WarSclerotic

Israel Army Chief Of Staff: Gaza Will Not Turn Into Iranian Port – The Philadelphia Bulletin.

By DAVID BEDEIN, Middle East CorrespondentTuesday, June 29, 2010

JERUSALEM – “If the flotilla arrives from Lebanon we will deal with it, whether its intentions are peaceful or hostile. We will not let Gaza become Iran’s home port.”

This was the statement released this week by Israeli Army Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi.

The Israeli Army Chief of staff commented on the flotilla that is scheduled to arrive from Lebanon, saying: “We will not let the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] soldiers be attacked; we have an inherent right to prevent arms from being brought into the country.” The chief of staff also commented on the events of the flotilla from Turkey, saying: “The combatants responded properly and acted in an extraordinary manner, and I salute them.”

Contradictory reports continued regarding the departure date of the Lebanese flotilla and the Iranian ships to Gaza. One of the organizers, Samar al-Hajj, said that this was deliberate. The Iranian media reported that a ship belonging to the Iranian Red Crescent called the “Gaza children’s ship” would leave for Gaza this coming Sunday, bearing 1,100 tons of aid supplies.

The Arab media also reported that the Julia and the Miriam were scheduled to leave at the beginning of next week from the port of Tripoli in northern Lebanon for Cyprus — and from there sail towards the Gaza Strip.

Jamal al-Khudari, a Palestinian Legislative Council member and head of the Popular Committee Against the Siege, said yesterday that the Lebanese ships would also have on board 12 former senior members of the U.S. administration, Lebanese citizens and peace activists from all over the world. He said that in mid-July another flotilla would leave Lebanon for Gaza, consisting of 15-20 ships.

Israeli officials are not taking any chances in advance of the anticipated flotillas and are seriously examining every possible scenario. One such scenario that was addressed in a meeting in the Prime Minister’s Office involved the presence of a suicide bomber on board the ship who would be waiting for the Naval Commandos.

In that scenario, it is not at all certain that the women on board the ship would be aware of the presence of a suicide bomber, whose goal would be to carry out a high-profile terror attack. Given the concerns about the presence of a suicide bomber on board, a number of additional steps will be taken prior to boarding the boat.

A senior Lebanese official in Beirut said in an interview to Al-Jazeera that despite all of Hezbollah’s denials that it had any connection to the flotilla to Gaza, Prime Minister Saad Hariri took the matter up with Nasrallah and asked him to cancel the flotilla. Nasrallah rejected the Lebanese prime minister’s request, claiming that Hezbollah was not responsible for the flotilla. Nasrallah said that Hariri needed to make his request to the organizations, activists in the Free Palestine organization and Journalists Without Borders.

Israeli government officials have already submitted a request to Cyprus not to allow Lebanese ships that intend to sail to Gaza to leave its ports.

Flotilla Organizer: “Our Ships Will Take The Israelis Back To Europe”

The financier of the Lebanese flotilla, the Syrian businessman of Palestinian extraction Yasser Kashlak, gave an interview to Hezbollah’s Al-Manar television station, in which he left no room for doubt as to the nature of the “Lebanese peace flotilla.” Kashlak said that, “I become more and more optimistic every time the Israelis, that band of criminal pirates, confiscates a ship because the day will come when those ships will transport the remains of that European trash that came to my homeland and will return them back to their homeland. Let Gilad Shalit return to Paris, and those murderers return to Poland, and then we will pursue them until the end of the world to bring them to justice for the massacres that they have committed from Dir Yassin to this very day.”

Kashlak called Israel a “stray dog that was sent to the region to frighten the Arabs,” and added: “I have a message for the Israelis: get on the boats that we’re sending you and go back to your countries. Don’t let the moderate Arab leaders deceive you. You won’t be able to make peace with us. Our children will return to Palestine. There is no reason for coexistence. Even if our leaders have signed peace agreements with you, we will not sign them.”

Israel has warned the United Nations (UN) about the danger posed to the Middle East by the flotilla that is being planned.

Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gabriela Shalev sent a personal letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the current president of the UN Security Council in which she warned against the “provocative flotilla” that was liable to have an impact on security in the entire region. Shalev wrote: “The organizers of the flotilla have repeatedly declared their intention to be shahids, and there appears to be a direct link between them and Hamas activists. The possibility that either terrorists or weapons will be smuggled on board the ship to Gaza cannot be ruled out. Given that and on the basis of the departure of the ship from Lebanon—and in light of the ongoing conflict between the terrorist organization Hamas, which controls Gaza, and Israel, Israel announces that it reserves the right to use all necessary means, and this is in keeping with international law, to prevent those ships from breaking the maritime blockade,” wrote Shalev.

Navy Command Ready For Next Flotilla

The Israeli Navy is already on high alert for the possibility that another flotilla will set sail for Gaza, this time from Lebanon. Last Friday, Naval Commando combat troops assembled at the unit’s base in Atlit and, in the presence of Navy Commander Maj. Gen. Eliezer Marom, the orders of Operation Sky Winds were read to them.

In the wake of media reports from Lebanon, the IDF went on alert in order to track the flotilla and gather intelligence that would assist the IDF’s response. IDF officials believe that the flotilla from Lebanon will not set sail over the next several days. “As of now, we know that activists are gathering and that one ship is being organized in Lebanon,” a Navy officer said. “They intend to purchase additional ships. However, we are prepared to set out on an operation within hours.”

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