On May 31, Israeli commandos staged an operation in the Mediterranean Sea that has provoked outrage in the Arab world, Turkey and even Europe.
Israeli warships and helicopters stopped the so-called Freedom Flotilla - a convoy of six ships, some sailing under the Turkish flag - 65 km away from their border. The ships were allegedly carrying humanitarian aid to the "besieged" Gaza Strip. The cargo was escorted by about 700 Arab and Turkish human rights activists. Al Jazeera is reporting that for some reason many of them were wearing masks of Hamas commandos and other Palestinian groups when the Israelis stormed the ships. Israel has reported that at least 10 people were killed and about 30 were wounded during the operation.
Amr Moussa, the Secretary General of the Arab League, immediately issued a statement in which he claimed that Israel "is rejecting the very idea of peace in the region." Moussa also questioned the need to hold indirect Palestinian-Israeli peace talks. He was supported by Catherine Ashton, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, who demanded a full investigation of the incident and urged Israel to allow humanitarian and commercial shipments to Gaza. Ankara's reaction was the harshest of all. Turkey called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council and announced its intention to recall its ambassador from Israel.
Emotions are running high, but for some reason both politicians and the Arab world seem to be forgetting that the organizers and ideologues behind the flotilla deliberately provoked the Israelis to use force.
The flotilla was funded by two "charity" organizations - the Free Gaza Movement and the Turkish Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH). Israeli officials believe that both organizations have ties to Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood, which is banned in Egypt, and Al-Qaeda.
The organizers of the convoy did not conceal their motive before departing from Cyprus. It was their explicit aim to break the Israeli blockade and enter the port of Gaza, bypassing Israeli immigration and customs. For its part, Israel offered to receive the ships at the port of Ashdod, inspect the cargo and then transport it over land to Gaza.
Israel warned the flotilla repeatedly that it will not be allowed to enter Gaza without inspection. This is an entirely reasonable demand. Several years ago, when the Gaza Strip was still controlled by the universally recognized government of Mahmoud Abbas, attempts were made to smuggle large shipments of weapons into Gaza under the guise of humanitarian aid or mixed in with it. For example, there was the seizure of Karine A, a freighter carrying 50 tons of weapons. Israel seized hundreds of tons of weapons from the Francop in November 2009. The weapons were stored in containers that had been meticulously concealed.
There were well-known human rights activists on board the flotilla, but there were other passengers with aggressive attitudes, who met the Israeli commandos with long knives, iron rods and firearms. One Arab television channel reported that some passengers attacked the Israeli commandos with knives and iron rods, and they seized a weapon from one of the commandos and shot at the Israeli forces. The commandos opened fire. The Israeli army press service has reported that "as a result of the clashes, six paratroopers were wounded, two of them severely. Two pistols and a variety of ammunition were later found on the ferry."
While they did not reach Gaza, the organizers of the flotilla have achieved their goal. Israel now finds itself in the center of a massive international scandal. As usual, the fingers are pointing in Israel's direction. As usual, the Arabs are portrayed as the victims of Israeli aggression, and the organizers of the provocation continue to keep a low profile. Neither the Arabs, nor Turkey, nor European liberals mention their names. In fact, they don't even want to know who they really are.
The opinions expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.
MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti political commentator Andrei Murtazin)
