On Monday, it was already apparent that Israeli commandoes had overstepped the mark in killing 10 people whose ‘crime’ was to run the blockade that surrounds Gaza in an attempt to get aid into the stricken zone.
But by yesterday, the full scale of what had transpired became obvious. As video footage – released by the Israeli army – became available, people began to draw their own conclusions.
Make no mistake – there was provocation. Aid workers on board the flotilla of ships did attack the soldiers, even on the grainy footage one can clearly see sailors and workers beating soldiers with iron bars. One commando was even tossed overboard after being overwhelmed. But the consensus is that the Israeli actions were far too heavy-handed and reactions from the United Nations, the EU, the US, individual governments (including Malta), aid agencies and even independent straw and internet polls back this up. This newspaper is of the same belief and is ready to say that Israel has managed to sour its international image (and in turn relations) with its gung-ho attitude when it comes to military deployment. This was not the same as Entebbe. It is not the same as the war with the Arab states and it was definitely not a case of terrorism.
This was an aid flotilla, and it was in international waters where it was assaulted by highly-trained and armed special force soldiers. No matter who you are, such actions are out of proportion to start with, let alone when they developed into a killing spree on the deck of the ship. Israel has already said that it will transfer the cargo of the ships to Gaza overland – so there really is no doubt that there were not enough grounds to suspect a military cargo was on board. Couldn’t Israel simply have shadowed the flotilla with military vessels if it really felt the need to do so?
But we must go to the root of the problem. The real cause of this debacle is the blockade of Gaza which has now been going on for three years. Israel’s Ehud Barak said that the flotilla’s actions were illegal – but equally, the international community believes that Israel’s blockade of Gaza is illegal. Israel says it allows aid into the strip, but people on the ground say that the people of the occupied zone need four times the amount of what is actually allowed in.
Barak went on to say that Israel wishes it had neighbours like the UK or Germany and not neighbours which are controlled by Hamas, members of which fire rockets into Israel.
No one is disputing the fact that Israel has the right to defend itself from aggression. But the nation really has dealt itself a body-blow. Perhaps, for the first time ever, Israel is getting the reaction it deserves and which has been held in check on many an occasion. In the name of pursuing long-term peace, the world has allowed Israel to carry out military manoeuvres in Gaza with impunity. Atrocities have been committed against families, against Lebanese civilians and against children. And now, we have seen sailors and aid workers killed while in international waters.
Where is it all going to end? As we have mentioned, the soldiers which were sent to board the flotilla were merely pawns. They landed on deck and they were accosted – it was a tinder-box which only needed the slightest spark to set it off into a full-blown melee. But Israel should never have sent those soldiers aboard and the Gaza strip should not be blockaded.
Israel will argue that the Turkish group which organised the flotilla (Insani Yardim Vakfi) has ties to Al Qaeda. One doubts that the Turkish government – until recently a staunch ally of Israel – would have backed the mission if it was the case. But Israel has lost the friendship of Turkey and most importantly it has lost the friendship of respected Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He feels personally betrayed after having extended many olive branches and particularly resented the fact that he was not given advance warning of the raid. Turkey has labelled the Israeli actions as being tantamount to piracy and state-backed murder. The Muslim country has demanded that the case be dealt with according to international law. Israel on the other hand is doing itself no favours. Israelis have set up protests to ‘fight’ the protests being held in Gaza – but the most disgusting thing is that footage has been released of Israeli Arabs being heckled by Jewish Israelis. That really is a display of cheek and an attempt to justify something which can never be justified.