Email [1] |
According to a Foreign Ministry press release on Sunday [may 30], Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon criticized the effort [the aid flotilla], saying anti-Semitic chants voiced by the activists on board earlier in the day showed the “real motivation” for the campaign, which he termed an “armada of hate.”
Participants on the flotilla were recorded shouting
“Khaybar Khaybar ya yahud, Jaish Muhammad saya’ud,” which means “Jews, remember Khyabar, the army of Mohammed is returning.”
This cry relates to an event in the seventh century when Muslims massacred and expelled Jews from the town of Khaybar, in modern-day Saudi Arabia.
“Israel condemns the anti-Semitic chants that were publicized this morning,” Ayalon said. “This amply demonstrates that many are not against a particular policy of the Israeli government, but have very real and dangerous hatred for Jews and the Jewish State.”
He further noted that “the main organizer of the flotilla is an extremist Islamic organization with ties to Hamas and global Jihad and it is unfortunate that there are those who are duped into thinking that this exercise has anything to do with humanitarianism or human rights.”
The organizers of the protest flotilla said the ships were set to arrive in Israeli waters on Monday. The flotilla was originally slated to arrive in Gaza on Saturday but faced several delays because of technical difficulties.
The navy is prepared to stop the ships before they reach Gaza and has put most of its forces on operational standby since Friday. The ships will receive a number of warnings as they begin to approach the Gaza Strip, starting from a distance of about 65 kilometers. If the ships are commandeered, they will be sailed to the Ashdod Port, where the government has set up tents to hold the activists.
The activists will be taken to the tents for identification and medical attention, and asked to leave the country voluntarily. If they refuse, they will be arrested and transferred to the custody of the Prisons Service and the Interior Ministry. 1
Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon also referred to the flotilla in an interview (may 29, 2010) and stated that
“This is a provocation intended to delegitimize Israel. There is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza. If the flotilla had a genuine humanitarian goal, then its organizers should have transferred something for the abducted soldier Gilad Shalit as well. Their refusal to do so clearly indicates that humanitarian issues were not their goal. We will not allow the flotilla to enter Gaza, as this is an infringement of Israel’s sovereignty. We are organizing the information background, but information considerations are secondary to security and political considerations.”
Deputy FM Ayalon referred to the boycott of Israeli products by the Palestinian Authority, and stated that
“After Israel declared its acceptance of the two-state solution, froze construction and removed roadblocks, the Palestinians are continuing their incitement against Israel. This is a rejection of mutual trust. It is impossible to talk peace on the one hand, while continuing with incitement on the other.” 2
Notes:
1 jpost.com, may 30, 2010 [2].
2 mfa.gov.il, may 29, 2010 [3].