Flotilla flop finale and other goodies

Flotilla fools

Today the Israeli Navy intercepted the one and only boat that managed to sneak past the Greek coastguards and approach Israel’s territorial waters.  In case we didn’t know already, the boat and it’s foolish flotilla fellows had no humanitarian aid on board at all. It was all a stupid and dangerous PR exercise.

Navy senior official Brigadier-General Rani Ben Yehuda said that the boarding operation and takeover was restrained and that no weapons or humanitarian equipment were found on the ship.

…

The Population, Immigration and Borders Authority said anti-Israel activists onboard the yacht are, effectively, entering Israel illegally. They face a hearing, deportation, and automatic blacklisting from Israel for a period of 10 years.

In one of the funnier items I have read in a long time, Hamas accuses Israel of piracy and war crimes for stopping the boat. I suppose they should know. After all they are the world experts at piracy and war crimes.

Hamas condemned on Tuesday the seizure of the French yacht Dignite-Al Karame , with its spokesman Ismail Rudwan describing it as “piracy, a war crime and a violation of the principles of human rights.”

 

It’s nice to have a little laugh at the absurdities of the Middle East on occasion.

More seriously, the Haaretz article explains how the boat managed to evade the Greek coastguards:

Greta Berlin of the Free Gaza Movement said the Dignite-Al Karame had previously declared Alexandria, Egypt, as its destination so it could slip out of Greece, and then changed its route to Gaza. This, she said, was a legal act.

 

We’ll let the lawyers figure out that one. I have a feeling they might disagree…

In related news, MK Haneen Zouabi received the equivalent of a slap on the wrist for her outrageous participation in last year’s violent flotilla.

The Knesset’s Ethics Committee decided Monday to suspend MK Hanin Zoabi (Balad) from all Knesset activities until the end of the current session which ends in two weeks, following her participation in last year’s Gaza flotilla. This will not apply to votes in the plenum.

 

After this minor punishment for what amounts to treasonous activity, Zouabi yet has the chutzpah to protest thus:

“I reject the complaints against me. These are vexatious claims against legitimate political activity which is well within every citizen’s rights, certainly a member of Knesset’s. I exercised my right for political action and freedom of speech and did not break the law. I therefore call upon the committee to dismiss these complaints.”

 

Thankfully the Knesset had the sense to reject her complaints:

The committee said in its decision, “The very participation in the flotilla, which was intended to break the naval blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip as part of the armed conflict with Hamas constitutes an action which hurts state security and does not fall within a Knesset member’s legitimate freedom of action.”

 

It would have been even better had the committee backed up their objections to her actions with a more severe punishment.

In further Zouabi news, the MK apologized to the Knesset usher for hitting and pushing her when Zouabi was ejected from the Knesset during the debate on the anti-boycott bill.

And to top off today’s Israeli Idiocies, I present you: The Supreme Court. These Wise Men have decided to permit Mustafa Dirani, a Hezbollah terrorist captured by Israel and later released, to sue the State of Israel for mistreatment during his imprisonment.

Dirani, a Hezbollah operative, was captured by Israel in 1994 and held until a swap deal in 2004. Before his release he filed a claim for NIS 6 million ($1.75 million), claiming he was raped by one of his Israeli interrogators.When Dirani returned to Lebanon he announced that he would continue to work for Hezbollah, prompting the state to file an appeal against his suit, claiming that the court was debating a terrorist’s claim.

But Justice Procaccia explained in her decision that “even an enemy can appeal to the Israeli justice system, and present claims on the state’s interference with his basic rights while in Israel and under the supervision of the government”.

She added, “There is no danger here to the power of the state, but rather evidence of its ethical and moral prowess, seeing as a state’s strength is not measured only in the power of its arms and military, but also in the upholding of the rule of law.”But Justice Meltzer holds the opposite opinion. He explained that once Dirani announced his return to terrorism and submitted to an enemy state’s sovereignty, he forfeited his right to make claims against Israel.

“Sometimes it is right for us to learn from other justice systems based on the wisdom and experience of democratic and cultured countries,” he said.

Read it and weep. One could easily reach the opinion that our esteemed judges have such open minds that their brains have fallen out.