Israel Losing the PR Battle
Without knowing the details of why Israel hit the flotilla of ships headed to Gaza -- or what Israeli intelligence might have known -- the reality is that virtually every country that matters is, in varying degrees, upset at Israel over the incident.
The last thing Israel needs is another enemy in the Middle East, so why would it unleash commandos on a Turkish “aid” ship when Turkey is the only Muslim country that could be called an ally of Israel?
In fact, the Turks were apparently scheduled to participate in military exercises with Israeli forces until the raid. These have now been cancelled, or suspended, depending on how diplomacy plays out.
Without knowing details of why Israel hit that flotilla of ships supposedly delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza -- or what Israeli intelligence might have known -- reality is that virtually every country that matters is, in varying degrees, upset at Israel over this incident.
Usually Israel has good reason for its actions - be it a surprise air attack on a Syrian nuclear site, or invading Gaza after years of enduring Hamas rocket attacks from that enclave, or eliminating terrorists before they can attack.
But storming this convoy makes things difficult on a number of fronts.
It’s difficult not to feel Israel was suckered into attacking – that it fell for the ploy of so-called peace activists who are as hostile to Israel as they are supportive of Hamas. By its actions, Israel has done what its enemies hoped for, and will exploit.
Israeli commandos who boarded the Turkish ship from helicopters didn’t expect resistance, and so weren’t aggressively armed. Dumb, but that seems the case.
The intent was to check that it was, indeed, humanitarian aid and not weapons -- and to divert the flotilla to an Israeli port for delivery to Gaza. There are enough examples of humanitarian aid being misused, or used to disguise weapons, to justify Israel’s concerns.
Genuine humanitarians or peace advocates would condemn countries like Iran, Sudan and North Korea as well as Israel, but these people restrict their condemnations to Israel only. Small wonder Israelis are suspicious.
Both Israel and Egypt cooperate on blockading Gaza in hopes of undermining Hamas, and bolstering the Palestinian Authority of Mahmoud Abbas. One wonders if this incident will change all that?
A misfortune for Israel will be if it has so alienated Turkey that it loses it as a friend - tenuous as that “friendship” may be under Turkey’s present government which seeks leadership in the Arab world while being a member of NATO.
Despite protestations, the Israeli attack will be seen as a victory for the Turkish Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) -- a global fund-raiser for Hamas linked with the radical Islamic Brotherhood that opposes Turkey’s secular government and wants Sharia law imposed. IHH got the propaganda weapon they wanted – international condemnation of Israeli violence.
Israeli commandos were manna from heaven for Israel’s enemies at home and abroad. They taste blood.
Watch the anti-Israel feeding frenzy of the piranha at the UN. It puts Barack Obama on the spot – and he’s no fan of Israel anyway. Prime Minister Stephen Harper is Israel’s friend but is clearly embarrassed.
Will Hamas now step up rocket attacks and suicide bombings? More denunciations? Will Iran’s hostility be more overt? Will Israel dare do anything if Iran persists in developing nuclear weapons?
Increasingly, Israel will be blamed, even if there’s evidence to the contrary. Perception is reality, and Israel does not look good at the moment, even though its actions may be justified.