Israel seems to be not only "allegedly" involving itself in cross-national attempts of sabotage, as witnessed last week, but also exerting a harsh diplomatic effort to prevent the flotilla from reaching Gaza.
Obviously, the Israelis do not want a repeat of last year’s fiasco and are thus trying their best to prevent the Flotilla from sailing on to its intended purpose. If the Flotilla does move and reach Israeli waters, all eyes are going to be fixed on the way Israel handles this event with great scrutiny, not something the Israelis want. To the extent that the Flotilla might actually succeed when they find that the Israeli forces are being cautiously timid in front of the eyes of the media.
Israel has recently attempted to discredit the Flotilla by spinning its propaganda machine as best it could. A video, allegedly made by a gay participant claiming that the Flotilla organizers rejected his participation on the grounds of his sexual orientation and accusing the organizers of being Hamas lovers, turned out to be a hoax that involved an Israeli entrepreneur and some Israeli public servant. The flotilla organizers have repeatedly said that any one, no matter their sexual, racial or whatever orientation, can participate in the Flotilla.
Among the participants is a Jewish holocaust survivor and another is a former Israeli air force pilot. One would think that this sends a clear message to the Israeli government that this is a legitimate Flotilla carrying aid and activist, not weapons, not terrorists, just peace loving human beings.
Now, Israel seems to have succeeded in exerting enough diplomatic pressure on an already embattled, to prevent all Gaza Flotilla ships from leaving port. One US ship, The Audacity of Hope, had set sail when it was accosted by Greek cost guards and commando units with guns who forced them back to port.
Will the Flotilla sail? Or will the covert activities of the Israeli government prevail.
For some reason this incident reminds me of the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior. I hope that we do not see a repeat.
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