War | Solidarity

International Implications of the Flotilla Attack: Interview with Ziyaad Lunat

Submitted by R on June 5, 2010 - 3:55pm

What are the international implications of the Israeli attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla? Ziyaad Lunat, an activist for Palestinian rights and Outreach Coordinator for the Gaza Freedom March, provides his comments below.

Ryan: Could you describe the present situation regarding the Israeli attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla?

Ziyaad Lunat: Israel illegally attacked the six-boat flotilla carrying 700 human rights activists from 40 countries in international waters on its way to deliver badly needed humanitarian aid to Gaza. This was a violent attack on unarmed civilians in international waters. Passengers included a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, a Holocaust survivor, several members of parliament, a famous Swedish author and many others. Israel cited the San Remo Manual on Armed Conflicts at Sea to justify its operation, namely the paragraph 67 (a) that permits attacks on merchant vessels on neutral countries (Turkey, US, Greece) if they are in breach of a blockade. What Israel conveniently ignored is that the San Remo Manual also contains rules governing the lawfulness of blockades and there is no authority under international law that can enforce a blockade that is unlawful. Article 102 of the Manual prohibits a blockade "the damage to the civilian population is, or may be expected to be, excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated from the blockade.”

Israeli Ambassador Grilled on Apartheid in Atlanta

Submitted by R on March 2, 2010 - 7:40pm

By Eskandar and Ryan

The Movement to End Israeli Apartheid-Georgia (MEIA-G) kicked off the first day of Israeli Apartheid Week on Monday by packing a l

Non-Violent Palestinian Activists Targeted

Submitted by Chloe on December 28, 2009 - 10:18am

On December 16, Jamal Juma, coordinator of the Palestinian Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign, was arrested by the Israeli police.

Obama's Afghan Stagecraft

Submitted by Matt on October 27, 2009 - 10:50am

We await the Obama administration’s decision to follow one escalation in Afghanistan with another.

Some Thoughts on "Rethink Afghanistan"

Submitted by ec on October 17, 2009 - 1:54am

“Rethink Afghanistan” has been widely toured by peace activists in the English-speaking world around the anniversary of the 2001 inv

Nobel Ironies — The "He's Not George Bush Prize"

Submitted by David on October 9, 2009 - 2:08pm

It seems doubly ironic that the Nobel Peace Prize Committee has given its 2009 award to Barack Obama -- just a few months after Arizona State University declined to award him the customary, symboli