CRETE - Like an anti-Semitic caricature, Israel has extended its long tentacles around the globe in an effort to stop 10 decades-old ships from sailing to Gaza. Many Israelis interpreted this as a great victory.
The story could be read as follows: The Greek government wanted to save people whom it surely views as eccentrics and professional trouble-makers, even if naive, from a traumatic and perhaps even fatal experience. The Greek foreign minister rejected claims that Israeli pressure led his government to ban the flotilla's departure. He explained that Greece wanted to prevent a "humanitarian disaster" in the event of a clash between the Israel Defense Forces and the protesters.
By Special Correspondent in Hama
ReplyDelete7:00AM BST 10 Jul 2011
He was no pop superstar, but Ibrahim Qashoush wrote the stand-out song of the Syrian uprising.
"It's time to leave, Bashar," its lyrics go. "Freedom is near."
Some of its verses were frankly rude: "Screw you, Assad," says one line.
But the singer paid the price for his fleeting fame.
On Monday, according to a video that has circulated the country online, his body was found floating in the River Orontes in his home-town, Hama. His throat had been cut; in the footage, his head lolls horribly.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/8627510/Syria-Secret-journey-around-a-nation-in-revolt-finds-protesters-are-not-flagging.html