1. NO Humanitarian crisis: The ostensible basis for having such a flotilla is because there is a "humanitarian crisis" in Gaza, in other words, people there are starving and there is not enough food or other supplies. This is entirely false! The International Red Cross representative in Gaza said several weeks ago that "there is NO humanitarian crisis in Gaza," she continued "this can be seen in the shops." Pictures and videos of Gaza that are widely available on the internet show clearly that Gaza's shops are full of food and goods.
2. Israel is sending hundreds of trucks and thousands of tons of food and medical supplies into Gaza on a daily basis (these are paid for and ordered by UWRA and other international agencies) . Not only does Israel supply all the basic food needs of Gazans, but Israel also supplies ample water and electricity from the Israeli grid. Many other goods (TVs, even cars) are smuggled in from Egypt including thru the many tunnels under the Egyptian-Gaza border.
3. Hamas is in a "state of war" with Israel. Hamas is a terrorist organization recognized by the UN, US, EU and UK, that denies Israel's right to exist and is mainly supported by the Iranian regime. One proof of this is that Hamas has fired ca. 8,000 rockets into Israel in the past 8 years, and the current "ceasefire" (since Israeli Operation Cast Lead) has been pronounced as a "temporary" ceasefire. Also, when rockets are still fired at Israeli territory aimed at Israeli towns in order to kill civilians, Hamas claims that they do not control all the extremist groups.
4. The Israeli blockade of Gaza is legal. Under international law it is legitimate for a country at war to blockade the territory of an enemy in order to prevent the supply of arms and personnel (for example the US blockaded Cuba). On board the Mavi Marmara was a group of trained Turkish extremist members of the IHH organization, that if they had been allowed to reach Gaza would have contributed to the armed forces of Hamas. Also, several large shipments of arms have been stopped on the seas by Israeli naval forces on their way to Gaza. Since the blockade is legal, to try to breach it is itself an illegal act.
5. Provocation. This flotilla is an obvious provocation intended to delegitimize Israel and deny Israel's right to defend itself. Some fo the boats do not have any cargo and most of the passengers call themselves "human rights activists" but in fact all of them are extreme anti-Israel campaigners. They see no evil anywhere except the lone Jewish State of Israel. They have no flotillas to the Arab ports of Banias in Syria and Misratah in Libya where ordinary civilians are being killed by the forces of their dictators, Assad and Gaddafi, and where there really are humanitarian crises.
6. The passengers have been inflitrated. According to reports, extremist Islamists have infiltrated among the passengers that consider themselves innocent "human rights activists," also known as "useful idiots." They ahve learned form experiecne, int eh frist flotilla all the extremists were concetrated on the Mavi Marmara and after attacking the Israeli commandos, seven of them were shot. The proof of this is that there was no violence aboard the other ships int eh first flotilla. They have learned this lesson and are now dispersed throughout the crew and passengers, so as to make matters mroe difficult for the ISraeli forces.
7. This flotilla is coming from Greece. The first flotilla or the Mavi Marmara flotilla came from Turkey, with Turkish Government covert support. This time for political reasons the Turkish Government decided not to support the flotilla and not to allow the Mavi Marmara (under the excuse that it was damaged!) to sail with the second flotilla. The IHH organization also officially dropped out. The Greek Government (beset by economic crisis) has not supported or cooperated with the second flotilla.
8. The size of the flotilla is reduced. There were plans for 12 ships and maybe 1,500 people on board. However, this number has dwindled down to 7 ships and ca. 250 people. According to reports one of the ships was sabotaged in its berth in Greece, having the propellor shaft cut. Noone knows who might have done this, if true. That leaves 6 ships, two of which left from France some days ago and are due to rendezvous with the others near Cyprus. Cyprus has refused to allow ships of the flotilla to dock there and will not allow them to use its territorial waters.
9. The sailing of the flotilla is delayed. According to reports the sailing of the flotilla (the four remaining boats from Greece) has been delayed by days and up to a week because of delays in obtaining the necessary maritime insurance and the shipping permits from the Greek port authorities.
10. International opinion has turned against the flotilla. The US and most European countries have come out against the flotilla, uging those who want to send humanitarian aid to do so through the legitimate routes, either the Israeli port of Ashdod or the Egyptian ports of Port Said or El Arish and thence by road thru the Rafah crossing into Gaza, with the agreement of the Egyptian authorities. Note that the Egyptians search any material destined for Gaza and check every individual to ensure that they are not terrorists. The US and other coutnries have warned their citizens not to participate in an illegal action in a war zone.
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