The Folly of Attacking the Freedom Flotilla

Had it been aware of the substantial regional and international ramifications, perhaps Israel would have never raided the Freedom Flotilla. As Israeli newspapers have reported, the Israeli Army’s attack on the convoy was a planned operation, approved by Tel Aviv’s security cabinet.

From the comments made by Israeli FM Avigdor Lieberman and his deputy Danny Ayalon, it became clear that the Jewish State knew there was a price to be paid for the violation of international law, and the international community would not just sit back and watch this time. Israel’s arguments to attack the ships were familiar:

1.      Refraining from intercepting the ‘freedom flotilla’ (the largest of its kind, supported by hundreds of political figures, human rights activists, and humanitarian groups) would embolden Gaza supporters for even bigger campaigns in the future.

2.      Lenient behavior would undermine the bullheaded image Israel had constructed upon imposing a blockade on Gaza. The flotilla’s docking on the Gaza coast would be tantamount to an Israeli defeat.

3.      Since Turkish citizens formed the majority of the convoys’ passengers, a dauntless reaction would intimidate Ankara –which has over time become unfriendly toward Israel. Erdogan, the reasoning went, might learn a good lesson from Tel Aviv’s determination.

4.      With respect to Prime Minister Netanyahu’s threats against Hamas and Lebanon in the past few months, the impasse in the Middle East Peace Process, and pressures from the Kadima and Labor Parties, crushing the flotilla and showing determination would give Netanyahu’s administration the upper hand in peace talks and the domestic political scene.

Israel, of course, did not neglect to come up with clichéd excuses. Tel Aviv claimed that the convoys –carrying ten thousand tons of basic supplies (mainly medicine and cement) for Gaza residents- could revitalize Hamas. Meanwhile, according to Israel, Hamas could misuse the ships to send injured militants for treatment overseas.

Beyond the Israelis’ predictions, however, their raid against the Freedom Flotilla and their killing of nine Turkish activists turned into a fiasco; the second blow to Netanyahu’s diplomacy after the UN NPT Review Conference in May, when 189 countries demanded that Tel Aviv join the NPT regime and open the doors of its nuclear facilities to IAEA inspectors.

While the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has been largely ignored by the Western media, Israel’s violent reaction on the seas for once brought it front page headlines and amplified the calls for a lifting of the blockade. This is indeed a victory for Hamas and Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh. Netanyahu had to cancel his scheduled meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama –who, by the way, refused to condemn the attack. The rising wave of discontent in the international community has undermined Israel’s efforts to portray itself as a victim and has once again substantiated the fact that Israel is a terrorist state.

The death of the nine Turkish citizens once again lends credence to the idea that Palestine is an Islamic –not an Arab- concern, against the will of the Saudi-led camp that wishes to monopolize the issue of Palestine for Arab states. Turkey’s furious response, meanwhile, showed that Tel Aviv has made a strategic mistake. Turkish President Abdullah Gul’s remark that the incident “has left an irreparable and deep scar” is a nightmare for Israel, which is now on the verge of losing its closest regional—and Muslim—ally. To make matters worse, Turkey –a NATO member- called for the organization’s involvement in breaking the Gaza blockade. Are the Turks trying to demote Israel from a NATO partner to a NATO threat?

The thoughtless attack on the Freedom Flotilla has also compelled Egypt to open the Rafah border crossing with Gaza “indefinitely” without consulting Tel Aviv on the matter, giving another victory to Hamas. The raid has also jeopardized the future of an Arab-Israeli peace proposal backed by Arab League members’ foreign ministers. The signatories may find it difficult to justify to their respective publics their wish to compromise with Israel.

The Gaza blockade was the only lever wielded by Israel in order to crush Hamas’ resistance. What Tel Aviv endeavored to achieve through a 22-day war and a three-year siege went up in smoke in minutes as bullets lodged in the body of Turkish activists.Had it been aware of the substantial regional and international ramifications, perhaps Israel would have never raided the Freedom Flotilla. As the Israeli newspapers have reported, the Israeli Army’s attack on convoys was a planned action, approved by Tel Aviv’s security cabinet.

From the comments made by Israeli FM Avigdor Lieberman and his deputy Danny Ayalon, it became clear that the Jewish State knew there was a price to be paid for the violation and the international community would not sit watching this time. Israel’s arguments to attack the ships were familiar:

1.      Abstaining to intercept the ‘freedom flotilla’ (the largest in its kind, supported by hundreds of political figures, human rights activists and humanitarian groups) would embolden Gaza supporters for larger campaigns in the future.

2.      Lenient behavior would undermine the bullheaded image Israel had constructed upon imposing a blockade on Gaza. Flotilla’s boarding in the Gaza coast was tantamount to Israel’s defeat.

3.      Since Turkish citizens formed the majority of the convoys’ passengers, a dauntless reaction would intimidate Ankara –which had gradually become unfriendly towards Israel. Erdogan could learn a good lesson from Tel Aviv’s determination.

4.      Regarding Netanyahu’s threats against Hamas and Lebanon in the past months, the impasse in the Middle East Peace Process and pressures from Kadima and the Labor Party, crushing the flotilla and showing determination would give Netanyahu’s administration the upper hand in peace talks and the domestic political scene.

Israel, of course, did not forget to make up clichéd excuses. Tel Aviv claimed that the convoys –carrying ten thousand tons of basic supplies (mainly medicine and cement) for Gaza residents- could revitalize Hamas. Meanwhile, according to Israel Hamas could misuse the ships to send overseas injured militants for treatment.

Beyond the Israelis’ forecast, their raid against the Freedom Flotilla and killing of nine Turkish activists turned into a fiasco, the second blow to Netanyahu’s diplomacy after during the UN NPT Review Conference in May, 189 countries requested Tel Aviv to join the NPT regime and open the doors of its nuclear facilities to IAEA inspectors.

While the humanitarian crisis in Gaza had been boycotted by Western media, Israel’s violent reaction once brought it to the front page and amplified the calls for cease of the blockade. This is indeed a victory for Hamas and Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh. Netanyahu had to cancel his scheduled meeting with the U.S. President Barack Obama –who by the way, refused to condemn the attack. The rising wave of discontent in the international community have undermined Tel Aviv’s effort to portray itself as a victim and once again substantiated the fact that Israel is a terrorist state.

Death of nine Turkish citizens once again lend credence to the idea that Palestine is an Islamic –not an Arab- concern, against the will of the Saudi-led camp who tries to set up a monopoly on Palestine for the Arab states. Turkey’s furious response, meanwhile, showed that Tel Aviv has made a strategic mistake. Turkey President Abdullah Gul’s remark that the incident “has left an irreparable and deep scar” is a nightmare for Israel, which is now on the verge of losing its closest regional ally. To make the bad worse, Turkey –a NATO member- called for the organization’s involvement in breaking the Gaza blockade. Are Turks trying to demote Israel from a NATO partner to a NATO threat?

The unthinking attack on the Freedom Flotilla has also compelled Egypt to open the Rafah border crossing “indefinitely”, without consulting Tel Aviv. Another victory for Hamas. The raid has also jeopardized the future of an Arab-Israeli peace proposal backed by Arab League members’ foreign ministers. The signatories may find it difficult to justify for their public opinion their wish to compromise with Israel.