Blockade and piracy unpunished

Since the beginning of this year, the Israeli Navy has opened fire on Palestinian fishing boats in more than 180 attacks. Dozens have also been either boarded or hijacked. One fishing boat crew member has been killed and two fishing vessels sunk by the Israeli Navy. In July, a Palestinian boat attempting to voyage from Gaza to Cyprus was hijacked by the Israeli Navy, with the captain and another crew member being taken prisoner. Seven passengers were also detained. Israeli acts of piracy are also carried out against vessels sent to Gaza by the international community in order to bring medical aid, hope and friendship to the ghettoised Gaza population. Israeli propaganda attempts, unashamedly, to justify its lawlessness as ‘defence’.

In a 15 July 2018 Press Release, the Director of the Israel Institute of New Zealand, Dr David Cumin, claimed that “at least 17 missiles were indiscriminately fired into Israel, from Gaza, overnight, with Hamas, the rulers of Gaza, boasting that 35 were actually launched.” As a matter of fact, from 1 July up to and including 31 July, there have been 97, largely ineffectual, Palestinian violations of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, 51 of them targeting Israeli forces. This has been, however, during an extraordinary period of particular protest concerning Israel’s refusal to respect the UN-recognised right of return of Palestinian refugees dispossessed by Israel.

The Zionist regime’s murderous response to this largely peaceful protest is well documented, with Israel committing a total of 196 Gaza ceasefire violations throughout July.

The Gaza ceasefire violations imbalance

The Israel Institute Press Release demands a New Zealand Government response to what it calls “continuing Hamas attacks on Israel”. What the Israel Institute would rather New Zealanders did not know is that Israel deliberately and overwhelmingly provokes missile-firings and armed resistance from Gaza. An essential point is that, while Israel blames and singles-out Hamas for “attacks on Israel”, the Zionist state is collectively punishing the entire Palestinian population, in both Gaza and beyond. There is also the question of, who is the aggressor? It is true that there has recently been a record number of missile-firings across the border from Gaza and acts of armed resistance against the Israeli military oppressing Gaza. So far this year, up to 31 July, there have been 219 Palestinian Gaza ceasefire violations. But they were in response to 1071 acts of Israeli aggression that included:

■ Israeli Navy gunfire: directed at Palestinian fishing boats, as well as hijacking of fishing vessels.

■ Israeli air strikes: throughout the year, month by month, Israeli fighter jets have been attacking communities in Gaza.

■ Israeli Army incursions onto Gaza farmland, with hours spent bulldozing crops.

■ The Gaza population under fire almost daily from Israeli Army positions behind the Green Line.

From 30 March to 31 July, Palestinian casualties totalled 162 deaths and 15,737 wounded/injured. See also Casualties up to 12 July.

Hasbara

Zionist propaganda is at odds with reports from eyewitnesses in Gaza, and also with the evidence presented by Israeli peace groups inside Israel, including B’tselem. Take, for instance, the murder by Israeli Army snipers of the 20-year-old Palestinian paramedic, Razan al-Najjar. She was fatally shot in the chest while nursing wounded protesters in Gaza. At first, the Israeli Army tried to convince the world that the snipers had not fired at Razan, claiming that her death may have been accidentally caused by a ricochet. Finally, and desperately, the Zionist military accused Razan al-Najjar of serving as a human shield for rioters. B’tselem concluded that:

“The disavowal of responsibility for al-Najjar’s killing by the IDF Spokesperson and other Israeli state officials should not be construed as an instance of the competent authorities informing the public of the facts. Far from it. They are simply part of the efforts made by the authorities responsible for this policy to mitigate the damage to Israel’s image by hiding and whitewashing the facts. Yet, propaganda and reality are two different things. In reality, Israel is indifferent to the killing of Palestinians. Otherwise, it would long ago have changed its open-fire policy and stopped shooting at unarmed protesters on the other side of the fence who pose no danger to anyone. Evidence of this criminal policy is found time and time again as the military persists in implementing it unchanged, enlisting its whitewashing apparatus to back it up, which almost always ensure no one will be held accountable for the killing of Palestinians even in outrageous circumstances such as al-Najjar’s killing.”

The Israeli military has killed more than 136 Palestinians and wounded over 14,000 since the Palestinians’ non-violent Great March of Return protests began on 30 March.

International Freedom Flotilla

The failure of our politicians to insist on respect for, and due observance of, international law is matched by the paucity of mainstream news media reporting of the daily violations of international humanitarian law that the Palestinian people are forced to endure. This turning of blind eyes has been, and continues to be, met with deep public concern and determined civil society action. Attempts, such as the recent International Freedom Flotilla voyage, to bring aid to the Palestinian people as well as publicity for their cause, has had some publicity in New Zealand. But considering the brutal treatment of a well-known New Zealander, particularly as it happened in international waters at the hands of a foreign navy, coverage was minimal. Normally, when a New Zealander is involved in a dramatic, overseas human interest story, the coverage is extensive, to say the least.

UN Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982

Israel is convinced that it is above international law and agreements whenever they are seen as obstacles to its ideological agenda. Its recent denial of right of passage, guaranteed under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982, for the Flotilla’s Al-Awda, is just one example.

The vessel, carrying sorely-needed antibiotics and bandages for Gaza, was in international waters, 42 nautical miles from the coast of Gaza, when the Israeli Navy contacted the boat, claiming that it was “trespassing” into Israeli waters. The response from Al-Awda that it was, in fact, in international waters was ignored, and the Israelis kept repeating the factually-incorrect message for the next half-hour. The crew and passengers, who had prepared their non-violent response should their vessel be illegally and aggressively boarded, took to their places and waited. Three Israeli warships eventually appeared, accompanied by about five speedboats. These boats brought soldiers armed with machine guns, while larger, mounted machine guns on the boats, were trained on the vessel, which was then boarded by armed and masked soldiers.

Wanton violence

Every defenceless person on board was assaulted in one way or another by the Israeli forces. They tasered both the first mate, Charlie, and New Zealander, Mike Treen, leader of the Unite Union. Charlie was also beaten up and, because Mike stood his ground after being tasered in the lower limbs, the Israeli soldiers tasered him again in the neck and face. A British citizen, consultant orthopaedic surgeon, Dr Swee Ang, who had also joined the Flotilla, examined Mike and reported that he was semi-conscious from the attack and bleeding on the left side of his face. Totally in control, the soldiers took down two flags, one Palestinian and the other Norwegian, which they took pleasure in trampling upon. Later, while being held captive in an Israeli prison, the celebrated Swedish singer, Divina, told Swee that she had seen the Israeli soldiers throwing the vessel’s captain against the wheel-house wall and punching him in the chest. Divina herself had had her neck twisted by the Israelis.

Robbery

Dr Swee has told how, on arrival in the Israeli port of Ashdod, Mike Treen led everyone off the boat, chanting “Free Free Palestine”. The diminutive 69-year-old doctor, Swee, suffered two fractured ribs and substantial bruising at the hands of the Israelis. They stripped her of everything, even her reading glasses. Everyone was treated with contempt. The human rights supporters were robbed of their personal possessions, including cash, and female prisoners also had to put up with the indignity of male guards entering the women’s cell without warning.

Muted reactions by Western politicians to acts, such as this, grant Israel the impunity that encourages it to believe that it owns the Mediterranean and can hijack vessels and abduct civilians on the high seas at will. This latest glimpse of Israeli contempt for international law and the world community should wake us all up to a greater appreciation of what the defenceless Palestinian people are forced to endure day-in, day-out, decade after decade.

The criminal Zionist agenda

But concentrating on particular events and statistics can be misleading. For a full understanding, what has to be appreciated is the history and the origins of over 70 years of Zionist malevolence towards the Palestinian people and their history, culture, land and human rights. Even to concentrate attention mainly upon events in Gaza, appalling as they are, is to lose sight of the overall plight of the Palestinian people. It serves Israel’s ideological ambitions to so divide the Palestinian people and it must be a source of satisfaction for the Zionists as those ghettoised in Gaza are increasingly being referred to, not as Palestinians, but as ‘Gazans’. Palestinians living under Zionist rule beyond Gaza also face a daily routine of fear, uncertainty and insecurity.

The crude, uncivilised behaviour that the crew and passengers aboard the Al-Awda faced during both the Israeli hijacking. and later, is a condition of everyday life for the militarily-ruled Palestinians. In addition to losing their land and, as recognised by international law, their right of return to it, Palestinians face constant disrespect for their homes and property. For them, there is no such thing as privacy and the Israeli Army invades their homes at will. What follows are just a few examples illustrating Israel’s disrespect for Palestinian property. These incidents are taken from In Occupied Palestine daily newsletters solely for the month of July this year. If the selection seems to be too much to read, simply imagine what it must be like for Palestinians – who must suffer this daily toll, year-by-year, decade after decade.

Zionist military rule

July 1

Tubas – Israeli forces in the al-Ras Al-Ahmar area of the North Jordan Valley robbed a Palestinian man, Kamal Abu Madraj, of a truck and another vehicle.

Bethlehem – Zionist militants from the Sde Bo’az Occupation settlement outpost raided agricultural land in the Ein Al-Qassis area of al-Khadr, uprooted grapevines and 20 olive trees, then seized barbed-wire fencing after destroying the concrete wall that had surrounded the privately-owned land. The landowner was identified as Ahmad Riziq Issa.

Hebron – evening, a gang of Zionist settlers raided the Old City’s al-Sahlat district and invaded two homes belonging to the Qufshiuya families, during which Israeli soldiers came in support of the settlers, seizing and holding captive for a time, three children who had tried to resist the settlers: Mohammad Abdel-Ghani Qufshiya (aged 10), Mustafa Tarik Qufshiya (aged 11) and Yusef Abed Al-Rajabi (aged 12).

July 2

Hebron – Israeli Occupation settler militants raided the home of Palestinian resident, Sameh Zahda in al-Shuhada Street, and spray-painted racist and Zionist anti-Arab graffiti on the outside walls.

Jerusalem – the Israeli Army destroyed a car-wash business in the Wadi Qaddum area of Silwan.

Nablus – the Israeli Army prevented Jalloud village farmers from harvesting wheat on 250 dunams (25 hectares) of agricultural land, seizing and holding them for two hours before informing them that they must abandon their crops because the Israeli Occupation will not allow further harvesting.

July 4

Jerusalem – Israeli Army bulldozers invaded the Abu al-Nawar Bedouin community at dawn and destroyed ten Palestinian homes and livestock shelters. Daoud Jahaleen, a spokesperson for the community, told the Anadolu Agency that “the community is home to 687 Palestinians, 65% of them are children.” Israel wants the Abu al-Nawar community to make way for its massive E1 settlement project in East Jerusalem. On 3 July, the UN deplored Israeli plans to demolish another Bedouin community, Khan al-Ahmar Abu al Helu, near Jerusalem. The Zionist state seeks to ethnically-cleanse some 10,000 Bedouin residents from about 15 square kilometres of land north-east of Jerusalem. The aim is to replace the Bedouin community with Jewish-only residential units linking up with the Ma’ale Adumim Israeli Occupation settlement. The plan is to cut the West Bank in half, in order to prevent any possibility of territorial contiguity for Palestinians in the area. The Israeli Army assault on the community injured 35 residents (including the Governor of Jerusalem district: Adnan Al-Hussieni, a Press reporter, Mohammad Hamdan, and Adnan Ghayth, Shadi Matour, Nasser Ja’far, Mahmoud Aliyan, Raed Fayiz, Jamil Al-Barghouthi, Soliman Ibrahim Abu Dahouq and Karam Abu Jabran. UN’s main human rights body calls on Israel to abandon the demolition plans as they violate international law.

Tubas – the Israeli Army destroyed a pond used for livestock in the al-Farisiya area of the North Jordan Valley.

Salfit – the Israeli Army prevented several farmers from reaching their Iskaka village farmland, which is trapped behind Israel’s annexation Wall near the Ariel Occupation settlement. All the farmers have valid entry permits issued by the Israeli Occupation.

Hebron – the Israeli Army robbed the Abu Al-Hassan and Al-Hilis families of two dunams (0.2 hectares) of land they own in the al-Musaffir district, east of Yatta, and declared the area a ‘closed military zone’.

July 5

Tubas – 10:25, Israeli forces plundered 200m of water reticulation pipelines belonging to Bardala village.

Bethlehem – 15:00, Israeli forces raided the B’ir Onah area of Beit Jallah and ordered a halt to the construction of a well.

July 6

Nablus – 15:50, Israeli settler arsonists invaded Orif village, set fire to seven olive and 14 almond trees, and broke the branches off 26 almond, olive and pomegranate trees, while the Israeli Army fired rubber-coated steel bullets, stun grenades and tear gas canisters at villagers who tried to save the trees. One person, Ahmad Omar Salah Al-Safadi, was wounded in the Israeli Army/settler violence.

July 7

Ramallah – 10:00, a gang of Israeli settlers assaulted a Palestinian goatherd near Deir Dibwan and killed, with butchers’ knives, three of his goats.

Bethlehem – 16:40, a Zionist mob, from the Efrat and El’azar Israeli Occupation settlements, raided land in Ein al-Asafeer, al-Khadr, and uprooted 200 Palestinian grapevines.

July 9

Hebron – dawn, Israeli forces raided Hebron, opening fire on and wounding a resident as they stormed and searched his home. Another person was taken prisoner.

Jenin – 10:20, Israeli forces raided Barta’a al-Sharqiya and ordered the destruction of two homes.

July 10

Jenin – 00:40, Israeli forces raided Jenin, invaded the home of Ahmad Abdallah Abu Sariya, robbed him of a sum of money and then took him prisoner.

Tulkarem – 00:40-03:15, Israeli forces, firing tear gas canisters, raided Deir al-Ghusun and searched a home, causing two tear gas casualties: Mohammad Omar Badran and his son, Ibrahim. Another person, Ameed Ma’en Mohammad Ali Badran, was taken prisoner and his mother ordered to report for interrogation at Israeli Military Intelligence. Before departing the home, the Israeli soldiers robbed the family of a computer and 250 NIS (US$64).

Nablus – 02:30-05:40, Israeli forces, firing rubber-coated steel bullets, stun grenades and tear gas canisters, raided Nablus and searched several homes, robbing one resident, Ghassan Nayef Thuqan (a professor at Al-Najah University) of 11,000 NIS (US$2,800).

Bethlehem – 13:00, Israeli forces raided Nahalin village, ordered the demolition of the home of a villager, Issam Abdel-Hafath Shakarnah, and ordered a halt to the construction of another home.

Hebron – Israeli forces raided the Khilat al-Fara area of Yatta and ordered the destruction of three homes and a livestock shelter.

July 11

Bethlehem – Israeli forces raided the Abu Sod area in al-Khadr and invaded the home of Yusef Abd Musa, setting up a sniper post on the roof.

Hebron – 09:25, the Israeli Army raided al-Karmil village and ordered the destruction of six wells.

Hebron – 09:40, Israeli forces raided the Khilat al-Dab’a neighbourhood of Yatta and destroyed a classroom in the local school.

July 12

Hebron – 03:40, a Zionist mob raided Orif village, set fire to two vehicles and spray-painted the Star of David and racist hate messages in Hebrew.

July 13

Tulkarem – 01:40, Israeli soldiers raided a home and robbed the householder, Ma’moun Mohammad Nassif, of JD5,800.

July 14

Ramallah – morning, Israeli forces, firing live ammunition, rubber-coated steel bullets, stun grenades and tear gas canisters, raided the al-Jalazoun UN refugee camp and searched several homes, wounding and hospitalising six people and injuring three others. Seven more residents were taken prisoner. The soldiers seized a vehicle belonging to a refugee, Mohammad Nael Sharaqa, who they also injured and hospitalised.

July 15

Nablus – 14:10, Israeli forces raided Madama village and destroyed two recently-renovated old homes.

July 16

Jerusalem – 05:00, Israeli forces raided Kafr Aqab, searched a home, took prisoner two people and robbed them of a computer.

Hebron – 07:30, Israeli forces, firing rubber-coated steel bullets, stun grenades and tear gas canisters, raided Beit Ummar, searched two homes and robbed householder, Sufiyan Zaki Odah Baher, of 5000 NIS (US$1287).

Nablus – 01:15-02:35, Israeli forces raided Madma village, took prisoner one person and stole his vehicle.

July 17

Nablus – 01:30, Israeli forces, firing stun grenades and tear gas canisters, raided Assira al-Shimaliya, opening fire on residents, as they stormed and searched a home.

Ramallah – 04:00, Israeli forces raided al-Bireh, invaded several homes, robbing residents of a motor vehicle, and ordered a person to report for interrogation at Israeli Military Intelligence.

Bethlehem – Israeli forces issued an order for the seizure of 120 dunams (12 hectares) of privately-owned Palestinian land in the Zaqandih district of al-Khadr.

Nablus – 10:45, Israeli settler arsonists, watched over by the Israeli Army, invaded Assira al-Qibliya village, setting fire to crops. The Zionists also attacked four homes and damaged a motor vehicle.

Jerusalem – 12:00, the Israeli Army invaded the Shuafat neighbourhood, raided a school and stole office supplies and equipment, for failure to pay ‘tax’ to the Zionist regime.

Jerusalem – 14:15, Israeli forces raided Um Tuba village and destroyed a livestock shelter.

July 18

Jenin – 06:20, Israeli forces, firing live ammunition, rubber-coated steel bullets, stun grenades and tear gas canisters, searched several homes in the Jenin UN refugee camp, wounding one person, Mahmoud Firas Abu Al-Wafa (aged 17), and causing several tear gas casualties.

Jericho – 09:20, Israeli forces destroyed the home of a villager, Allam Sa’id Abdallah, in Ein al-Diyook al-Tahta.

Salfit – evening, Israeli forces in the Bab Al-Marj district of Deir Ballut, bulldozed to destruction 350 Palestinian olive trees, to make way for a waste-water treatment plant to serve the Lashim Israeli Occupation settlement outpost, which stands on privately-owned Palestinian land.

July 19

Jerusalem – the Israeli Military forced families in Abu Irmeleh and al-Shawamra to demolish four homes, and extorted money from them in the form of ‘fines’. The Israeli Army claimed the land was owned by Occupation settlers.

July 20

Nablus – the Israeli Army raided Farush Beit Dajan village, destroying water reticulation pipelines and shutting down irrigation of approximately 300 dunams (30 hectares) of Palestinian farmland.

July 22

Bethlehem – 03:00-06:15, Israeli forces raided the al-Duhisheh UN refugee camp, killing a child, Arkan Thaer Mizhir (aged 15), and wounding two adults as they searched people’s homes. Three people were taken prisoner and there were several tear gas casualties.

Bethlehem – 16:40, Israeli forces raided al-Ju’ba village and robbed one person, Yahya Musa Abu Lohat, of a motorcycle.

July 23

Ramallah – 02:00, Israeli forces raided Beit Liqiya, invaded a home and robbed the owner, Muntasir Mohammad Badr, of 18,000 NIS (US$4,600).

Ramallah – 02:25-04:45, Israeli forces, firing stun grenades and tear gas canisters, raided al-Bireh, searched several homes, took prisoner three people and stole a motor vehicle.

July 24

Ramallah – 03:30-04:40, Israeli forces raided Bir Zeit and searched several Bedouin homes in the area between there and al-Mazra’a al-Gharbita village, then took prisoner a university student and robbed a home of a computer.

Jerusalem – 17:20, Israeli soldiers seized the identity cards of women leaving the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and ordered them to report to the local police centre to request their return.

Tubas – evening, Israeli forces invaded the Ras al-Ahmar area in the North Jordan Valley and paved a 2.5km road on privately-owned Palestinian land, to connect the main road with two areas, Al-Khirat and Mashbeek, which the Israeli military has chosen to be a “closed military zone and a firing range”.

Tubas – evening, the Israeli Army raided the Khirbeit Ras al-Ahmar area in the North Jordan Valley and destroyed 1500 metres of water pipelines.

July 25

Bethlehem – dawn, Israeli forces raided Harmala village, searched two homes and robbed a householder, Adel Mahmoud Mustafa Al-Zir, of 5000 NIS (US$1287).

Jerusalem – 07:15, Israeli forces destroyed a kindergarten and a women’s centre in a Bedouin community in al-Eizariya’s Jabal al-Baba district.

Nablus – Israeli forces raided Faroush Beit Dajan village and shut down two water supply pipelines to the village.

Bethlehem – 13:30, Israeli forces raided Kisan village and the al-Halaqin area between Teqoa town and al-Ma’sar, and ordered the destruction of a mosque and three homes.

July 26

Ramallah – 04:20-07:15, Israeli forces, firing rubber-coated steel bullets, stun grenades and tear gas canisters, raided Kobar village and searched the family home of Mohammad Tarik Dar Yusef, who had been shot dead some hours earlier. The Israeli Army ordered the destruction of the family home and took prisoner three family members, including a 17-year-old youth, Nasrallah Yusef Mash’al. As they withdrew from the village, the soldiers again opened fire with rubber-coated steel bullets, stun grenades and tear gas canisters on the surrounding area.

Bethlehem – 11:40, the Israeli Army raided al-Maniya village and issued orders for the destruction of two homes.

July 27

Ramallah – 10:40 and again at 03:45, Israeli forces, firing live ammunition, rubber-coated steel bullets, stun grenades and tear gas canisters, raided Kobar village and again searched the home of Mohammad Tarik Dar Yusef, wounding a child, Faraj Omar Al-Barghouthi (aged 14), and four other residents: Mahmoud Hassan Shakir, Sahir Jum’a Sanif, Maher Al-Tamimi and Mohammad Jibril. One other resident was taken prisoner.

Jerusalem – the Israeli Occupation issued orders against 19 residents, banning them from entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound for a period of seven days and extorted 5000 NIS (US$1287) from them, to obtain their release from captivity.

Nablus – 15:35, arsonists from the Israeli Occupation Ayash Qudish settlement, in Jalloud village, set fire to the home of a villager, Tawfiq Shwakiya, and damaged several olive and almond trees.

July 28

Ramallah – 19:55-06:00, Israeli forces, firing live ammunition, rubber-coated steel bullets, stun grenades and tear gas canisters, raided Kobar village and searched several homes, including the family home of the 17-year-old youth, Mohammad Tariq Dar Yusef, shot dead earlier by Israeli forces. Israeli forces assaulted Mohammad Shadi Al-Sous. Four people, Yahya Mahmoud Bakr Amayra, Qais Mohammad Abdel-Fattah Al-Barghouthi, Mahmoud Samir Al-Qatawi and Milad Tawfiq Sha’ban Al-Barghouthi, were taken prisoner.

Ramallah – 04:25, Israeli forces, firing live ammunition, rubber-coated steel bullets, stun grenades and tear gas canisters, raided Abu Sheikhdum village, assaulting and hospitalising with a fractured arm, a villager: Mohammad Shadi Al-Sous.

Nablus – 17:20, settler arsonists from the Barghat Israeli Occupation settlement, watched over by the Israeli Army, invaded farmland in the Jabal al-Sab’ area of Burin village and set fire to olive trees.

July 29

Ramallah – 02:15-06:15, Israeli forces raided Ramallah, al-Bireh and Beitunya, invading homes and stealing property. Four journalists, including the Bureau Chief of Al-Quds Satellite Channel, had recording equipment seized from their homes, and one person was robbed of his motor vehicle.

Nablus – 22:35, Israeli Occupation settler arsonists set fire to Qaryut village farmland.

July 30

Ramallah – dawn, Israeli settler fanatics raided al-Mugheir village, slashed the tyres of eight motor vehicles and spray-painted racist hate messages on the walls of a home.

July 31

Jerusalem – the Israeli Occupation issued an order banning two residents, Omar Ashayer and Rasheed Al-Rashq, from entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound for a period of two months, sentenced them to home imprisonment and extorted 1,000 NIS (US$258) from each of them, as a condition for their release from Israeli police captivity.

Tubas – the Israeli Army destroyed a pump supplying water to Bardala village.

End the silence!

Was this ‘potted’ record of military Occupation too much for you? Then spare a thought for the Palestinian people, who are forced to live with such grim reality, day after day – they have no choice. Imagine the outrage and hysteria in the mainstream news media if it were Israelis, instead of Palestinians, who were being forced to suffer such relentless and spiteful abuse. The considerable power of the Israel lobby enables Israel to exert tremendous political influence inside the United States. President Trump moved the US Embassy to Jerusalem and celebrated with Netanyahu on the same day that Israel massacred Palestinian protesters in Gaza. Generations of Palestinians have endured this hate-filled relentlessly racist regime, while trying to lead normal lives and have their children educated. Everything they suffer is in violation of international human rights law. The world community betrayed their right to self-determination and consigned them to the mercy of Zionism. Still, the racist violations of international law are allowed to continue because our leaders and law-makers will not disassociate themselves from those ‘traditional allies’ that also ally themselves to Israel.

Once again, courageous activists aboard the International Freedom Flotilla to Gaza have stood up to Israel and helped the world to see the contemptuous lawlessness of the Zionist regime. Just returned from the International Freedom Flotilla, Mike Treen tells us: “I have a few stories to tell!” On Monday, 13 August at 7:30pm, Mike will address a public meeting at Christchurch’s ‘Cardboard Cathedral’. While the news media and politicians stay silent, others shoulder the responsibility, setting them an example, both in speech and by action.

Our Government should be taking a lead, in the spirit of New Zealand’s sponsorship of UNSC Resolution 2334, by demonstrating this country’s commitment to human rights and international law. Why has the New Zealand Government not made a formal complaint to Israel? Our law-makers must speak up in Parliament and demand support for Palestinian human rights.