Oh this was just too predictable I suppose. Not waiting for the Freedom Flotilla to leave International waters, Israel commandos stormed the Gaza Freedom Flotilla attacking unarmed passengers, leaving at least 10 dead and dozens more wounded. Israel is (naturally) claiming that the passengers were "armed" with knives - but we really shouldn't count plastic butter knives, sticks and what not as being "armed". A reporter on one of the boats reported that Israel fired on the ship before boarding.
The incident has created an international and public relations nightmare for Israel, as the Israeli over reaction has already drawn condemnations from Turkey, France and the U.N.'s Mideast envoy. Greece suspended a military exercise with Israel and postponed a visit by Israel's air force chief. The European Union called for an investigation into the incident and urged Israel to allow the free flow of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.
Not to be outdone, at least 10,000 Turks also marched from Israel's Consulate in Istanbul toward the city's main square, shouting slogans denouncing Israel. Israel has advised citizens to avoid travel to Turkey, and warned those already there to keep a low profile.
Nearby in Jordan, hundreds of protesters demonstrated in the capital of Amman, demanding that Jordan terminate diplomatic relations with Israel.
Although the Flotilla was not successful in breaching the illegal blockade, this has been an enormous success for the movement's efforts to focus attention on the plight of Gazans and Israel's immoral behavior toward a captive population. More over, the attack on the flotilla in international waters proves (once again) to the international community that Israel is a rogue state utterly lacking self control, judgment, or insight to anticipate the ripple effect on the international community's willingness to permit it to maintain military superiority in the region.
The fallout has not yet begun.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment