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Another humanitarian aid ship heading to Gaza

Another humanitarian aid ship is heading for Gaza and is expected to enter the 20-mile "forbidden" zone this afternoon.

Greta Berlin, a spokesman for the Free Gaza group, says the 1,200-ton Rachel Corrie is heading directly to Gaza and will not stop in any port on the way. It is trying to deliver hundreds of tons of aid, including wheelchairs, medical supplies and concrete.

Irish Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mairead McGuire and the former head of the U.N. Oil-for-Food program in Iraq, Denis Halliday, are among the 11 passengers on board, she said.

The Irish vessel is named after an American college student crushed to death by an Israeli army bulldozer while protesting house demolitions in Gaza.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20100604/D9G4E3EG1.html

It looks like the sins of the Israelis are starting to catch up to them. Rachel Corrie got in the way of a bulldozer (in plain view). The Israelis called it a tragic mistake and denied that her death was deliberate. But if the view out the bulldozer window is so obstructed, such machines ought to be declared unsafe and taken out of circulation.

Israel has rejected demands for an international panel to probe Monday's deadly commando raid on the aid ships, saying it can conduct a professional, impartial investigation on its own.

Oh, yes, the Israelis are known for the impartial investigations on themselves, aren't they?

Israel maintains its commandos opened fire Monday as a last resort after they were attacked, and released a video showing soldiers in riot gear descending from a helicopter into a crowd of men with clubs. Three or four activists overpowered each soldier as he landed.

Returning activists admitted fighting with the Israelis but insisted their actions were in self defense because the ships were being boarded in international waters by a military force.

IDF forces would not have had to defend themselves at all if they had not taken over the ships in international waters. If a bank robber shoots a guard after the guard threatens him, can he claim "self defense"?

Regardless of what happens to the Rachel Corrie ship, the Israeli blockade on Gaza has already been destroyed. When Egypt opened its border to Gaza, it effectively ended the blockade. So the earlier flotilla lost the battle but won the war. And every time another ship sails for Gaza and gets blocked by the Israelis, the Israelis lose more goodwill among the nations. They may snub their nose at the nations, but make no mistake about it, international relations is much more important than they are willing to admit.

So expect a media blitz generated by AIPAC, the most powerful lobby in America. Their greatest supporters are among the right-wing talk show hosts, since they in turn cater to the Christians and Christian Zionists, who do not know the difference between the Jews, Zionists, and the biblical Israelites.