Comment & Debate
“Israel and the Flotilla.” Chicago Tribune Editorial. June 1, 2010: “The more we learn about this incident, though, the more it looks like a setup designed to provoke or embarrass Israel.
Video shows the Israeli commandos were surrounded and attacked as they reached the ship’s deck. The Israelis tried to avoid a lethal confrontation. Israeli officials reportedly offered the vessel the same deal that was accepted by at least one previous flotilla — divert to the Israeli port of Ashdod and unload the cargo for inspection. As long as the cargo doesn’t contain weaponry, it will be shipped into the Gaza Strip by land.”
Cabinet Secretary Zvi Hauser: “The cabinet regrets the fact that there were casualties in this incident, but places the full responsibility on the elements which started the violent activity that put IDF soldiers in danger.”[1]
The Israeli Supreme Court, which rejected several legal suits against the flotilla raid, wrote in its verdict that “the soldiers were forced to respond in order to defend their lives.”