Humanitarians Under Siege: Tragedy strikes in the Mediterranean

By Hassan Rassmy, Staff Writer

It was dark over the seas of the Eastern Mediterranean late in the evening of May 31st, 2010. A convoy of ships sailing from Cyprus and bound to Gaza were met with fatal, and deadly force. The convoy, a part of theFree Gaza movement, was attempting to break the blockade over the intensely-occupied strip of desert, known as the Gaza strip. At approximately seventy miles of the coast of the strip, in international waters, the main vessel, the Mavi Maramara was raided by Israeli commandos. A few activists on board were thought to have used clubs and rocks to counteract the commandos’ offensive. The violence ended when at least 10 activists were killed, and dozens more wounded, by Israeli forces.

The international convoy consisted of vessels flagged from Turkey, Sweden, Greece, Ireland, and the United States. As Greta Berlin, an American who is in fact the organizer of the Freedom Flotilla, stated, “People certainly have the right to resist if they’re being attacked. We taught our Free Gaza Movement people to be non-violent, and the Turks did the same, but if anyone resisted, it was in response to soldiers opening fire on them when they hit the deck.”

The action by Israel has been met by a sweeping international outcry, and an essential political disaster for the nation of Israel. Turkey, Egypt, Cyprus, Spain, Greece, Denmark and Sweden have summoned their respective Israeli ambassadors. The widespread condemnation and disapproval of the raid, is seemingly unprecedented.

International repercussions are, as a result, intense. Protests against Israeli embassies or consulates have been noted in dozens of countries, most notably Turkey, which according to the Los Angeles Times, had up to 10,000 protestors take to the streets in Istanbul, Turkey. Other significant demonstrations took place in Cairo, Egypt, Gothenburg, Sweden, Spain, Jordan, France, Germany, and many other nations. Turkey recalled its ambassador, and along with Greece, has canceled plans for military exercises with Israel. Turkey has now stated that future vessels carrying aid will be escorted by a Turkish naval contingent. Turkey, Israel’s closest ally in the Middle East, appears to be fading away, especially in the wake of Gaza Flotilla raid.

The international convoy was comprised of citizens from the Turkey, The United  States, The United Kingdom, Norway, The Netherlands, Brazil, Germany, Israel, Palestine, Poland, Spain, Belgium, Kuwait, Australia, Greece, Canada, Malaysia, Serbia, Algeria, Cyprus, Ireland, and Sweden. Those on board the convoy included, a former US Congresswoman, a former US Ambassador, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, the retired archbishop of the the Melkite Greek Orthodox Church of Caesarea, and even an Israeli Knesset Member.  In addition,  members of the parliaments of The United Kingdom, Ireland, Kuwait, Sweden, and Germany were part of the convoy.

Israel’s response consisted of the cliché ”We were defending ourselves.” But, that excuse has its limits. What were the commandos afraid of? What was Israel afraid of? And why would they raid the ship in international waters- a blatant contravention of international law? The convoy went through customs checks before it sailed to Gaza. Why was such disproportionate force used against the peace activists? And what rights does Israel think it has to behave in the manner that it did? Israel’s own trade minister, Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, even recognized the raid as a huge “scandal.” But most Israeli government officials are staunch supporters of the action. The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, canceled his talks with President Obama to deal with the Gaza Flotilla incident. He said that Israeli commandos were protecting themselves. But again, the amount of force used does not seem defensive, but rather instigative.

If Israel genuinely acted as the democracy they claim to be, and let the flotilla pass, then the thousands impoverished in Gaza would be happy, Israel wouldn’t have almost every country on earth upset with it, and those people who lost their lives would be, well, alive. But then again, if Israel genuinely acted as the democracy they claimed to be, Gaza wouldn’t need that aide.

There is a twist to this whole story, as the vessel attacked was Turkish. Turkey, a NATO member, is protected under NATO doctrine, and accordingly is guaranteed rights if and when its vessels are attacked. Although a NATO intervention is highly unlikely, Israel is sailing through dangerous waters, no pun intended.