The flotilla to Gaza

[Kor]

so what's your opinion about the incident regarding the flotilla to Gaza?
as someone who lives in Israel, I'm curious to know what are the opinions of people throughout the world. (I'm staying away from sites like facebook/youtube/twitter regarding this issue for numerous reasons).

[meidei]

I'm actually curious about what Israeli people think about the incident.

PS. A more descriptive title would be a good idea

[Kor]

I'm actually curious about what Israeli people think about the incident.

well, I'm not the person to represent what most israelis think. I do not share the love for my country like most of the others. Even though it's the law, I fought against the system and didn't go to the army, mostly because of incidents such as these. I did not want to be in this body called Zahal (the name of the israeli army) and be partly responsible for such incidents.
But enough about me.

In Israel, the opinions are divided to two groups. The lefties (those who want stuff such as to let go of the conquered grounds of Israel, and give it to the palestinians so the plan of "two countries" can be accomplished and maybe finally have peach) and the righties (those who don't want to let go of the grounds, and the extreme righties would rather go to war to settle whatever conflict there is). Currently, the government is really in "right" direction. One of the ministers is Avigdor Lieberman - a russian who only succeeded to ruin our connections with many countries in the world. He's really extreme in his opinions. Our prime minister also doesn't do too well in front of the other countries.
I think it's one of the worst governments we've ever had.

About the incident then. I know what I know from the Israeli media (which I guarantee is much more reliable and correct than any of the muslims controlled medias). the flotilla was on the way to Gaza. Israel offered the flotilla to anchor in Ashdod (a city not far from Gaza), and from there, they would take all the supplies to Gaza via trucks (btw, even though Gaza is under blockade, Israel delivers Gaza supplies all the time, however the Hamas takes these supplies and doesn't give them to the citizens.). Anyway, the people on the flotilla didn't agree and continued to Gaza.
This was the point where I (and probably everyone else) knew that there is more on the flotilla than they want to tell, otherwise, why not to let Israel to get the supplies themselves? WEAPONS. there were tons of weapons on the ship, and some of the "peacefull" people on the ship were part of terrorist organizations.
So with our government, it was decided immediately to block the ships and take them to Ashdod to examine the cargo. The first error of Israel was to block the ships on INTERNATIONAL WATERS. So our troops got down to the ship from a helicopter, however the so called peaceful people of the flotilla, started to violently attack them and stab them one after one. Our troops were just not perpared for it, and they had to open with fire. so the end result was: Zahal took control of the flotilla and took it (along with all the people) to Ashdod, where all the participates of the flotilla were arrested, except for the wounded who were taken for medical help. (as of today, all the participates of the flotilla were freed and went back to the countries they came from).
There were about 6 wounded israeli soldiers, 10 dead participates of the flotilla, and (I think) another 40 wounded participates.
Inside the flotilla, lots of cold weapons (such as buts and knives) were found. So much for "peace activists"

So what do the people think? most righties support the decision Zahal and the government made. The extreme righties even think Zahal should have blown all the ships and all the people inside, but thankfully that didn't happen. The lefties, even though they don't agree with the decision, due to the hate and anger from many parts of the world, try to support and justify the decision.

As for me? I think this whole situation could have been handled differently. In any case, this was a win win situation for the "peace activists" on the flotilla. because had the army let the flotilla get to Gaza, the Hamas and the terrorists would get their hands on the weapons. The other option was to stop the flotilla (as happened) and now all the world is angry at us.
On one hand, I think it is very hypocritical for all those countries to be angry at us. I mean, what country would like ships to anchor illegaly in their land? I also think it's quite stupid that every country finds it right to say "what you should have done". We don't tell the USA or any other country how to handle their conflicts in their countries, especially since they don't truly understand the situation in Israel (I also don't understand why even if Lebanon/Gaza/whoever is the first to attack and make the problem, the end result is that always the world turns against Israel in the issue). Gaza fires their cheap missles every now and then at the close Israeli cities, and we can't just ignore it. Israel is special though due to the war in the middle east. And with the current government, maybe most countries should try to affect Israel, the problem is that people like Lieberman are so damn proud that if for example, the USA will suggest one thing, Lieberman will do the exact opposite.
On the other hand, this whole opperation was a bloody mess which could have somewhat been avoided had it been handled correctly. I don't support ANY military activities because I always know it will create serious problems for Israel and maybe even trigger a new war. Every year now it seems like there's a new reason for all the world to get angry at Israel, and I think we should somehow put an end to it. Zahal and the government (btw, the government changes almost every year or two, and every government makes a really bad mistake regarding the conflict) act with no thoughts and can't usually foresee what their hostile actions will create.
I believe the only way to calm the mood now is to first of all let the new flotilla from Ireland to get to Gaza (though Lieberman and all the rest are against this idea and it seems like Zahal will block the next flotilla as well, even though there will probably be no weapons inside, since the flotilla came from a country we can actually trust), and then try to get back to negotiation and finally try to achieve the plan of giving the palestinians a country. (though as I said, with the current government, it will be impossible for the time being).

Turkey is probably the most furious, however its also not a country that foresees its actions. The money made from tourism in Turkey is heavily relying on Israeli tourists. They already suffered once from such issue, and now I believe it will be even worse for Turkey. That's on the long run though.

I think the worst thing about all this mess is that it buys time for Iran, since most of the world has its eyes on Israel now.

[meidei]

That was an interesting and helpful insight. It's good to know the other points of view within the countries involved. (That's why I love the Internet btw. Traditional media rarely show the other side)

Now, regarding my country*, the general opinion is that attacking a ship in international waters it's inexcusable (and conflicts with various international laws) and the activists had the right to defend themselves, as the attack to the flotilla is an act of piracy (which might not be the best reaction, but it is justifiable).
But there is also one significant group of people, mainly consisting by local activists and -surprisingly- the bigger Right-wing party and the bigger Left-wing party, that although it shares the opinion above, they warned several days prior about Turkish spies being in these ships for clearly not humanitarian reasons and our government should not help the ship and remain neutral (and that's how our government remained, for good or worse).

Personally, I don't like war either. It can bring only destruction. I can't justify Israel's army actions, neither the occupation of any country in the war by any other country. If this about spies and real weapons on the ship is true, then I'm a bit disappointed.

*I live in Cyprus. It's near to Israel and M.E. in general. According to what I hear from older people, historically Cyprus had good relations with the country of Israel. But our governments always regarded Gaza as being illegally occupied by Israel, in the same manner that a big part of Cyprus is being occupied by Turkey (we don't have war though... and we are trying to reunite the country by creating a federation or whatever they call it).

[meidei]

The "evidence" Israel presented was proved to be fake.
http://les-malakies.blogspot.com/2010/06/blog-post_2216.html (post is in Greek but it cites it's sources so you can take a look)
So much for "justified action".

[Girl19]

I know what I know from the Israeli media (which I guarantee is much more reliable and correct than any of the muslims arabic controlled medias).

Fixed.

[Kor]

The "evidence" Israel presented was proved to be fake.
http://les-malakies.blogspot.com/2010/06/blog-post_2216.html (post is in Greek but it cites it's sources so you can take a look)
So much for "justified action".

well then, I have lost all the little bit of faith I still had for the country I grew up in. If in the next year I don't get accepted to Berklee college (Boston), I'll move to germany and start my life there.

[meidei]

The "evidence" Israel presented was proved to be fake.
http://les-malakies.blogspot.com/2010/06/blog-post_2216.html (post is in Greek but it cites it's sources so you can take a look)
So much for "justified action".

well then, I have lost all the little bit of faith I still had for the country I grew up in. If in the next year I don't get accepted to Berklee college (Boston), I'll move to germany and start my life there.

Welcome to the club.
I lost my faith to my country somewhere around 2004~2006. Many of us Cypriots did.

[Kor]

Ok, now it's getting ridiculous!
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3905700,00.html

So no more original ideas? The flotilla concept is so yesterday and overused.

Personally, I think this is getting pretty stupid on EVERYONE's part.

[AICHAN]

I know what I know from the Israeli media (which I guarantee is much more reliable and correct than any of the muslims arabic controlled medias).

Fixed.

yeah,thank you Girl19 , people seems to mix up things in these kind of situation

btw,I'm not sure that Israeli media is that (I saw a report about that in French TV,we can't be sure that their informations are right )

anyway,even before that accident(people call it an incident but when innocent people die,it's more than an incident),the blockade on Gaza is just something that I don't accept,(as long as it's only food or medicines,it doesn't represent any danger)...
I personally think that blockade is increasing the hate of Israel by the population in Gaza,Israel has other ways to defend its territory(considering that its army is very powerful )
I just hope that both countries will find a solution and live in peace...