Re: ‘Nanaimo man joins flotilla to Gaza strip’ (Daily News, Oct. 3)
I was in Jerusalem last week when I learned of local citizen and former MP Jim Manly embarking on his ill-advised voyage to Gaza.
What is regrettable is that such foolhardy quests attract attention at all. Exploitation of the difficulties of daily life in the crowded Gaza Strip is easy picking for the ill-informed.
If Manly were to visit Gaza today, he will find the stores well stocked with a wide range of goods, mostly Israeli and Egyptian.
Contrary to flotilla propagandists, Israel ships goods into Gaza continually. In fact, on Oct. 10, more than 284 truckloads of aid, including 70,000 litres of gasoline, flowed from Israel into the Gaza strip.
Manly states public polling shows a majority “think” the blockade is illegal. Clever manipulation but just wrong. International law is not established by public polling or propaganda campaigns.
After the tragic Mavi Marmara incident, the UN commissioned its own review to address the issue.
The Palmer Commission reported in July 2011 that the Israeli blockade is absolutely legal under International law.
It is easy for populations with secure borders to forget that the number one priority of any government is the safety and security of its citizens. Israel has been targeted by more than 6,230 rockets from Gaza alone in the past five years, killing 46 innocent civilians and injuring 1,700 more.
The dubious “success” of the Mavi Marmara provocation and the botched Israeli response was that the outrage in Egypt left a new government without the resolve to control the Gaza-Egypt border.
The smuggling of goods and arms through a maze of tunnels perpetuates conflict and makes the mission of the Estelle a farce. Upgraded rockets from Gaza put major Israeli populations in Sderot, Askelon, Ashdod and Beer-sheva within reach. Israel is not going to allow advanced weapons to arrive by sea while the jihadist Hamas regime continues to rearm and attack.
If Manly and his self-righteous shipmates were serious about humanitarian relief, they could steer their vessel a little north to Syria where civilians and insurgents are being slaughtered by army forces loyal to Bashar al Assad. What are the chances?
James Lunney, Member of Parliament Nanaimo-Alberni
