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Sent on behalf of the humanitarian activists on aboard the Rachel Corrie In recent developments, the Netanyahu government is in crisis: "Senior ministers [of the Netanyahu cabinet] have been sharply critical of the fact that the decision to seize control of the flotilla to Gaza was made after two meetings of the forum of seven senior ministers but without official deliberation by the inner cabinet, the body that has the authority to approve military actions of this scale." What this suggests is that the actual decision to conduct the raids in international waters bypassed the Cabinet. (Haaretz.com headlines RSS) The question remains: if the Israeli cabinet did not ratify the operation, who ordered the raids and through what procedure? What were the respective roles of Israeli intelligence and the IDF in planning these raids? What role was played by Rahm Emmanuel, Obama's White House Chief of Staff, who had meetings with both Netanyahu and president Shimon Peres, respectively on May 26 and 27? Did Rahm Emmanuel meet officials of Israel's military and intelligence establishment? Did the Obama administration give the Green Light? It is important that this news gets out, with a view to ensuring that the Rachel Corrie MV safely reaches the coast of Gaza without encroachment, with a view to breaking Israel's criminal embargo. In this endeavor we shall prevail. Our hearts and minds are with those who continue to sail on board the Rachel Corrie MV. It should be noted that Israel has not in any way modified its policy with regard to the Rachel Corrie MV: There are two more ships heading for Gaza including the Rachel Corrie MV. Israel has promised "to respond even more harshly": “Israel will use more aggressive force in the future to prevent ships from breaking the sea blockade on the Gaza Strip, a top Navy commander told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday. “We boarded the ship and were attacked as if it was a war,” the officer said. “That will mean that we will have to come prepared in the future as if it was a war.” (www.ynetnews.com) The Rachel Corrie MV is in part supported by the Perdana Global Peace Organization under the helm of the Malaysia's former Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. Global Research Director Michel Chossudovsky is a member of the Perdana Global Peace Organisation and of the Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Commission.
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