{"id":1003,"date":"2010-05-27T01:24:20","date_gmt":"2010-05-27T00:24:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.raymondcook.net\/blog\/?p=1003"},"modified":"2011-05-18T16:08:02","modified_gmt":"2011-05-18T15:08:02","slug":"a-tale-of-two-flotillas-dunkirk-and-gaza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.raymondcook.net\/blog\/index.php\/2010\/05\/27\/a-tale-of-two-flotillas-dunkirk-and-gaza\/","title":{"rendered":"A tale of two flotillas: Dunkirk and Gaza"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Today marks the 70th anniversary of the retreat of British forces from the beaches of Dunkirk. A heroic flotilla of small ships left English ports to rescue as many troops as they could whilst under fire and bombardment by Nazi forces.<\/p>\n

On this day 70 years later a smaller flotilla of just eight or is it nine boats is heading for Gaza with the expressed aim of breaking the blockade and bringing much needed relief to one and a half million starving Gazans. Unlike the bravehearts of Dunkirk, this flotilla will succeed whatever the outcome.<\/p>\n

But it’s a big lie, a huge con trick whose underlying intent is not to help Gaza but to demonise Israel and provoke it to take action which will will further damage its reputation. To that extent, it’s little different than a missile fired at Sderot.<\/p>\n

Yesterday IDF Colonel Moshe Levi declared “No Humanitarian Crisis in the Gaza Strip”<\/a><\/p>\n

We do not know of a shortage in any field, and we enable the entrance of various different goods, and also the export of agricultural products from the Gaza Strip. Anything that would help Hamas to increase its military power is obviously not permitted to enter,\u201d said Col. Levi. In addition to that he demonstrated the data collected by the Gaza DCO that shows that 6,000 Palestinians exited the Gaza Strip to receive medical treatment in Israel and Jordan..<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Some blockade but it gets better: take a look at the IDF blog<\/a> for 25th May 2010. I’m sorry, but it’s worth quoting in almost its entirety, it’s just too good to miss:<\/p>\n

Food Products and Clothing:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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  1. Most types of food are allowed into the Strip, and are transferred by the private sector or by international organizations.<\/em><\/li>\n
  2. During 2009, 30,920 trucks containing 800,000 tons of supplies were transferred into Gaza. This included fruits and vegetables, meat products, poultry and fish, dairy products, sugar, rice and legumes, flour and yeast, oil, and more. Furthermore, 10,871 heads of cattle were transferred for the Muslim holidays of Ramadan and Eid al-Adha.<\/em><\/li>\n
  3. In the first quarter of 2010 (January-March), 94,500 tons of supplies were transferred in 3,676 trucks to the Strip: 48,000 tons of food products; 40,000 tons of wheat; 2,760 tons of rice; 1,987 tons of clothes and footwear; 553 tons of milk powder and baby food.<\/em><\/li>\n
  4. In 2009, 572 trucks containing approximately 5,000 tons of medical supplies entered the Strip.<\/em><\/li>\n
  5. In the first quarter of 2010 (January-March) 1,068 tons of medicine and medical equipment were transferred in 152 trucks.<\/em><\/li>\n
  6. In 2009 two elevators were transferred to hospitals in Gaza, as was a CT imaging system (to the Red Cross hospital), and equipment for a mammography machine (which checks for breast cancer).<\/em><\/li>\n
  7. During the first quarter of 2010 four trucks with special supplies for a project of the \u201cAl Quds\u201d hospital were transferred to the Gaza Strip, and an additional 13 trucks are scheduled to cross.<\/em><\/li>\n
  8. Due to fears of a swine flu outbreak, three Israeli hospitals were assigned to treat cases in the Gaza Strip and 44,500 immunizations were transferred to the Strip.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Equipment for Essential Civilian Infrastructure:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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    1. In 2009 Israel transferred 41 trucks of equipment for the maintenance of the electricity grid, and the state continues to provide approximately 60% of Gaza\u2019s electricity.<\/em><\/li>\n
    2. In 2009 over 105 million liters of fuel were transferred to Gaza\u2019s power plant and over 3.2 million liters of gas were transferred for UNWRA operations.<\/em><\/li>\n
    3. In 2009 127 trucks containing more than 3,000 tons of hypochlorite entered the Gaza Strip for water purification purposes. Moreover, 48 trucks of equipment for improving the sanitation infrastructure led to a substantial reduction in the Beit Lahya facility\u2019s waste levels.<\/em><\/li>\n
    4. As part of the preparations made for winter, 3,607 tons of glass was transferred to the Gaza Strip. According to UN reports, windows in all education and health institutions were repaired.<\/em><\/li>\n
    5. In the first quarter of 2010 Israel transferred: <\/em>\n