As anti-Israel aid convoy nears Gaza, the government responds

Originally posted at American Thinker

Richard Goldstone must be feeling proud today. After all it is the winds of the U.N. Goldstone Report driving the Freedom Flotilla into the harbor of Gaza. Perception is often considered reality. And there is no greater example of perception trumping reality than the idea that Israel has caused a humanitarian crisis in Gaza and that ships full of international aid must come to the rescue.
Noble Peace Laureate, Mairead Maguire, who is participating in the Freedom Flotilla, added to the perception of crisis in her piece "Tribute to the People of Gaza." Maguire writes, "In 2007 Israel commenced its devastating blockade of the strip. Essentially the blockade represents a draconian policy by Israel. A minimum amount of basic subsistence goods are allowed to enter the strip with the intention of holding a malnourished population just short of outright starvation." She ends by saying, "This trip will again highlight Israel's criminal blockade and illegal occupation." Not once in her pontificating piece did she mention the criminal and illegal activities of Hamas, who are the real reason Israel denies carte blanche entry of all shipments into Gaza.
Trying his best to counter the propaganda, Israel's Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said, "The aid convoy is violent propaganda against Israel, and Israel will not allow its sovereignty to be threatened in any way, in any place - land, air or sea. There is no humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. Despite Hamas' war crimes against Israeli citizens and the thousands of rockets fired at Israeli towns, Israel continues to respond in the most humane way possible."
In the short message below, Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesman Yigal Palmor also tries to dismantle the perception that Israel denies the people of Gaza humanitarian aid. Palmor reminds the world that over a million tons of aid have been allowed into Gaza since 2009. That's almost a ton of aid for each man, woman, and child in Gaza. One would think that such facts would take the wind out of the flotilla sails. But the Goldstone gale will most likely prevail for a very long time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wlWcNXzstI