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2012 May 23 |
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http://www.theatlanticright.com/2010/06/01/israel-was-right-to-board-the-gaza-flotilla/
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Courtesy Al Jazeera

When I first heard about the incident on the flotilla heading for Gaza, I was not surprised to see the same old scripts being played both the supporters of both sides.

For one side, Israel is a can-do-nothing-wrong country who deserves 100% support all the time.  They are very restrained in their response to Palestinians aggression, compared to what they have to put up with on a daily basis, but if they were to cut loose, it would be justified because, hey, the Palestinians had it coming to them.  Palestinians, and those who support Palestinians, are antisemitic supporters of terrorism, or are terrorists themselves, and should be ashamed of a people who would vote Hamas into power.  Most of them are either killers, or don’t mind seeing Israelis being killed, because they believe Israel should be wiped off the map.

For the other side, Israel is a Nazi-like country who is systematically and gradually killing off the Palestinian population by corralling them into ghettos, which they then blockade and guard to block and kind of aid from going over the border. They are also slowly taking over Palestinian territory and building settlements so that someday there will be no land for the Palestinians to call home. Palestinians, meanwhile, are the victims of Israeli oppression, only want their fair share of land, which was stolen from them by the Zionist conspiracy decades ago.  Any attacks coming from Gaza are not as bad as the Israelis make it, and are in fact quite limited compared to the Israeli response to them.  Really, though, they harbor Israel no ill will, and are willing to negotiate a peace agreement, only if Israel would agree to return the 1967 borders.

I think I’ve covered it all.  Of course, this kind of black and white thinking gets us nowhere.  In truth, neither side is completely angelic, but neither are either side the right hand of Satan.  However, in this case, there are certain facts that must be considered, and after spending some time looking at the evidence, I think Israel is the winner of the argument where the flotilla raid is concerned.

If you think about it, this was nothing more than a border control operation.  After all, the group controlling the boat made no secret of their intentions to flout the Israeli blockade. Under current circumstances, Israel has every right to protect the Gazan border, because lets not kid ourselves, Gaza is still technically Israeli territory.  The Palestinian territories’ relationship to Israel are somewhat like Puerto Rico’s relationship to the United States, except that the Palestinians would like to be a sovereign nation, and there are disputes over the exact borders.  Until most nations recognize Palestine as a country, and until the borders are settled, there is no Palestine.  There is only two breakaway regions that merely happen to have a claim that is recognized as legitimate by all parties involved.

If things can be seen that way, then a border control operation is all the rationale that Israel needs.  Of course, there are some quibbles about this having happened in international waters, but I think that is, at best, nitpicking.  Everybody knew where the boat was going, so I think whether it happened in international waters of Israeli waters should make no difference.

Legal matters aside, there is increasing evidence that the so-called peaceful activists on that boat were not that peaceful.  Beating one commando, throwing another off a deck 30 feet to the next.  I don’t exactly call those peaceful actions.  And as far as I’ve heard, most of the commandos were using paintball guns. Perhaps they were trying for the fear factor, rather than intending to hurt anyone, which shows an incredible amount of restraint.  Personally, I think they showed too much restraint by not using real arms, but I’m not a military man.

I’ve posted three videos below:

  • The first is the full Al Jazeera footage of the boarding.  Skip to 6 minutes and keep your eye to the right, where you will clearly see a so-called “activist” quite ragefully beating an Israeli soldier with some kind of bar. Doesn’t seem very peaceful to me.
  • The second is a video of some group on the boat chanting a message that is not “peace, peace, peace.”  Sound more like “our violent force is coming to kill Jews.”
  • The third is a news story Al Jazeera released on Saturday. About 14 seconds in they interview a Turkish man who says “We can also die as martyrs and never return, which is okay with us.  Even my daughters and son are willing to join.”  Now, maybe I’m reading too much into that.  Perhaps the man just thinks the IDF will simply execute everybody on the boat in an act of murder, and they’ll be remembered as heroes.  Or it might mean something else entirely.  Regardless, it’s stupid to say something like this in an age where martyrdom has been redefined by extremists to mean something quite different.

Now, I am not of the camp who thinks that Israel can do no right.  Indeed the can and have, and at times their response to aggression from the other side has been disproportionate.  But here is a case where I think Israel was in the right, definitely because of the border control aspect, but also because there was a legitimate concern about the intentions of the activists.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pn-l_JltCB4[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3L7OV414Kk[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypY5Pq0J5Jk&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

  1. Posted by Doyle Margot
    | Quote | Trackback | Link #111402 ›
    Doyle Margot Sounds like Mike is lost in the sea of arguments dating back to the white man coming off the boat, all righteous, law book in one hand and rifle in the other, telling the natives to abide by his rules. The natives, otoh, knew nothing of land ownership, or of a legal system; they wanted to live as they were.
    • Michael_Merritt Your example has no applicability in a land that has been fought over by both sides for thousands of years. But control right now is under Israel, including Gaza. And until that officially changes, Israel is the sole authority over who comes near it.
      • Posted by Doyle Margot
        | Quote | Trackback | Link #111414 ›
        Doyle Margot if one prefers to view the whole affair from Israel's side, it truly appears righteous. if one chooses to view the affairs from the Palestinians' side, it also appears reasonable. an Israeli child lives in fear of being a victim of suicide bombings or rocket attacks (s)he had nothing to do with a Palestinian child lives in poverty, destitution, and in fear of being bombed to smithereens for acts (s)he had nothing to do with the control du jour is strongarm conrtol, as it has been in various lands over millenia, and that makes Israel the sole authority. fine. by your argument, should the Palestinians somehow achieve military superiority, they are to be recognized as the authority. is that what you are implying?
        • Posted by Interested
          | Quote | Trackback | Link #111423 ›
          Interested how do you possibly gain that from what Michael_Merrit put? He stated nothing of the sort.
        • Posted by Doyle Margot
          | Quote | Trackback | Link #111437 ›
          Doyle Margot Michael is either - busy - choosing to answer through proxies - preparing an answer - has let go of this one
          • Michael_Merritt A combination of the first and a spotty Internet connection the last couple of days.
            by your argument, should the Palestinians somehow achieve military superiority, they are to be recognized as the authority. is that what you are implying?
            That is the way these things have generally been decided, historically. These days, you're more likely to need the recognition of most nations and the UN. Take the Taliban, for instance. They only had recognition from three countries during their regime. My point was that until some sort of deal is brokered between Israel and the Palestinians, and the borders are decided, I think most people will consider all of the land to be under Israeli sovereignty, even if there is a high level of autonomy in the Palestinian regions.
          • Posted by Doyle Margot
            | Quote | Trackback | Link #111445 ›
            Doyle Margot I understand your point of view. I highly disagree with it. By that account, subjugating weak nations is right; those with strongarm and/or strong allies are right. And the dead and the destitute.. well, some call it natural selection. And who's going to remember in a thousand years, anyway?
  2. Posted by Dave
    | Quote | Trackback | Link #111403 ›
    Dave Well writen. I am sick of both sides bashing each other with noone looking at the facts.
  3. Pingback | Link #111410 ›
    Weapons from the Gaza Flotilla [...] Israel Was Right to Board The Gaza Flotilla [...]
  4. Posted by Anonymous
    | Quote | Trackback | Link #111675 ›
    Anonymous Israel was right. The Musslims attacked them. If you are holding a gun and someone hits you with a stick or a pipe, trying to kill you, wouldn't you shoot too? Anyone who thinks Israel did the wrong thing is unintelligent and possibly blind. In the end, Israel will be victorious. God is on their side, and will most likely remain on their side.
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