Gaza blockade 2010 by Free Gaza Flotilla a PR victory for Hamas

The Gaza Blockade, a very important aspect of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, was began about 3 years ago by Israel and Egypt to contain Hamas, the militant Palestinian group that controls Gaza. The Israeli raid on the Free Gaza Flotilla that happened last week has refocused international attention on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and Gaza’s isolation. There are international leaders questioning reasons for continuing the blockade. Critics call the Gaza Blockade a strategy of inhumane oppression. Those in support say the blockade is essential to prevent rocket attacks by Hamas on Israeli soil.

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Israeli raid investigation wanted by UN

The United Nations, European leaders and others harshly criticized Israel after its commandos stormed six ships in international waters. There were about 700 activists were trying to break the Gaza Blockade by bringing in 10,000 tons of aid. It was reported by Voice of The US that U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the violence aboard the Turkish ship could are avoided if Israel had heeded earlier calls to lift the Gaza Blockade, which has prevented essential goods from reaching Gaza’s 1.5 million residents. Ban explained that he is considering an investigation into the Israeli raid that resulted in the deaths of nine pro-Palestinian activists.

Israel stands by Gaza Blockade

Israel says that it allows more than enough food, medicine and supplies into Gaza and opposes any independent investigation of the attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla. The Associated Press reports that Israel also rejects claims that Gaza is within the midst of a humanitarian crisis. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an address to his nation the aim of the flotilla was to break the blockade, not to bring aid to Gaza. ”This was not the ‘Love Boat’,” Netanyahu explained, “It was a hate boat.” Israel says its soldiers were acting in self-defense because there were passengers that attacked them when the commandos rappelled onto the ship from helicopters.

Hamas wins by losing

The attack on the Free Gaza Flotilla is seeming to be the latest public relations coup for militant organizations dedicated to antagonizing Israel. In 2006 Hezbollah scored a huge victory over Israel merely by surviving an onslaught it sought to provoke in southern Lebanon that devastated the countryside. Hamas, which regularly terrorizes Israel with rocket attacks that come from Gaza, seems to escape international rebuke for that misbehavior. Meantime, Israel finds itself in lose-lose situations when it claims to be defending itself. Netanyahu has warned that if the blockade ends, hundreds of ships will bring in thousands of missiles from Iran to be aimed at Israel.

Gifts given to enemies by Israel

The situation that was actually created by the Gaza Blockade and the Free Gaza Flotilla creates a geopolitical Rubik’s Cube for the United States. America’s relationships in the Middle East may have to be reset to a shifting balance of power that now sees Turkey — a non-Arab country who gained massive Middle East street cred by sanctioning the blockade — as the linchpin. Israel is the loser. Hamas is the only winner. It was reported by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace the U.S., Egypt and even the Palestinian Authority had been betting on the weakening and eventual demise of Hamas. But now, Hamas can operate from a position of strength, ironically, because of Israel.