The Israeli Navy’s Saturday attack on the Gaza-bound ship carrying medicines and humanitarian aid, Estelle, was not the first and is not going to be the last of its kind.

The invasion occurred 38 miles off the coast within the international waters. There were several European lawmakers among the 30 people who had taken the long journey to express sympathy with the people of Palestine and accepted its subsequent risks: a Spanish, a Swedish, a Norwegian, and two Greek legislators in addition to a former Canadian legislator (who was 80 years old).

The activists had to waive their rights to take any legal action before they were escorted to the port of Ashdod to be deported from Israel.

The attack on the boat took merely 10 minutes and the Israeli rangers used Taser guns to make the passengers surrender. Following the infiltration of Hezbollah drone into Israel, the Israeli Army apparently needed a “heroic!!” gesture to show off its so-called military might in an attempt to placate the public opinion.

The Israeli Navy says it dispatched five vessels to attack a ship, none of whose passengers were armed, and was merely carrying medicine and construction materials.

Jamal El-Khoudary, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council and chairman of the Popular Committee Against Siege of Gaza, argues that such Israeli measures imply that the people of Gaza are not entitled to use their own territorial waters.

The Israeli Army has so far murdered several Palestinian fishermen at the Gazan coast under the pretext that they were sailing illegally. These poor fishermen, who are sitting ducks for the Israeli Navy, had no other way to make a living.

Undoubtedly, the 27 Europeans onboard the ship will not praise the Israeli Army for such Rambo attack. When they’re back toEurope, they will recall their journey and its motivation, the story of the Israeli invasion and the Gazans’ ordeals.

In Europe, some initiatives have been taken to ban Israeli products and some universities seek to cut scientific cooperation with Israel. The movement is more widespread in Northern Europe, but support for Israel is still in place in Southern Europe.

As far as the international organizations are concerned, nobody is in the mood to follow up the news of Israel’s attack on the aid ship and lift the siege against Gaza. There are 1.4 million humans kept in captivity in an area of 360 square kilometers and they are plagued with poverty and unemployment. Not only has the UN offered no help to end the siege, it also considered it in accordance with the international laws last year, saying the armed groups in Gaza jeopardize the security of Israel.
Israel’s 2010 attack on the Turkish flotilla and killing of nine people did not make any changes in Tel Aviv’s policies. Israel is still unwilling to apologize to Turkey. Although Ankara-Tel Aviv relations have been tense, both sides do not want all ties to be cut. Turkey has made resumption of ties with Israel contingent upon Tel Aviv’s apology and an end to the siege on Gaza.

For the US and Europe, the Gaza siege is not as attractive as it used to be two years ago. Israel has made this crisis to sink into oblivion. Two years ago, US President Barack Obama described the situation in Gaza as unbearable, but now he has no intention of putting his reelection campaign on the line by even an implied criticism of Israel.

Apart from Europe, many flotillas from the Asian and Islamic countries have so far sought to find a way to break the siege on Gaza. Some of them have been stopped midway with the help of the governments of Greece and Cyprus and some of them preferred to channel their aids to Gaza from Egypt.

The initiatives by the European, US, Asian and African intellectuals are commendable. The deplorable point is the inaction of the Islamic and Arab countries towards the issue, while they are giving the highest priority to the Syrian crisis. Israel always welcomes any new regional crisis, which may overshadow the plight of the Palestinian people. Tel Aviv even plays a key role in fanning the flames of such crises.
The visit to Gaza by Qatari Emir [Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani] and inauguration of development projects and investments in the coastal enclave is considerably belated. During Mubarak’s era, the Egyptian government blocked the Rafah border but its security apparatus turned a blind eye to the underground tunnels between Rafah and Gaza. The tunnels constituted the main way for provision of food and basic materials for the people of Gaza. After the Egyptian revolution, it was expected that the long-time dream of the people of Gaza for gaining access to the free world would come true. However, the military operations of the Egyptian Army in the Sinai Peninsula led to the destruction of many of those tunnels and shortage of commodities in Gaza.

According to the UN, Gaza Strip is under the Israeli occupation. Measures such as the Qatari Emir’s trip to Gaza and transfer of economic aid from the Egyptian soil should not reduce the burden of Israel’s responsibility towards the people in the occupied territories.

link to article : http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/10/22/268173/israels-attack-on-peace-boat/