Flotilla Frenzy

Israel Rejects International Investigation of Flotilla Raid -Amy Teibel

An official in the prime minister's office said there is "no case in recent history" where a democratic country's army involved in the deaths of civilians in an overseas operation has been subjected to an international investigation.
(AP-Washington Post)

Will U.S. Stand By Commitment to Israel's Security? -Sean Hannity

Here we have 200 countries condemning Israel. But yet, the United Nations still has failed to condemn North Korea for sinking a South Korean ship.
(Fox News)


Flotilla Aid Refused by Hamas -Khaled Abu Toameh, et al

Hamas officials refused to allow into Gaza 21 truckloads of humanitarian aid that had been offloaded from the flotilla ships docked at Ashdod port.

A senior official said that trucks were waiting to go into Gaza at the Kerem Shalom border crossing, pending approval from Hamas. "Hamas has refused to allow those trucks to go in, and if the aid is so urgent, my question is, why are they not allowing it into Gaza?"
(Jerusalem Post)


Kemp: "Don't Submit to Outside Probe" -Ilan Evyatar & Yaakov Katz

Israel should not agree to an independent international inquiry of the raid on the Gaza flotilla, Col. Richard Kemp, the former commander of the British forces in Afghanistan, told the Jerusalem Post.

"Israel has a democratically elected government and like every other democratically elected government in the world, Israel should carry out its own investigation....I don't think it should be subjected to an independent inquiry any more than other Western countries are."

"Look at what appears to have been a very serious military error made by the German army in northern Afghanistan last year when something like 50-150 civilians were killed in an air strike....Where were the calls for an independent inquiry about that? Why is it that Israel is subjected to that kind of call when other democratic countries aren't?"
(Jerusalem Post)


European Flotilla Passengers Attack Israeli Immigration Officials
-Yael Branovsky

Female European activists from the flotilla to Gaza attacked Israeli Immigration Authority officers escorting them to the airport for deportation, the Interior Ministry reported.

One officer said: "They called us names and cursed Israel. When we arrived at Ben-Gurion International Airport, two of them attacked me screaming, tried to push me, slap me, and scratch me."
(Ynet News)


A Vital Embargo -Daniel Gordis

Israel's geographic vulnerability means that we do not have the luxury of caving in to the world's condemnation. We will have to gird ourselves for the long, dangerous and lonely road ahead, buoyed by hope that what ultimately prevails will be not what is momentarily popular, but rather what is just.
(New York Times)


Israel and the Flotilla -Editorial

The more we learn about this incident, the more it looks like a setup designed to provoke or embarrass Israel. Video shows the Israeli commandos were surrounded and attacked as they reached the ship's deck. Pardon us if we don't join the condemnation. Israel has a right to defend itself and a keen interest in preventing arms from reaching Gaza. There's a nasty neighbor in control of that territory, just a short-range rocket away.
(Chicago Tribune)


Israel Had No Choice -Seth Freedman

There is not an army on earth that would not allow its soldiers to respond with force to neutralize a life-threatening attack on their fellow troops.
(Guardian-UK)


Joining the Jackals -Elliott Abrams

[N]o one is going to investigate Turkey and its role, nor investigate the pro-terror groups on board those ships - not if the U.S. fails to insist on it. [I]t is now open season on Israel in Europe and at the UN.
(Weekly Standard)


Breaking the Gaza Blockade Dooms Peace Efforts -Jonathan Tobin

Lifting the Gaza blockade would be the final step toward establishing the sovereignty of the Hamas regime in Gaza.

Granting Hamas such a victory is a blow to Israel, but it is a worse blow to the Palestinians. The end of the blockade will strengthen Hamas and make it all the more likely that they will eventually be able to extend their rule to the West Bank. Giving Hamas such a victory means an end to the peace process. (Commentary)


Judging Israel -Michael Sean Winters

Imagine if the U.S. government knew that a group of sympathizers with al-Qaeda were delivering supplies to an al-Qaeda stronghold. Any commander who permitted the supplies through would be court-martialed. Make no mistake about it...
(National Catholic Reporter)
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