UN probe finds 'clear evidence' of 'wilful killing'

A UN probe said on Wednesday there was "clear evidence to support prosecutions" against Israel for "wilful killing" and torture committed when its troops stormed a Gaza-bound aid flotilla in May.

AP - A report by three U.N.-appointed human rights experts has found that Israeli forces violated international law when they raided a Gaza-bound aid flotilla killing nine activists earlier this year.

The U.N. Human Rights Council's fact-finding mission concluded, in a report published Wednesday, that Israel's naval blockade of the Palestinian territory was unlawful because of the humanitarian crisis there, and described the military raid on the flotilla as brutal and disproportionate. The Israeli Foreign Ministry responded late Wednesday by saying the Human Rights Council, which commissioned the report, had a "biased, politicized and extremist approach." The Islamic militant group Hamas that controls Gaza, meanwhile, praised the report and called for those involved in the raid to be punished. The 56-page document lists a series of alleged crimes committed by Israeli forces during and after the raid, including willful killing and torture, and claims there is "clear evidence to support prosecutions." "A series of violations of international law, including international humanitarian and human rights law, were committed by the Israeli forces during the interception of the flotilla and during the detention of passengers in Israel prior to deportation," the experts found. Examining the circumstances of the raid, the panel concluded that a humanitarian crisis existed in Gaza on the day of the incident in Gaza and "for this reason alone the blockade is unlawful and cannot be sustained in law." Israel imposed a blockade on Gaza after Hamas militants violently seized control of the coastal territory from the moderate Palestinian Fatah party in 2007. Israel allows humanitarian aid and goods into Gaza via land crossings after inspection for weapons. "The conduct of the Israeli military and other personnel toward the flotilla passengers was not only disproportionate to the occasion but demonstrated levels of totally unnecessary and incredible violence. It betrayed an unacceptable level of brutality," the report said. It described the Israeli raid on May 31, in which eight Turkish activists and one Turkish-American aboard the Mavi Marmara were shot and killed, as "clearly unlawful." "The report published today is as biased and as one sided as the body that has produced it," the Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Israel says its troops opened fire after coming under attack by activists wielding clubs, axes and metal rods. Soldiers rappelled on to the deck armed with non-lethal paintball guns as their primary weapons. They said they only resorted to using their handguns after they were assaulted. The activists said they were defending their ship after it was attacked by Israeli soldiers in international waters. The raid sparked an international outcry and forced Israel to ease its blockade of Hamas-ruled Gaza. Israel, along with Egypt, imposed the embargo in June 2007 after Hamas militants took control of the area. Since then, Israel has lifted virtually all restrictions on food, medicine and consumer goods, but still maintains its naval blockade, saying that Hamas could sneak weapons into Gaza. Israel indicated early on that it wouldn't cooperate with the panel and roundly rejected its conclusions on Wednesday. "The Human Rights Council blamed Israel prior to the investigation and it is no surprise that they condemn after," said Andy David, a spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry, referring to the 47-member body's resolution in early June condemning the raid. Israel has instead been working with a separate U.N. group under New Zealand's former Prime Minister Geoffrey Palmer and Colombia's former President Alvaro Uribe that is also examining the incident but has yet to publish its findings. "Israel is a democratic and law abiding country that carefully observes international law and, when need be, knows how to investigate itself," the Foreign Ministry said. "That is how Israel has always acted, and that is the way in which investigations were conducted following Operation Cast Lead, launched to protect the inhabitants of southern Israel from rockets and terror attacks carried out by Hamas from Gaza." Fawzi Barhoum, a spokesman for Hamas - the Islamic militant group that controls Gaza _ said the report emphasized that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories violates human rights "not only against Palestinian people but against innocent people who came to show their sympathy." "Now it's required to be a mechanism in order to translate this report into action and to bring the occupation commanders to trial for the crimes they committed," Barhoum said. The Human Rights Council's report was compiled by former U.N. war crimes prosecutor Desmond de Silva, Trinidadian judge Karl T. Hudson-Phillips and Malaysian women's rights advocate Mary Shanthi Dairiam. It is scheduled to be debated in the council on Monday. The body, which is dominated by African, Asian and Latin American countries, has in the past repeatedly singled out Israel for criticism. Its resolutions carry little weight in law but are considered an important indicator of global opinion on human rights issues.

My link

"UN" Probe.

"The report published today is as biased and as one sided as the body that has produced it," the Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Watch the video of BBC's shockingly fair treatment of the Gaza flotilla.

A BBC documentary on the Gaza flotilla incident screened this week is causing a storm of protest from critics of Israel, who are furious that the program was not as hostile to Israel as they thought it should be.

The program concluded that the main aim of the activists had not been to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza, but rather to orchestrate a political act designed to put pressure on Israel.

The program also concluded that the Israeli commandos encountered a violent, premeditated attack by a hardcore group of Turkish IHH members.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXrzF0IOQYE&feature=player_embedded#!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nfo91FQVr7M&feature=player_embedded

This from Wikipedia:

______________________________________________________

According to human rights groups, the council is controlled by a bloc of Islamic and African states, backed by China, Cuba and Russia, who protect each other from criticism.[3] UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon and former High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson have criticized the council for acting according to political considerations as opposed to human rights. Specifically, Secretaries General Kofi Annan and Ban Ki Moon, the council's president Doru Costea, the European Union, Canada and the United States have accused the council of focusing disproportionately on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.[4][5][6] The United States boycotted the Council during the George W. Bush administration, but reversed its position on it during the Obama administration.[7]

_______________________________________________________

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Human_Rights_Council

_______________________________________________________

And now a list of the current country delegates:

Angola

Argentina

Bahrain

Bangladesh

Belgium

Brazil

Burkina Faso

Cameroon

Chile

China

Cuba

Djibouti

Ecuador

France

Gabon

Ghana

Guatemala

Hungary

Japan

Jordan

Kyrgyzstan

Libyan Arab Jamahiriya

Malaysia

Maldives

Mauritania

Mauritius

Mexico

Nigeria

Norway

Pakistan

Poland

Qatar

Republic of Korea

Republic of Moldova

Russian Federation

Saudi Arabia

Senegal

Slovakia

Spain

Switzerland

Thailand

Uganda

Ukraine

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

United States of America

Uruguay

Zambia

Not surprisingly, I don't many fans of Israel on this list. How about you?

"UN" Probe.

"The report published today is as biased and as one sided as the body that has produced it," the Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Watch the video of BBC's shockingly fair treatment of the Gaza flotilla.

A BBC documentary on the Gaza flotilla incident screened this week is causing a storm of protest from critics of Israel, who are furious that the program was not as hostile to Israel as they thought it should be.

The program concluded that the main aim of the activists had not been to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza, but rather to orchestrate a political act designed to put pressure on Israel.

The program also concluded that the Israeli commandos encountered a violent, premeditated attack by a hardcore group of Turkish IHH members.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXrzF0IOQYE&feature=player_embedded#!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nfo91FQVr7M&feature=player_embedded

Come on UG that BBC report was so biased towards Israel it was Laughable lets look at it the israleis storm the ship confiscate everyones cameras and telephones and any CCTV footage and then entertains the BBC and releasing ONLY video footage to bakc there side of the story

Sorry I aint buyin it

Yet again Israel is found to be the aggressor and with reccomendations of prosecution but will it happen i doubt it

And now a list of the current country delegates:

Angola

Argentina

Bahrain

Bangladesh

Belgium

Brazil

Burkina Faso

Cameroon

Chile

China

Cuba

Djibouti

Ecuador

France

Gabon

Ghana

Guatemala

Hungary

Japan

Jordan

Kyrgyzstan

Libyan Arab Jamahiriya

Malaysia

Maldives

Mauritania

Mauritius

Mexico

Nigeria

Norway

Pakistan

Poland

Qatar

Republic of Korea

Republic of Moldova

Russian Federation

Saudi Arabia

Senegal

Slovakia

Spain

Switzerland

Thailand

Uganda

Ukraine

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

United States of America

Uruguay

Zambia

Not surprisingly, I don't many fans of Israel on this list. How about you?

Kinda sends a clear message though dont it

China is friendly towards Israel and some others on the list have good diplomatic relations

My link

Come on UG that BBC report was so biased towards Israel it was Laughable

Yes, everyone knows how biased the BBC are towards Israel. Now, that is "LAUGHABLE"!

• 

Israel Publishes Gaza Travel Guidebook For Pro-Hamas Freedom Flotilla

By Omri CerenPublished: May 26, 2010Posted in: Arab and Muslim World, Diplomacy, Human Rights, Israel, Palestinians, World NewsTags: Europe, gaza, hamas, Human Rights, Israel, Palestinians, terrorism

FROM: Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs

TO: Free Gaza Freedom Flotilla

RE: Gaza Tourism Guide

Dear Crazy People,

We've been given to understand that you intend to stage another media stunt, wherein you're again going to float some empty ships – they may be full this time, they were mostly empty last time – in the general direction of the Gaza Strip. Your hope is apparently that your cameramen will capture the Israeli reaction and edit it into an overreaction or, failing that, simply reprint your feverish fantasies with slack-jawed credulity. Again.

Our problem isn't so much that your goal involves obfuscating the millions of tons of food and aid we've delivered to Gaza civilians, which allowed Hamas to move money away from infrastructure and into weaponry, which led to more of our cities getting bombarded with rockets and missiles. It's not even how, knowing that we deliver 15,000 tons of goods every week, your 10,000 tons of concrete isn't exactly a shining testament to your good intentions. Not when just last week we handed over 810,209 liters of heavy duty diesel fuel, 21 truckloads of milk powder and baby food, 897 tons of cooking gas, 66 truckloads of fruits and vegetables, 51 truckloads of wheat, 27 truckloads of meat, chicken and fish products, 40 truckloads of dairy products, 117 truckloads of animal feed, 36 truckloads of hygiene products, 38 trucks of clothing, 22 trucks of sugar and 4 trucks of medicine and medical equipment. But again: not the issue.

Really what we're concerned about is that you suck at driving boats. Last time you only had one ship and you still managed to crash it because – of all things – you tried to outmaneuver an Israeli Navy vessel. This time you're bringing nine boats. While we fully expect our Navy to interdict all of you, a legal and justified act under black letter maritime law, the odds are overwhelming that one of you tools is going to accidentally ground your boat. Given your obvious intention of creating a spectacle and your similarly obvious inability to manage same, it's pretty much inevitable.

If and when that happens, we'd like you to have at least some sense of how to survive in Gaza City. The alternative is you running across the border – complaining the whole time about our security checkpoints – and that would be awkward for everyone.

So we've put together this Gaza Tourism Guide, complete with picture galleries, which we believe to be the most comprehensive ever assembled on the web.

We know that after looking over everything, you'll be as excited to stay in Gaza as we are to have you there. Feel free to pass this on at your ISM tabling sessions at Evergreen or whatever you people do on college campuses in between advocating genocide. And in the future, if you really want to repeatedly create Gaza media spectacles so you can damage Israel's reputation, do what everyone else does. Join the UN.

WHERE TO SLEEP

Gaza City's luxury hotels are located on the Gaza coastline in the posh district of Ramal, which gets its name from the Arabic word for "sands." Ramal serves as a central gathering place for international and domestic dignitaries. Foreign officials are often found in the area, speaking about Gaza's unbearable plight at the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights during the day, before retiring to the United Nations beach club at night. Top Hamas officials also congregate in the area, and can be easily identified during wartime as the ones hiding in the half-bunker/half-silo basement of the district's Shifa Hospital. As can be expected the accommodations and eateries in Ramal are superb.

At the far end of the luxury spectrum, the Grand Palace Hotel has a direct beach view and puts guests literally across the street from the Mediterranean Sea. The building's decadent Crystal Hall – included in the gallery below – makes it a much-desired banquet location for first weddings, second weddings, and martyrdom celebrations. Those seeking to secure the room are advised to book well in advance.

The Grand Palace's sprawling facilities also make it a prime location for political and corporate events. When Fatah leader Nabil Shaath returned to the Gaza Strip in 2010, entering the territory for the first time since Hamas had violently seized control in a 2007 campaign that involved shooting out the kneecaps of Fatah-linked civilians, throwing them off roofs, and executing them in the streets – this is where Shaath met with his Hamas counterparts.

If you're looking for a younger vibe you might want to check out the Marna House. The warm family-run establishment is like a home away from home. Though it's Gaza's oldest hotel, the blending of modern luxury with the ethos of anti-Zionist resistance has made it a favorite with college-aged ISM volunteers. Stable Internet means guests can – and do – blog about the savagery of targeted Israeli self-defense operations, tweet about the wonderful bravery of Hamas's human shields, and even upload galleries of the beach side terrace to Flickr. Since the clientele skews young, it's no surprise that past guests have set up a Marna House hotel & restaurant Facebook page so they can "share memories" of their bitter twilight struggle against Occupation. The crappy resolution on the uploaded photos are a testament to the grittiness of the experience:

The Al Deira hotel, built along Gaza's coast in sun dried mud bricks, is an option somewhere in between the Al Deira and the Marna House. Though the hotel boasts 22 spacious rooms and a world-class staff – enough so that some regular Western European diplomats and anti-Israel human rights investigators actually prefer it to the Grand Palace – the experience exudes down-to-earth Mediterranean hospitality. Bookworms will find a shop in the lobby specializing in Middle Eastern works of fiction, historical biographies, and conspiracy theories demonizing Jews. Wireless Internet is available for $2/hr or $10/day, and a fully equipped business center is available for $6/hr.

WHERE TO SHOP

Gaza's markets are simply overflowing with goods supplied by hundreds of smuggling tunnels, from food and clothing to widescreen TVs and even live cows. The depth and breadth of the selection is so astounding that smaller tunnel operators are actually getting run out of business because they can't compete with the scale of the larger operations.

Tourists hoping for bargains may nonetheless find themselves disappointed, however. Gaza's relatively healthy per capita income – higher than India's as a result of being the world's largest per-capita aid recipient – keeps demand robust and prices stable.

Still, wily locals will know where great deals can be found. Don't be afraid to ask for tips, either from your hotel clerk or from the attentive Hamas-provided tour guides who will be accompanying you everywhere. If you're lucky they might be able to track down one of the souvenir Goldstone headscarves, honoring brutal apartheid judge Richard Goldstone. They've unfortunately been selling out all over Gaza, so nothing's certain. Much more common are open air swap meets filled with kids selling automatic weapons.

Many tourists, especially Americans, find bartering to be distasteful or uncomfortable. This is especially true in the hustle and bustle of a market. If it's not your cup of tea, you can head over to Gaza's professional and well-stocked supermarkets for the kind of experience that you would find in any American chain.

WHERE TO DINE

All of the major luxury hotels have food facilities, with the seaside terrace restaurant at the Al Diera hotel being a local favorite. It's known for its view, its mezes (small Mediterranean-style dishes), and its fresh strawberry juice. Gazans will top the juice off with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, which is perfect for getting through the hot desert summer days.

If you're looking to get away from hotels, you can't do better than Roots. The well-known restaurant, part of the Cactus for Development Group's family of fine dining restaurants – "new standards in the hospitality business in Palestine!!!" – emphasizes that you should call ahead for reservations. Their full blown interactive menu here.

Visitors are strongly cautioned not to drink tap water while in the Gaza Strip. The Palestinians have severely overpumped Gaza's wells, perhaps irreparably depleting the water table and leaving it open to mass contamination. Ground water is therefore not potable. Stick instead to bottled water, which is regularly supplied by Israel and imported through smuggling tunnels.

WHERE TO PLAY

Gaza summers revolve around whatever Gaza beaches aren't being used at the time to hack up critically endangered sea turtles for their ostensibly magical blood. Whether it's relaxing with friends, exercising with a partner, or watching an AP stringer set up photo shoots in anticipation of captions about beach life being "the only escape available to Gaza children" – there's always something interesting going on.

The beaches do get crowded, and the new mandatory Hamas dress code makes them somewhat drab, so at some point you may want to join other relatively wealthy foreigners at Gaza's nearby, full-time luxury spa. There you'll find a steam room, a sauna, a small gym and a beauty parlor that offers facials and massages.

WHERE TO DRINK

Unfortunately, the Hamas government declared a total ban on alcohol importation and consumption in 2009. Even hotels frequented by well-intentioned Westerners such as yourselves are banned from serving liquor, a substance that Muslims find objectionable. Stores and clubs that fail to adhere to the ban get bombed.

WHERE TO WORSHIP

Unfortunately, non-Muslims will find few options for worship in the Gaza Strip. The synagogues left by withdrawing Israelis were immediately desecrated and destroyed. Most Christian churches were long ago transformed into mosques. Visiters are also advised to avoid gathering in Christian bookstores, which increasingly get bombed, or around actual Christians, who increasingly get killed.

WHERE TO DANCE

Unfortunately, Hamas has banned women from dancing, as well as from wearing all but the most conservative outfits.

WHERE TO LISTEN

Unfortunately, music shops and performances have also been deemed un-Islamic in recent years, to the detriment of music shop owners and performers.

WHERE TO GET ONLINE

Unfortunately, visitors are advised to avoid Internet cafes because they get bombed.

References:

* CNN Lends Credence to Protestors Embellishment [News Busters]

* Behind the Headlines: The Israeli humanitarian lifeline to Gaza [israel MFA]

* Thwart the 'peace crusaders' [YNet]

* Gaza protest boat sails into Lebanon [Jerusalem Post]

* Watchers Council – What American Universities Will Tolerate These Days… [Mere Rhetoric]

* UN Palestinian Stooge: "It's Obvious" That Israeli Attack Violated 48-Hour Truce That No One Knew About Until Now [Mere Rhetoric]

* UN: "Clerical Error" Made Us Mistakenly Think Israel Bombed UNRWA School. Opps. [Mere Rhetoric]

* Gaza Hospitals Overflowing With Hamas Weapons, Palestinian Vigilante Murder [Mere Rhetoric]

* Hamas Blowing Out The Kneecaps Of Fatah-Linked Gaza Civilians, Executing Dozens [Mere Rhetoric]

* Palestinian Non-Civil War Watch – Now They're Throwing Each Other Off Roofs [Mere Rhetoric]

* Palestinian Non-Civil War Watch – Insanity (Updated: Content Warning) [Mere Rhetoric]

* Palestinian senior Fatah leader, Nabil Shaath, right, meets Hamas leader Khalil Al-Haya, left, in the Grand Palace hotel in Gaza City, Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2010. [AP Photo]

* Hamas Prepares 15,000 Soldiers, Civilian Human Shields For Full Confrontation With Israel [Mere Rhetoric]

* Marna House hotel & resturant [Facebook]

* New Data Confirms Old Data: Blaming Israel For Gaza's Medical Collapse Is A Vicious Lie [Mere Rhetoric]

* More Photos from the Gaza Concentration Camp [indyMedia]

* Wide Screen TV in Gaza [solomonia]

* A cow is lowered into an underground chamber as Palestinians continue to smuggle supplies and animals through tunnels between Rafah, southern Gaza Strip and Egypt [Getty Images]

* Aww… Glut Of Gaza Products Putting Small-Time Smugglers Out Of Business [Mere Rhetoric]

* EU: Another 40 Million Euros To Hamas Will Totally Bring Peace To Middle East [Mere Rhetoric]

* Gaza gift shop markets 'Goldstone' headscarves [AFP]

* Anti-Israel Left Ignores Goldstone's Apartheid Past, Fabricates Israeli/South African Nuke Deal Instead [Mere Rhetoric]

* Kids Selling Weapons At Gaza Auto Market [Mere Rhetoric]

* New Data Confirms Old Data: Blaming Israel For Gaza's Medical Collapse Is A Vicious Lie [Mere Rhetoric]

* Palestinians Parch Themselves, Blame Israel [Mere Rhetoric]

* Palestinians Hack Up Critically Endangered Giant Sea Turtle For Its Magical Blood [Video] [Mere Rhetoric]

* Hamas patrols beaches in Gaza to enforce conservative dress code [Guardian]

* At Gaza's only spa, the well-heeled find relief [AFP]

* Palestinians End Truce They Never Started. AP Blames Israel, Comes Frighteningly Close to Outright Lying [Mere Rhetoric]

* Palestinians Rampage, Destroy Synagogues [Mere Rhetoric]

* Peaceful Relations Watch – Christian Bookstore Director Murdered In Gaza [Mere Rhetoric]

* AP: Gaza Christians Have Been Living Peacefully, Now Under Attack By Unknown Extremists [Mere Rhetoric]

* Hamas Bans Women Dancers, Scooter Riders in Gaza Push (Update1) [bloomberg]

* Schoolgirls in Hamas-run Gaza told to wear Islamic dress [AFP]

* Who Are These Peaceful Loving Palestinian People, And Why Do They Seem So Non-Peace Loving? [Mere Rhetoric]

* And the Wheels Come Off – (2) Gaza [Mere Rhetoric]

Related Mere Rhetoric Categories:

* Human Rights

* Israel

* Anti-Israel Journalism

• 

Israel Publishes Gaza Travel Guidebook For Pro-Hamas Freedom Flotilla

By Omri CerenPublished: May 26, 2010Posted in: Arab and Muslim World, Diplomacy, Human Rights, Israel, Palestinians, World NewsTags: Europe, gaza, hamas, Human Rights, Israel, Palestinians, terrorism

FROM: Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs

TO: Free Gaza Freedom Flotilla

RE: Gaza Tourism Guide

Dear Crazy People,

We've been given to understand that you intend to stage another media stunt, wherein you're again going to float some empty ships – they may be full this time, they were mostly empty last time – in the general direction of the Gaza Strip. Your hope is apparently that your cameramen will capture the Israeli reaction and edit it into an overreaction or, failing that, simply reprint your feverish fantasies with slack-jawed credulity. Again.

Our problem isn't so much that your goal involves obfuscating the millions of tons of food and aid we've delivered to Gaza civilians, which allowed Hamas to move money away from infrastructure and into weaponry, which led to more of our cities getting bombarded with rockets and missiles. It's not even how, knowing that we deliver 15,000 tons of goods every week, your 10,000 tons of concrete isn't exactly a shining testament to your good intentions. Not when just last week we handed over 810,209 liters of heavy duty diesel fuel, 21 truckloads of milk powder and baby food, 897 tons of cooking gas, 66 truckloads of fruits and vegetables, 51 truckloads of wheat, 27 truckloads of meat, chicken and fish products, 40 truckloads of dairy products, 117 truckloads of animal feed, 36 truckloads of hygiene products, 38 trucks of clothing, 22 trucks of sugar and 4 trucks of medicine and medical equipment. But again: not the issue.

Really what we're concerned about is that you suck at driving boats. Last time you only had one ship and you still managed to crash it because – of all things – you tried to outmaneuver an Israeli Navy vessel. This time you're bringing nine boats. While we fully expect our Navy to interdict all of you, a legal and justified act under black letter maritime law, the odds are overwhelming that one of you tools is going to accidentally ground your boat. Given your obvious intention of creating a spectacle and your similarly obvious inability to manage same, it's pretty much inevitable.

If and when that happens, we'd like you to have at least some sense of how to survive in Gaza City. The alternative is you running across the border – complaining the whole time about our security checkpoints – and that would be awkward for everyone.

So we've put together this Gaza Tourism Guide, complete with picture galleries, which we believe to be the most comprehensive ever assembled on the web.

We know that after looking over everything, you'll be as excited to stay in Gaza as we are to have you there. Feel free to pass this on at your ISM tabling sessions at Evergreen or whatever you people do on college campuses in between advocating genocide. And in the future, if you really want to repeatedly create Gaza media spectacles so you can damage Israel's reputation, do what everyone else does. Join the UN.

WHERE TO SLEEP

Gaza City's luxury hotels are located on the Gaza coastline in the posh district of Ramal, which gets its name from the Arabic word for "sands." Ramal serves as a central gathering place for international and domestic dignitaries. Foreign officials are often found in the area, speaking about Gaza's unbearable plight at the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights during the day, before retiring to the United Nations beach club at night. Top Hamas officials also congregate in the area, and can be easily identified during wartime as the ones hiding in the half-bunker/half-silo basement of the district's Shifa Hospital. As can be expected the accommodations and eateries in Ramal are superb.

At the far end of the luxury spectrum, the Grand Palace Hotel has a direct beach view and puts guests literally across the street from the Mediterranean Sea. The building's decadent Crystal Hall – included in the gallery below – makes it a much-desired banquet location for first weddings, second weddings, and martyrdom celebrations. Those seeking to secure the room are advised to book well in advance.

The Grand Palace's sprawling facilities also make it a prime location for political and corporate events. When Fatah leader Nabil Shaath returned to the Gaza Strip in 2010, entering the territory for the first time since Hamas had violently seized control in a 2007 campaign that involved shooting out the kneecaps of Fatah-linked civilians, throwing them off roofs, and executing them in the streets – this is where Shaath met with his Hamas counterparts.

If you're looking for a younger vibe you might want to check out the Marna House. The warm family-run establishment is like a home away from home. Though it's Gaza's oldest hotel, the blending of modern luxury with the ethos of anti-Zionist resistance has made it a favorite with college-aged ISM volunteers. Stable Internet means guests can – and do – blog about the savagery of targeted Israeli self-defense operations, tweet about the wonderful bravery of Hamas's human shields, and even upload galleries of the beach side terrace to Flickr. Since the clientele skews young, it's no surprise that past guests have set up a Marna House hotel & restaurant Facebook page so they can "share memories" of their bitter twilight struggle against Occupation. The crappy resolution on the uploaded photos are a testament to the grittiness of the experience:

The Al Deira hotel, built along Gaza's coast in sun dried mud bricks, is an option somewhere in between the Al Deira and the Marna House. Though the hotel boasts 22 spacious rooms and a world-class staff – enough so that some regular Western European diplomats and anti-Israel human rights investigators actually prefer it to the Grand Palace – the experience exudes down-to-earth Mediterranean hospitality. Bookworms will find a shop in the lobby specializing in Middle Eastern works of fiction, historical biographies, and conspiracy theories demonizing Jews. Wireless Internet is available for $2/hr or $10/day, and a fully equipped business center is available for $6/hr.

WHERE TO SHOP

Gaza's markets are simply overflowing with goods supplied by hundreds of smuggling tunnels, from food and clothing to widescreen TVs and even live cows. The depth and breadth of the selection is so astounding that smaller tunnel operators are actually getting run out of business because they can't compete with the scale of the larger operations.

Tourists hoping for bargains may nonetheless find themselves disappointed, however. Gaza's relatively healthy per capita income – higher than India's as a result of being the world's largest per-capita aid recipient – keeps demand robust and prices stable.

Still, wily locals will know where great deals can be found. Don't be afraid to ask for tips, either from your hotel clerk or from the attentive Hamas-provided tour guides who will be accompanying you everywhere. If you're lucky they might be able to track down one of the souvenir Goldstone headscarves, honoring brutal apartheid judge Richard Goldstone. They've unfortunately been selling out all over Gaza, so nothing's certain. Much more common are open air swap meets filled with kids selling automatic weapons.

Many tourists, especially Americans, find bartering to be distasteful or uncomfortable. This is especially true in the hustle and bustle of a market. If it's not your cup of tea, you can head over to Gaza's professional and well-stocked supermarkets for the kind of experience that you would find in any American chain.

WHERE TO DINE

All of the major luxury hotels have food facilities, with the seaside terrace restaurant at the Al Diera hotel being a local favorite. It's known for its view, its mezes (small Mediterranean-style dishes), and its fresh strawberry juice. Gazans will top the juice off with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, which is perfect for getting through the hot desert summer days.

If you're looking to get away from hotels, you can't do better than Roots. The well-known restaurant, part of the Cactus for Development Group's family of fine dining restaurants – "new standards in the hospitality business in Palestine!!!" – emphasizes that you should call ahead for reservations. Their full blown interactive menu here.

Visitors are strongly cautioned not to drink tap water while in the Gaza Strip. The Palestinians have severely overpumped Gaza's wells, perhaps irreparably depleting the water table and leaving it open to mass contamination. Ground water is therefore not potable. Stick instead to bottled water, which is regularly supplied by Israel and imported through smuggling tunnels.

WHERE TO PLAY

Gaza summers revolve around whatever Gaza beaches aren't being used at the time to hack up critically endangered sea turtles for their ostensibly magical blood. Whether it's relaxing with friends, exercising with a partner, or watching an AP stringer set up photo shoots in anticipation of captions about beach life being "the only escape available to Gaza children" – there's always something interesting going on.

The beaches do get crowded, and the new mandatory Hamas dress code makes them somewhat drab, so at some point you may want to join other relatively wealthy foreigners at Gaza's nearby, full-time luxury spa. There you'll find a steam room, a sauna, a small gym and a beauty parlor that offers facials and massages.

WHERE TO DRINK

Unfortunately, the Hamas government declared a total ban on alcohol importation and consumption in 2009. Even hotels frequented by well-intentioned Westerners such as yourselves are banned from serving liquor, a substance that Muslims find objectionable. Stores and clubs that fail to adhere to the ban get bombed.

WHERE TO WORSHIP

Unfortunately, non-Muslims will find few options for worship in the Gaza Strip. The synagogues left by withdrawing Israelis were immediately desecrated and destroyed. Most Christian churches were long ago transformed into mosques. Visiters are also advised to avoid gathering in Christian bookstores, which increasingly get bombed, or around actual Christians, who increasingly get killed.

WHERE TO DANCE

Unfortunately, Hamas has banned women from dancing, as well as from wearing all but the most conservative outfits.

WHERE TO LISTEN

Unfortunately, music shops and performances have also been deemed un-Islamic in recent years, to the detriment of music shop owners and performers.

WHERE TO GET ONLINE

Unfortunately, visitors are advised to avoid Internet cafes because they get bombed.

References:

* CNN Lends Credence to Protestors Embellishment [News Busters]

* Behind the Headlines: The Israeli humanitarian lifeline to Gaza [israel MFA]

* Thwart the 'peace crusaders' [YNet]

* Gaza protest boat sails into Lebanon [Jerusalem Post]

* Watchers Council – What American Universities Will Tolerate These Days… [Mere Rhetoric]

* UN Palestinian Stooge: "It's Obvious" That Israeli Attack Violated 48-Hour Truce That No One Knew About Until Now [Mere Rhetoric]

* UN: "Clerical Error" Made Us Mistakenly Think Israel Bombed UNRWA School. Opps. [Mere Rhetoric]

* Gaza Hospitals Overflowing With Hamas Weapons, Palestinian Vigilante Murder [Mere Rhetoric]

* Hamas Blowing Out The Kneecaps Of Fatah-Linked Gaza Civilians, Executing Dozens [Mere Rhetoric]

* Palestinian Non-Civil War Watch – Now They're Throwing Each Other Off Roofs [Mere Rhetoric]

* Palestinian Non-Civil War Watch – Insanity (Updated: Content Warning) [Mere Rhetoric]

* Palestinian senior Fatah leader, Nabil Shaath, right, meets Hamas leader Khalil Al-Haya, left, in the Grand Palace hotel in Gaza City, Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2010. [AP Photo]

* Hamas Prepares 15,000 Soldiers, Civilian Human Shields For Full Confrontation With Israel [Mere Rhetoric]

* Marna House hotel & resturant [Facebook]

* New Data Confirms Old Data: Blaming Israel For Gaza's Medical Collapse Is A Vicious Lie [Mere Rhetoric]

* More Photos from the Gaza Concentration Camp [indyMedia]

* Wide Screen TV in Gaza [solomonia]

* A cow is lowered into an underground chamber as Palestinians continue to smuggle supplies and animals through tunnels between Rafah, southern Gaza Strip and Egypt [Getty Images]

* Aww… Glut Of Gaza Products Putting Small-Time Smugglers Out Of Business [Mere Rhetoric]

* EU: Another 40 Million Euros To Hamas Will Totally Bring Peace To Middle East [Mere Rhetoric]

* Gaza gift shop markets 'Goldstone' headscarves [AFP]

* Anti-Israel Left Ignores Goldstone's Apartheid Past, Fabricates Israeli/South African Nuke Deal Instead [Mere Rhetoric]

* Kids Selling Weapons At Gaza Auto Market [Mere Rhetoric]

* New Data Confirms Old Data: Blaming Israel For Gaza's Medical Collapse Is A Vicious Lie [Mere Rhetoric]

* Palestinians Parch Themselves, Blame Israel [Mere Rhetoric]

* Palestinians Hack Up Critically Endangered Giant Sea Turtle For Its Magical Blood [Video] [Mere Rhetoric]

* Hamas patrols beaches in Gaza to enforce conservative dress code [Guardian]

* At Gaza's only spa, the well-heeled find relief [AFP]

* Palestinians End Truce They Never Started. AP Blames Israel, Comes Frighteningly Close to Outright Lying [Mere Rhetoric]

* Palestinians Rampage, Destroy Synagogues [Mere Rhetoric]

* Peaceful Relations Watch – Christian Bookstore Director Murdered In Gaza [Mere Rhetoric]

* AP: Gaza Christians Have Been Living Peacefully, Now Under Attack By Unknown Extremists [Mere Rhetoric]

* Hamas Bans Women Dancers, Scooter Riders in Gaza Push (Update1) [bloomberg]

* Schoolgirls in Hamas-run Gaza told to wear Islamic dress [AFP]

* Who Are These Peaceful Loving Palestinian People, And Why Do They Seem So Non-Peace Loving? [Mere Rhetoric]

* And the Wheels Come Off – (2) Gaza [Mere Rhetoric]

Related Mere Rhetoric Categories:

* Human Rights

* Israel

* Anti-Israel Journalism

:clap2:Way too much time on your hands UG

Way too much time on your hands UG

I did not write it. I just posted it.

Ian earlier post in a different topic about this I have clearly shown and explained the applicable laws, rules and resolutions that show this pirate attack was clearly unlawful.

The usual peeps here will again disagree, so no need to further explain to them.

No worries, the rule of law does not seem applicable to a group of people that believe they are the chosen ones based on some fictional writing and using the alleged mass killings of their people some 70 years ago to push their agenda and illegally occupy certain pieces of land that clearly do not belong to them.

Illegally entering a ship in international waters is just considered OK, by their standards.

Take care all and hope this not ends up in the thread being closed.

Alex

Good post, UG.

I see this thread awoke FarangCravings from a deep sleep.

Ian earlier post in a different topic about this I have clearly shown and explained the applicable laws, rules and resolutions that show this pirate attack was clearly unlawful.

I pointed out that there is nothing illegal about a military blockade against a hostile entity and provided plenty of legal evidence to back it up. The "pirates" were the activists on the Hamas Flotilla. "The program also concluded that the Israeli commandos encountered a violent, premeditated attack by a hardcore group of Turkish IHH members".

This from Wikipedia:

______________________________________________________

According to human rights groups, the council is controlled by a bloc of Islamic and African states, backed by China, Cuba and Russia, who protect each other from criticism.[3] UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon and former High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson have criticized the council for acting according to political considerations as opposed to human rights. Specifically, Secretaries General Kofi Annan and Ban Ki Moon, the council's president Doru Costea, the European Union, Canada and the United States have accused the council of focusing disproportionately on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.[4][5][6] The United States boycotted the Council during the George W. Bush administration, but reversed its position on it during the Obama administration.[7]

_______________________________________________________

http://en.wikipedia...._Rights_Council

_______________________________________________________

And now a list of the current country delegates:

Angola

Argentina

Bahrain

Bangladesh

Belgium

Brazil

Burkina Faso

Cameroon

Chile

China

Cuba

Djibouti

Ecuador

France

Gabon

Ghana

Guatemala

Hungary

Japan

Jordan

Kyrgyzstan

Libyan Arab Jamahiriya

Malaysia

Maldives

Mauritania

Mauritius

Mexico

Nigeria

Norway

Pakistan

Poland

Qatar

Republic of Korea

Republic of Moldova

Russian Federation

Saudi Arabia

Senegal

Slovakia

Spain

Switzerland

Thailand

Uganda

Ukraine

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

United States of America

Uruguay

Zambia

Not surprisingly, I don't many fans of Israel on this list. How about you?

The list of Israeli fans shrinks constantly, mainly through the unlawful actions such as the raid on the "Hamas Flotilla".

They only have themselves to blame.

Fending on armed Israeli commandos raiding your ship in International waters is not "a violent premeditated attack" as alluded to in post#13. It's actually called self defense against pirates, that are storming your ship in International waters. Too bad the Turkish weren't armed with guns.

Deja Vu

Fending on armed Israeli commandos raiding your ship in International waters is not "a violent premeditated attack" as alluded to in post#13.

It is when it is a premeditated plan to cause violence by running a legal military blockade to prevent weapons from reaching a terrorist group who fire rockets into Israel on almost a daily basis.

If the Turkish thugs had used guns there would have been a lot more dead terrorists and "useful idiots" than there were. It seems that some people think that is a good thing.

Have any of the defenders of the Israeli murderers properly explained why all video footage was confiscated by the IDF?

Al Jazeera was showing video footage from their own reporter on board the next day and claiming that there had been no provocations, attacks or anything but peaceful behavior by the Turkish activists. In other words, all the footage was not confiscated and the people on the boat lied their heads off about what happened until the Israeli footage appeared and proved them to be dishonest.

pity the footage that was confiscated wasnt returned unedited for the world to see and that some of the laptops confiscated were stolen

That is a real shame. I don't think that they gave back their steel clubs and knives either.

Let's hear it again for the unbiased voting against Israel.

Now that the UNHRC has taken care of the Turkish invasion, they can address the Islamophobia situation throughout the world.

This just in today:

_________________________________________________________

Muslim Nations Call for U.N. to Track ‘Islamophobia’

U.N. Human Rights Commissioner Navanethem Pillay has agreed to consider the proposal, according to the OIC, a bloc of Islamic nations.

Friday, September 24, 2010

By Patrick Goodenough

Five years after establishing an “Islamophobia Observatory” of its own, the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) is now calling on the U.N.’s top human rights official to set up a comparable body at her Geneva office. According to the OIC, human rights commissioner Navanethem Pillay has agreed to consider the proposal.

At the U.N. Human Rights Council this week, OIC members are also seeking support for a resolution condemning Florida pastor Terry Jones’ abortive call to burn copies of the Quran on September 11.

Introduced by Pakistan on behalf of the OIC, the text condemns “the recent call by an extremist group to organize a ‘Burn a Koran Day’” and says it was among “instances of intolerance, discrimination, profiling and acts of violence against Muslims occurring in many parts of the world.”

When it comes to a vote -- before the Council’s session in Geneva ends next Friday -- the measure almost certainly will pass. The OIC controls more than one-third of the Council’s seats, and its resolutions are routinely backed by non-Muslim allies such as China, Russia, Cuba and South Africa.

Remainder of article here: http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/75750

Ian earlier post in a different topic about this I have clearly shown and explained the applicable laws, rules and resolutions that show this pirate attack was clearly unlawful.

I pointed out that there is nothing illegal about a military blockade against a hostile entity and provided plenty of legal evidence to back it up. The "pirates" were the activists on the Hamas Flotilla. "The program also concluded that the Israeli commandos encountered a violent, premeditated attack by a hardcore group of Turkish IHH members".

The pre meditated attack was from the Israelis who stormed the ship in the dead of night

Was not sleeping CHUCK D was given a short holiday just like UG and Harcourt was

That is a real shame. I don't think that they gave back their steel clubs and knives either.

The Knives and clubs would not show the real story would it but the confiscated video CCTV cameras cell phones could of told the world the real story instead the israeli propoganda machine selectivly edits it and releases it to the BBC and the world trying to show they were the victims in this

The good thing is the world is no longer falling for the complete BS the Israeli government spouts

Fending on armed Israeli commandos raiding your ship in International waters is not "a violent premeditated attack" as alluded to in post#13.

It is when it is a premeditated plan to cause violence by running a legal military blockade to prevent weapons from reaching a terrorist group who fire rockets into Israel on almost a daily basis.

If the Turkish thugs had used guns there would have been a lot more dead terrorists and "useful idiots" than there were. It seems that some people think that is a good thing.

Quick correction on your facts UG

!.) Lets call them fireworks cause that's what they really are

2.) they never got to the blockade the ship was attacked in the dead of night in International waters 70 miles from the blockade

3.) They did not use guns the Israeli thugs were the ones doing the ALL the Killing AS USUAL

Quick correction on your facts UG

Facts?

Try these.

1.) Qassam rockets and mortars are lethal weapons and that is an indisputable fact.

2.) A military blockade at sea is not in a particular place or everyone would go around it. It is to prevent ships from bringing supplies to a hostile entity without being searched.

3) They used metal pipes, knives and other clubs and forced a confrontation and then cried about it after they got exactly what they asked for.

I do not have any problem with facts.

Was not sleeping CHUCK D was given a short holiday

Another incorrect "fact".

Was not sleeping CHUCK D was given a short holiday

Another incorrect "fact".

Whats incorrect UG we both got a holiday did we not ????

As far as I know Chuckd did not get one.

Sheeeh

was not sleeping CHUCK D.

I was given a short holiday

Happy now MR UG Guess you going to give me a grammar lesson now since you seem to know everything,

A punctuation lesson might help more in this case.