GNITN - Special Edition

Israel At War Day 613

Greta’s Grand Ruse

Harsh Measures Suggested

As we see in a report from the World Israel News that some in military circles want to use extreme actions to prevent the Greta Thunberg led flotilla getting into Gaza:

An expert has called for changes to be made in dealing with criminals who break Israeli maritime law, in light of anti-Israeli ‘activist’ Greta Thunberg’s expected Gaza boat landing in the coming days.

Thunberg, 22, and several others, including Irish Game of Thrones actor Liam Cunningham, 64, boarded a small ‘pleasure’ boat which left the shore of Italy last Sunday.

What many don’t realize is that there is a blockade in place to stop any vessels from entering into Gaza and it is enforced by the Israel Defense Force:

The group claim to be taking aid to Palestinians in Gaza on board their 12-person boat named ‘Madleen’, breaking the law of a blockade that has been in place since 2009.

The attempt is constantly in the news mostly by updates coming from the boat itself at least until recently:

Those on board the flotilla have been regularly posting on their website and had a tracker indicating where they are, which was turned off this morning, for reasons which are yet unclear.

At the last glance, on Sunday morning, it looked as though the boat was at least 48 hours away from landing, but the crew told British media outlets on Sunday morning that they expect to arrive in Gaza tomorrow (Monday).

The question is what the IDF will do since the boat is clearly in violation of the blockade. Some think they should let them land and then send them back. But one military wants them to be used as warning to others trying the same thing:

It is expected that Israel will let the boat reach Gazan shores, and then arrest the crew, before putting them back on a plane to their respective countries.

But this stance has been criticized by legal experts and activists. Lt.-Col. (res.) Maurice Hirsch told TPS-IL that instead of allowing the boat to moor, it should be ‘blown out of the water’ before it reaches land, as a deterrent to others who may wish to enact copy-cat crimes.

Obviously they aren’t going to do that, but it does remind us that these protestors are intentionally breaking the law. Hirsh appears to temper his approach by saying another way is better:

Hirsch, a previous Director of the Military Prosecution for Judea and Samaria and current advisor to Israel’s Ministry of Defense said: “There hasn’t been a case where Israel has prosecuted any [maritime criminals] to date.

“We aren’t interested in doing that, as it would mean they’d have to be in Israel, and we are not interested in them being here for a trial, so it is unlikely we will do that.

“We will put Greta [and the others] her on the first plane available. We just hold them, we may interrogate them, and seize the vessels.

Other Options

Hirsch did put out other options when previous attempts like this one were made:

“The boat may be taken in by the court in Haifa, and the boat may be forfeited, but people are just expelled. Even those the ones who were on board the Mavi Marmara in 2010 weren’t prosecuted.”

The Mavi Marmara was one of a fleet of ships, claiming to be a ‘Gaza Freedom Flotilla’ driven by pro-Palestinians 15 years ago towards the strip, and was found to be carrying multiple weapons.

He went on to note that this is a no win situation for Israel, but also brought up blowing them up again:

Hirsch continued: “This isn’t the first [attempt to breach the blockade] – there have been half a dozen since 2010, and there will probably be more.

“What we’ve done in the past is moor them and turn them around, and that allows them to enjoy their media fest, and then they return back as heroes, having supposedly ‘challenged’ the Israeli occupation.

“That whole cycle does nothing for Israel. On the other hand, Israel has other options which should be explored and that would enhance Israel’s deterrent – i.e anyone who tries to breach the blockade and refuses to heed that should be blown out of the water.

“As harsh as it sounds, these events would let them know that Israel means business.”

He mentions avoiding a media circus by exposing how little help they’re bringing or just not letting them get any press at all. After all the people in the boat are hardly neutral humanitarian workers:

As well as Thunberg and Cunningham, ten others are on board the boat, including a German self-described ‘activist’ who openly celebrates when Iran bombs Israel, and French politician Rima Hassan who has attended pro Hamas rallies in Jordan and blamed Israel for the killing on the Bibas family, who were murdered by Hamas in captivity. Others have expressed support for Hezbollah and hail from Brazil and Turkey.

One person thinks that the IDF should play it safe and search the boat next:David Lange, Executive Director of Israellycool Israel Advocacy, who researched the social media backgrounds of all those on board, finding that many are supporters of terror groups, told TPS-IL he would like to see Israel at least searching the ship before it gets to Gaza, to ensure no weapons are on board.

He said: “Because we have these people who have shown they support Hamas and Hezbollah, we should at least stop the ship and check for weapons, as they have shown clear hatred for Israel.”

Lange sees this as just a PR stunt to make Israel look bad:

Other than that, he said it doesn’t ‘bother’ him if they wish to enter Gaza, but echoing Hirsch’s sentiments that the voyage is more about a PR attack on Israel than aid for Gaza, he said: “Its performative. They want to embarrass Israel, and by stopping them, in a way, we’re playing into their narrative, but we do need to make sure weapons don’t get through to the strip, which is a high probability. In principle, I don’t mind them going there, it doesn’t bother me, but they are trying to push us into a corner. Its a PR stunt. It’s not just the sentiments of some of those on board, but in the past, there have been some violent people on board boats travelling to Gaza.”

They Aren’t Reaching Gaza

Israel’s Defense Minister will not let them land the boat in Gaza:

Last week, Defense Minister Israel Katz gave instructions to the IDF to take ‘any measures’ necessary to prevent the boat from reaching Gaza.

Katz issued a statement that shows he means business:

He announced today: “The State of Israel will not allow anyone to violate the naval blockade on Gaza — whose primary purpose is to prevent the transfer of weapons to Hamas, a murderous terrorist organization that holds our hostages and commits war crimes.

He then took a pointed shot at the media darling at the front of this little escapade:

“I have instructed the IDF to act to ensure that the ‘Madleen’ flotilla does not reach Gaza. To the antisemitic Greta and her Hamas propaganda-spreading friends — I say clearly; you would be wise to turn back, because you will not reach Gaza.

Katz didn’t say how he would stop them, but he did make it clear they would be stopped:

“Israel will act against any attempt to break the blockade or aid terrorist organizations — by sea, by air, and on land.”

Personally I think taking into consideration the people on the boat they clearly knew what they were doing coming to Israel. They want Israel to look bad no matter how they handle this. The only way Israel comes out of this looking good is to send the navy to the vessel, board it to see if any weapons are on board, commandeer it and fly them back to their respective countries under the cover of night and without any press availability. Then the IDF can deliver the humanitarian aid separately with no fanfare after documenting everything to keep Ms. Thunberg and company from grandstanding and making any outrageous claims. However if any weapons are found in their possession they should be shown to be the frauds they are. If they are playing by the Hamas/terrorist handbook they will accuse the IDF endlessly of violating their rights and hurting those in need. Or they can be blown out of the water after being warned for being in enemy territory and refusing to turn back. Now that would be a media circus.