Hours after the Israeli government announced that it was intending to issue a new “banned goods” list for the Gaza Strip, focused on placating international demands to allow more food and humanitarian goods into the tiny enclave, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a pledge that the move would actually “tighten” the blockade.
“Our friends around the world are getting behind our decision and giving international legitimacy to the security blockade on Hamas,” Netanyahu insisted, adding again that “dual use” goods would continue to be barred from Gaza.
Israel’s military has claimed broad swathes of goods to be “dual use” in the past, including imposing a three year ban on shoes under the claim that shoes could theoretically be made the part of a military uniform, and therefore had a military use.
Officials say that banned luxury goods like pasta and cordiander will be allowed into the Gaza Strip under the new list, but so far the government has been mum on the most needed item, cement. Israel has barred all cement from the strip as a “dual use” good as well, leaving the homes in the region in ruins since the January 2009 invasion despite massive pledges of foreign aid. It seems the changes in the blockade may end up being superficial, and done purely for to score points internationally.
Netanyahu is out of touch. Time to start blocking Israel from U.S. ports. I understand A.N.S.W.E.R. and the longshoreman's union in Oakland, California is already doing that. They stopped an Israeli ship from unloading at the dock. Now can we stop them from landing in New York?
HA COME TO NY AND TRY IT!
we got the most pro zionist loonies in the world here and they are all in power
from state assembly all the way up to chuck.
they'd out law dock workers before they let that happen
That would be fairly interesting actually–seeing Bloomberg and his goons trying to outlaw longshoremen–no doubt as "terrorists". Would they set the "National Guard" (whatever of it that is not in Iraq or Afghanistan) to working the docks?
Longshoreman hooks have this curious habit of turning up in the strangest places.
That picture above looks like Netanyahu is waiting for them to put on the handcuffs.
Netanyahu is the product of a rich family living on mainline philadelphia. I am not sure when he actually left the life of Riley in the Philadelphia are and took up playing the suffering individual. He is a product of a father who had a great job teaching history at the University of Penn.
Netanyahu has played the warrior but his brother was the guy who actually served and was killed.
Why they brought back a failure of the 1990's is hard to understand. Bibi has to go along with the rest of the likud. Bibi will cause much harm unless he is retired. One of these days the continue policies of getting involved in other countries politics will get Israel into a long term war with the wounded and dead that goes along with years of actual war. The United States will have a problem providing the protection from that kind of conflict.
Netanyahu was born in Tel Aviv, but he did spend several of his childhood years in Pennsylvania.
And most of the American public is dumb enough to buy it hook, line and sinker.
I guess Bibi figures he'll allow pasta and cordiander in until a Palestinian "MacGyver" surfaces who can make bombs from them.
Geez, where do the Israeli's find these leaders!?!?
Just end the damn blockade.
This man should not be handcuffed. He and his "sponser"Mr.Obama should both be dragged before the Courts on crimes against humanity.
Allah gorgives all the sinns but not wrong-doing. Human will never learn from the history specially Jews and time is running out for them. US are responsible for all these hardships with dual face i.e. they don,t respect elected Govt. and I don,t mind what has to come will come no one can stop but to create hatred around the world against America and Israel will pay out in desastor. Congress is biast and Senate is biast against Muslims and creating one after another lies. War on terror is war from CNN and BBC and we are victim. We have occupied none of the countries in the world. One thing in poetry we say: wrong-doing and opressed and their prayrer goes through skies to bring to bring mercy and the cloud give way to climb upto God. This means Allah will punish the whole nation for their cruelty. It will take time but not too long. God bless Muslims.
Bibi has "friends around the world?" Really? Besides Chucky 'shomer' Schumer and our precious 'golden one' Barack Obama?
netanyahu is the world's biggest pos.
Lebanease aid ship is ready to sail to Gaza very soonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn
"Meanwhile, a second Lebanese aid ship named Julia organised by activists from the Free Palestine Movement was on Monday given permission by the Lebanese government to sail from the northern port city of Tripoli to Cyprus.
'The Lebanese Public Transport ministry has given permission (for the ship) to go to Cyprus,' said Yasser Kashlak, a Syrian of Palestinian origin who funds and heads the movement.
'The ship will be searched in Cyprus because we want to abide by all international laws,' he added.
Thaer Ghandour another of Julia's organisers told dpa the ship would sail to Cyprus in the coming days, but did not give an exact departure date for security reasons.
The vessel would carry pro-Palestinian activists and medical aid to Gaza, Ghandour said.
Lebanese Transport Minister Ghazi Aridi also confirmed Monday that Julia had been given permission to sail."
Deutsche Presse Ag. June 21, 2010 [M&C News]
"ISRAEL HAS A RIGHT TO SELF-DEFENSE!" That's what we keep hearing.
If a man attacks a woman and roughs her up, and she fights back and scratches him–does he then have a right to beat her out of "self-defense" because she scratched him?
As long as Israel occupies, brutalizes, starves and blockades the Palestinians, it doesn't matter if a billion qassam rockets are fired at Israel. Israel has no right to CLAIM self-defense.
if the woman clubs the man , he then beats her, she scratches, then he retaliates you would have the right sotry line. your lack of knowledge of history astounds me, dont you remember te thousands of attacks that gazans and Hamas have landed agaisnt Israel, obviously not!
The Zionists' whining is typical of the self-delusions that grip the criminally insane.
BINGO !!!!! ..
By the way it is "coriander", the dried form ground from the seed of what as leaves is called "cilantro".
That may solve the mystery of why it was banned–clearly a dual use item, dried or fresh, no?
Netanyahu is the face of evil.
Israel is openly committing genocide and is getting away with it.
The U.S. supports this evil by siding with Israel.
The blockade has to end
It sounded too good to be true that the blockade was being relaxed. Even dumbo Obama bought into it . Netanyahu is a dangerous man likely to use the Samson Option. It all goes back to an equally evil man LBJ for giving them the bomb following the assassination of JFK who would have never allowed it. LBJ also covered up the Liberty incident. Probably he and the Mossad were in cahoots.
LBJ was certainly in hock to the jewish lobby. The late night visits by Mathilde Krim to LBJ's residence compromised him, as Mossad intended them to. The Liberty inquiry lasted a week, never enough time to hear all the evidence, and any incriminating evidence against Isreal was either supressed or covered up. A bit like today really !!
http://bit.ly/beyK1S
You would perhaps have Israel respond in kind to the Palestinians in Gaza? Hamas spent years firing rockets indiscriminately into Israel from Gaza. Hamas wants to obliterate Israel ie: deny any Israel the right to exist on their soil, and yet you still support Hamas. The blockade is a legal response to the agression of Hamas. Considering that Israel could turn the Gaza strip into a parking lot at will leaves me to believe that Israel is showing considerable restraint in their actions. Israel, by choosing to blockade Gaza instead of attacking Gaza is avoiding bloodshed, while Hamas would rather massacre Israelis instead of finding a way to live peacefully with the Israelis.