Gaza Flotilla 101

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said efforts to stop a flotilla intending to break his country’s naval embargo of the Gaza Strip had taken a positive turn after Greece prevented most of the ships from sailing. “We’re seeing developments at this time regarding the flotilla that seem very positive, with the governments of Greece, Turkey, Cyprus and others working to […]

Greek police have arrested the captain of a U.S. ship whose passengers and crew had hoped to help lead a Gaza-bound flotilla aimed at challenging Israel’s maritime blockade of the Palestinian territory. John Klusmire, an American citizen and captain of The Audacity of Hope, was asked to report to a police station Saturday morning, said Jane Hirschmann, an […]

The Greek coastguard intercepted a boat carrying U.S. activists soon after they set sail fromGreece on Friday to join a pro-Palestinian flotilla to Gaza, one of the activists said. The boat, dubbed “The Audacity of Hope,” had just left Perama port, near Piraeus, for the open seas, a Reuters witness said. Greek authorities said earlier on […]

Israel has been claiming for quite some time that the desire to break through the blockade on the Gaza Strip is devoid of any basis since it is possible to transfer essential goods to Gaza through the monitored crossings. This claim received unexpected reinforcement on Thursday from none other than the Gazans themselves … who […]

Self-defense against threats to national security and individual citizens is a core right and duty of all nation-states. No one seriously disagrees. And yet this week, the Mediterranean Sea will once again be the site of a dangerous attack on this basic right. Activists from around the world, seeking to draw attention to the plight […]

A year ago hundreds of “humanitarian” activists converged on the Gaza Strip’s maritime frontiers in a pre-meditated attempt to stage a bloody conflagration. The end result was an anti-Israel media frenzy that did little to help the Palestinian cause and the activists’ expressed aim to end the socalled “blockade” of Gaza. As Israel prepares for […]

Enraged at the paranoia, the dictatorial atmosphere, mutual distrust and outright opposition on board, all Dutch journalists to leave the ship which the Dutch activists seek confrontation with Israeli marines in the Gaza Strip. According to the four editors left, they were censored by the activists, who were not served by critical questions, such as the financing of the operational […]

The second flotilla is coordinated by Muhammad Sawalha, a senior UK-based Muslim Brotherhood figure connected to Hamas. Many of the participating organizations can be directly linked with the Union of Good (UoG), a coalition of European charities affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, which in 2008 was designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. Treasury for […]

Sometime within the next week or so the second, incredibly inaptly named “Freedom Flotilla” will set sail for Hamas-controlled Gaza in an attempt to break an Israel Naval quarantine whose purpose today is solely to prevent advanced weaponry from being smuggled in to known terrorists who proudly proclaim their intent to murder innocent children in […]

Almost six years since Israel disengaged from the Gaza Strip, nothing there is what it seems. A Hamas junta rules, but the civilian government departments are run from the P.A. in Ramallah, financed by money Israel allows to go through. A blockade is ostensibly in place, but hundreds of lorries go through the crossings from […]

On a daily basis, nearly 6,000 tons of food, fuel, materials and other supplies are transferred into the Gaza Strip. Never does the delivery of goods turn into a media frenzy. In contrast, previous convoys, instigating violent provocations with Israeli or Egyptian forces, rarely delivered substantial amounts of goods into the Gaza Strip. In addition, lawfully enforcing […]

Withdrawn insurance deeds, alleged sabotage and Greek bureaucracy have dealt a setback to organizers of Freedom Flotilla 2, who said on Tuesday that departure to the Gaza Strip might be postponed until next week. “There have been many obstacles and complaints. Some boats are not ready and it is not clear when we will sail, although we expect […]

IDF sources said Monday night that new intelligence information obtained in recent days shows that participants of the flotilla planning to break Israel’s sea blockade over the GazaStrip later this week plan to kill IDF soldiers who board their ships. According to the information obtained by the IDF, some of the participants have prepared sacks with sulfur, which they plan to pour […]

Israel has stepped up its campaign to stop a flotilla of ships breaching its blockade of Gaza by accusing some of the passengers of intending to harm Israeli soldiers if they board the ships. An Israeli government official said intelligence agents had discovered that extremists aimed to infiltrate the peace activists travelling on the 10-ship flotilla. “On the […]

The departure of a pro-Palestinian flotilla of international ships planning to break Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza has been delayed, largely because of the efforts of an Israeli advocacy group, both sides said Tuesday. Greek authorities have detained two of the ships docked here, including an American vessel, after the Israeli advocacy group, Shurat HaDin-Israel Law Center, submitted […]

In a travel warning Wednesday the State Department said, “U.S. citizens are advised against traveling to Gaza by any means, including via sea.  Previous attempts to enter Gaza by sea have been stopped by Israeli naval vessels and resulted in the injury, death, arrest and deportation of U.S. citizens.  U.S. citizens participating in any effort […]