Ireland To Gaza 3

[Tyrones own]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11729423

This has got to be a misprint...surely they mean Israel 

[mylestheslasher]

To - if you are trying to make a point would you come out with it as I am not getting it.

[Hedley Lamarr]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11729423

This has got to be a misprint...surely they mean Israel 

Although very welcome....nothing compared to.....

[Hedley Lamarr]

Some very interesting reading...


http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RL33222.pdf

[Tyrones own]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11729423

This has got to be a misprint...surely they mean Israel 

Although very welcome....nothing compared to.....

Quite true hedley but I'm sure you'll agree, it's not bad for a people that hate what we stand for
...especially at a time when this country and it's citizens are on their knees!

[give her dixie]

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/u-s-to-store-another-400m-worth-of-emergency-military-equipment-in-israel-1.324046


The U.S. government is to move an additional $400 million worth of military equipment to emergency storage in Israel over the next two years.

The equipment, which includes so-called smart bombs, will stand at Israel's disposal in an emergency.

The U.S. Congress approved the hike last month, which will bring the value of American military equipment stockpiled in Israel to $1.2 billion by 2012. The story was first reported this week by Defense News magazine's reporter in Israel, Barbara Opall-Rome.

The U.S. stores equipment in Israel by virtue of a special clause in U.S. foreign aid law governing war reserves stockpiles for allies. According to the clause, the equipment can be utilized by American forces throughout the world, and also, in an emergency, by the military in the country where the equipment is stored.

The clause was originally intended to allow South Korea use of American equipment in case of a surprise attack by North Korea.

The type of equipment stockpiled in Israel is determined through dialogue between the Israel Defense Forces and the U.S. Army's European Command. The issue was raised in discussions last week during the visit by the IDF's logistics and technology chief, Maj. Gen. Dan Biton, at the Pentagon in Washington.

The agreement between the two armed forces also includes conditions under which the IDF may use the equipment. It is believed that a great deal of the equipment will include precision weapons launched from the air.

IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi said this week that in Israel's future wars, much more precise weaponry will be needed to strike urban targets from the air without injuring civilians.

During Operation Cast Lead, 81 percent of the missiles and bombs launched from the air on and by IDF artillery were of the precision type.

Use of the the American equipment is allowed with permission of the American administration; Israel used such U.S. weaponry during the Second Lebanon War.

The first time equipment was stockpiled in Israel was in 1990, when a ceiling of $100 million in value was set, which was raised to $300 million during the first Gulf War and later raised to $400 million. It was doubled in 2007 after the Second Lebanon War, and, as noted, will reach $1.2 billion by 2012.

It is assumed in Israel that the U.S. administration asked Congress to increase the value of U.S. emergency equipment to signal its continued commitment to Israel's security. It is also believed the increase is meant to as an indication to Israel that it will not need to mount a surprise attack on Iran's nuclear facilities and that it can take risks for peace.

Israel is also expected to be allowed more involvement in selecting the types of equipment and weapons to be stored here and greater freedom to use it in an emergency. The equipment is stored in special bases for emergency supplies that are under American supervision.

Ben-Gurion International Airport and a base in Nevatim are expected to stockpile U.S. equipment arriving by air during both war and peacetime.

The agreement on the additional stockpiling is part of the very significant upgrading in security relations between Israel and the United States, which also involved an increased number of joint exercises with the United States, during which joint command over complex operations were also drilled. The upgrading of relations in the security realm also involved the special allocation of $500 million to finance the purchase of an Iron Dome battery, and the signing two months ago of an agreement to supply the IAF with the first squadron of the future F-35 fighter aircraft.

[Tyrones own]

Any move that makes ahmadinejad think twice about lobbing a big one in to Tel Aviv
or Jerusalem can only be a good thing for all of us and not just Israel....well from a
logical persons standpoint anyway 

[Hedley Lamarr]

Crazy and all that "armour dinner jacket" comes across, I think that even he realises that if they strike Tel Aviv or Jerusalem then there will be as many if not more Arab deaths....so it's a non runner in my book.

It took long enough for the people in the six counties to say enough is enough, so here's hoping that the peace talks can be resumed and something positive come out of them.

May I take this opportunity to wish you all, a happy and peaceful festive break, and a peaceful and prosperous new year.

[seafoid]

Any move that makes ahmadinejad think twice about lobbing a big one in to Tel Aviv
or Jerusalem can only be a good thing for all of us and not just Israel....well from a
logical persons standpoint anyway 

Ahmadi nejad doesn't have to do anything.  Greater Israel is an apartheid state already  and will be brought down
over its refusal to grant civil rights to the 50% of its people who are not Jewish. The only unknown is the timing.

Israelis have no idea what is coming down the line. These soldiers are typical.

http://mondoweiss.net/2010/11/video-shows-israeli-soldiers-celebrating-the-demolition-of-houses-in-gaza.html

[give her dixie]

Well folks, another drama has been unfolding over the past 36 hours in the Med.
Below is a Gaurdian article on what has been happening.
The latest is that the ship is now just outside a Greek port, and commando's have boarded the ship.
A Coalisland man is one of those on board, and the current situation is tense.

I will keep you posted on developments as they unfold.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/nov/12/gaza-convoy-britons-held-greek-ship

BBC report: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11742056

At least six Britons and the leaders of an aid convoy heading for Gaza have been forcibly taken into Greek waters in a shipping dispute that has turned into an international naval incident.

The activists were on board a Maltese-flagged cargo vessel that forced its way out of the Libyan port of Derna yesterday before it could be fully loaded and headed for Greece, rather than the Palestinian territories, pursued by the Libyan navy.

The rest of the Road to Hope convoy, which includes around 40 other Britons, and up to £8m in supplies for the people of Gaza, remains in Derna in the hope that it can board a second ship tomorrow.

The Egyptian authorities have closed the land border crossing, forcing the convoy to go by sea to the Egyptian port of al-Arish, from where the supplies can be driven over the border to Gaza.

The aid convoy hopes to cross the border at Rafah to break what it says is the Israeli siege of Gaza and deliver civilian goods to the impoverished zone.

If it fails to cross before 15 November, organisers fear the convoy will be held up in Egypt for a long time by the Muslim festival of Eid.

Laura Stuart, one of the organisers waiting on the quayside at Derna, told the Guardian: "We had raised $75,000 to pay for the Maltese-flagged ship, Strofades IV, to take us to al-Arish.

"But the Greek captain changed his mind while one of our vehicles was already on the ramp and 10 of our people were on board. The chief of police from Derna and four other Libyan officials were also negotiating on the vessel.

"It was very, very dangerous. The captain drove his ship back and forwards, breaking the mooring ropes, bounced around the harbour and headed off to sea with the ramp doors still open." The dispute is understood to have been over money.

The Strofades IV was shadowed by Libyan navy ships until it entered Greek waters. The Greek authorities have boarded it and are questioning the crew and those transported against their wishes to Piraeus, the main port in Athens.

The Foreign Office has intervened, along with Greek and Libyan officials, to ensure that the Britons are not harmed.

The Foreign Office said: "We have been informed that the ship has now anchored outside of Piraeus port, and we understand docking will take a few hours. British embassy staff will provide consular assistance to the British nationals on board if requested.

"We remain in close contact with the Greek authorities, and our priority remains that there is a safe resolution to this incident."

As well as six British volunteers, two Irish citizens, one Algerian and three Libyan officials are on the Strofades IV. Among them is Ken O'Keefe, a former US marine who is a survivor of the Israeli attack on the Mavi Marmara off Gaza in May.

[Square Ball]

up date on the above
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-11757068

[Banana Man]

Tyrones Own I have a question for you, not being smart, I would like a view from a pro Israeli supporter. What is your view on the continuing settlements by the Israeli's?

[Tyrones own]

Tyrones Own I have a question for you, not being smart, I would like a view from a pro Israeli supporter. What is your view on the continuing settlements by the Israeli's?

So would I... Let me know when you talk to one.

[Banana Man]

Tyrones Own I have a question for you, not being smart, I would like a view from a pro Israeli supporter. What is your view on the continuing settlements by the Israeli's?

So would I... Let me know when you talk to one.

ffs lad it was a serious question don't be so defensive, it's quite obvious that you are pro-israeli, i'm just asking the question, what's your opinion?

[Tyrones own]

Tyrones Own I have a question for you, not being smart, I would like a view from a pro Israeli supporter. What is your view on the continuing settlements by the Israeli's?

So would I... Let me know when you talk to one.

ffs lad it was a serious question don't be so defensive, it's quite obvious that you are pro-israeli, i'm just asking the question, what's your opinion?

Really...how's that now? Read back over the thread and come back to me as I've already stated
where I stand.