Government Officials Against the Flotilla

NGO Monitor May 29, 2011

Los organizadores del la flotilla con Haniye

European Union

• Baroness Ashton, EU Ad-Hoc Liaison Committee for the Palestinian Territories, Brussels, April 13, 2011: «I do not consider a flotilla to be the right response.»
• Foreign Minister of Norway Jonas Gahr St?re, April 13, 2011: «all international supporters to make use of the existing land crossings to channel their support to Gaza, and abstain from provocations.»
• Charles Tannock MEP and Peter Van Dalen MEP from the European Conservatives and Reformists group, European Parliament, May 10, 2011: «This flotilla is deliberately intended to provoke Israel into a response. Given that Israel faces a daily threat from terrorist attacks by Hamas, it is well within its rights to take necessary action and impose a naval blockade to prevent weapons and other terrorist resources from entering the Gaza Strip.»

• EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid Kristalina Georgieva, May 18, 2011: «We are not in favor of attempts to help people in this way. One needs to work with the authorities in Israel in order to transfer humanitarian aid via the formal channels… and for this reason we implore the Israeli authorities to ease the passage of goods. We want to see all passageways open and all essential goods transferred. Today it is difficult to transfer vital commodities.»
• Foreign Minister of the Netherlands Uri Rosenthal, Dutch Parliament, April 28, 2011: «The Dutch government will unambiguously say that we are against this flotilla, and that for this, we are highly alert of the proceedings. Even if the flotilla would arrive to the Gaza strip, it would hardly contribute to the humanitarian situation there. It is hardly a political contribution. It could be counter effective to Dutch efforts in the peace process. If Dutch activists participate, it is detrimental to the Dutch efforts in Gaza and to the Dutch efforts to convince the Israelis to allow more export from the territory-the key topic at hand. It is true that one can’t prevent anyone from travelling the free sea. But we believe it is legitimate that Israel secures itself against flotilla actions based on martial law and maritime law. There is a de facto armed conflict between Israel and Hamas going on… Armed, illegal resistance would be contra legem…»
• Foreign Minister of Spain Trinidad Jimenez in the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Spanish Congress, May 4, 2011: humanitarian causes are positive, but the flotilla is not the appropriate way to achieve them.

United Nations

• Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, May 27, 2011: «The Secretary-General called on all Governments concerned to use their influence to discourage such flotillas, which carry the potential to escalate into violent conflict.»
• UN Spokesperson, July 23, 2010: «There are established routes for supplies to enter by land. That is the way aid should be delivered to the people of Gaza…»

United States

• US Ambassador Susan Rice, April 21, 2011: «There are distinct mechanisms to deliver goods to Gaza and there are no justifications to sail directly to Gaza.»

Canada

• Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird, May 28, 2011: «I strongly urge those wishing to deliver humanitarian goods to the Gaza Strip to do so through established channels. Unauthorized efforts to deliver aid are provocative and, ultimately, unhelpful to the people of Gaza. Canada recognizes Israel’s legitimate security concerns and its right to protect itself and its residents from attacks by Hamas and other terrorist groups, including by preventing the smuggling of weapons.»

International Committee for the Red Cross

• Mathilde Redmant, the deputy director of the International Committee of the Red Cross. April 21, 2011: «There is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza.»

United Kingdom

• British Prime Minister David Cameron, March 3, 2011: «When over 100 rockets are fired into Israel from Gaza in one year, Israel is within its rights to search vessels bringing cargo into Gaza.»
• Quartet Special Envoy Tony Blair, June 22, 2010: «Israel has got a genuine security concern that it is entitled to meet. For me, the fact that Israel says, ‘Look, we’re not going to allow things into the [Gaza] seaport, but you can bring them to Ashdod, and we can check them, and then they can come on to Gaza,’ I think that is a reasonable position.»

Líder de IHH con Haniye