More flotilla and flytilla follies

Flotilla of fools and terrorists

The aborted Flotilla of Fools to Gaza continues to provide us with an almost endless source of entertainment.

Map showing where and how each ship of the aborted flotilla was disabled. Click to enlarge

The paranoia displayed by the flotilla organizers, and the ominous tones used in this Independent article regarding the disabled boats would be worthy of a James Bond Film if they weren’t so reminiscent of a Pink Panther/Inspector Clouseau farce. I sometimes wish Israel were indeed as powerful as their conspiracy theories make out.

Muggings, alleged sabotage and mysterious fishermen loitering in oily waters: it has all the elements of an average spy novel, but jittery pro-Palestinian activists are alleging that Israel has masterminded a series of mishaps that has left their Gaza-bound flotilla in disarray.

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This year’s flotilla hit problems when an Israeli legal centre mounted legal challenges against boats in the convoy, declaring them unseaworthy and delaying their departure. Campaigners on the Irish ship Saoirse and Scandinavian boat Juliano then reported extensive damage to their propeller shafts, blaming saboteurs.

Meanwhile, several of the activists said they were mugged and their mobile phones stolen, raising suspicions that somebody was trying to monitor their activities. Others said they noticed people filming them on iphones as they left their Athens hotel.

Then there was the case of the fishermen loitering in oily water without buckets or bait. “Even without a background in intelligence, the delegates have concluded that the strange fishermen have more to do with the flotilla than with fish,” wrote a reporter on Israel’s Haaretz newspaper. A French TV crew, meanwhile, reported somebody had broken into their hotel room, damaging satellite equipment and hacking their computers. “It might just be an unconnected crime,” Agence France-Presse quoted the producer as saying. “But it seems a bizarre coincidence that someone should go to the effort of riddling our Macintosh computer with viruses.”

The activists could not accept that Greece has an independent political voice and insist that it must have been Israeli and/or American pressure that led them to act against the flotilla.

Campaigners accused Israel of “outsourcing” its blockade to Greece. “Greece sold its body to the banks and its soul to Israel and the United States,” flotilla activist Dror Feiler told Israeli news outlet Ynet. “I don’t think – I know – that Israel and US pressure caused this.” Hamas also condemned the Greek decision, describing it as “inhumane” and “contrary to international regulations and norms”.

It says a lot about the character of these “activists” when they are in agreement with the terrorists of Hamas (in case we didn’t know already).

In protest against the Israeli and Greek actions, American flotilla fools who were forced off their boat by the Greeks are holding a protest and hunger strike in Athens.

Activist Ken Maiers added that 16 people were taking part in the hunger strike. “We are fasting for the liberation of Gaza, the liberation of the Palestinians, the liberation of the sail and our ship,” he told Ynet.

The hunger strike has no definite deadline, he said, adding that the measure will be reconsidered again on Monday night.

This is really very funny.  A one-day hunger strike! We know about those very well, only we call it Tisha Be’Av or Yom Kippur.

This JPost article does not specify the duration of the hunger strike but it does mention that a CIA official is taking part. Surely political activity is forbidden to serving CIA agents? I wonder what his superiors’ reaction would be if this official were striking in favour of Israel.

The “humanitarian activists of the flotilla have now shown their true colours and proved that their only goal is to discredit Israel and not to help the Palestinians as they so self-righteously declare. They have rejected an offer from Greece to transport the “humanitarian aid” on board the flotilla directly to Gaza via Israel.

Participants of the Gaza-bound flotilla claimed Sunday that Greece’s offer to ferry their humanitarian aid cargo to the Strip through the Ashdod or El Arish ports, in coordination with the United Nations, was a fraud.

The activists rejected the offer, calling it “a fraud that aims to preserve Israel’s blockade on Gaza.”

Earlier Sunday, Athens – whose authorities have so far prevented any vessel associated with the flotilla from leaving its ports to Gaza – stated that “Greece reiterates its willingness and proposes to undertake the task of transporting the humanitarian aid, with Greek vessels or other appropriate means, through the existing channels…

Meanwhile it looks as if the Flytilla shtick is back on the agenda.

The Gaza-bound flotilla may be encountering difficulties, but Israel is already gearing for the next challenge – a pro-Palestinian fly-in.

Ynet learned Sunday that the Internal Security Ministry and the police have started preparing for the possibility that hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists will fly into Ben Gurion International Airport next week, with the sole purpose of disrupting its operations.

According to the Palestinian Wafa News Agency, hundreds of activists from 40 groups intend to take part in the “Welcome to Palestine” fly-in, set to take place on July 8-16.

“Welcome to Palestine’s” Facebook page, which was launched in May, urges participants to fly to Israel and declare upon arrival that they are heading to Palestine.

Once the activists land, they have scheduled tours in Ramallah, Bethlehem, Hebron, the West Bank, the Jordan Rift Valley and Jerusalem.

Elder of Ziyon has more on the flytilla folly. To be honest, I can’t see how they differ from any of the other “peace” activists who constantly arrive in Israel throughout the year. In my opinion, let them come. They will do wonders for the Israeli economy and they might even get around to seeing some real Israelis for a change.  And if they cause trouble at the airport or on their “sightseeing tours”, let them see a further side of Israel – the inside of a jail cell.

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