A flotilla of ships carrying approximately 600 Palestinian activists and aid to Gaza was attacked by the Israeli Navy. The point of the flotilla was to raise awareness of the Israeli blockade of Gaza, started in 2007 because of Hamas' takeover of Gaza and which has caused a humanitarian crisis (as described by the UN) in the Palestinian region. 9 activists were killed. The exact details of the confrontation are not so clear.
The Israeli government claims that soldiers that rappelled down from helicopters were immediately attacked by the Muslim activists and had their guns stolen. It is on that basis that Israel claims that the activists shot first, incurring an Israeli response in kind. Several Israeli soldiers were injured, along with dozens of activists.
The activists on board claimed that the soldiers began firing immediately as they rappelled from the helicopters, ensuring an aggressive response from the activists. There is also a claim that the Israelis fired on the main ship before boarding it, wounding the captain.
Unfortunately, this is a serious incident which should be investigated by an independent party, or even several independent parties rather than the Israeli state. What is especially of concern is that the ships were boarded in international waters, so there is seemingly no reason that Israel should have boarded the ships in the first place. There were no ammunition weapons found on any of the ships, only small things like slingshots and switchblades. What kind of provocation a small, unarmed flotilla could invoke in this situation is beyond me.
The questions that need to be answered in this muddled situation are such:
1. Why did the Israeli navy attack the flotilla in international waters, and who gave such an order and for what reason?
2. Who actually shot first?
3. As Israel has allowed ships to pass through before, why not allow a peaceful delegation of activists with essential supplies through?
4. For what reason, if any, did the Israeli navy feel under pressure to act?
5. Did any of the activists actually take the soldiers' weapons and begin firing?
6. Were the activists provoked into action, or were the soldiers?
This is something that does not bode well for Israel at all, as this denigrates their international image to that of an evil dictator of the Middle East region.
I'd actually like some feedback on this one, as the repercussions of this event will be widespread and fierce.
That's all for now,
Das Flüg
for one Hamas controls Gaza and Israel clearly is fighting with Hamas.... so all of this aid is "technically" going to Hamas, in the eyes of the Israelis. However Hamas has done alot of good for the Palestinian people which Israel fails to recognize along with the rest of the world, as our image of Hamas has been and always will be associated with guns and violence.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't say that this aid is going "to" Hamas in any sense, as it is mostly food, medical supplies, concrete for repairing building structures, and the like.
ReplyDeleteSomething else to consider is Israel's loss of Turkey as an ally, which was key in the region.