“This is a historic day … a day of freedom … a turning point in the battle to end the siege of Gaza,” said Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniya on Gaza television. He sent his sympathies to the families of the dead and assured them the people would be viewed as “martyrs” in the campaign to liberate the Palestinian people.
For a Jewish perspective.
At least 10 activists dead, dozens hurt in flotilla clashes
Upon boarding the ships, the soldiers encountered fierce resistance from the passengers who were armed with knives, bats and metal pipes. The soldiers used non-lethal measures to disperse the crowd. The activists, according to an IDF report, succeeded in stealing two handguns from soldiers and opened fire, leading to an escalation in violence.
Belmont Club » Where the Old Flotilla Lay
Together those three developments — the shadow of the Iranian nukes, the missiles of Hezbollah and the loss of American support — may have fostered a regional perception that Israel is vulnerable. Certainly the flotilla organizers could not have been insensible to the rising pressure on Israel and were determined to exploit it, nor was it lost on the IDF that if they showed weakness in the face of the flotilla there would be more to follow. In one sense the flotilla put to sea on the perceived political tides and were met by IDF elements sailing on the contrary currents. The result was a clash inconsequential in itself, but not in the sparks that it may generate.
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It’s about 3 am in Chicago and near enough that on the East Coast. Here’s the proverbial 3am call for good old Hillary and Barack Obama to field. Let’s hope they are up to it.
UPDATE: Pajamas has some good coverage; Findalis reminds us that those who support Hamas are complicit in a desire to kill all Jews everywhere.
2 comments:
going out on a limb here, not sure what your view of the Middle East is, but there is no making sense of the senseless
Gregory,
I agree that there is little meaning in violence, just horror. But there is lots to say, and lots being said, about people who call themselves "human rights" advocates - and about journalists who call them "human rights" advocates - and attempt to force their way into a blockaded war zone in order to test the mettle of a beseiged state that offers them more orderly means of inspecting and delivering their "humanitarian supplies". Still, I yet have little to say about this event but was struck by the quote I posted by the Hamas leader. I am not surprised to find a rather clear desire for "martyrs"; he seems happy people died for the cause and celebrates the day. There seems to be a great demand for victims on that side and people willing to create them. Recognizing that mentality of human sacrifice seems to me one essential key in making sense of Israel's dilemma and the moral consciousness of people who elect such leaders.
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