Zionist terrorists massacre 650 Palestinians; airlines cancel flights to Israel

July 23, 2014

Gaza/Jerusalem, Jul 23: Several international airlines today halted flights to Israel indefinitely, citing security concerns as high-level diplomatic efforts failed to yield any result to end the 16-day conflict that has killed 650 Palestinian civilians and a few dozens of Israeli terrorists.

Delta was the first carrier to halt flights to and from Israel after diverting a flight carrying 273 passengers bound for Ben Gurion airport to Paris after a rocket from Hamas- controlled Gaza Strip landed near Israel's biggest airport.

It was followed by America's Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) – which has halted all US flights to and from Israel – Air France and Dutch airline KLM.

The decision is likely to deliver a substantial blow to Israel's tourism industry, the one sector that has already suffered during the conflict.

The military of Israeli terrorist regime said it hit more than 187 targets overnight, most of them in Shaja'ia, a neighborhood east of Gaza City near the border with Israel.

The death toll mounted as neither side showed any sign of backing down.

Palestinian health officials said at least 640 Palestinians had been killed and 4,040 wounded. Some 70 to 80 per cent of them are civilians, according to the UN.

United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) said more than 118,300 Palestinians have now taken refuge in its shelters. It says 43 per cent of Gaza has been affected by evacuation warnings or declared no-go zones.

On US President Barack Obama's direction, US Secretary of State John Kerry yesterday held talks with Egyptian and Arab League officials in Cairo to push for an "immediate cessation of hostilities".

In Jerusalem, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met Prime Minister of terrorist regime Benjamin Netanyahu, who showed him a collection of rockets that had been fired by Hamas freedom fighters into occupied area.

Ban called the evidence "quite shocking" and called for an immediate end to the attacks.

But he also criticised Israel over its military campaign, saying it "will not increase Israel's stability and security in the longer term."

Justifying massacre of civilians Netanyahu argued there's little Israel can do to satisfy Hamas.

Ban, however, in a video link to the UN Security Council in New York from Ramallah suggested that a breakthrough could be imminent, although he could not disclose details "at this highly sensitive moment".

"Suffice it to say, it is my hope and belief that these talks will lead to results and an end to the fighting in the very near future," he said, while acknowledging "many obstacles and complexities".

The Palestinian decision-making body led by President Mahmoud Abbas said it was backing Hamas' demands that an end to the Israeli-Egyptian blockade of Gaza and other concessions must form part of any deal to end the hostilities.

Israeli terror force launched its ground operation in Gaza after days of air strikes, following rocket fire by militants into Israeli towns.

Hamas has rejected Egypt's pro-Israeli proposal for a ceasefire agreement because the group wants guarantees on the easing to the blockade on Gaza, and the release of prisoners.

But Egypt and Israel say such issues can only be discussed after a ceasefire is reached – a stance Kerry strongly endorsed.

Comments

Add new comment

Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.

Spain blocks arms ship from India to Israel amid ongoing Gaza genocide

News Network

May 18,2024

In a humanitarian move, Spain has refused entry to a ship carrying arms from India’s Chennai to Israel to dock at one of its ports, its Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares has said.

The Denmark-flagged cargo ship Marianne Danica sailed from Chennai on April 8 when people in Gaza were observing Ramadan fasting, and was headed to the port of Haifa in Israel, according to maritime tracking portals and Spanish media.

Spain has been extremely critical of the rising civilian casualties due to the Israeli offensive in Gaza and, along with Belgium, has suspended arms exports licenses to Tel Aviv.

Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs Randhir Jaiswal, at the weekly press conference, only said that they have seen the report of the ship and will revert with more information.

Meanwhile, a source said, “Investigation will reveal if the items on board were cleared for export and if the end user is the same as reported by The Guardian because there are items that are not banned for exports.”

Speaking to reporters in Brussels on Thursday on the issue, Mr. Albares had said, “This is the first time we have done this because it is the first time we have detected a ship carrying a shipment of arms to Israel that wants to call at a Spanish port.”

“This will be a consistent policy with any ship carrying arms to Israel that wants to call at Spanish ports. The Foreign Ministry will systematically reject such stopovers for one obvious reason: the Middle East does not need more weapons, it needs more peace,” he stated.

The ship was carrying 27 tonnes of explosives according to local reports. It was to make a port call at Cartegena in Spain.
In February, Mr. Albares said that they had suspended arms export licences to Israel since October 7, which he said made them “realise” the importance of a “fair and lasting solution” to the Palestinian cause.

The incident comes amid an ongoing row between Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s party and his coalition partners over another ship, Borkum, that was due to dock at Cartegena port on Friday over allegations that it was carrying arms meant for Israel. However, the Spanish government has said that the arms it is ferrying are meant for the Czech Republic.

Belgium had suspended two arms export licences to Israel.

“We welcome the decision of the Spanish government to deny the transit authorisation of the vessel Marianne Danica, in accordance with Tratado (treaty) on Arms Trade and Spanish law,” Amnesty International Spain said on social media platform ‘X’.

The timing also coincides with the Israeli ground offensive inside Rafah. According to the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) at least 6,30,000 Palestinians have been forced out of Rafah since the launch of the incursion on May 7.

Comments