Blind Flotilla Blaming

Global leaders and news organizations wasted little time condemning Israel for the raid on the fleet of aid ships headed to the Gaza Strip. But, if they spent half their efforts learning the facts first, perhaps that condemnation would have been directed in a more appropriate fashion — towards the people on the ships and their organizers.

Fueled by the media and uninformed politicians, the residents of several countries stormed Israeli embassies, resulting in clashes with police across the world. And some Israeli residents of Turkey and other countries even temporarily fled their homes out of fear of violence. Even Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu cancelled his meeting with President Obama to manage the situation, even though the Israeli leader seeks cooperation with the  United States to thwart the Iranian nuclear program and exemplifying the dire circumstances surrounding this week’s events.

For days prior the arrival of the flotilla, the Israeli military warned the aid ships’ organizers that no vessels would be allowed to enter Israel’s territorial waters. The Israeli government offered to transfer the supplies from the port of Ashdod in Israel into the Gaza Strip.

World leaders have condemned Israel for launching an attack on so-called peace activists. While some of the ships’ passengers likely had peaceful motives, at least fifty of the activists have ties to terror networks. Moreover, even the flotilla’s organizer — the IHH NGO — has ties to terror organizations. This link with violence was clearly evident when Israeli soldiers were viciously clubbed, stabbed, and further threatened without any provocation. Upon boarding the ships, video footage clearly identifies the aggressors — the “peace activists” who immediately attempted to lynch Israeli soldiers.

No other country’s soldiers are expected to lay down their weapons and succumb to a mob of angry terrorists, yet the international community condemned the Israeli military for fighting back against this throng of extremists. This double standard, though, has been levied at Israel in other situations, even though the facts clearly indicate that the Israeli military puts its own soldiers at risk in order to prevent the loss of human life.

Aside from their violent actions, the activists also showed their true colors by transporting weapons. At least one gun and some grenades were found on board the large vessel, further supporting the Israeli government’s position that all goods entering the Gaza Strip must be examined for munitions. Allowing these vessels through would have supplied the residents of Gaza with some aid, although it would also have provided Hamas with additional arms with which to attack Israeli civilians.

By using violence against the soldiers and transporting weapons, the activists controlled their own destiny, and were actually lucky that the Israeli military showed some restraint in using force to protect the Israeli population and its young soldiers.

Another misnomer in this entire situation involves the label of the flotilla as “aid ships.” If the objective of these ships was purely humanitarian, then they achieved their goal — the goods aboard the vessels were removed from the ships in the port of Ashdod and are gradually being delivered by Israel to the residents of Gaza. Mission accomplished.

However, instead of attempting to violate a country’s sovereignty by breaking through their borders, the flotilla could have simply and more efficiently delivered the goods directly to Israel for transfer to Gaza. Instead, the activists decided to manipulate and take advantage of the residents of Gaza, using the plight of the Palestinians to make a broader political point. The activists clearly exemplified their purely political motives, and effectively delayed the aid and medicines from reaching the residents of the Gaza Strip.

Further false claims include references to dissent among the Israeli population. Only the far left fringe of Israeli society opposed stopping the flotilla from entering the Gaza port, and the only real dissent on Israeli media focused on the method used to intercept the ships. Some of the vessels were stopped without boarding the ships by destroying the engine. However, the same technique used against the large vessel would have resulted in a humanitarian crisis, potentially leaving hundreds of passengers stranded in the middle of the sea. In order to avoid that situation, the Israeli military boarded the ships to guide them to the port of Ashdod. Criticism on that front, though, does not negate the effectiveness of the operation and support for the overall embargo.

One of the criticisms levied against Israel has also focused on the location of the raid — in international seas and slightly beyond Israel’s territorial waters. The Israeli government has defended the location of the raid on two grounds. First, the IDF has said it can target terrorist organizations wherever they are located. Second, the ships could also circumvent Israel’s territorial waters and arrive in Gaza by navigating along the Egyptian coast.

Enforcing the laws in Israel’s own waters would not have changed the situation in any way. This criticism against Israel by European leaders, though, is merely a tangential fact that is being used to condemn Israel and score political points with the anti-Israel masses.

In order to determine the facts, the United Nations and the White House have called for an impartial investigation into the raid. However, inquiries led by the international community have largely expressed predetermined positions that are unabashedly anti-Israel. For example, the recent Goldstone report on Israel’s military strike on the Gaza Strip focussed almost exclusively on Israeli human rights violations and the deaths of Palestinians,  and included only minimal references to the human rights attrocities committed by the Hamas-led government against the Palestinians.

Israel and the international community should launch an investigation into the raid on the flotilla. Any U.N.-led inquiry, though, should reject the paradigm developed by previous investigations and truly attempt to uncover the truth by refusing to conform to prejudices and bias.

Beyond an investigation, further provocation or condemnation by Europe and the international community is wholly misplaced. If Turkey decides to escort the next group of “aid ships” with battleships, peace and economic cooperation with Israel would surely end. Israelis travel often to Turkey and import various goods from the Islamic country. However, recent disputes between the two nations, coupled with the flotilla incident, has tensed relations even more. Any further provocation by the Turks could spiral the situation into outright hostility that would likely result in military altercations. The next part of this saga is only days away, with another group of ships bound for Israel from Turkey, with some speculation that a Turkish military escort is a possibility. (Albeit, the Turks’ efforts to join the European Union are likely preventing the Turkish government from any further actions.)

The Israeli government acted to protect its citizens from a group of terror-sponsored extremists. Condemnation against Israeli actions are completely misplaced, and Europe’s leaders should examine the facts before expressing uninformed and biased positions that are fueling prejudices of the masses based solely on lies. Instead of targeting Israel, critics should examine the facts, noting that the true violence was instigated by terrorists aboard so-called aid ships that are actually more focussed on exploiting Palestinian poverty to attack Israel.

See the evidence below: