Israeli Raid: 'Bloody, Bungled Takeover' Deepens Israel's Isolation
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Facts emerging are that Israel attacked the aid flotilla in international waters, and at night with armed and masked naval commandos. It's indefensible, really. One of the few tenets of international relations is that you never attack aid convoys (who in this instance were carrying Turkish citizens), and in international waters no less.
Edit: There's a full video.
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Quote:JERUSALEM (AP) -- Israel's bloody, bungled takeover of a Gaza-bound Turkish aid vessel is complicating U.S.-led Mideast peace efforts, deepening Israel's international isolation and threatening to destroy the Jewish state's ties with key regional ally Turkey.
And while Israel had hoped to defend its tight blockade of Hamas-ruled Gaza with Monday's high-seas raid, it instead appeared to be hastening the embargo's demise, judging by initial international condemnation.
The pre-dawn commando operation, which killed nine pro-Palestinian activists, was also sure to strengthen Gaza's Islamic militant Hamas rulers at the expense of U.S. allies in the region, key among them Hamas' main rival, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, as well as Egypt and Jordan.
"The attack on a humanitarian mission ... will only further alienate the international community and isolate Israel while granting added legitimacy to Hamas' claim to represent the plight of the Palestinian people," said Scott Atran, an analyst at the University of Michigan.
The Mediterranean bloodshed dealt another blow to the Obama administration's efforts to get peace talks back on track. It raised new questions about one of the pillars of U.S. policy - that Hamas can be left unattended as Washington tries to broker a peace deal between Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The raid tested U.S.-Israeli ties that have not yet fully recovered from their most serious dispute in decades, triggered by Israeli construction plans in disputed east Jerusalem.
In the most immediate fallout, the interception of the six-boat flotilla carrying 10,000 tons of supplies for Gaza trained the global spotlight on the blockade of the territory. Israel and Egypt sealed Gaza's borders after Hamas overran the territory in 2007, wresting control from Abbas-loyal forces.
Link
Facts emerging are that Israel attacked the aid flotilla in international waters, and at night with armed and masked naval commandos. It's indefensible, really. One of the few tenets of international relations is that you never attack aid convoys (who in this instance were carrying Turkish citizens), and in international waters no less.
Edit: There's a full video.
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