New Gaza Flotilla Set to Sail - Israel Drops Threats to Journalist Joining Mission

Monday, June 27, 2011.

* JTA.org brings us the latest report out of Israel on all this New Gaza Flotilla mess and it starts off like this... Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered Israeli authorities to formulate a special procedure for journalists who are arrested on board the Gaza flotilla... The order Monday came a day after the head of Israel's Government Press Office threatened to deny entry to the country for ten years to any journalist who participates in the flotilla... Netanyahu said in a statement that the policy for journalists covering the flotilla should not be the same as against infiltrators and those who enter Israel illegally... Members of the Israeli media and international journalists will be embedded in Israeli Navy vessels in contact with the flotilla "in order to create transparency and credible coverage of the events," said a statement issued Monday from the Prime Minister's Office...

Read this report in full at link below...

Israel drops threats to journalists who participate in Gaza flotilla

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* AhramOnline has this report posted up on their website earlier this Monday morning and it starts off like this... Pro-Palestinian activists from 22 countries plan to set sail in an international flotilla for Gaza from the coast of Crete on Thursday or Friday, organisers said Monday... “Thursday or Friday, nine or 10 boats should meet up in the Libyan Gulf,” Vaguelis Pissias, one of the Greek organisers of the flotilla, said at a press conference with representatives from the international organisations involved...

Read this report in full at link below...

Flotilla for Gaza to sail 'Thursday or Friday' from Crete

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* VOANews.com has this report...

Israel Orders Military to Stop Gaza Aid Flotilla

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New Gaza Flotilla Set to Sail...

About above News Video: A flotilla carrying humanitarian aid bound for Gaza is set to depart from Greece. Israel has already warned that it won't let the convoy reach its destination. It was also said earlier that foreign journalists who took part would be banned from working in Israel for 10 years... though this was changed late Monday morning.

This Video posted on YouTube by RussiaToday

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AubreyJ.........
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On Ground Updates: Israel - June 02, 2010

On Ground Updates: IsraelLead-up to the 2010 War BeginsWednesday, June 02, 2010. Image credit: IDF Spokesperson................................
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FIRST... Let’s start off with what happened to start all this mess....Demonstrators Use Violence Against Israeli Navy Soldiers Attempting To Board Ship

-- This Video removed by me due to Google Ad Policies --

About above video: ... IDF Naval Forces board six ships attempting to break the maritime closure of the Gaza Strip. This happened after numerous warnings from Israel and the Israeli Navy that were issued prior to the action. The Israel Navy requested the ships to redirect toward Ashdod where they would be able to unload their aid supplies which would then be transferred over land after undergoing security inspections..During the boarding of the ships, the demonstrators onboard attacked the IDF Naval personnel with live fire and light weaponry including knives and clubs. Additionally one of the weapons used was grabbed from an IDF soldier. The demonstrators had clearly prepared their weapons in advance for this specific purpose..As a result of this life-threatening and violent activity, naval forces employed riot dispersal means, as well as live fire..According to initial reports, these events resulted in the deaths of nine demonstrators and seven naval personnel were injured, some from gunfire and some from various other weapons. Two of the soldiers are moderately wounded and the remainder sustained light injuries. All of the injured, Israelis and foreigners have been evacuated by helicopter to hospitals in Israel..Reports from IDF forces on the scene are that it seems as if part of the participants onboard the ships were planning to lynch the forces..The interception of the flotilla followed numerous warnings given to the organizers of the flotilla before leaving their ports as well as while sailing towards the Gaza Strip. In these warnings, it was made clear to the organizers that they could dock in the Ashdod sea port and unload the equipment they are carrying in order to deliver it to the Gaza Strip in an orderly manner, following the appropriate security checks. Upon expressing their unwillingness to cooperate and arrive at the port, it was decided to board the ships and lead them to Ashdod..IDF naval personnel encountered severe violence, including use of weaponry prepared in advance in order to attack and to harm them. The forces operated in adherence with operational commands and took all necessary actions in order to avoid violence, but to no avail.
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Early this morning, IDF Naval Forces boarded six ships attempting to break the maritime closure of the Gaza Strip. This happened after numerous warnings from Israel and the Israeli Navy that were issued prior to the action. The Israel Navy requested the ships to redirect toward Ashdod where they would be able to unload their aid supplies which would then be transferred over land after undergoing security inspections..During the boarding of the ships, the demonstrators onboard attacked the IDF Naval personnel with live fire and light weaponry including knives and clubs. Additionally one of the weapons used was grabbed from an IDF soldier. The demonstrators had clearly prepared their weapons in advance for this specific purpose..As a result of this life-threatening and violent activity, naval forces employed riot dispersal means, as well as live fire..According to initial reports, these events resulted in the deaths of nine demonstrators and seven naval personnel were injured, some from gunfire and some from various other weapons. Two of the soldiers are moderately wounded and the remainder sustained light injuries. All of the injured, Israelis and foreigners have been evacuated by helicopter to hospitals in Israel..Reports from IDF forces on the scene are that it seems as if part of the participants onboard the ships were planning to lynch the forces..The interception of the flotilla followed numerous warnings given to the organizers of the flotilla before leaving their ports as well as while sailing towards the Gaza Strip. In these warnings, it was made clear to the organizers that they could dock in the Ashdod sea port and unload the equipment they are carrying in order to deliver it to the Gaza Strip in an orderly manner, following the appropriate security checks. Upon expressing their unwillingness to cooperate and arrive at the port, it was decided to board the ships and lead them to Ashdod..IDF naval personnel encountered severe violence, including use of weaponry prepared in advance in order to attack and to harm them. The forces operated in adherence with operational commands and took all necessary actions in order to avoid violence, but to no avail.
Info/Video originally posted on YouTube, May 31, 2010 by idfnadesk
.> Read much more HERE... along with photos, videos and more from the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs.******************************.'We Will Never Apologize for Defending Ourselves'


About this video from FoxNews.com: Israeli PM Netanyahu says raid of Gaza flotilla was justified; accuses international community of hypocrisy............................................................................Also today, we find the following reports...

...* YnetNews.com has this report up on their website today. It goes in part like this... "We knew they were peace activists," [the Officer who led the IDF raid on Marmara said...] "Though they wanted to break the Gaza blockade, we thought we'd encounter passive resistance, perhaps verbal resistance - we didn't expect this. Everyone wanted to kill us. We encountered terrorists who wanted to kill us and we did everything we could to prevent unnecessary injury."...Read the full story at link below...
'20 people threw me from deck' .> Also from YnetNews.com today is the following article and it starts like this... Netanyahu defends raid on Gaza-bound flotilla in special speech, [from his office today], says if siege on Strip had been broken, hundreds more ships would arrive. 'There is an Iranian port in Gaza, which threatens Europe, other countries'...Read this report in full at link below...PM: I am proud of soldiers
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Going to be one LONG a.. Summer!This is just the beginning of things to come...And I truly believe is the beginnings of the 2010 WARAubreyJ………

On Ground Updates: Israel - March 01, 2009

On Ground Updates: Israel
Six weeks after last Gaza war, Israel grows impatient with continuing Palestinian Rocket Attacks…
Israeli Army says Palestinians have fired over 110 rockets and mortar shells at Israel since Gaza offensive ended January 18th
Sunday, March 01, 2009

File Photo by IDF Spokesperson

Grad Rocket that penetrated school's fortification Saturday was of a type rarely fired, with vast potential for damage. In total, seven rockets were fired into Israel from Gaza Saturday…

* YNetNews.com brings us the following report and it starts off like this... Grad rocket that penetrated school's fortification was of a type rarely fired, with vast potential for damage. In total, seven rockets fired into Israel from Gaza Saturday…
Read their full report at link below…
Experts: Grads in Ashkelon were advanced
> Also from YNetNews.com is the following report this afternoon…
6 Qassams hit Negev region
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* IsraelNationalNews.com has the following report... Hamas fired a rocket on the Gaza Belt area Sunday afternoon shortly after outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert threatened a “serious, painful, strong, and uncompromising retaliation” following eight rocket attacks on the Sabbath… The Prime Minister warned that the Israeli response will be “beyond the expectations of the terrorists…until total quiet is restored to the South." Acting Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said that Israel will take military action if the rocket attacks do not stop… The afternoon rocket strike, which caused no injuries or damage, was a clear challenge to Olmert, who will leave the next government with results of action or inaction on his part…
Read the rest at link below…
Hamas Flexes Muscles, Answers Olmert’s Threat with Kassam
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* KhaleejTimes.com has this report… Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert vowed on Sunday to respond ‘severely’ to militant rocket strikes from Gaza as Tony Blair made his first visit to the war-battered enclave as Middle East Quartet envoy… ‘If the rocket fire from Gaza continues, we will hit back severely, so much so that the terrorist organizations will understand that Israel is not ready to resign itself to this,’ Olmert said at the weekly cabinet meeting… ‘Defense Minister Ehud Barak will give directions so that Israeli forces bring calm to southern Israel,’ the outgoing premier said…
Read the full report at link below…
Israel warns of severe response to Gaza rockets
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* EuroNews.net brings us the following NEWS VIDEO at link below…
Blair’s first visit to Gaza as Mideast envoy
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* BBC News website reports Blair’s visit with the following NEWS VIDEO…
Blair's first envoy visit to Gaza
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* NYTimes.com reports it this way today…
Blair Visits Gaza as Rockets Continue
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* Bloomberg.com has this report up on their website this Sunday afternoon and it starts off like this… Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Egypt late today on her first mission to deal with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that President Barack Obama has made an early diplomatic priority… The plane carrying Clinton and her aides touched down in the Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh. Clinton will join Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and other Arab leaders tomorrow at a conference to raise money for rebuilding the war-damaged Gaza Strip. Middle East special envoy George Mitchell will also attend the gathering… In the wake of the conflict in Gaza between Israeli forces and Hamas, Obama is trying to revive peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians in a broader effort to stabilize the Middle East…
Read the full report at link below…
Clinton Arrives in Egypt to Address Israel-Palestinian Conflict

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AubreyJ………

On Ground Updates: Israeli/Palestinian Conflict - February 14, 2008

On Ground Updates:
Israeli/Palestinian Conflict
No Gaza Deal without Release of Israeli Soldier Corporal Gilad Shalit - Hamas kidnaps, tortures, threatens, and murders Palestinian Collaborators
Saturday, February 14, 2009
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Guardiaan.co.uk website brings us this report today and it starts off like this… Israel will not sign off on a Gaza ceasefire without the release of an Israel soldier held in the Hamas-controlled territory, the outgoing Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, said today, squashing speculation that a deal might be imminent… Egypt has been mediating indirect ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas for the past month, since Israel halted a fierce three-week offensive against Hamas targets in Gaza. Under an emerging deal, Israel would gradually ease its border blockade of Gaza in exchange for a halt to weapons smuggling and attacks by Gaza militants…In parallel, Egypt brokered talks on a prisoner swap involving hundreds of Palestinians held by Israel and the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who was seized by Hamas-allied militants in June 2006…
Read the full report at link below…
No Gaza deal until soldier's release, says Olmert
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YNETNews.com had the following report posted on their website today… Amnesty says Hamas kidnaps, tortures, threatens, and murders Palestinians who oppose regime …
Read the full report at link below…
Hamas murdering 'collaborators'
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VOANews.com has this report... Talks on a long-term cease-fire between Israel and the Islamic militant group Hamas that rules the Gaza Strip have hit a snag… In a rare statement on the Jewish Sabbath, Israel flatly rejected statements by Hamas that a deal on a long-term Gaza cease-fire is imminent. The Prime Minister's Office said Israel would not accept a truce that did not include the release of captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, held by Hamas for more than two years in Gaza… For Hamas, the key to the Egyptian-mediated deal is Israel lifting its crippling blockade on Gaza…
Read the read at link below…
Israel to Hamas: Release Soldier or No Truce

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AubreyJ.........