Gaza Flotilla Had Ties To Terrorist Organizations, Claims British Officer

By Sarah Mamula - Talk Radio News Service

Colonel Richard Kemp, a former commander of British forces in Afghanistan, said the individuals aboard the Gaza-bound flotilla raided by the Israeli military earlier this week were "hard core activists intent on violence."

Speaking on a conference call hosted by the Israel Project Tuesday, Kemp argued that the IHH, the Turkish humanitarian group on board, is linked to Union of Hope, an Iranian and Hamas sponsored group that supports radicalism.

"The IHH is connected to Hamas and the Union of Hope," Kemp said. "Hamas itself is sponsored, funded, equipped, directed by Iran and has strong connections to Hezbollah which is also is organized, directed and funded by Iran. Accepting the fact that both Hamas and Hezbollah are terrorist organizations there appears to be no doubt that the people involved in this operation were connected to terrorists."

Kemp said that although the Israeli military could have explored other options, such as blocking the flotilla with Israeli war ships or disabling the humanitarian vessels, the effects of these alternatives could have resulted in more casualties.

In addition, Kemp emphasized that the nine deaths resulting from the raid were not due to a wrong approach by Israel.

"None of those deaths would have occurred had the people on that ship not attacked the Israeli soldiers," Kemp said. "The Israeli's intercepted a number of other ships with no similar violence."

Added the British officer, "It's wrong to put the blame of those deaths at the door of the Israelis. It is right to put the blame for those deaths at the door of the people who carried out the attacks on the Israeli soldiers."

Anti-Israel Protests At The White House

After making an appearance at the Israeli Embassy this afternoon a crowd of about one hundred people moved the protest to the White House. They are protesting the incident today with the Gaza flotilla and the protesters are asking that the United States ask the Israeli Ambassador to leave Washington.

Amid shouts of "no more nickles, no more dimes, no more funding Israel's crimes" protesters also called for the end of Israeli occupation and blockade of Gaza. The protesters are mainly older white middle class Americans with a few women and men in headscarves and Palestinian neck scarves. One man walking to the demonstration told his children they could play in the park while he was demonstrating. The protesters are promising a large White House demonstration tomorrow, June 1 at noon. There was one counter protester with a bull horn from conservative World Net Daily attempting to give the other side of the story.

Secretary General Says Gaza War Crimes Investigations Still Incomplete

UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon believes it is too early to say if Israel and the Palestinian Authority have properly investigated allegations of war crime during the Israeli Cast Lead operation in Gaza in December 2008 and January 2009.

Last November, a General Assembly resolution called on both parties to investigate, after the Goldstone report into the Gaza fighting suggested war crimes might have occurred on both sides and called for credible investigations by all parties involved.

In his report to the Assembly, Ban included documents form Israeli and Palestinian investigations and said he hoped “the resolution has served to encourage investigation by the government of Israel and the Palestinian side that are credible and in conformity with international standards."

However he concluded that: “the processes initiated are still ongoing…As such, no determination can be made on the implementation of the resolution by the parties concerned”

Human rights group Amnesty International criticized Ban for missing an opportunity to advance accountability in Gaza, arguing that the responses the Secretary General received clearly demonstrated that neither side had conducted investigations “that are independent, credible and in conformity with international standards”

The Secretary General’s spokesperson was unable to say if or when conclusive reports on the matter would be completed, stating that any further action was dependent on the General Assembly and member states.

Israeli President Shouted Down By Protesters

By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico - Talk Radio News Service

Israeli President Shimon Peres spoke today in favor of peace in the Middle East, but some in the audience likely couldn’t hear his call, as protesters within the room shouted him down. Three eruptions of protesters in the audience were stopped by police. The protesters shouted from tabletops and waved signs saying “stop the occupation” and “free gaza.” This all transpired at the Washington DC Convention Center, at a conference led by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

Peres spoke of his commitment to the peace process, saying that one of the big challenges they all faced was to “disconnect religion from terror”, so extremists are not killing in the name of a higher power.

“History is on the side of peace... history’s on our side,” Peres said. He continued that the extremists leading Iran “are on the wrong side of history.” Peres acknowledged that most Iranians are good people whom he respects, but pointed his finger at extremists like Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as being the problem.

“Iran is not threatened by anybody,” Peres said, and continued that Iran’s new missile programs are unnecessary. He said that Iran’s missile development and nuclear program are a threat to Israel “and the global community at large.”

Peres said that he trusts President Obama to make meaningful bilateral negotiations, and to contribute significantly to the peace process.

American voters show a resounding support for Israel

According to data released by the Israel Project, the majority of American voters support Israel.

The study, which was formulated by Stanley Greenberg, Ph.D Chairman and CEO of Greenburg, Quinlan, Rosner and Neil Newhouse, (partner and co-founder of Public Opinion Strategies), American voters supported Israelis over the Palestinians by a margin of 57 to 8.

"When Americans are asked 'who do you blame for the current conflict in the Gaza strip, by a 56-18 margin Americans blame the Palestinians rather than Israel, with 8% blaming them both," said Neil Newhouse during a teleconference on Voter Attitudes on Israel's Operation in Gaza.

Newhouse went on to address the humanitarian crises in the Gaza Strip, and announced that regardless of who Americans blame for the overall conflict, Hamas leaders are blamed more than Israeli leaders by 66% to 17%.

"The bottom line is that there's enduring support for Israel. There's no evidence that the overall identification and support for Israel has diminished," concluded Greenberg.