[E-rundbrief] Info 707 - Gaza - Peace-Boat - Israeli government

[Matthias Reichl]

E-Rundbrief - Info 707 - Free Gaza Movement (Cyprus): Israeli Government 
Recognizes "Humanitarian" Mission to Break the Siege of Gaza. Letters to 
and answers from the the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.	

Bad Ischl, 20.8.2008

Begegnungszentrum für aktive Gewaltlosigkeit

www.begegnungszentrum.at

================================================

Israeli Government Recognizes "Humanitarian" Mission to Break the
Siege of Gaza	

NICOSIA, CYPRUS (18 Aug. 2008) - In a letter today to the Free Gaza
Movement, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs acknowledged that the
group of international human rights activists attempting to break the
siege of Gaza were "humanitarian," and stated that the Israeli
government "assume[s] that your intentions are good."

Greta Berlin, one of the organizers of the Free Gaza Movement stated
that, "Since the Foreign Minister's office responded to our invitation
to join us, and said that we have good intentions, we now fully expect
to reach Gaza."

According to recent reports in the Israeli media however, the Israeli
military is preparing to use force to stop the nonviolent campaigners
from reaching Gaza. It's not clear if the letter from the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs signals a change of policy, or is simply an attempt to
open up an official dialogue between the state of Israel and the Free
Gaza Movement regarding the current blockade.

The Free Gaza Movement is preparing to sail two ships into Gaza carrying
40 human rights workers from 17 different countries. They will also
deliver hearing aids for children who have lost some or all of their
hearing due to Israeli sound bombs and sonic booms.

The ships have been named the SS Free Gaza, and the SS Liberty - in
recognition of the USS Liberty, a U.S. Navy ship, carrying 340 that was
attacked by Israeli fighter planes and torpedo boats on 8 June 1967,
assassinating 34 American sailors and wounding 170.

The Free Gaza Movement hopes to draw attention to the devastating
consequences of the Israeli blockade by actively demonstrating the power
of non-violent direct action to change inhumane governmental policies.

For more information, please contact:

Greta Berlin, Cyprus
+357 99 081 767
Iristulip (at) gmail.com

Angela Godfry-Goldstein, Israel
+972 547 366 393
Angela (at) icahd.org

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

18 August 2008

Noam Katz
Director, Public Relations Department
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Israel

Dear Mr. Katz,

The Free Gaza Movement thanks Foreign Minister Livni for your response
regarding our efforts to break the siege of Gaza. We appreciate Israel's
formal recognition of our human rights mission, as well as its
acknowledgement that our "intentions are good."

However, several factual errors in your letter need to be addressed. You
wrote, "Your claim that the residents of the Gaza Strip are suffering
from hunger is groundless..." According to the United Nations' Office 
for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), "only 43.5% of 
basic commercial food import needs were met during the period between 3 
and 30 December 2007." Furthermore, in May 2008, several international 
aid organizations, including CARE International UK, CAFOD, Christian 
Aid, Oxfam, and Medecins du Monde UK, stated that, "the stranglehold on
Gaza's borders has made ... the work of the UN and other humanitarian
agencies ... virtually impossible. Only a trickle of medicine, food,
fuel and other goods is being allowed in. [The Israeli Blockade of Gaza]
has made people highly dependent on food aid, and brought the health
system and basic services such as water and sanitation near to collapse."

Although, we appreciate your offer to deliver humanitarian supplies for
us, Israel's deplorable track record of delivering supplies is, in fact,
the very reason for our mission.

Your offer also slights our human-rights mission, which is to break your
siege of Gaza. We intend to raise international awareness about the
open-air prison called Gaza, where Israel collectively punishes 1.5
million Palestinians. We want to pressure the international community to
review its sanctions policy and end its support for Israel's continued
occupation. Finally, we want to uphold Palestine's right to welcome
internationals as visitors, human rights observers, humanitarian aid
workers, and journalists.

We would like to, once again, invite Foreign Minister Tsipi Livni to
join us on our historic voyage to end the siege of Gaza, and to see
first hand the devastating effects of Israeli policies on the men,
women, and children of the Gaza Strip.

Sincerely,
Greta Berlin, Ramzi Kysia, Tom Nelson
Free Gaza Movement, Cyprus
+357 99 081 767
FriendsOfGaza @ gmail.com

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

18 August 2008
The Steering Committee for the Free Gaza Movement, Cyprus

Dear Committee Members:

Your letter to Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Tzipi
Livni as published on your website has been brought to our attention. We
assume that your intentions are good but, in fact, the result of your
action is that you are supporting the regime of a terrorist organization
in Gaza, an organization dedicated to non-recognition of the State of
Israel and its right to exist; an organization that sends women and
children to commit suicide in order to hurt others; an organization that
has committed dozens of terrorist acts against Israeli civilians,
including massive attacks of rockets and mortar bombs on Israeli
communities in the heart of Israel's sovereign territory.  It is this
organization that does not allow the Israelis and Palestinians to live
in peace. In 2005, Israel withdrew all of its forces and all of its
citizens from the Gaza Strip so that the Palestinians could manage their
own lives; in return, innocent Israeli citizens were the targets of
repeated attacks launched from within Palestinian civilian population
centers, turning the Palestinian population into hostages of the
terrorist organizations and the Hamas regime. The attacks from the Gaza
Strip against Israeli communities continue to this day.

In June 2007, Hamas led a violent coup in Gaza and seized the government
illegally, a fact which led to an international boycott and isolation of
its government. The international community also set clear conditions
that Hamas must fulfill in order to be regarded as a partner for
diplomatic contacts and normal economic relations. Hamas is the central
player in the Gaza Strip and the address to which you should direct your
complaints concerning the situation there. In this protest voyage to
Gaza , you seek to remove legitimate pressure on the Hamas government
and to violate the conditions of the international community; therefore
we cannot cooperate with your efforts.

Your claim that the residents of the Gaza Strip are suffering from
hunger is groundless considering the amount of food that passes every
day from Israel to the Gaza Strip. There isn't another conflict in the
world in which one side supplies all the needs of the other side -- food,
medicines, water, fuel and electricity. Thousands of Palestinians have
crossed into Israel from the Gaza Strip to receive medical treatment at
Israeli hospitals.

We would like to point out that the area to which you are planning to
sail is the subject of an advisory notice that has been published by the
Israeli Navy, which warns all foreign vessels to remain clear of the
designated maritime zone off the coast of Gaza in light of the current
security situation.

We have received information that you are planning to bring humanitarian
aid to the Gaza Strip. We would like to bring to your attention that the
transfer of humanitarian aid to Israel is effected, at present, through
agreed-upon channels, and the Israeli authorities will ensure that the
shipment reaches its destination via the land crossing points. We will
be happy to assist you in this endeavor.

If your intentions are good, please choose this way; if you do not
intend to deliver the humanitarian aid via Israel , this proves that
your goal is political and constitutes the legitimization of a terrorist
organization.

Sincerely,
Noam Katz
Director, Public Relations Department
Ministry of Foreign Affairs

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

5 August 2008
Tzipi Livni
Foreign Affairs Minister, Israel

Dear Foreign Minister Livni:

On behalf of the Free Gaza Movement, we would like to formally invite
you to join us on our upcoming voyage from Cyprus to the Gaza Strip. We
feel that your presence on this important mission would help alleviate
concerns that have been expressed in the Israeli media about our
objectives. More importantly, we believe that it would be extremely
helpful for you to see firsthand the horrific effects of Israeli
policies on the people of the Gaza Strip, as well as to witness
firsthand the effectiveness of non-violent action in bringing about
positive change.

While we disagree with many of the statements and policies you have made
as the Israeli Foreign Minister, we wholeheartedly agree with a portion
of something you wrote two years ago when you said:

"For too long, the Middle East has been governed by zero-sum logic. One
side's loss was seen as the other's gain. This thinking has brought much
suffering to our region" (Tzipi Livni, "The Peace Alternative," Asharq
Alawsat, 18 June 2007).

This is absolutely correct. We seek an end to this suffering. We find
ourselves, and you must be feeling this intensely yourself, in truly
difficult times. The one thing that is clear is that violence has not
worked for anyone in this conflict. As a group of avowed non-violent,
peace activists, we hope that you will accept this opportunity, move
past the zero-sum logic of your government's blockade, and join us on
this historic voyage to break the Siege of Gaza.

Your government's siege on the people of Gaza has been deemed illegal by
numerous human rights organizations, has lead to the death of over 200
patients in the last year as a result of being denied adequate medical
care, and has caused a man-made humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza
Strip. Clearly this is not the behavior of a civilized government, nor
can these policies ever lead to peace for Israel.

Our voyage may seem to be a quixotic endeavor and therefore easily
dismissed, but as a group of individuals who fervently believe that such
moves can be vitally transforming, and that individuals do indeed each
have the power to change our world for the better, we hope that you will
take our offer seriously. We set sail for Gaza in the next few days.
Please join us.

Sincerely Yours,
The Steering Committee for the Free Gaza Movement, Cyprus
Tel. +357 99 081 767
FriendsofGaza @ gmail.com
http://www.FreeGaza.org


-- 

Matthias Reichl, Pressesprecher/ press speaker,
Begegnungszentrum fuer aktive Gewaltlosigkeit
Center for Encounter and active Non-Violence
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