Friday, June 11, 2010
Comic relief
Israeli students plan "Kurdish freedom flotilla"
What sounds like a diabolically clever public relations coup starts sounding too clever by half when you listen to people in the region. As one reader remarked to the Israeli news source Ynet, "Israeli ignorance is hilarious. Kurds are the most extreme Islamists in Turkey. Most of the Erdogan cabinet are Kurdish. Most of Erdogan's voters are Kurds. Kurdish mosques are full of Hamas and Hezbollah posters. I really want to watch Israelis meeting the Kurds, that will be a scene to watch."
It seems the waters of the eastern Mediterranean will be awash in self-righteous flotillas this summer. Generous Israelis are shipping humanitarian aid to oppressed Muslim and Christian communities -- everywhere except to Gaza. According to the Jerusalem Post, yet another ship -- packed to the gunwales with humanitarian supplies -- is about to head from Israel to Cyprus
Ideas for ‘reverse flotillas’ gain steam
Thursday, June 10, 2010
15 min of footage released
It has been cut, perhaps so as not to show actual murders taking place or dead bodies...More to be released in next 24hours.
Israeli Attack on the Mavi Marmara, May 31st 2010 // 15 min. from Cultures of Resistance
Israeli Attack on the Mavi Marmara, May 31st 2010 // 15 min. from Cultures of Resistance
War and Natural Gas: The Israeli Invasion and Gaza’s Offshore Gas Fields
More evidence
Israeli document: Gaza blockade isn't about security
Lieberman: Israel shouldn't lift Gaza siege until Hamas lets Red Cross see Shalit
Israel FM Lieberman admits Gaza blockade intended as collective punishment: a war crime
Israel trying to get Gaza people to overthrow Hamas
Through piracy, Israel has revealed its true nature to the world
Advocate of war crimes to head IDF enquiry
By Moshe Machover – 10 June 2010According to a YNET report of 7 June, 2010, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi has appointed Maj-Gen (ret.) Giora Eiland to head “external inquest into deadly raid of Gaza flotilla”.
This is an excellent choice. Gen. Eiland is the main author of the Dahiya Doctrine of “disproportionate response”, which calls for “the wholesale destruction of the military, government and civilian infrastructure of the enemy entity”.
As quoted by New York Times, 19 January 2009:
The Israeli theory of what it tried to do here [in Gaza, 2008-9] is summed
up in a Hebrew phrase heard across Israel and throughout the military in the past weeks: “baal habayit hishtageya,” or “the boss has lost it.” It evokes the image of a madman who cannot be controlled.
“This phrase means that if our civilians are attacked by you, we are not going to respond in proportion but will use all means we have to cause you such damage that you will think twice in the future,” said Giora Eiland, a former national security adviser.
Now it gets more digusting and repulsive
Some of these are are democrats I used to respect and thought were sane.
Now I want to throw up
"I thank those that have joined in, in raising our voice to defend actions that really need no defense. Actions that any nation on earth would take if it were similarly threatened. Period. Any nation on earth."
And here is the sickening, repulsive Glenn Beck
Who are the terrorists?
Israeli Occupation Forces Kidnap and Terrorize “Confession” Out of 13 Year Old Boy
Fear, pain and propaganda
Now I want to throw up
"I thank those that have joined in, in raising our voice to defend actions that really need no defense. Actions that any nation on earth would take if it were similarly threatened. Period. Any nation on earth."
And here is the sickening, repulsive Glenn Beck
Who are the terrorists?
Israeli Occupation Forces Kidnap and Terrorize “Confession” Out of 13 Year Old Boy
Fear, pain and propaganda
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Israelis protesting massacre
What did we do? We united all of Turkey in hatred for Israel. Was it worth it?
Israel Navy reserves officers: Allow external Gaza flotilla probe
"Officers denounce operation as 'military and diplomatic failure', slam government for placing blame on the activists."
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Twilight Zone - Descent into Madness, Chaos, Hell
These last few days, ever since the IDF executed pro-Gaza activists in international waters, I feel like I'm living in the Twilight Zone. It was such an incomprehensible act I became obsessed with finding out why. Watching and reading everything I could find on-line about the slaughter to figure out what in the world is going on.
Well, a week later, staying up till 4-5am some nights, I am deeply disturbed by what have uncovered.
The last few months I have been wrapped up with "paperwork" demanded by corrupt governments, this event woke me up.
How to summarize...I feel sick, ill. I want to throw up, it is so staggering I can't take it all in.
This is all started for me with the campaign and subsequent election of B.Obama as President of the United States. At the time, the issue for me was why Obama was selected to be the next president and why did the Republican party bend over backwards to get him elected with the most votes possible.
I didn't understand it at all as had never seen such a one-sided campaign in the US before.
At the same time, I discovered the Zeitgeist movement. It made sense to me and served as a logical explanation for such a one-sided presidential campaign. In other words, I fooled myself into believing for at least a year or more, that Obama was chosen to make the world a better place with zeitgeist values - protect the environment and humanity.
I have always known there were two directions possible, a better world for all people, or a fascist police state. I foolishly believed in the former for a long time because I wanted to.
I recognize that there is little to nothing I can do about what is happening or where this is going.
I am just trying to figure out where it is going. My wife asks me why I am so obsessed with trying to figure this out since there is nothing I can do about it and I can't give her a good answer. I don't know why, I just feel like I have to try, for what I don't know. I do know I have made some terrible decisions over past three years but fortunately can't make any more like that as have run out!
So, this brings us to today, June 8th 2010.
I got re-obsessed with the issue of where this is going and what it all means when the IDF murdered 13/16? (9 confirmed dead, 4 missing likely thrown into the sea) and wounded more than 100 others in a dawn raid, in international waters, on the "Gaza flotilla"
I couldn't understand why the IDF and US-Israeli governments would do this. It was obvious that Israel would not have acted without the US, so the question becomes why do it?
Such a blatant act could not be covered up when members of parliament, noble prize winners, holocaust survivors, journalists and activists from over 30 countries were on board. It would be impossible, short of sinking six ships and killing them all to prevent their version of events ever coming out, which in it itself would have been difficult to explain.
So what was the point?
At first I thought this act of murder and state terrorism was to send a message to the world that Israel was a rapid dog not to be messed with. No matter who you are or where you are from don't mess with Israel. Classic Moshe Dayan strategy “Israel must be a like a mad dog, too dangerous to bother.”
If only this were the case, but this is far too simplistic an explanation.
The truth is far more sinister.
The truth makes one question everything. Who said what and why. Who organizes or finances anything.
Call me paranoid, but I question everyone and any organization now. No one is to be trusted. Motives are always suspect.
I now know that you cannot look at someone's background and say I have a good idea of where that person is coming from and what their motives are. B.Obama's background is impeccable. Friend of Bill Ayers, went to Palestinian activist wedding, was a community organizer etc etc.
Background is irrelevant, power, money and greed are all that matter. The fact that the free Gaza movement is associated with bill ayers makes it suspect.
But I digress, the point is what was the objective of the IDF and US-Israeli policy in executing Turkish civilians and terrorizing foreign nationals.
What is clear is that the Israeli state is an apartheid theocracy. This has been evident for a long time but what does its most recent message mean. The answer to that is ominous.
In an interview with CTV news Raymond Tanter of Georgetown University said "I see what president Obama has done, I'm not paying attention to what he says. He will, by end of the summer, have half of the deployable aircraft carriers in the United States fleet in striking distance of Iran which is the existential threat to Israel. Five aircraft carriers in the med, Persian gulf, Indian ocean, Arabian sea. That's huge, it's humongous."
Far more disturbing is Glenn Beck. Glenn Beck sets the tone for the entire Fox news network and any message he carries is sure to be broadcast on sister networks like ABC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, NBC and the rest. Glenn gives a nice summary of the main street media's message to the masses.
The message he is now broadcasting to the American people makes my hair stand on end.
Well, a week later, staying up till 4-5am some nights, I am deeply disturbed by what have uncovered.
The last few months I have been wrapped up with "paperwork" demanded by corrupt governments, this event woke me up.
How to summarize...I feel sick, ill. I want to throw up, it is so staggering I can't take it all in.
This is all started for me with the campaign and subsequent election of B.Obama as President of the United States. At the time, the issue for me was why Obama was selected to be the next president and why did the Republican party bend over backwards to get him elected with the most votes possible.
I didn't understand it at all as had never seen such a one-sided campaign in the US before.
At the same time, I discovered the Zeitgeist movement. It made sense to me and served as a logical explanation for such a one-sided presidential campaign. In other words, I fooled myself into believing for at least a year or more, that Obama was chosen to make the world a better place with zeitgeist values - protect the environment and humanity.
I have always known there were two directions possible, a better world for all people, or a fascist police state. I foolishly believed in the former for a long time because I wanted to.
I recognize that there is little to nothing I can do about what is happening or where this is going.
I am just trying to figure out where it is going. My wife asks me why I am so obsessed with trying to figure this out since there is nothing I can do about it and I can't give her a good answer. I don't know why, I just feel like I have to try, for what I don't know. I do know I have made some terrible decisions over past three years but fortunately can't make any more like that as have run out!
So, this brings us to today, June 8th 2010.
I got re-obsessed with the issue of where this is going and what it all means when the IDF murdered 13/16? (9 confirmed dead, 4 missing likely thrown into the sea) and wounded more than 100 others in a dawn raid, in international waters, on the "Gaza flotilla"
I couldn't understand why the IDF and US-Israeli governments would do this. It was obvious that Israel would not have acted without the US, so the question becomes why do it?
Such a blatant act could not be covered up when members of parliament, noble prize winners, holocaust survivors, journalists and activists from over 30 countries were on board. It would be impossible, short of sinking six ships and killing them all to prevent their version of events ever coming out, which in it itself would have been difficult to explain.
So what was the point?
At first I thought this act of murder and state terrorism was to send a message to the world that Israel was a rapid dog not to be messed with. No matter who you are or where you are from don't mess with Israel. Classic Moshe Dayan strategy “Israel must be a like a mad dog, too dangerous to bother.”
If only this were the case, but this is far too simplistic an explanation.
The truth is far more sinister.
The truth makes one question everything. Who said what and why. Who organizes or finances anything.
Call me paranoid, but I question everyone and any organization now. No one is to be trusted. Motives are always suspect.
I now know that you cannot look at someone's background and say I have a good idea of where that person is coming from and what their motives are. B.Obama's background is impeccable. Friend of Bill Ayers, went to Palestinian activist wedding, was a community organizer etc etc.
Background is irrelevant, power, money and greed are all that matter. The fact that the free Gaza movement is associated with bill ayers makes it suspect.
But I digress, the point is what was the objective of the IDF and US-Israeli policy in executing Turkish civilians and terrorizing foreign nationals.
What is clear is that the Israeli state is an apartheid theocracy. This has been evident for a long time but what does its most recent message mean. The answer to that is ominous.
In an interview with CTV news Raymond Tanter of Georgetown University said "I see what president Obama has done, I'm not paying attention to what he says. He will, by end of the summer, have half of the deployable aircraft carriers in the United States fleet in striking distance of Iran which is the existential threat to Israel. Five aircraft carriers in the med, Persian gulf, Indian ocean, Arabian sea. That's huge, it's humongous."
Far more disturbing is Glenn Beck. Glenn Beck sets the tone for the entire Fox news network and any message he carries is sure to be broadcast on sister networks like ABC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, NBC and the rest. Glenn gives a nice summary of the main street media's message to the masses.
The message he is now broadcasting to the American people makes my hair stand on end.
Kevin o' Keefe
Ken O'Keefe Speaks, Photos Painful to See and More Israeli Lies Exposed
Caroline Glick - Homicidal Zealot
Bil’in - a Palestinian village that is struggling to exist
electronicIntifada.net
http://www.hybridstates.com/
Detailed Compiled Eyewitness Accounts Confirm Cold-Blooded Murder and Executions by Israeli Military
They walked up to the man co-ordinating facilities for journalists, put a gun to his head and shot him dead at point-blank range
Was the Obama Administration involved in the Planning of the Israeli Attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla?
=======================================
"I see what president Obama has done, I'm not paying attention to what he says. He will, by end of summer, have half of the deployable aircraft carriers in the United States fleet in striking distance of Iran which is the existential threat to Israel. Five aircraft carriers in the med, Indian ocean, Arabian sea. That's huge, it's humongous." - Raymond Tanter, Georgetown University - CTV News June 1st 2010
Caroline Glick - Homicidal Zealot
Bil’in - a Palestinian village that is struggling to exist
electronicIntifada.net
http://www.hybridstates.com/
Detailed Compiled Eyewitness Accounts Confirm Cold-Blooded Murder and Executions by Israeli Military
They walked up to the man co-ordinating facilities for journalists, put a gun to his head and shot him dead at point-blank range
Was the Obama Administration involved in the Planning of the Israeli Attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla?
Canadian establishment's deference to Israel is out of date
Mossad chief: Israel gradually becoming burden on U.S.
Strenger than Fiction / Israel's bunker mentality
Essay of the week: What drives Israel?
Probably the most bewildering aspect of the Gaza flotilla affair has been the righteous indignation expressed by the Israeli government and people.=======================================
"I see what president Obama has done, I'm not paying attention to what he says. He will, by end of summer, have half of the deployable aircraft carriers in the United States fleet in striking distance of Iran which is the existential threat to Israel. Five aircraft carriers in the med, Indian ocean, Arabian sea. That's huge, it's humongous." - Raymond Tanter, Georgetown University - CTV News June 1st 2010
Activists claim they never intended to enter 68 mile military zone
This is supported by direction of flotilla, WEST
Did Israel press on with bloody attack on Mavi Marmara even as ship fled at full-speed?
Israel and the JDL defending itself
Caroline Glick - the heinous producer of the self-fulfilling "we con the world"
Tony Blair: Israel has a right to defend itself
Turkish Doctor Describes Treating Israeli Commandos During Raid
Photographs of Battered Israeli Commandos Show New Side of Raid
A Short Primer on Israeli Propaganda for Media Dummies
Monday, June 7, 2010
More first hand accounts of what happened
Detailed Compiled Eyewitness Accounts Confirm Cold-Blooded Murder and Executions by Israeli Military LOTS
CBC.CA - Israelis on ship acted in self-defence
Guardian.co.uk - Turkish jihadis bent on violence attacked troops, Israel claims
FoxNews -Israeli Officials Claim Aid Flotilla Had Ties to Al Qaeda, PM Gives Military 'Full Support'
CNN - Israeli assault on Gaza-bound flotilla leaves at least 9 dead
NY Times confirms Israel started hostilities on flotilla
Leicestershire man describes horror of seeing activists shot dead on aid boat
The hijacking of the truth: Film evidence 'destroyed'
Jewish flotilla to break Gaza siege
German Jewish group prepares flotilla to protest Israel's blockade on Gaza. 'Activists frightened, but not by Hamas,' member of organization says
Turkey to cancel defense agreements with Israel after flotilla attack
Disturbing
Israeli commando who shot six passengers in aid convoy in line for medal
Who was killed
Testimony of rogue commando who killed six civilian activists further undermines official IDF story
Israel flip-flopping on the detention of commandos aboard Mavi Marmara
Yet another glaring contradiction in Israeli account of flotilla massacre
Ethan Bronner of NY Times confirms Israel started hostilities on flotilla
Further Israeli lies about capture of Israeli commandos
Legal issues raised by flotilla assault: Israeli navy commandos inadvertently attack Gilad Shalit
Lest you have any doubt about rising fascism in Israel
Israel Navy: 3 commandos nearly taken hostage in Gaza flotilla raid
Gaza flotilla raid: Joe Biden asks 'So what's the big deal here?
Israel hasbara fails again: Photos show Mavi Marmara passengers protecting, aiding Israeli soldiers
Hasbara comedy video further exposes IDF "knife-attacker" photo fraud.
Proof emerges IDF audio of radio communication with Mavi Marmara is fabricated.
Israel Navy reserves officers: Allow external Gaza flotilla probe
IDF legal official: Israel should probe Goldstone Gaza report
Israel: Fiasco at Sea
Is the Embargo Good for the Jews?
What goods does Israel bar from the Gaza Strip?
Rabid Rally in Tel Aviv for Israeli Commandos Who Killed 9 Peace Activists
If Gaza's relief is a step closer they won't have died in vain
The per verbal rabbit hole
The more look into the events last week and the aftermath the more disturbing it gets. The links, stories, articles, posts, videos about this are limitless. Some on the blogosphere have written fantastic insights into what happened and the events that followed. It is really too much too list.
What is becoming clearer though is that the IDF and its hasbara are nothing more than incompetent propagandists that would have made even Joseph Goebells ashamed. They cannot get a story straight or control its own releases to maintain continuity. They come out with one version of events only to have it contradicted a day or so later by someone else within the IDF itself.
More disturbing than the picture of the IDF as an incompetent band of murderers, hooligans, thugs, bullies and facists, is the role of the United States in supporting Israel and the IDF, and in particular Obama who has revealed himself as a Zionist.
The image and message Obama projected during the presidential campaign has been completely shattered. The question the republicans kept asking during the campaign "Who is Obama" has definitly been answered. He is a zionist agent, just like every president since Kennedy.
There are many examples could use to show this but here is a very recent one, his interview on Larry King Live June 3rd 2010.
What is becoming clearer though is that the IDF and its hasbara are nothing more than incompetent propagandists that would have made even Joseph Goebells ashamed. They cannot get a story straight or control its own releases to maintain continuity. They come out with one version of events only to have it contradicted a day or so later by someone else within the IDF itself.
More disturbing than the picture of the IDF as an incompetent band of murderers, hooligans, thugs, bullies and facists, is the role of the United States in supporting Israel and the IDF, and in particular Obama who has revealed himself as a Zionist.
The image and message Obama projected during the presidential campaign has been completely shattered. The question the republicans kept asking during the campaign "Who is Obama" has definitly been answered. He is a zionist agent, just like every president since Kennedy.
There are many examples could use to show this but here is a very recent one, his interview on Larry King Live June 3rd 2010.
Larry King – President Obama Interview Transcript
Obama - Here’s what we’ve got. You’ve got a situation in which Israel has legitimate security concerns when they’ve got missiles raining down on cities along the Israel/Gaza border. I’ve been to those towns and seen the holes that were made by missiles coming through people’s bedrooms. Israel has a legitimate concern there. On the other hand you’ve got a blockage up that is preventing people in Palestinian Gaza from having job opportunities and being able to create businesses and engage in trade and have opportunity for the future.
Firedoglake sums it nicely:
No, Mr President. The Real Problem in Gaza is not a Lack of “Job Opportunities.”
"On the one hand, these missiles are "raining down on Israel," which is quite the exaggeration (23 casualties in 10 years is hardly raining). Indeed, no mention of the artillery, white phosphorous or 500 pound HE bombs raining on Gaza. Or the snipers shooting at children. Or the American who was just blinded by a heroic IDF soldier.
On the other, the main problem Gazans have is a lack off business opportunities. That strikes me as some foul Randian BS, eh? No, the lack of clean water, food, schools or medicine isn’t an issue. It’s the lack of business opportunities. Roger that!"
What is really going on between Hamas and the Isreali government
Mark Regev telling the truth, for once.
INTERPRETATION - "Israel is doing what is good for Hamas. Hamas is doing what Israel wants it to do. Both together want to harm the palestinian people. Both want war. The result is an endless series of Israeli military victories, Hamas political victories and total destruction."
Interview with Hamas
Zionists invented Modern Terrorism
What's the difference between Zionism and Racism?
IDF releases list of what it allows in and out of Gaza
IDF currently allows perhaps 100 trucks allowed into Gaza a day, fifteen years ago 1500-1800 trucks went into Gaza. They only carry limited items. List of allowed products has increased from 39 to 72...used to be 3800 items imported into Gaza. No papers, no pencils, no pasta. Collective punishment, ghettoization, occupation, humiliation at its worst.
No tinned meat is allowed, no tomato paste,
But no apricots, no plums, no grapes, no avocados, no jam.
These are luxuries and are not allowed.
Paper for textbooks is not allowed.
The terrorists could use it to print seditious material.
And why do you need textbooks
now that your schools are rubble?
No steel is allowed, no building supplies, no plastic pipe.
These the terrorists could use to launch rockets
against us.
Pumpkins and carrots you may have, but no delicacies,
no cherries, no pomegranates, no watermelon, no onions,
no chocolate.
We have a list of three dozen items that are allowed,
but we are not obliged to disclose its contents.
This is the decision arrived at
by Colonel Levi, Colonel Rosenzweig, and Colonel Segal.
Our motto:
‘No prosperity, no development, no humanitarian crisis.’
You may fish in the Mediterranean,
but only as far as three km from shore.
Beyond that and we open fire.
It is a great pity the waters are polluted
twenty million gallons of raw sewage dumped into the sea every day
is the figure given.
Our rockets struck the sewage treatments plants,
and at this point spare parts to repair them are not allowed.
As long as Hamas threatens us,
no cement is allowed, no glass, no medical equipment.
We are watching you from our pilotless drones
as you cook your sparse meals over open fires
and bed down
in the ruins of houses destroyed by tank shells.
And if your children can’t sleep,
missing the ones who were killed in our incursion,
or cry out in the night, or wet their beds
in your makeshift refugee tents,
or scream, feeling pain in their amputated limbs –
that’s the price you pay for harbouring terrorists.
God gave us this land.
A land without a people for a people without a land.
Breakdown of Humanitarian Aid to the Gaza Strip in 2009-2010, 6 June 2010
RICHARD TILLINGHAST
Richard Tillinghast is an American poet who lives in Co Tipperary. He is the author of eight books of poetry, the latest of which is Selected Poems (Dedalus Press, 2010 ), as well as several works of non-fiction
No tinned meat is allowed, no tomato paste,
no clothing, no shoes, no notebooks.
These will be stored in our warehouses at Kerem Shalom
until further notice.
Bananas, apples, and persimmons are allowed into Gaza,
peaches and dates, and now macaroni
(after the American Senator’s visit).
These are vital for daily sustenance.
But no apricots, no plums, no grapes, no avocados, no jam.These are luxuries and are not allowed.
Paper for textbooks is not allowed.
The terrorists could use it to print seditious material.
And why do you need textbooks
now that your schools are rubble?
No steel is allowed, no building supplies, no plastic pipe.
These the terrorists could use to launch rockets
against us.
Pumpkins and carrots you may have, but no delicacies,
no cherries, no pomegranates, no watermelon, no onions,
no chocolate.
We have a list of three dozen items that are allowed,
but we are not obliged to disclose its contents.
This is the decision arrived at
by Colonel Levi, Colonel Rosenzweig, and Colonel Segal.
Our motto:
‘No prosperity, no development, no humanitarian crisis.’
You may fish in the Mediterranean,
but only as far as three km from shore.
Beyond that and we open fire.
It is a great pity the waters are polluted
twenty million gallons of raw sewage dumped into the sea every day
is the figure given.
Our rockets struck the sewage treatments plants,
and at this point spare parts to repair them are not allowed.
As long as Hamas threatens us,
no cement is allowed, no glass, no medical equipment.
We are watching you from our pilotless drones
as you cook your sparse meals over open fires
and bed down
in the ruins of houses destroyed by tank shells.
And if your children can’t sleep,
missing the ones who were killed in our incursion,
or cry out in the night, or wet their beds
in your makeshift refugee tents,
or scream, feeling pain in their amputated limbs –
that’s the price you pay for harbouring terrorists.
God gave us this land.
A land without a people for a people without a land.
Disgusting and repulsive
Israeli MP Haneen Zuabi who was on board Mavi Marmara says "Israeli ships fired before boarding"
The most disgusting repulsive video yet
Close-Up Footage of Flotilla Activists being Shot
Israeli State Piracy?
Gaza Aid Flotilla debate: Activists or Extremists?
Jon Snow and Mark Regev
An act of State Terrorism - "A Mad Dog too dangerous to bother...but too dangerous to ignore"
The most disgusting repulsive video yet
Close-Up Footage of Flotilla Activists being Shot
Israeli State Piracy?
Gaza Aid Flotilla debate: Activists or Extremists?
Jon Snow and Mark Regev
An act of State Terrorism - "A Mad Dog too dangerous to bother...but too dangerous to ignore"
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Obama the fraud
Lots of nice speeches, nothing has changed, the truth has only become more sickening
U.S. Helps Egypt Construct Huge Gaza Wall - Dec 9th 2009
US army engineers have designed the wall, US firms have manufactured its sections, and the US will monitor it.
Egypt installing metal wall to block Gaza Strip
Egypt's plan to build an underground wall along its border with Gaza, first exposed by the Israeli daily Haaretz, is the second of two initiatives backed by the US military, informed sources said.
In recent months, US army engineers have moved forward on a two-phase, multimillion-dollar project to stop the flow of goods and money into the besieged coastal strip.
The first stage of the initiative includes the installation of below-ground, state-of-the-art sensors capable of detecting sound or movement nearby, Ma'an has learned. US experts began the process about one year ago, and it is nearing completion.
The sensors are about the size of a human fist, planted below Rafah with cables running inside pipes 15 meters deep along the borderline. Each sensor is linked to an electronic panel and a computer screen, which documents below-ground activity. Whenever movement or sound is detected nearby, the sensors send details about the location and dimensions of its source to a special security system.
Four US military engineers are responsible for monitoring these sensors and analyzing activity to differentiate between new digging or everyday goods smuggling. In all cases, US forces have kept the Israeli side informed about any detected movement, despite that the entire operation is conducted on Egyptian soil.
Israel and Egypt have maintained a debilitating blockade on Gaza since Hamas took over in 2007, preventing all but a trickle of imports and exports, and banning the coastal enclave's 1.5 million residents from traveling. Palestinians have resorted to building a vast network of underground smuggling tunnels, providing Gazans with a variety of banned commercial goods.
American assistance has been instrumental in Egypt's management of the siege. Egyptian security sources say authorities are aware of nearly 1,300 underground tunnels, of which 450 were taken over this year.
Phase two:
But Cairo is hesitant about the second stage of the project, the installation of a steel wall underneath the borderline that Haaretz revealed earlier this week. This phase, which gained traction six months ago, is unpopular among Egyptian officials who feel pressured to go along with what they consider a purely American-Israeli initiative.
US officials have confirmed some involvement in the first stage, but deny that a second phase even exists.
The steel wall and sensors were being installed along 10-11 kilometers of the 13-km border; three km were excluded because the soil is so soft along this stretch that it naturally prevents the maintenance of stable tunnels. The exclusion zones are referred to by officials in Rafah as International Marker No. 1 and No. 3, both of which are near the beach.
All these plates and sensors were manufactured in the United States. Six months ago, freighters delivered the plates to a port on Egypt's Mediterranean coast, where they were loaded onto military trucks and transported to Rafah under a shroud of secrecy.
The panels, which sources say were transferred through Sheikh Zweid city, measure 18 meters by 50 centimeters and are about five centimeters thick. They were designed to snap into place parallel to one another, arranged side by side to increase the underground border wall's horizontal length and effectiveness against the smugglers, who occasionally use explosives when digging.
Egyptian authorities have installed a network of these plates on two sites along the border; one is located about four km north of the port, and another about 500 meters south of the Rafah terminal. Security forces have lowered them into the ground under the guise of performing routine maintenance work. They have also employed ordinary equipment, such as machinery for digging water wells, as not to arouse suspicions. As of press time, however, portions of the steel panels remained exposed above ground.
Egypt has officially denied any involvement, but Ma'an learned that the state confiscated or purchased private land along the border to implement the plan. Most of this land was owned by farmers, who separately accepted above-market compensation from buyers actually representing Cairo. Hundreds of trees have been uprooted over the past few months as authorities construct the underground system.
Egypt fails to block Gaza tunnels
UK Jewish MP: Israel acting like Nazis in Gaza
U.S. Helps Egypt Construct Huge Gaza Wall - Dec 9th 2009
US army engineers have designed the wall, US firms have manufactured its sections, and the US will monitor it.
Egypt installing metal wall to block Gaza Strip
Egypt's plan to build an underground wall along its border with Gaza, first exposed by the Israeli daily Haaretz, is the second of two initiatives backed by the US military, informed sources said.
In recent months, US army engineers have moved forward on a two-phase, multimillion-dollar project to stop the flow of goods and money into the besieged coastal strip.
The first stage of the initiative includes the installation of below-ground, state-of-the-art sensors capable of detecting sound or movement nearby, Ma'an has learned. US experts began the process about one year ago, and it is nearing completion.
The sensors are about the size of a human fist, planted below Rafah with cables running inside pipes 15 meters deep along the borderline. Each sensor is linked to an electronic panel and a computer screen, which documents below-ground activity. Whenever movement or sound is detected nearby, the sensors send details about the location and dimensions of its source to a special security system.
Four US military engineers are responsible for monitoring these sensors and analyzing activity to differentiate between new digging or everyday goods smuggling. In all cases, US forces have kept the Israeli side informed about any detected movement, despite that the entire operation is conducted on Egyptian soil.
Israel and Egypt have maintained a debilitating blockade on Gaza since Hamas took over in 2007, preventing all but a trickle of imports and exports, and banning the coastal enclave's 1.5 million residents from traveling. Palestinians have resorted to building a vast network of underground smuggling tunnels, providing Gazans with a variety of banned commercial goods.
American assistance has been instrumental in Egypt's management of the siege. Egyptian security sources say authorities are aware of nearly 1,300 underground tunnels, of which 450 were taken over this year.
Phase two:
But Cairo is hesitant about the second stage of the project, the installation of a steel wall underneath the borderline that Haaretz revealed earlier this week. This phase, which gained traction six months ago, is unpopular among Egyptian officials who feel pressured to go along with what they consider a purely American-Israeli initiative.
US officials have confirmed some involvement in the first stage, but deny that a second phase even exists.
The steel wall and sensors were being installed along 10-11 kilometers of the 13-km border; three km were excluded because the soil is so soft along this stretch that it naturally prevents the maintenance of stable tunnels. The exclusion zones are referred to by officials in Rafah as International Marker No. 1 and No. 3, both of which are near the beach.
All these plates and sensors were manufactured in the United States. Six months ago, freighters delivered the plates to a port on Egypt's Mediterranean coast, where they were loaded onto military trucks and transported to Rafah under a shroud of secrecy.
The panels, which sources say were transferred through Sheikh Zweid city, measure 18 meters by 50 centimeters and are about five centimeters thick. They were designed to snap into place parallel to one another, arranged side by side to increase the underground border wall's horizontal length and effectiveness against the smugglers, who occasionally use explosives when digging.
Egyptian authorities have installed a network of these plates on two sites along the border; one is located about four km north of the port, and another about 500 meters south of the Rafah terminal. Security forces have lowered them into the ground under the guise of performing routine maintenance work. They have also employed ordinary equipment, such as machinery for digging water wells, as not to arouse suspicions. As of press time, however, portions of the steel panels remained exposed above ground.
Egypt has officially denied any involvement, but Ma'an learned that the state confiscated or purchased private land along the border to implement the plan. Most of this land was owned by farmers, who separately accepted above-market compensation from buyers actually representing Cairo. Hundreds of trees have been uprooted over the past few months as authorities construct the underground system.
Egypt fails to block Gaza tunnels
UK Jewish MP: Israel acting like Nazis in Gaza
'Obama Deceives the Public'
Israel "A lunatic state"
The most repulsive event of 2010 so far
The events over the past week have been nothing less than disgusting. Pales in comparison to Israeli massacres in Gaza last year, but no less morally repugnant. It shows the IDF, the Israeli and US governments have no respect for human life.
There is no question the IDF and Israeli government got the green light from the US before they boarded the ships and no question the US government got advance notice of exactly how it would be carried out (re-confirmed by Micheal Oren, FoxNews Sunday June 6 2010). They knew what they were doing, they knew what the risks of a commando raid in the dead of night were, and likely knew IDF commandos would execute people on board. Its disgusting.
The IDF even printed stage by stage details of what they were going to do in an Israeli newspaper three days in advance on May29th. "If the ships will not answer the officers' call to turn around, the operation will continue by force...We have very good reason to suspect an act of terrorism from the boats...It is impossible to know at this stage whether terrorists boarded the ship or whether there is intent to use live ammunition against our forces. Therefore we will act with full seriousness and caution."
Norman Finkelstein comments and analysis on the weeks events are dead on, accurate and damming.
On Crosstalk this week he destroys Israeli spokesman arguments
This is one of the best interviews with Finkelstein a couple of years ago where again he speaks the truth and eloquently explains joint US-Israeli policy in the middle east.
Irish Citizen beaten by IDF
The events over the past week have been nothing less than disgusting. Pales in comparison to Israeli massacres in Gaza last year, but no less morally repugnant. It shows the IDF, the Israeli and US governments have no respect for human life.
There is no question the IDF and Israeli government got the green light from the US before they boarded the ships and no question the US government got advance notice of exactly how it would be carried out (re-confirmed by Micheal Oren, FoxNews Sunday June 6 2010). They knew what they were doing, they knew what the risks of a commando raid in the dead of night were, and likely knew IDF commandos would execute people on board. Its disgusting.
The IDF even printed stage by stage details of what they were going to do in an Israeli newspaper three days in advance on May29th. "If the ships will not answer the officers' call to turn around, the operation will continue by force...We have very good reason to suspect an act of terrorism from the boats...It is impossible to know at this stage whether terrorists boarded the ship or whether there is intent to use live ammunition against our forces. Therefore we will act with full seriousness and caution."
Norman Finkelstein comments and analysis on the weeks events are dead on, accurate and damming.
On Crosstalk this week he destroys Israeli spokesman arguments
This is one of the best interviews with Finkelstein a couple of years ago where again he speaks the truth and eloquently explains joint US-Israeli policy in the middle east.
Irish Citizen beaten by IDF
Turkish survivors recount terror on Gaza aid ship
Betty Larudee: 'Israelis beat my husband'
Flotilla survivors describe 'bloodbath'
Autopsy shows Gaza activists were hit 30 times
Nine Turkish activists killed in an Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound aid ship were shot a total of 30 times and five died of gunshot wounds to the head...A 19-year-old, named as Fulkan Dogan, who also has U.S. citizenship, was shot five times from less than 45 cm (18 inches) away, in the face, the back of the head, twice in the leg and once in the back
Israel killed more than 9, threw wounded into sea, witnesses say
Sarah Colborne gives eyewitness account
9 dead...many more missing
Robert Fisk: Western leaders are too cowardly to help save lives
‘Mad dog’ diplomacy - A cornered Israel is baring its teeth
"Moshe Dayan, Israel’s most celebrated general, famously outlined the strategy he believed would keep Israel’s enemies at bay: 'Israel must be a like a mad dog, too dangerous to bother'...the Israeli commando attack on Monday on the Gaza-bound flotilla, in which nine activists have so far been confirmed killed and dozens were wounded as they tried to break Israel’s blockade of the enclave, proves beyond doubt that this is now a diplomatic strategy too."
Israel's ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren - In an interview with Fox News, he described the operation, in which nine people died, as "perfectly legal, perfectly humane – and very responsible".
Gaza occupation and siege are illegal
The Gaza Blockade Is Illegal and the Flotilla Attack Was an Illegal Act of War
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Job Bank
Answers to the 7 Toughest Interview Questions
Entry Level Trades Training Course
BestBuy
Monster
FoodSafe
Service Canada Centre Surrey - Local Employment Services
JobBank
Vancouver Help Wanted
BCJobs
Workopolis
BCJobscom
Workfutures
BC Guide to Economy and Employment
BC Stats Regional Employment Projection Model
The DaVinci Cover Letter
New Resume Rules: What's In and What's Out
Paladin Security
BestBuy
FutureShop
BC Housing
FraserHealth
Douglas College
How to Become a Plumber in British Columbia
ITA Trainer List
Kwantlen
Entry Level Trades Training Course
BCHydro
SprottShaw
WorkingJobs
Universities, Colleges & Trade Schools Directory
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