Analysis: From now on, it gets harder The stolen mathematics matriculation exam could have asked the following question: If a group of ships carrying anti-Israel activists and wanted Hamas terrorists are on their way to Gaza from Turkey, how long does it take for Israel to get attacked in the foreign press? The answer would obviously be no time at all. As happened when civilians were killed by an Israeli air strike on the village of Kafr Kana in the Second Lebanon War and when a UN compound in Gaza was hit during Operation Cast Lead, the IDF waited too long to tell Israel’s side of the story. Only after hours of images that made Israel look like the clear aggressor did the IDF release video clips proving that it was IDF soldiers who were attacked indiscriminately on the Mavi Marmara ship, and not peace activists. As in those earlier incidents, the videos were released too late to make any difference. The clips came out just in time for the 8 p.m. news, which likely helped reassure Israelis that we were in the right.
Pal Sport A brutal ambush at sea Ron Ben Yishai recounts bloody clash aboard Gaza-bound vessel: The lacking crowd-dispersal means, the brutal violence of ‘peace activists,’ and the attempt to bring down an IDF helicopter Our Navy commandoes fell right into the hands of the Gaza mission members. A few minutes before the takeover attempt aboard the Marmara got underway, the operation commander was told that 20 people were waiting on the deck where a helicopter was to deploy the first team of the elite Flotilla 13 unit. The original plan was to disembark on the top deck, and from there rush to the vessel’s bridge and order the Marmara’s captain to stop. Officials estimated that passengers will show slight resistance, and possibly minor violence; for that reason, the operation’s commander decided to bring the helicopter directly above the top deck. The Navy commandoes were prepared to mostly encounter political activists seeking to hold a protest, rather than trained street fighters.
Attaque de la flottillle pour Gaza: qu'en dit la presse israélie L'ensemble des journaux israéliens s'accordent pour considérer l'opération du commando de Tsahal de lundi comme un échec. Du Yediot Aharonot qui titrait «PIÈGE» en lettres rouges à Maariv qui demandait «À qui la faute?», l'unanimité est de mise. Mais de fortes nuances se dégagent quant au bienfondé même de l'assaut contre la «flottille». Quand certains éditorialistes dénoncent la violence de l'armée, d'autres accusent le Hamas et ses partisans d'avoir tendu un piège. Gideon Levy du journal Ha'aretz (gauche) décrit le raid comme une «opération mini-Plomb Durci». Si Plomb Durci était un tournant dans l'attitude du monde à notre égard, cette opération est le second film d'horreur d'une série apparemment en cours. Et en guise de conclusion, il ajoute: Une fois de plus hier, et ce n'est pas la première fois, Israël a semblé s'écarter du vaisseau-mère et perdre contact avec le monde –qui n'accepte pas ses agissements et ne comprend pas ses motivations. Et le chroniqueur de s'interroger:
Israel, stop apologizing Israelis are not the ones who should be apologizing for what happened here Monday. We acted just like any progressive country is supposed to act when its sovereignty is being undermined. We tried to do it in diplomatic means, we attempted to appeal to logic, yet when hundreds of “peace activists” armed with bats and knives are determined to fight the “Zionists,” the result is predictable. Nobody in this country wanted to see blood being spilled; neither that of soldiers nor that of the “liberal” lynch mob. It was hard to ignore the fact that those supposedly wishing to quickly provide aid to the besieged Gazans were delayed in Cyprus in order to grant media interviews. So what are we supposed to do next time?