No Israel normalization without international probe, Turkish FM says
The freedom flotilla coalition as a product of transnational activism by Cenap Çakmak
Turkeys emergence as a center power in the Middle East is a game changer
Israel hasbara fails again: Photos show Mavi Marmara passengers protecting, aiding Israeli soldiers
MOISI: Israel?s Dangerous Political System
Israel: the third strategic threat, Eyal Weizman and Thomas Keenan
Many details remain to be established about the Israeli commando assault on the Mavi Marmara – the lead ship in a flotilla intent on carrying humanitarian aid to the Gaza strip – in the early hours of 31 May 2010. But whatever the investigation of the incident ultimately reveals, the killing of nine human-rights activists is indicative of a dramatic recent transformation in Israel’s relationship to such individuals and the organisations they belong to.
Have Israel?s political and military elite sunk into the depths of depravity?
Turkey calls on Israel to accept probe into raid
Turkey seeks to condemn Israel in security summit
Israel Ambassador Rejects Flotilla Clash Inquiry
That night on the Mavi Marmara
Turkey says Israel can’t ‘face the facts’ on Gaza raid
Turkey accuses Israel of ‘state terror’
Israel bans soldiers from visiting Turkey
Activist ‘was left to bleed’
Straits Times
… been left there to lay down on the ground and just bleed, and I can’t believe it,’ he told national broadcaster ABC from his hospital bed in Istanbul.
Turkey’s foreign policy moves raise concern in West and at home
Washington Post
(Adem Altan/agence France-presse Via Getty Images) By Mary Beth Sheridan ISTANBUL — The women wore veils. The men donned green Hamas headbands with …
Dispatch from an Israeli journalist in Istanbul – Haaretz Daily …
Arriving at Attaturk airport as the Gaza flotilla fiasco unfolds, I’m told I don ‘t need a visa – but that soon, Israelis won’t be let into Turkey at all.
USA: American student loses eye in West Bank protest
By Antoun Issa
While the world had its eyes fixed on the Gaza flotilla, another tragedy was unfolding not too far away.
Soon after news emerged of Israel’s deadly raid on the Turkish aid convoy, the Mavi Marmara, protests erupted across the world in condemnation of the assault.
Maghreb: Overwhelming Support for Flotilla Activists
By Hisham
The global outcry following the deadly Israeli attack on the Gaza-bound Freedom Flotilla has been reflected on streets across the world and throughout the Internet, on social networks and personal blogs. In the Maghreb, bloggers debated this week’s events, and although views were overwhelmingly supportive of the sailing activists some discordant voices and alternative views can still be heard.
The Mavi Marmara Tragedy
Mavi Boncuk |The Mavi Marmara Tragedy
June 6, 2010, Washington, DC – The Turkish Coalition of America, which seeks to foster friendship, understanding and cooperation between the United States and Turkey, is gravely concerned over the still unfolding crisis between Israel and Turkey and its potentially severe repercussions upon the region, as well as its impact on US-Turkey relations.
Ankara welcomes UN panel proposal on Israeli assault
Palestine: ?I am afraid of the sea?
In reaction to the raid on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla on May 31, Gaza blogger Kawther Abu Hani has written a poetic post from the perspective of a child, entitled Sweets Don’t Drown.
On her blog Notes of the Night, Kawther writes:
As world debates Israeli assault on aid ship, Gaza left in misery
Turkish ministers split by Gülen remarks on Gaza flotilla
Anthony Cordesman on Israel and U.S. policy goals
The refrain familiar to all listeners to the “amen choir,” so aptly named by Bob Dole, is that Israel is a strategic asset for the U.S. This unqualified claim is then used to justify overlooking or excusing Israel’s behavior, as though it were exempt from international law, accepted standards of human rights or U.S. law (as in the Arms Export Control Act). Cordesman offers a variety of recent examples that easily falsify the claim that Israel is strategic asset for America. He then reminds the Israeli government that it needs to pay more heed to the interests of United States:
Tunisia: 33 Sarastic Tweets on the #Flotilla Attack
Turkish PM accuses opposition of supporting Tel Aviv
Egypt: Protests and Policy Changes After Flotilla Raid
News of the flotilla raid in Gaza has sparked an uprising in Egypt. Thousands of Egyptians protested both Israel’s actions and the stance of their own government earlier this week. President Mubarak’s recent decision to open up the previously blocked Rafa terminal into Gaza on June 1st, has been a stark departure from recent policy, and the Egyptian blogosphere has been ablaze with responses.
Diversions, splits, disagreements
After the bloody incident at sea in the eastern Mediterranean, it is now time for reflection. Time spent lambasting Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for his continuous roaring about the government of Israel (much more than anything else) could be better spent on analyzing what is happening in terms of rethinking relations between Israel, Turkey and the US.
Splits within the Israeli government, based on internal critique of the massacre, are a fact and, in the long run, may signal its collapse. Erdoğan, fully aware of the grave mistake in conduct by the Netanyahu cabinet, is keen on inflicting wounds on it in order to demolish whatever is left of its credibility. He aims either to force it revise its policies regarding Gaza or expose its stubbornness to the eyes of the world.
It is part of his strategy, disguised by a loud, angry voice.
Does this work internationally? According to the analysis of Hélène Flautre, the co-chairperson of the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee, published yesterday in this paper, it does echo well within the EU, at least.
Strategist Friedman: Turkey could play role reconciling Palestinians
ÖMER TAŞPINAR – The anatomy of Turkey?s frustration with Washington
ŞAHİN ALPAY – Israel is headed for international isolation
İHSAN DAĞI – Israel?s Turkish predicament
Lose-Lose for Turkey and Israel
B?Tselem, the Israeli Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, reported these facts: via
Palestinians Killed | 1,385 | Israelis Killed | 13 * | |
Combatants Killed | 300 | Combatants Killed | 10 * | |
Non-Combatants Killed | 762 | Non-Combatants Killed | 3 | |
Women Killed | 107 | 0 | 0 | |
Minors/Children | 318 | 0 | 0 |
It is amazing to me that Israelis still spout that their army is the most moral in the world. We interviewed on camera Combatants for Peace, former members of the Israel Army, and in those interviews they stoutly challenged that myth. Israel alleges that they never target children and civilians, yet in a militarism that brags of surgical strikes it?s amazing that Israel misses so much. If the Israeli military were a software program or a pharmaceutical drug, they?d never make it to market
Turkish aid group fields criticisms
Morning Brief: Israel seems to reject international inquiry; navy kills militant divers in Gaza
Top story: Israel has still not issued a formal reply to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s proposal that an international investigation be held into the Israeli raid on a Gaza aid flotilla last week, but it seems clear that Israel has rejected the idea, and will conduct its own investigation.
When Interests Diverge ? Cordesman?s Israel as Strategic Liability
By Patricia H. Kushlis
There comes a time when countries? interests diverge. When a joined-at-the-hip foreign policy becomes detrimental to one or the other. CSIS Anthony Cordesman?s provocative commentary ?Israel as a strategic liability? released on the think-tank?s website on June 2 raises that question vis-à-vis the US relationship with Israel.
MAIN FOCUS: Turkey puts its role as negotiator on the line | 07/06/2010
The conflict over Israel’s attack on an international aid flotilla for Gaza last week is coming to a head. Thousands protested in Istanbul and other cities over the weekend, and Turkey is considering taking legal steps against Israel. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan must be careful not to escalate the Middle East conflict or jeopardise his country’s historical role as mediator between Palestinians and Israelis, writes the press.