French Ship To Gaza Determined To Defy International Law--Maybe They Want To Invest?

On board the "Dignity", en route to Gaza
A French ship with a few activists on board, including Olivier Besancenot and Annick Coupé, eventually left Athens and headed to Gaza despite the obstacles. The "flotilla to Gaza" is reduced to its simplest expression.
On board the "Dignity", en route to Gaza

One is tempted to point out that the name of the boat is the only dignity these people have left.

These "activists"--who have no use for international law when it is not emotionally fulfilling--have managed to leave Greece and head towards Gaza.

No, they are not going so they can protest Hamas firing thousands of rockets at Israeli unarmed civilians--that would not get the news coverage, nor give the emotional satisfaction of claiming to help the underdog.


No, they are going so that they can help the Gazans against the Israeli blockade.

Hey, wait a second, didn't Hamas say that things are not that bad in Gaza after all?

It was a very hot weekend for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. That is why thousands of them preferred to enjoy their time on the clean beaches, swimming, sunbathing, riding horses, sailing, smoking water pipes and barbequing.

These photos were provided not by a Jewish photographer or some naïve Western reporter who happened to be in the Gaza Strip last week.

The photos were actually published by a Hamas-affiliated website in an attempt to show that the situation in the Gaza Strip under Hamas's rule is not as bad as many people think.

In fact, Hamas has gone ahead and hand said they have defeated the blockade--all without the flotillas help. As Elder of Ziyon quotes from an online Arabic newspaper:

The head of the Palestinian government in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas, said that the Gaza Strip isopen for those who want to invest, and said, "We will cooperate with him, including availability of our resources."

Haniyeh suggested during a [ceremony marking] the opening of a series of projects in the central Gaza Strip on Sunday night that the sector is now post-siege. He said: "We have turned around the five years of the siege, and what we are doing now is a challenge to the blockade."

He pointed out that there were thousands of tons of building materials filling the cities of Gaza, and those who want to invest will find the means.

Examples of building projects include a park and playground in Nusseirat, the Central Market, the Maghazi Youth Club, and the Palestinian Social Centre in Deir el-Balah.

He praised such projects, they reflect the steadfastness of the Palestinian people.

Haniyeh stressed that this human effort all over Gaza set up many projects of all levels, to demonstrate that Gaza had defeated the plots and triumphed over the blockade.

Gaza does not need "essentials"--they are looking for investors.
And somehow, I don't think the French boat is going for that reason.

Of course, as I've pointed out before, the organizers have said openly that this is not about aid--it is about breaking the blockade.

Since Hamas has openly said the blockade is irrelevant and they themselves are taking credit for the current situation in Gaza, why is the French boat even making the voyage?

The lack of humanitarian motivation is in proportion to the pathetic shrinkage in the size of the Flotilla itself.


Technorati Tag: Israel and Gaza Flotilla.