Free Republic

Yesterday's "aid convoy" incident off the coast of Gaza wasn't about bringing humanitarian supplies to the terrorist-ruled territory. It wasn't even about Israel. It was about Turkey's determination to position itself as the leading Muslim state in the Middle East. Three ships of that six-ship pro-terror convoy flew Turkish flags and were crowded with Turkish citizens. The Ankara government -- led by Islamists these days -- sponsored the "aid" operation in a move to position itself as the new champion of the Palestinians. And Turkish decision-makers knew Israel would have to react -- and were waiting to exploit the inevitable...

ATHENS, May 31 (Reuters) - Greek police fired teargas on Monday at demonstrators protesting outside the Israeli embassy in Athens over Israel's storming of a Gaza-bound aid flotilla and the killing of pro-Palestinian activists. "Dozens of protesters tried to break a police cordon, and police responded with teargas," said a Reuters witness. About 2,500 protesters rallied outside the embassy, police said, chanting "Hands off Gaza".

Drudge Report has a bad habit of linking to and promoting articles written and contrived by anti-Israel AP and Reuters "stringers".Unless Drudge changes it today sometime after this is posted, currently as of this writting there is not a single Israeli account of the interdiction of the so-called "peace-activist" Gaza flotila on the Drudge Report.No links to Jpost, Israel National News, or other Israeli media articles on the incident.The current [ 9:47am EST 05/31/10] page of Drudge Report lists the following headlines on this matter:Israeli commandos storm aid flotilla; 10 killed... Israelis say self-defense; were attacked with knives, sticks, gunfire...France: Profoundly shocked, Europe calls for...

BRUSSELS: NATO will hold emergency talks on Tuesday at Turkey's behest after the deadly Israeli raid on a flotilla of aid-carrying ships bound for Gaza, spokesman James Appathurai said. "Planning is underway for a meeting... at the request of the Turkish authorities tomorrow afternoon," Appathurai said. The talks will gather ambassadors from the 28 NATO member countries at its Brussels HQ. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters in Santiago, Chile, that his government was demanding the NATO council gather to address a crisis that has already seen Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu cut short a visit to Canada and...

When N.Korea sunk a S. Korean navy ship earlier this month, the world was silent. But when Israeli military members are attacked, and then defend themselves the world is up in arms over the issue. Why is there so much sympathy for the Islamic world? Some of the reasons are that Muslims are the masters of propaganda, and playing the victim card. Which the West falls for over, and over. The truth is that the hatred of Jews coming from the Islamic world, stems from Islam itself. The Islamic scriptures call for Muslims to fight and kill Jews, to reach...

Here is video of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaking from Canada about the Israeli raid on a Turkish ship carrying Pro-Palestinian activists and supplies for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Netanyahu said Israeli forces boarded six ships to search them for weapons. On five of the ships, Netanyahu said things went smoothly. But on the sixth ship – the largest in the flotilla – a mob of people attacked the Israeli troops with clubs and knives, beating and stabbing several Israeli soldiers. The troops defended themselves, resulting in at least nine people being killed. The ships were boarded as...

Russia's Foreign Ministry criticized on Monday an Israeli raid on ships taking humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip in which at least 10 people were killed. A statement on the ministry website said Russia expressed "condemnation and deep concern" over the incident and called for a full investigation. The ministry also called the use of "weapons against citizens and the seizing of ships in open waters with no legal grounds a gross violation of commonly accepted international legal norms." It also said the events proved the "necessity to halt the Gaza blockade." The international community, presidential administrations and other leaders...

Gaza is under the malicious and cynical rule of a terror organization sworn on Israel’s destruction, that is holding an Israeli soldier captive in contravention of all international treaties, and that oppresses its own population while even Palestinian witnesses there acknowledge that there is no food shortage. Given Hamas’ military objectives, Israel would be crazy not to check what’s going in. But Israel had already pledged to pass on any humanitarian goods after they were inspected, and told the boats the same thing. So, no, I don’t think that the idea of stopping the boats was misguided. What we know...

The Gaza flotilla and the maritime blockade of Gaza - Legal background from the Foreign Ministry [Israel] Ministry of Foreign Affairs 31 May 2010 - distributed May 31, 2010 5:18 PM A maritime blockade is in effect off the coast of Gaza. It has been imposed, as Israel is currently in a state of armed conflict with the Hamas regime that controls Gaza. 1. A maritime blockade is in effect off the coast of Gaza. Such blockade has been imposed, as Israel is currently in a state of armed conflict with the Hamas regime that controls Gaza, which has repeatedly...

he group behind the Gaza flotilla that engaged in deadly clashes with Israeli commandos today counts among its top supporters the friends and associates of President Barack Obama, namely the founders of the Weather Underground terrorist organization, William Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn, as well as Jodie Evans, the leader of the radical activist organization Code Pink. Earlier today, Israeli navy commandos raided the six-ship flotilla, encountering heavy resistance and live fire from the activists. Several activists were killed and dozens of others were reportedly injured, as were several of the Israeli commandos.

It was exactly the kind of coverage that pro-Palestinian activists behind the Gaza aid flotilla were aiming for: "Deaths as Israeli forces storm Gaza aid ship." Associated Press, BBC, Fox News, CNN and countless other media outlets across the world and even in Israel, carried such headlines, reporting the ensuing diplomatic crisis and worldwide condemnation that quickly followed. Not surprisingly, this typical knee-jerk reaction by the media and international community to such Mideast confrontations, failed to report the outside circumstances that lead to the unfolding events at sea.

Early Monday morning, Israel attacked a flotilla of aid ships bound for the Gaza Strip; up to 10 people were killed in the pre-dawn raid, according to organisers and media sources. We'll be live-blogging the aftermath of this incident throughout the day; keep checking back for international reaction, news from our correspondents on the ground, photos and video. (All times are GMT, except where noted.)

Israel has warned that its naval forces will prevent a Turkish-led flotilla of eight blockade-running ships carrying 10,000 tons of aid for the besieged Gaza Strip, a confrontation that could deliver the death blow to the crumbling alliance between Israel and Turkey. The breakup of that strategic alliance was triggered by Israel's 22-day invasion of Gaza in December 2008. Turkey's Islamist government led by Prime Minister Tayep Reccep Erdogan bitterly and volubly opposed that incursion in which some 1,300 Palestinians, mostly civilians, were killed. The alliance with Muslim Turkey, a member of NATO and a key military power in the...

Israel Tells All Israelis To Leave Turkey, Following Raid On Flotilla Bound For Gaza Joe Weisenthal May 31, 2010, 8:40 AM Another thing for you to be concerned about: Another explosive episode is playing out in the Middle East. The essence is that the Israeli military commandeered a supposed aid flotilla from Turkey to Gaza. Israel says it was filled with weapons. At least 10 people were killed NYT: The incident drew widespread international condemnation, with Israeli envoys summoned to explain their country’s actions in several European countries. The criticism offered a propaganda coup to Israel’s foes, particularly the Hamas...

Palestinian Leader Mahmoud Abbas is calling the Israeli Raid on a Turkish Flotilla carrying supplies for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip a “massacre,” while Turkey is saying it will result in “irreparable consequences for Israel. This video report seems slanted in the Palestinians favor, but it does clearly state that Israel had warned the flotilla it would not be allowed to pass through the blockade which has been in place. Israel has the right to defend herself. If Israel had simply let this convoy of ships pass, it would have sent a signal to the rest of the Arab/Muslim world...

One may describe Hitler as a “vegetarian” (which he apparently was) but he was still a genocidally exterminationist Jew-hater whose relentless racism and imperial ambitions led to the death of more than 60 million people. One may also describe the Turks on board the “freedom flotilla” (Orwell himself could not have suggested a better logo) as “humanitarian activists.” But they are still pro-terrorist Turkish jihadists whose mission was to kill Jews, one way or the other. This was a mission which aimed to further demonize the already shamefully tarnished reputation of the Jewish state. This mission planned to force a...

Turkey withdraws ambassador to Israel By Selcan Hacaoglu | Associated Press ANKARA, Turkey – Turkey withdrew its ambassador to Israel and canceled three joint military drills on Monday after Israeli commandos killed at least 10 people and wounded dozens aboard a Palestinian aid convoy unofficially sponsored by Turkey. Furious Turkish protesters tried to storm Israel’s consulate in Istanbul then marched toward the city’s main square denouncing Israel because of the deaths, which drew condemnation from around the world. Arab countries expressed outrage and European countries with passengers aboard the ships summoned the Israeli ambassadors home and called for an investigation....

Video taken by IDF naval boat shows the passengers of the Mavi Marmara, one of the ships in the 'Free Gaza' Flotilla, violently attacking IDF soldiers who were trying to board the ship after having sent repeated requests for the boat to change course. Large groups of passengers surrounded soldiers and beat them with metal poles and chairs, and threw one soldier over the side of the ship. Some passengers grabbed pistols from the IDF soldiers and opened fire. As a result of the attacks, seven IDF soldiers were injured, and nine of the passengers were killed. The 'Free Gaza'...

As predicted Turkey has taken a turn for the worst, and is no true ally of non-Islamic countries. The relationship between Turkey and Israel has been deteriorating, with Turkey recently telling Israel they have to give up their nukes. Now we see how they will stand with their Muslim brothers, no matter what the facts are. Non-Islamic countries need to start banding together, and face the harsh reality of the impending showdown with the Islamic world. A good start would be if Sweden stopped funding Turkey to the tune of 8.5 million euros a year. Since Muslims think that Islam...

PARIS (Reuters) - France on Saturday confirmed the presence of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu at a farm in the east of the country where thousands of turkeys had died. It was the first case of the virus in domestic farm birds in the European Union and threatened to deal a severe blow to France's struggling poultry industry, worth 6 billion euros ($7 billion) a year and the biggest in the bloc. The outbreak was discovered on Thursday at the farm with 11,000 turkeys in the Ain department, where two cases of H5N1 had already been confirmed in...