke identiteit en organisatorische achtergronden van de vlootcampagne en het leiderschap van de Moslimbroederschap en Hamas. De redenen voor dit opvallende falen van de media liggen buiten het werkterrein van de GMBDR. Waarschijnlijk gaat het om een combinatie van incompetentie, 'politieke correctheid', de afwezigheid van meer ervaren verslaggevers die de afgelopen jaren zijn vertrokken bij belangrijke kranten, en een variërende antipathie tegen Israël en zijn regering." De enige door de Amerikaanse 'islamscanners' genoemde gunstige uitzondering is de Telegraaf. Daarover kreeg ik toevallig een mailtje van iemand, die net als ik is opgegroeid in een links milieu. "Toch weer interessant om vast te stellen dat buiten Telegraaf en Elsevier (dat het Telegraaf-bericht overnam, CB) geen enkele krant aandacht besteedt aan de twijfelachtige antecedenten van Amin Abou Rashid. Ik ben zeer anti-Telegraaf opgevoed en dat ook lang gebleven, maar nu begin ik soms te twijfelen. Een en ander geeft in ieder geval wel weer aan waar de prioriteiten van de Nederlandse pers liggen." In deze kwestie is de 'populistische' Telegraaf een stuk doortastender dan de 'kwaliteitskrant' NRC Handelsblad, die gistermiddag (in de papieren editie) aandacht besteedde aan het nieuws over Rashed en zijn leidende rol voor Hamas in Nederland. NRC vroeg om een reactie van Ali Sonlu, voorzitter van de Al Aqsa Stichting en (maar dat wisten de interviewers kennelijk niet) ook voorman van Kudüs Vakfi (Jeruzalem Stichting), die als een voortzetting van Al Aqsa wordt gezien. "Wij hebben niets met het konvooi te maken", hield Sonlu vol. Vrijwel tegelijkertijd verscheen er een nieuw bericht van de GMBDR, waarin uitgerekend de nauwe betrokkenheid van Sonlu en Kudüs Vakfi bij de Gaza-operatie uit de doeken werd gedaan. Aanvulling: In dit document van de Al Aqsa Stichting staat de handtekening van Amin Abou Rashed, die destijds nog door het leven ging als Amin Abou Ibrahim. Volgens een artikel vandaag in de Volkskrant is Rashed betrokken bij alles wat Palestijns is, behalve bij Hamas. De 'kwaliteitskrant' gaat daarbij volledig af op de mening van mede-activist Mohammed Cheppih, afgelopen zaterdag nog discussieleider op een islamcongres van de FION, de Nederlandse afdeling van de Moslimbroederschap. De FION ontkent ondanks alle bewijzen voor het tegendeel alle banden met de Moslimbroeders. Geplaatst op 3 juni 2010 Homepage: www.hetverraadvanlinks.nl
vrijdag 4 juni 2010
4 Redenen voor falen media in kwestie Free Gaza vloot
IDF over legale aspecten interceptie Free Gaza vloot
Interception of the Gaza flotilla-Legal aspects
IDF Military Advocate General
www.mag.idf.il/592-4071-en/patzar.aspx
I. Introduction
For several years, the State of Israel has been engaged in an ongoing armed conflict with terrorist organizations operating in the Gaza strip. This armed conflict has intensified after Hamas violently took over Gaza, in June 2007, and turned the territory under its de-facto control into a launching pad of mortar and rocket attacks against Israeli towns and villages in southern Israel.
The State or Israel took different measures to defend its citizens from the terrorist attacks originating from the Gaza strip. Initially, all feasible steps were taken in order to avoid using extensive military force, including diplomatic and economic military measures, as well as relatively limited military operations. When these measures proved ineffective, and the barrage of rockets against the Israeli civilian population continued, and even intensified, the State of Israel had no choice but to take an extensive military action - Operation "Cast Lead".
The entire activities of Israel in this armed conflict are governed by the Law of Armed Conflict (also known as: International Humanitarian Law).
II. The Naval blockade on Gaza
According to the Laws of Armed Conflict, a state party to an armed conflict has the right to establish a naval blockade on its enemy's coast for security reasons. A naval blockade means preventing the passage (entry or exit) of all vessles to or from the ports and coastal areas of the enemy, irrespective of the kind of cargo carried by these vessels.
The power to impose a naval blockade is well established under customary international law. It is a common practice, and even the Charter of the United Nations, when enumerating the differnt actions which can be taken by the Security Council in order to maintain or restore international peace and security, explicitly mentions the naval blockade among these measures (Article 42 of the Charter).
Similarly, Article 7.7.1 of the "Commander's Handbook on the Law of Naval Operations", published by the U.S Navy on July 2007 (hereinafter: The US Navy Handbook), explains that:
"Blockade is a belligerent operation to prevent vessels and/or aircraft of all nations, enemy as well as neutral, from entering or exiting specified ports, airfields, or coastal areas belonging to, occupied by, or under the control of enemy nation. While the belligerent right of visit and search is designed to interdict the flow of contraband goods, the belligernt right of blockade is intended to prevent vessels and aircraft, regardless of their cargo, from crossing an established and published and publicized cordon seperationg the enemy from international waters and/or airspace"
International law sets several conditions for a legal naval blockade (these conditions are reflected, for example, in the "San Remo Manual on International Law applicable to Armed Conflict at Sea" from 1994: hereinafter The San Remo Manual):
Public declaration - a blockade shall be publicly declared and notified to all States that might be affected by its establishmentm, in particular those states whose vessels are sailing or suppose to be sailing near the relevant area. The declaration shall specify, among other things, the commencement, duration (as far as it is known when the blockade is established) and geographical boundries of the blockade.
Effectiveness - no fictitious blockade shall be established. A State that declares a naval blockade must enforce it in practice. An ineffective blockade would expire.
Impatiality - a blockade must be applied impartially to vessels of all States (including of those crrying the flag of the State which imposed it).
Access to neutral States - a naval blockade must not bar access to the ports and coasts of neutral States.
Passage of humanitarian assistance - a naval blockade is imposed for security reasons. Thus, the blockading party must provide for passage of humanitarian assistance for the civilian population of the blockaded area. This obligation is subject to the right of the blockading party to prescribe the technical arrangements, including search, under which the passage is permitted, in order to make sure that no means are transferred to the benefit of the enemy, rather than to the civilian population, and that the humanitarian assistance is distributed under the supervision of a neutral party which prevents the abuse of humanitarian assistance by the enemy.
III. The legality of the blockade imposed on the Gaza strip
The naval blockade imposed by the State of Israel on the Gaza strip, which was violated by the vessels participating in the current flotilla, is in conformity with the aforementioned rules of international law:
Public declaraion - on 03.01.2009, during operation "Cast Lead", the State of Israel declared a naval blockade on the Gaza strip, in the distance of 20 miled from the coast. The naval blockade was established for a clear military necessity - to prevent the military strengthening of Hamas by stopping the entry of terrorist elements and the smuggling of weapons into the Gaza strip, an aim supported also by the Security Council Resolution 1860. The establishment of the Naval blockade was published by the ordinary international channels. These publications detailed the geographical boundries of the blockaded area (by coordinates) and emphasized that the naval blockade shall be in force until a further notice. Before the current flotilla had begun, the State of Israel approached the States involved, by diplomatic channels, and the organizers of the flotilla were well aware of the blockade.
Effectiveness - the naval blockade on the Gaza strip has been effectively enforced by the State of Israel since its commencement. Indeed, before it was established, Israel allowed the entry of a vessel carrying humanitarian assistance into Gaza, but since the naval blockade was declared, no vessel was allowed in.
Impartiality - the naval blockade has been enforced on the vessels of all states, with no discrimination.
Access to neutral States - the naval blockade on Gaza has not affected, in any manner, the access of vessels to the ports or coasts of neutral States.
Passage or humanitarian assistance - the State or Israel allowed the passage of humanitarian assistance into the Gaza strip long before the naval blockade had been imposed. This assistance has entered Gaza through the crossing points between Israel and Gaza, subject to security check and in coordination with international organizations working in Gaza. The State of Israel openly declared that it will allow the enty of the humanitarian goods carried by the current flotilla into Gaza, after it is unloaded in Israel, in the port of Ashdod.
In conclusion, the naval blockade imposed by the State of israel on the Gaza strip is in accordance with international law.
IV. Breach or Attempt of Breach of a naval blockade
Passage of a vessel through a blockaded area or entrance into it without special entry or exit authorization from the State imposing the blockade is considered a breach of the blockade. According to the Law of Armed Conflict at Sea, if there are reasonable grounds to believe it has breached a naval blockade, the State imposing the blockade is authorized to capture the vessel, and if it resists capture and refuses to stop, after prior warning, it may be attacked.
For instance, rule 1710.4 of the ICRC Model Manual of the Law of Armed Conflict for Armed Forces, published in 1999, indicates that:
"Merchant vessels believed on reasonable ground to be breaching a blockade may be captured and those which, after prior warning, clearly resist capture may be attacked".
Moreover, the State imposing the blockade may capture a vessel even prior to its entering to the blockaded area, if it is attempting to breach the Naval Blockade, i.e. is on its way to the blockaded area and there are reasonable grounds to believe it intendes to breach the Naval Blockade. Capture of a vessel attempting to breach a Naval Blockade can be done in international waters, before entrance to the blockaded area, but not in the territorial waters of neutral States.
In other words, the legal authority to capture a vessel is independent of whether at the time of capture the vessel had already entered the blockaded area or was in international waters on its way to breach the blockade.
For instance, article 7.7.4 of the U.S Navy "Commander's Handbook on the Law of Naval Operations" notes that:
"Breach of blockade is the passage of a vessel or aircraft through a blockade without special entry or exit authorization from the blockading belligerent. Attempted breach of blockade occures from the time a vessel or aircraft leaves a port or airfield with the intention of avading the blockade....It is immaterial that the vessel or aircraft is at the time of interception bound for neutral territory, if its ultimate destination is the blockaded area".
Regarding the recent incidents, all vessels taking part in the flotilla were explicitly warned by the IDF that they were approaching an area under a Naval Blockade closed to all martime traffic, and were ordered to change their cource of navigation and refraing from further attempting to breach the Naval Blockade. These vessels were also offered to dock in Ashdod port and deliver humanitarian supplies to the Gaza strip through the formal land crossings. Nevetheless, the vessels explicitly declared theirs intent to breach the Naval Blockade on the martime zoned adjacent to the Gaza strip and their course of navigation unequivocally indicated its intent to breach the Naval Blockade.
Therefore, according to International Law, Israel had the authority to capture the vessels, from the moment they left the territorial waters of neutral States. Under the circumstances, i.e. the vessel's refusal to stop or obey warnings to refrain from breaching the blockade, use of force was permissible in order to enable capture.
The IDF did not attack the vessels with cannons, machine guns or rockets and did not attempt to harm them. It took the neccssary steps in order to capture the vessels in an operation that clearly indicates vigilance and proportionality. Capture of most vessels was completed with no casualties. IDF soldiers taking part in the capture made significant efforts to refrain from using force and did so only when facing clear and immediate threat to life.
V. The Treatment of Personnel on Board a Vessel captured in breack of a blockade
Generally speaking, according to International Law, people on board a vessel captured in breach of a Naval Blockade should be repatriated as soon as possible.
On this matter, Article 7.10.2 of the U.S Navy "Commander's Handbook on the Law of Naval Operations" notes that:
"The officers and the crews of captured neutral merchants vessels and civil aircrafts who are nationals of a neutral nation do not become prisoners of war and must be repatriated as soon as circumstances reasonably permit".
In practice, since the vessel itself is caught on the high seas, people on board should be brought to a safe place (i.e. a harbor of the capturing State) and repatriated as soon as possible. In this context, dure regard needs to be given to theirs safety and basic needs (including food and water, medical treatment if needed and reasonably sanitary conditions)/
The State of Israel has fully implementde the above obligations regarding the people on board the ships which have been captured. Foreigh nationals are being treated by the Ministry of Internal Affairs in order to provide for their repatriation, and the wounded were evacuated to hospitals in Israel, some of then by helicopter. Nevertheless, activists suspected of attacking IDF soldiers will be investigated and the necessary legal measures will be taken against them.
--------------------------------------------
IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis
Website: www.imra.org.il
Video wapens en voorbereiding op geweld op Mavi Marmara
IDF Spokesperson
www.youtube.com/watch?v=16sANhzjcC0
The opening footage of the video shows knives, rods, wrenches, gas masks, bulletproof vests, and binoculars found on the ship and gathered at the Port of Ashdod. IDF soldiers then reenact how rioters prepared weaponry by using electric saws to remove metal poles from the stairs and other parts of the ship in order to attack the soldiers. The closing seconds of the film come from actual footage found on the Marmara showing the demonstrators preparing the weaponry.
In the early hours of the 31st of May 2010, IDF soldiers boarded the ships of the "Free Gaza" Flotilla, after the ships refused to redirect their course. Aboard the Mavi Marmara the soldiers encountered serious violence when, in a preplanned attack, the activists on board lynched the soldiers with knives, metal rods and stole two of their guns. As a result 7 soldiers were injured and 9 activists were killed.
Onderhandelingen met zevende boot Free Gaza hulpkonvooi via Ierland
Drie Turkse opvarenden Gaza vloot hoopten op martelaarsdood
Bulletin - June 3, 2010
Palestinian Media Watch
Three of the four Turks killed on ship sought Martyr's death
http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=157&doc_id=2367
by Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik
Headline: "Three of the four Turkish victims of the Israeli attack wished to die as "Shahids" (Martyrs)"
"Three of the four Turks killed in the Israeli attack on the "Freedom Flotilla" bound for the Gaza Strip wanted to die as Martyrs, said their relatives and friends. The wife of one of them, Ali Haydar Bengi, told the Vatan daily: "He used to help the poor and the oppressed. For years, he wanted to go to Palestine. And he constantly prayed to Allah to grant him Shahada (Martyrdom).
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, June 3, 2010]
Palestinian Media Watch reported in the last two days that participants on board were chanting Islamic battle cries and talking about their coming Martyrdom on the days before the confrontation.
PMW | King George 59 | Jerusalem | Israel
Turkse Gaza activisten geven toe wapens van soldaten te hebben afgenomen
A Turkish organizer of a pro-Palestinian aid flotilla admitted on Thursday to seizing weapons from Israeli soldiers who stormed the boats, but said activists beat the soldiers only in self defense.
Bulent Yildirim, who was deported from Israel along with hundreds of other foreigners who tried breaching an Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip, said activists grabbed weapons from the soldiers who dropped onto the vessel, but then threw them into the sea.
Yildirim also said that the activists attacked the Israeli commandos with chairs and sticks in self defense. Nine of the activists were killed in the operation on Monday and several more wounded when Israeli commandos opened fire on the ship. Seven soldiers were also wounded in the incident.
Even if the activists had turned the soldiers' guns on them it would have been in legitimate self defense, said Yildirim, adding that the raid on Monday was conducted in international waters.
The Israeli commandos said that the activists surrounded and attacked them as they entered the ship and also say they acted in self-defense
Yildirim vowed to organize bigger convoys by land and sea if Israel did not end the blockade of Gaza.
The Turkish Islamic charity that Yildirim heads has been linked by various sources to terrorism networks, including Al-Qaida and Hamas.
Former French judge Jean-Louis Bruguiere said Thursday that Istanbul-based Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief.was connected to a 1999 plot by Al-Qaida to bomb Los Angeles International Airport.
The group had "clear, long-standing ties to terrorism" when he investigated it in the late 1990s, Bruguiere, saying it was "basically helping al-Qaida when bin Laden started to want to target U.S. soil."
The group vehemently denies any ties to radical groups and is not among some 45 groups listed as terrorists by the U.S. State Department. "We have nothing to do with any illegal organization," declared one of its leaders.
donderdag 3 juni 2010
Hamas weigert hulpgoederen Free Gaza konvooi via Israel
'Hamas weigert hulpgoederen konvooi'
Twintig vrachtwagens zijn gevuld met vracht van de in beslag genomen schepen, die echter de toegang tot de door Hamas bestuurde Gazastrook wordt ontzegd, aldus een Israëlische legerwoordvoerster woensdag. De vracht bestaat vooral uit medicijnen, kleding, dekens en speelgoed. Hamas zou geen humanitaire hulp meer binnenlaten.
Reactie Hamas
Een Hamaswoordvoerder weigerde commentaar op de beschulding, maar bevestigde dat de Palestijnse autoriteiten in Gaza geen hulpgoederen hebben ontvangen. Volgens hem ligt de prioriteit van de beweging bij de vrijlating van de circa zeshonderd activisten. Ook vindt Hamas dat de hulpcoördinatie moet plaatsvinden in samenwerking met Turkije, dat meer dan 10.000 ton aan hulpgoederen schonk.
Onderwijl liet Hamasminister Ahmad al-Kurd (Sociale Zaken) weten, dat als de partij hulpgoederen wordt binnengelaten, dit alleen gebeurt als alle spullen van de activisten worden geleverd. Israël zegt dat de twintig vrachtwagens eerst hun spullen moeten afleveren voordat ze de rest kunnen ophalen.
Deense journalist bericht ter plekke over tekorten in Gaza
It disturbed her not at least that she stood between the mountains of vegetables, fruit, eggs, poultry and fish, while she spun this doomsday scenario.
Danish report from Gaza: "Where's the humanitarian crisis?"
Danish reporter Steffen Jensen visits Gaza to see how bad things are, given that the entire world is in an uproar over the humanitarian crisis there (translated):
The Palestinian community's immediate downfall has been prophesied numerous times in the media. People have nothing to eat, we sometimes know. The UN must from time to time to stop food distribution, either because their stocks are running low, or because they can not get diesel for their trucks, and therefore can not carry food in. And so on.
Yesterday I drove into the Gaza Strip. I don't do this as often as before [because it takes much longer to get through the checkpoints now.]
But this was not the picture that greeted me.
When I yesterday morning drove through Gaza City, I was immediately surprised that there are almost as many traffic jams as there always has been. Is there not a shortage of fuel? Apparently not. Gasoline is not even rationed.
I will not say whether, in better times has been a larger product range than there was yesterday. But there was certainly no shortage of vegetables, fruits or any other ordinary, basic foods. Tomatoes, cucumbers, corn, watermelons, potatoes - mountains of these items in the many stalls.
I must admit I was a little surprised. Because when I call down here to my Palestinian friends, they tell me about all the problems and deficiencies, so I expected that the crisis was a little more clear.
And the first woman we interviewed in the market confirms this strange, contradictory, negative mindset:
"We have nothing," she said. We need everything! Food, drinks ... everything! "
It disturbed her not at least that she stood between the mountains of vegetables, fruit, eggs, poultry and fish, while she spun this doomsday scenario.
Yousuf al-Assad Yazgy owns a fruit and vegetable outlet here in the market. All his fruit is imported from Israel.
"Not all fruit and all vegetables come from Israel. Ours does. They come from Israel. But in the Gaza Strip there is not very much fruit cultivated. Mostly tomatoes, potatoes and vegetables. So here with me are the vegetables and watermelon were from Gaza. All the fruit comes across the border from Israel," he explains, but also says that there can be long periods when the border is closed, and which therefore fruit does not come in.
On the way out of the Shati camp we stop at a small grocery store. Not any fancy, expensive business. Just a small, humble local store. The proprietor Sun Mohammed Abu Nada says they would not be able to do business if it were not for contraband goods from Egypt.
He takes us on a brief tour of the shelves and shows everything that comes from Egypt. It turns out to be much more than half of the goods. 75-80 per cent. I would estimate. Several other products - including long-life UHT milk - comes from Israel, but is also smuggled through tunnels from Egypt.
This story I have written to postulate that there are problems in the Gaza Strip, because that would be untrue. There are problems. Many problems indeed. But it is not lack of food, which primarily concern people down here. The biggest problem is the lack of jobs and a sustainable domestic economy.
'Palestijns-Nederlandse Free Gaza activist kopstuk van Hamas'
'Nederlandse anti-Israël-activist is kopstuk van Hamas'
woensdag 2 juni 2010 07:30
De 43-jarige Nederlander Amin Abou Rashed, die door Israël is gearresteerd nadat het internationale 'hulpkonvooi' voor Gaza de confrontatie zocht met de Israëlische marine, is een kopstuk van de radicaalislamitische terreurbeweging Hamas.
Arm
Rashed was, naast Anne de Jong, de enige Nederlander tussen de vijfhonderd gearresteerde anti-Israëlische activisten (zie kader rechtsonder).
Hij is in het bezit van een Nederlands paspoort, is van Palestijnse komaf en zou opereren vanuit Rotterdam. Eerder verloor hij een arm in zijn strijd tegen Israël.
Volgens de officiële website van het Moslimbroederschap, een organisatie die de invoering van de sharia overal ter wereld nastreeft, is Rashed een van de drijvende krachten achter het 'hulpkonvooi' voor Gaza.
Hamas
Een inlichtingenbron zegt tegen de krant: 'Rashed is de leider van de Hamas in Nederland. Hij komt onder een alias, namelijk Amin Abou Ibrahim, voor in verschillende inlichtingenrapporten.'
Zo noemt de Amerikaanse anti-terreurorganisatie Nefa Rashed verschillende malen in een onderzoek naar de invloed van het Moslimbroederschap in Europa.
Ook heeft hij gewerkt voor de beruchte Nederlandse stichting al-Aksa, die werd verdacht van fondsenwerving voor Hamas. En: 'Hij is ook zeer actief in de Stichting Palestijns Platform voor Mensenrechten en Solidariteit, de PPMS.'
Holy Land
Hamas wordt gefinancierd door islamitische 'liefdadigheidsinstellingen' over de gehele wereld. Rashed is genoemd in relatie tot de Holy Land Foundation, een beruchte liefdadigheidsorganisatie die in Amerika werd opgerold voor het financieren van Hamas.
Rashed en activist De Jong zitten nog vast in Israël en verkeren in goede gezondheid. Ze worden waarschijnlijk vandaag vrijgelaten.
Hollandse Hamasleider was erbij
![](javascript:fotovenster("http://images2-telegraaf.nl/multimedia/archive/00727/hamasleider_rashed_727121d.jpg","Amin%20Abou%20Rashed%20(rechts)%20zat%20vorig%20jaar%20in%20Cairo%20aan%20tafel%20met%20Gretta%20Duisenberg%20en%20de%20Nederlandse%20ambassadeur. ","Floris%20Scheplitz ",200,132);)
Gisteravond laat maakte Israël bekend dat alle opgepakte zeshonderd buitenlandse actievoerders binnen twee dagen zullen worden vrijgelaten. Onder hen zijn twee Nederlanders: Rashed en Anne de Jong (29).
De van oorsprong Palestijnse Rashed heeft een Nederlands paspoort en opereert vanuit Rotterdam.
In zijn strijd tegen Israël verloor de Nederlandse activist eerder een arm. De Nederlander wordt aangewezen als een van de organisatoren achter de 'vredesvloot' door de officiële website van de Moslimbroederschap, een beweging die strijdt voor islamdominantie.
"Rashed is de leider van de Hamas in Nederland", zegt een inlichtingenbron. "Hij komt onder een alias, namelijk Amin Abou Ibrahim, voor in meerdere inlichtingenrapporten. Hij werkte voor de beruchte Nederlandse stichting al-Aksa, die werd verdacht van fondsenwerving voor de terreurorganisatie Hamas. Hij is ook zeer actief in de Stichting Palestijns Platform voor Mensenrechten en Solidariteit (PPMS)", aldus de inlichtingenman.
Hamas heeft als financieringsbron wereldwijd islamitische 'liefdadigheidsinstellingen'. De Nederlander Amin Abou Rashed wordt genoemd in relatie tot de Holy Land Foundation, een beruchte liefdadigheidsorganisatie die in Amerika werd opgerold voor het financieren van Hamas.
Leden Moslim Broederschap en andere radicale moslims aan boord van Free Gaza boten
Arab Media Reports on Flotilla Participants: Writing Wills, Preparing for Martyrdom, Determined to Reach Gaza or Die
Flotilla Participants
Following is information from the Arab media about some of the flotilla participants. It should be noted that many of these were from the Muslim Brotherhood across the Muslim world:
Egypt
In Friday sermons, Muslim Brotherhood General Guide Muhammad Badi' expressed support for Hamas, frequently reiterating harsh statements in favor of jihad and of the armed struggle in Palestine, Iraq, and Afghanistan (For more on this subject, see also MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 2986, "MEMRI TV Clips on the Gaza Flotilla: Activists On Board Chant Songs of Martyrdom at Departure,"http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/4249.htm.
The Egyptian flotilla delegation included two members of the Muslim Brotherhood bloc in the Egyptian parliament: Muhammad Al-Baltaji and Hazem Farouq.
Al-Baltaji, who is deputy secretary-general of the Muslim Brotherhood parliamentary bloc in Egypt, said at a March 2010 conference, "A nation that excels at dying will be blessed by Allah with a life of dignity and with eternal paradise." He also said that his movement "will never recognize Israel and will never abandon the resistance," and that "resistance is the only road map that can save Jerusalem, restore the Arab honor, and prevent Palestine from becoming a second Andalusia.[1]
Lebanon
The Lebanese flotilla delegation, with six members, was headed by attorney Dr. Hani Suleiman, who also participated in a February 2009 Gaza flotilla. He was pro-bono attorney to Japanese terrorist Kozo Okamoto.[2] In 2006, he signed a communique supporting armed resistance in Palestine, Lebanon, and Iraq.[3]
Three other members of the Lebanese delegation are Al-Jazeera TV correspondents.[4] One, 'Abbas Nasser, worked for Hizbullah's Al-Manar TV from 1997 through 2003; he has said that he enjoyed working there because he felt like part of a family, and because the channel "embraced his religious and political orientation.
Another delegation member, Hussein Shaker, is known as "Abu Al-Shuhada" ("Father of the Martyrs"). He has reportedly expressed a desire to meet "his martyrs" (i.e. relatives killed during the 2006 Lebanon war), and has called his participation in the flotilla revenge for their deaths.[6]
Jordan
The Jordanian flotilla delegation included Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan activists such as delegation head Wael Al-Saka, a veteran Muslim Brotherhood member,[7] and Salam Al-Falahat, who was general guide of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan from 2006 to 2008.[8] In an interview last year, Al-Falahat said: "We in the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan see Palestine as part of the Islamic and Arab land that must not be relinquished - on the contrary, defending it is a national and jurisprudential obligation..
Also in the delegation was Jordanian publicist and journalist Muhammad Abu Ghanima, a former head of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan's information bureau and a member of the movement's political bureau. Abu Ghanima writes frequent articles praising Hamas and condemning the Palestinian Authority. In one, he vehemently attacked Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, calling on the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt to topple his regime even at the cost of thousands of martyrs.[10]
Journalist Saud Salam Abu Mahfouz, member of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan's political party, the Islamic Action Front, is also director-general of the Jordanian Al-Sabil newspaper, which is identified with the Muslim Brotherhood. His son, Jordanian correspondent for Hamas' Al-Aqsa TV, was arrested in Egypt in 2008.[11]
Syria
The only Syrian citizen of the flotilla's 700 participants was Shadha Barakat. She was sent as a representative of the Civil Association for Resisting Zionism and Aid for Palestine, which supports armed resistance in Palestine and in Iraq. Her husband Ayman said that she had written a play on assassinated Hamas founder and leader Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, and had told him that when she reaches Gaza she "plans to visit [Yassin's] home and inhale the scent of the place where he lived."[12]
Yemen
Prominent activists in the Yemeni flotilla delegation were three MPs from the Al-Islah party, an Islamist party that is close to the Muslim Brotherhood. One, Sheikh Muhammad Al-Hazmi, was photographed on the deck of the Mavi Marmara brandishing his large curved dagger.[13]
Another Yemeni MP in the flotilla, Hazza' Al-Maswari, also from the Al-Islah party, previously expressed vehement anti-American sentiment. In 2004, he objected to a Yemeni program for dialogue with prisoners from Al-Qaeda aimed at tempering their views, declaring recently at Friday prayers: "We cannot tell militants 'don't terrorize Americans' or 'don't attack their interests.' Those who plant hatred will harvest hatred."[14]
Kuwait
Among the prominent flotilla activists from Kuwait were Salafist MP Walid Al-Tabtabai, who is known to support armed resistance in Palestine and in Iraq. He said: "We think that the armed resistance in Iraq is legitimate resistance. Every resistance directed against anyone who occupies it is legitimate..
Another prominent Kuwaiti activist in the flotilla was Dr. Osama Al-Kandari, a Hadith lecturer at the College of Basic Education. In February 2009, he signed a communique expressing support for Hamas and for jihad in Palestine against the "Jewish enemies."[18]
Bahrain
Sheikh Jalal Al-Sharqi, head of the Association of Islamic Scholars in the GCC Countries, was also on board. Previously, Al-Sharqi signed a clerics' petition calling to acknowledge Hamas's legitimacy, as recognized by shari'a, and not to prevent it from obtaining weapons. The petition justified the stance of the "fighters in Gaza" who cling to jihad "against the Jews" and to martyrdom.[19]
Israeli Arabs
The Monitoring Committee of the Israeli Arabs sent four of its members to the flotilla, including Sheikh Raed Salah, head of the northern branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel. He made statements in support of Hamas and against the legitimacy of the Palestinian Authority. Previously, Salah said at the Conference of the Palestinians in Europe: "We are very joyful over the Freedom Flotilla... that in another few days will break the siege on free Gaza, noble Gaza, heroic Gaza. At the same time, we emphasize to all the world that the Freedom Flotilla heralds another flotilla to come - do you know what that is? It is the flotilla returning the Palestinian refugees to our country, to our plains, to our sea and our land, to our fields and our groves."[20]
Bishop Hilarion Capucci
Another passenger on the Mavi Marmara was Bishop Hilarion Capucci, who in the 1970s was convicted and imprisoned in Israel for smuggling weapons from Lebanon to the PLO, but afterwards was freed at the request of the Vatican. According to Algerian flotilla participants, Hilarion said that he was "waiting for the day when he could return to Palestine and hear the church bells and the muezzins' calls of 'Allah Akbar,' under the skies of a free Palestine."[21]
Anticipating Conflict, Willing to Die
In their statements, flotilla participants raised the possibility that Israel would use force to prevent the ship from reaching the Gaza coast, and declared that this would not stop them. Many noted that they would break the siege even if it cost them their lives.
Muhammad Al-Baltaji, of the Muslim Brotherhood faction in the Egyptian parliament, said: "The flotilla participants have two aims: to reach Gaza and break the siege, and to denounce Israel if it prevents the flotilla from entering Gaza, even at the cost of martyrdom or imprisonment.
Algerian delegation head Dr. Abd Al Razzaq Maqri, who is the deputy head of the Algerian group Movement of Society for Peace, Algeria's major Islamist party, said, "The Algerians on board will hear only the orders of their leaders, who seek to break the siege. [The options are] martyrdom, imprisonment, or breaking [the siege]."[23]
The website of the group titled its collection of photos from the flotilla "Photos of Algerian Mujahideen."[24]
Algerian delegation coordinator Ahmad Brahimi said about his delegation: "Algeria has been known for its support of the Palestinian cause since the days of Salah Al-Din Al-Ayyubi. Our fathers gave their blood and lives to defend Palestine... and we are the sons of those fathers." He added that the delegation's only purpose was to reach Gaza, and that Israel could not prevent it from doing so.[25]
Another participant, Attorney Fathi Nassar of Jordan, said: "The Freedom Flotilla members are filled with determination to reach Gaza or die."[26]
Rami Abdou, representative of the European Campaign to End the Siege on Gaza, said that most of the participants were willing to lay down their lives to reach Gaza. He stressed that they would not allow the occupation forces to tow the ship to Ashdod.[27]
Shadha Barakat's husband Ayman said that his wife was likely to be harmed during the venture, adding that "she will make no truce with Zionism" and that "since she was a child, she has dreamed of attacking an Israeli."[28]
Participants Write Their Wills
At a press conference in Antalya, Turkey, the flotilla organizers asked all the participants to "write their wills."[29] Following the press conference, Kuwaiti Salafist MP Walid Al-Tabtabai reportedly "did not hesitate to write his will, in defiance of the Israeli threats."[30]
The father of Kuwaiti activist Abd Al-Rahman Al-Filkawi told the Kuwaiti Al-Watandaily that his son had told him that the flotilla participants' morale was high, and that they "would sacrifice themselves for the sake of Allah. He added that his son had "told them before embarking that he would be a martyr for the sake of Allah."[31] Likewise, on the various Internet forums, it was reported that the mother of one of the Turkish participants had said that her son had bade her farewell and told her that he was going to lay down his life.[32]
woensdag 2 juni 2010
Veel minder hulpgoederen aan boord Free Gaza vloot
Flotilla fraudsters lied about their cargo
| I don't have all the details yet, but the IDF has described the goods that were on the ships: Twenty-four hours after the last ship of the Gaza aid flotilla entered the Ashdod Port under the watchful eye of the Israeli Navy, all of the equipment on board was examined Tuesday and the majority of it was loaded onto trucks headed to the Kerem Shalom border crossing.And how much cargo was on board? Levi said that eight trucks full of equipment had already crossed into Gaza and that 20 additional trucks would be transferred throughout the night and the following day.This didn't include the concrete, though: According to Levi, the soldiers also found construction equipment, including sacks of concrete and metal rods. He said that Israel did not allow those products to enter into the Gaza strip for fear that they would be used to construct fortifications for terrorists and for weapons manufacture.Assuming that the article is accurate and the majority of the cargo is being transported on 28 trucks, we can calculate roughly how much cargo was on board. On the average week, Israel has been sending some 600 truckloads of goods to Gaza, with about 14,000 tons. That means that each truck holds roughly 25 tons or so. Multiply that by 28 and we get a grand total of 700 tons of goods. This 700 tons is the majority of the cargo. meaning that we know that there is less than 1500 tons of cargo, probably closer to 1000. (The "Rachel Corrie" ship from Free Gaza is still en route to break the blockade, and it is said to have some 500 tons of cement.) So, as I confidently predicted, the "human rights" frauds have lied about the amount of goods that they were bringing, by an order of magnitude. |
Opvarenden Free Gaza boot uit Turkije zochten martelaarschap
How will they wage resistance? They will resist with their fingernails. They are people who seek Martyrdom for Allah, as much as they want to reach Gaza, but the first [Martyrdom] is more desirable."
of flotilla planning violence against Israel
http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=157&doc_id=2339
by Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik
A day before the confrontation with Israel a university lecturer revealed on Hamas TV that the Gaza flotilla's commander had announced that the participants were planning to use "resistance," the Palestinian euphemism for violence, against "the Zionists." He added that the participants sought to die as Martyrs, even more than they wanted to reach Gaza.The following are the words of Dr. Abd Al-Fatah Shayyeq Naaman, lecturer in Shari'ah law at a university in Yemen, now visiting Gaza:
How will they wage resistance? They will resist with their fingernails. They are people who seek Martyrdom for Allah, as much as they want to reach Gaza, but the first [Martyrdom] is more desirable."
