"The relevant point is that they were murdered during the commission of an act of piracy on the high seas, a crime under international law no matter what excuse is offered".........

..... and while bringing much needed aid to rebuild basic structures of hospitals and schools, provided mobility and medicines for the injured etc banned from import by the Israeli government.


"Israel's Gaza blockade targets Hamas while citizens suffer"

'Israel said the blockade was intended to hold Hamas – which it views as a terrorist group – "responsible and accountable" for rocket attacks on Israeli territory.

It is also intended to constrain Hamas's ability to rule in Gaza.

The blockade, preventing all exports from Gaza and confining imports to a limited supply of humanitarian goods, has failed to bring down Hamas but has heaped misery on Gaza's 1.5 million residents.

The UN humanitarian co-ordinator said last week that the formal economy in Gaza has "collapsed" and 60% of households were short of food.
According to UN statistics, around 70% of Gazans live on less than $1 a day, 75% rely on food aid and 60% have no daily access to water.

The effect of the blockade was felt even more acutely in the aftermath of the invasion of the strip by Israeli forces in the winter of 2008-9, as materials needed for reconstruction were delayed or banned from entering Gaza.

A UN factfinding mission described the blockade as "collective punishment". .

From a simple straightforward report in The Guardian on 31 May 2010


If you really care for and want to bring about peace and reconciliation and diminish the causes of revenge and resentment then please call for the end to this blockade condemned as illegal and immoral by voices of protest throughout the world and inside Israel itself.

In the name of sanity how can the ban on childrens toys coriander and sage constitute a security risk to a country armed with nuclear devices?
Did shoes and clothing constitute offensive weaponry for 2.5 years before having their status as a security threat recently removed?

The ban is perpetuating a situation in which over 90% of industrial establishments in Gaza are closed or are operating at less than 10% of capacity.
Does the fact that Israel prevents the entry of margarine in large containers designed for the production of foodstuffs in Gaza, while it allows the entry of margarine in small packages (made in Israel) promote the economy in Gaza?

Which ever way you look at this it is -

'Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part'