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The Israeli Foreign Ministry has ripped the Red Cross a new one over a report released yesterday highly critical of Israel and which focused on the plight of palestinians in Gaza.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said it was “scandalous” that the report “completely ignored the detention of an Israeli hostage under absolute isolation for three years, and in breach of every elementary human right.”
Palmor said the Red Cross had failed miserably in its responsibility to visit prisoners. “What is more, it evades the question of his [Schalit’s] inhuman detention and of the role of that case in bringing about the current crisis,” said.
Palmor said the crisis in Gaza had been brought on by “the Hamas junta,” and that the Red Cross knew perfectly well “what Hamas needs to do to dramatically improve the situation.”
Disregarding Schalit and Hamas in a report on the Gaza Strip, Palmor said, “does not add to the credibility of the Red Cross’s important mission, nor does it contribute to finding a real solution to the Gaza problem.”
The “bread and butter” of the Red Cross mission was to visit prisoners, and its failure to visit Schalit reflected poorly on the organization, Palmor said.
Updates (Israel time; most recent at top)
10:30PM: Some more tools turned away:
Canadian journalist and writer, Naomi Klein, and her husband were detained for a number of hours at Erez Crossing when they sought to cross into the Gaza Strip. According to the two, IDF soldiers on the site reprimanded them.
REPRIMANDED! It is only a matter of time before Free Gaza asks that you register your outrage over this Israeli aggression by contacting all embassies & consulates.
6:38PM: Human Right Watch has accused the IDF of failing on six occasions to verify the targets of aerial drones during Operation Cast Lead, resulting in 29 civilian deaths.
In response, the IDF has questioned the report’s credibility, saying it appeared to be based on “unnamed and unreliable palestinian sources” whose military expertise was “unproven.”
6:32PM: Finally, some common sense from the pains of Spain.
Spain’s National Court on Tuesday decided to shelve an investigation launched by one of its judges into a July 2002 air strike by the Israel Defense Forces on a Hamas target in the Gaza Strip, judicial sources said.
Leading Hamas militant Saleh Shehadeh was killed when the Israel Air Force dropped a one-ton bomb on his apartment building in Gaza. The explosion destroyed the building and killed 14 other people, most of them women and children. Spanish Judge Fernando Andreu had argued that it could constitute a crime against humanity.
6:28PM: Ha’aretz reports on the Free Gaza boat’s interception by the IDF, including this important bit of information:
The army said humanitarian goods found on board the boat will be transferred to the Gaza Strip, subject to authorization.
6:00PM: Yet another indication that Free Gaza are more interested in painting Israel in a bad light than actually getting aid to Gaza.
The IDF added that any entity wishing to transfer humanitarian aid can do so through land crossings, after coordinating with the relevant Israeli authorities.
5:15PM: The IDF has confirmed that it took control of the Free Gaza boat:
The IDF Spokesperson’s Office confirmed the report. Israeli military sources said there was no violence after the small ferry, sailing from Cyprus with activists from the US-based Free Gaza Movement, was intercepted off Gaza.
“The vessel, which was sailing under a Greek flag, left Larnaca, Cyprus on Monday en route to Gaza. After it was made clear that the boat was headed for Gaza’s shore, it was told that Gaza was under a naval blockade. In light of this and the security hazards in the region, its entrance to Gaza was forbidden,” the army said in a statement.
The army stressed that despite the warnings, the boat continued sailing toward the Strip. “The Navy vessel’s crew took control of the boat and led it to the Ashdod port,” said the military.
Meanwhile, Free Gaza are still playing up the “We’ve been kidnapped” angle, milking this situation for all it’s worth.
4:20PM: And again:
IOF (their derogatory way of referring to the IDF – ed) released a statement saying they’ve taken over the boat. Call the Israeli officials. Register your outrage over kidnapping our people.
4:10PM: From the twits’ Twitter page:
They’re about to come on board, they’re about to come on board. Then the line went dead. If true, Israel illegally boarded Spirit.
3:38PM: From the Free Gaza mailing list:
Dear Friends,
We have unconfirmed reports from al-Jazeera that Israeli Occupying Forces have stopped and boarded the Spirit of Humanity. We’re not sure if our folks are being arrested yet or not.
More to follow…
