News

At first glance, the takeover by the Israeli Navy of the
"humanitarian flotilla" heading towards Gaza is just one more of the
disputed crises between Israel and its foes. As in all previous
incidents, the spiral of accusations will eventually reach bottom.
While media attention will highlight the tactical events—seizure of the
ships, rules of engagement, who fired first, the legal location of the
incident and the other dramatic details—the rapidly expanding debate
will soon reach the strategic intent of the "flotilla." After all the
governments involved issue their condemnations and warnings in all
directions, after the UN conferences and issues a statement and
international forums mobilize to indict their predictably targeted
foe—in this case Israel—the question unavoidably will be: why is there
a flotilla heading towards a military zone, and what is the ultimate
goal of the operation?

According to the organizers of the "Free Gaza" network which enjoys
the support of Hamas and its backers in Damascus and Tehran but also of
governments considered in the West as "mainstream" such as the AKP of
Turkey and the oil rich Qatar, this vast coalition of regimes and
organizations assert that the aim of the 700 militants and activists
was to pierce the encirclement of Gaza and lift the naval blockade of
the encla... >>>