Syria, Lebanon say flotilla attack can lead to war

[IScreamSundays]

Source: The Hindu

Syrian President Bashar al—Assad and Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri said on Monday that Israel’s attack on a flotilla of aid bound for Gaza threatens to ignite a war in the region.

Syria and Lebanon “condemn the heinous crime committed by Israel through the brutal attacks on unarmed civilians on board the Freedom Flotilla,” both leaders said in a joint statement, after a pre— planned meeting in Damascus.

They have warned that Israel’s “violations of basic humanitarian norms and international laws threatens to plunge the Middle East into a war which will not only affect the region.” Israel’s navy on Monday stormed the flotilla, made up of six boats carrying some 700 pro—Palestinian activists and 10,000 tons of humanitarian aid bound for the Gaza Strip. At least 10 died as a result of the raid.

Meanwhile, hundreds of Lebanese, Palestinians and followers of the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah, demonstrated in front the UN headquarters in Beirut.

snip>

Read more: http://beta.thehindu.com/news/international/article442867.ece

[LakeSamish706]

1. I bet there are more than just these two countries that see this as an act of war. n/t

[Name removed]

2. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[madrchsod]

3. i think that is what israeli government wants

[David__77]

5. Why would they want that?

That makes no sense at all. I don't think that is the case.

[IthinkThereforeIAM]

9. They probably want some market manipulation...

...I have always felt that Israel was created to be a tempest upon world politics and economics. If certain people need a change in the way their certain investments are going, easy, just have Israel do something "radical", look what 9-11 did for the Israeli stock market.

[wordpix]

10. huh? Israel is the entire power behind the world's markets & corporations?

Do you know how ridiculous that sounds? It's absurd.

[friendly_iconoclast]

16. Did they manipulate the Gazans, as well? Please stop, you're giving me a headache.

That shit was moldy when the Okhrana wrote "The Protocols of The Elders of Zion".

Get some ne material.

[proteus_lives]

17. Creepy.

Is your tinfoil wrapped tight enough?

"The jooooowss control the world" :puke:

[moodforaday]

35. War never makes sense

but go a few years back and see how Israel has constantly been pressing the US for a war with Iran and possibly Syria. Who knows why, but we do know they couldn't get what they wanted. Maybe they've found a way now.

[aquart]

6. Because a tiny nation with a defensive army really wants war.

They can barely protect their own borders and you think they can fight on...how many fronts?

[wordpix]

11. +1 Yes, they want all Arab nations surrounding them to attack, that's their hidden agenda

:sarcasm:

Israelis love to commit mass suicide. :sarcasm:

[davidinalameda]

14. they must love it

because what else happened to all those Jews during WW2

duh

[Bert]

39. Wake up

Are you in the Likud? Israel always wants war. I just cant wait to see who is first on their nuke list. Good to see them declare their own war and leave the US out of it.

[Ned Bro]

4. Deleted messages, locked threads

WTF????? :scared:

[David__77]

7. Eh. people should just keep their wits about them.

Avoid needlessly provocative statements, etc. Exercise a diplomacy.

[wordpix]

12. +1, there are many at DU who just feed the fire

[SILVER__FOX52]

8. This Israeli Government

must fall. nimwityaahoo has got to go.

[Flaneur]

13. Israel deserves the same fate as the Soviet Union.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

15. I hope by that you mean the Two State Solution.

You do, don't you?

[Old Vet]

19. Watching Cnn....................

And the commentator said there are masses of israelites celebrating this raid and stand behind the decision to raid these ships. I don't get it, What the hell where they thinking? The UN inspected these ships and confirmed it was humanitarian mission?

[steaa]

23. Yes

If I recall correctly, the ships were searched by Germany before setting sail.

Also yes. On the news here it showed crowds supporters of the raid in Ashdod waving Israeli flags with IDF on them, and others in Hebrew etc.. It also showed sections of the crowd harassing two Arab-Israelis walking by and the presenter said they were chanting 'Death to Arabs' to the two women.

[proteus_lives]

18. I guess they want to replay '67 and '73.

[Poll_Blind]

32. I thought about that, but dismissed it after some thought. I just don't see it. n/t

PB

[proteus_lives]

34. You're probably right.

This just chest-beating.

Trying to show that they care about the Palestinians. (Ha.)

[quakerboy]

46. Proving to their populace,

Who are quite angry, that they do not need to revolt to be heard. Kinda like when Our Pol's talk populist. Funny how the PTB are good at talking bad no matter which culture they come from, eh?

[proteus_lives]

48. Politicans are universal.

I could count on one hand the politicans in history I think were the real deal.

[charlesg]

20. Israel News: Commandoes were 'only equipped with paintball rifles' in 'brutal ambush'

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3896796,00.html

A brutal ambush at sea
Ron Ben Yishai recounts bloody clash aboard Gaza-bound vessel: The lacking crowd-dispersal means, the brutal violence of ‘peace activists,’ and the attempt to bring down an IDF helicopter
Ron Ben-Yishai
Published: 05.31.10, 15:44 / Israel News

Our Navy commandoes fell right into the hands of the Gaza mission members. A few minutes before the takeover attempt aboard the Marmara got underway, the operation commander was told that 20 people were waiting on the deck where a helicopter was to deploy the first team of the elite Flotilla 13 unit. The original plan was to disembark on the top deck, and from there rush to the vessel’s bridge and order the Marmara’s captain to stop.

Officials estimated that passengers will show slight resistance, and possibly minor violence; for that reason, the operation’s commander decided to bring the helicopter directly above the top deck. The first rope that soldiers used in order to descend down to the ship was wrested away by activists, most of them Turks, and tied to an antenna with the hopes of bringing the chopper down. However, Flotilla 13 fighters decided to carry on.

Navy commandoes slid down to the vessel one by one, yet then the unexpected occurred: The passengers that awaited them on the deck pulled out bats, clubs, and slingshots with glass marbles, assaulting each soldier as he disembarked. The fighters were nabbed one by one and were beaten up badly, yet they attempted to fight back.

However, to their misfortune, they were only equipped with paintball rifles used to disperse minor protests, such as the ones held in Bilin. The paintballs obviously made no impression on the activists, who kept on beating the troops up and even attempted to wrest away their weapons...

----------------------

Commandoes don't carry water pistols anymore?

[MadMaddie]

21. 9 Turkish citizens were killed on ships in International waters

that's all we need to know. Israel can try to blackout all the news they want but the truth will get out.

[Ignis]

25. That's the whole truth.

Oh, there will be endless debates over the tactical decisions made during the assault, of course.

[Old Vet]

22. There commandos were armed with Paintball guns......................

Who in there right mind would believe this? So how did the nine people get shot to death and many injured with gunshot wounds? Come On, Who in there right mind would believe this nonsense.

[moodforaday]

37. Paintball guns?

About 10 seconds into this video you can see the guns:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFEBbDkyrqQ

(Here in Poland, back in the late 40s and 50s, during the darkest time of the Stalinist rule, whenever a member of (illegal) opposition movement was killed or tortured to death by the secret police, the official announcement would be that the person "inflicted severe wounds on themselves out of their hatred for Communism." It's crazy, but that was the state propaganda.

We aren't that far from those times at all.

[Mosby]

38. That video doesn't show anyone getting shot either. nt

[mitchtv]

24. those poor Israeli victims

my heart bleeds

[provis99]

26. the Israeli army has painball guns that fire machine gun bullets?

What a sickening bunch of Goebbels-inspired propaganda. Israel is the most ironic state in history, Nazi through and through.

[Chan790]

28. Winner!

This week's Godwin Prize goes to provis99.

[Bert]

41. Sorry, but the shoe fits

Israel is now the most hated nation in the world, ahead of where south africa was. Treats the palestinians in a way that blacks were in south africa but dont dare call it apartheid. As far as the hitler reference, israel deserves it. Israel is a true terrorist state and I for one would not shed one tear at the end of it. Go occupy some other piece of land and take your religious warmongering with you. And I for one am tired of propping this war mongering state up with US tax dollars. See how long your war mongering lasts without the US.

[Forkboy]

27. Apparently they were using crimson paint.

[anigbrowl]

29. they were using lead-based paint

Unfortunately upon arrival they were assaulted with nerf bats and ping pong balls.

[Poll_Blind]

31. Holy shit! Slingshots with GLASS marbles?! (The absurdity of the Israeli line on this one is...

..., well, absurd in a really specific way which only Israeli press-releases have of being absurd.)

PB

[Catherina]

49. Words fail me. n/t

[JVS]

30. Would somebody PLEASE ask RAND PAUL about this incident!

:popcorn:

[Odin2005]

33. Reap the whirlwind, Israel.

[cali]

36. there's something really creepy about people who want to see another country

destroyed- whether it's Iran or Israel.

Ugh.

You're running through these threads panting madly for the destruction of Israel and lusting for war.

[and-justice-for-all]

42. I do not want to see Israel 'destroyed' as you say...

but you must admit that they ask for retaliation when they pull this shit and also take land that is not theirs.

I find that Israel has more than crossed the line on more than one occasion.

[cali]

43. I didn't say you did- and I was clearly not responding to anything you wrote.

[New Dawn]

40. If any country on the planet deserves to be crushed by sanctions, it is fascist Israel.

[cali]

44. so Israel is worse than N. Korea? More deserving of sanctions.

Look, I support the U.S. cutting aid to Israel. I think sanctions on Israel may indeed be appropriate but this nonsense about Israel being exceptional is just absurd. Russia and Chechnya, China and Tibet, The U.S. and Pakistan and Iraq and Afghanistan. And that's just for starters.

[quakerboy]

47. Worse?

Probably not, by the numbers. But where we sanction N Korea, we make Israel our top recipient of foreign aid. Where we threaten N Korea with war, and post soldiers on their borders, we protect and cover Israels actions, using our power in the UN to prevent any meaningful international blowback from their actions.

That is what makes it different. As a country we are in this one up to our eyeballs. N. Korea is China's embarrasing Bully cousin with low IQ, and in most ways, their family problem to deal with. Israel is ours, only she ain't low IQ, and we have been covering her every step. And that's what makes them exceptional to US specifically.

I say its time to step back. Realistically, I know there is no chance of our unwavering unquestioning support changing significantly, but I really don't want to be dragged into this mess anymore. The USA already has enough un-winnable fights on its hands to keep us busy for the foreseeable future.

[Change Happens]

45. +1000