Israel launches unprovoked attack on ship in international water, 10-19 civilians on ship killed
Israel loves the unprovoked attack, apparently. As with the Japanese in 1941, Israel has has declared war by an attack. (I also recall their unprovoked attack on the USS Liberty, also in international waters, in a deliberate attempt to sink the American ship.)
Several reports are below. You’ll note that Israel refers to the persons defending the ship as “attackers.” I would consider the armed intrusion of the Israeli commandos the attack. But Israel always casts itself as the victim,A so the people on board the ship are the attackers.
Here are some reports:
ThinkProgress: Israeli Commandos Raid Gaza Aid Flotilla, Netanyahu Cancels Meeting With Obama
Haaretz: A Special Place in Hell / The Second Gaza War: Israel lost at sea
Greenwald: Israel attacks aid ship, kills at least 10 civilians
Al Jazeera: Deadly Israeli raid on aid fleet
J Street: In Wake of Flotilla Tragedy, J Street Urges Stronger US Leadership to End Conflict Now
We don’t know the full story; something provoked this, obviously.
And since we don’t know what provoked this, none of what we’re reading about this matters, and to draw conclusions (such as the title of your post) is equally pointless.
Anonymous
31 May 2010 at 2:30 pm
It seems pretty clear that what provoked the attack was that the ship was carrying humanitarian aid for Gaza and Israel decided to defend its siege of Gaza by attacking the aid ship (in international waters). All the accounts agree on that. Is there something I’m overlooking?
LeisureGuy
31 May 2010 at 2:41 pm