No surprise. The United States tried for some ambiguity, but didn’t really get it.
In a formal statement that seemed less forceful than what had been demanded by Palestinians, Arabs and Turkey the council also demanded an impartial investigation into the incident on Monday.
The statement also urged that aid ships seized in the raid be released along with civilians held by Israel.
“The Security Council deeply regrets the loss of life and injuries resulting form the use of force during the Israeli military operation in international waters against the convoy sailing to Gaza,” the statement said, adding that the 15-member body “in this context, condemns those acts which resulted in the loss” of lives.
The wording seemed designed to dilute demands for condemnation exclusively of Israel, which argues that its soldiers acted in self-defense in response to violent resistance to their interception of the vessels from passengers on board. After the incident, Israel seized hundreds of activists as well as the ships.
“The Security Council requests the immediate release of the ships as well as the civilians held by Israel,” the United Nations statement said on Tuesday , calling for “a prompt, impartial, credible and transparent investigation conforming to international standards.”
Read through the article and there are a few bits of conventional wisdom.
Israel used excessive force. For example the French ambassador in a display of hypocrisy is quoted:
Gerard Araud, the French ambassador, said the death toll indicated “there was disproportionate use of force and a level of violence which nothing justifies and which we condemn.”
Why were people killed in the sea off of Gaza? The Islamist-led forces there. Because–as was shown with five of the six ships–if they didn’t fight nobody would be hurt but if they assaulted Israeli soldiers, the latter would defend themselves.
Another theme from the article is that Israel’s blockade of Gaza is “unsustainable.”
But he also described the situation in Gaza as “unsustainable” and called on Israel to undertake a credible investigation.
The blockade has definitely had a downward effect on living standards in the Gaza Strip. And of course there are two blockades since Egypt’s government, which doesn’t want Hamas’s close associates, the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood to seize power and execute is leaders, also maintains an embargo.
But there is no humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. That can be easily proven. Israel allows a great deal of supplies to cross over. That can be proven. Hamas destroyed the border economic zone’s facilities thus denying Gazans jobs. That can be proven. And there is a lot of smuggling across the Egypt-Gaza border which makes up for a good part of the deficit. There is even a humorous angle to all of this, like the way Israel supplied electricity to the Gaza Strip for years even when the bills weren’t paid and Hamas was firing rockets at it.
Repeatedly the article cites that Israel in violation of international law. Daled Amos quotes the relevant section of International law:
According to The San Remo Manual on International Law Applicable to Armed Conflicts at Sea, 12 June 1994
SECTION V : NEUTRAL MERCHANT VESSELS AND CIVIL AIRCRAFT
Neutral merchant vessels
67. Merchant vessels flying the flag of neutral States may not be attacked unless they:
(a) are believed on reasonable grounds to be carrying contraband or breaching a blockade, and after prior warning they intentionally and clearly refuse to stop, or intentionally and clearly resist visit, search or capture;
The article also persists in describing the mission as strictly humanitarian.
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu of Turkey, whose country’s once close relations with Israel have deteriorated markedly since Israel’s invasion of Gaza in 2008, called the attack “tantamount to banditry and piracy; it is murder conducted by a state.”
Noting that the ships were carrying items such as a playground, cancer medicine and milk powder, he said that given the history of the Jews the Israelis should be more conscious than others of “the dangers and inhumanity of ghettoes as the one we currently witness in occupied Gaza.”
The IDF has an inventory and photographs of the arms seized on the ship, Mavi Marmara:
The activists on board had planned an assault on the soldiers boarding the ship, and a battle ensued. Soldiers reported that the passengers used knives, metal rods, firebombs, and other weapons to attack the forces as soon as they boarded the ship.
Finally the article makes a point of emphasizing claims that Israel’s actions have harmed its relations with Turkey. But Turkey, under its current Islamist government and embrace of Israel’s enemies has made a mockery of any friendship that existed between the two countries. Claudia Rosett writes (via Daled Amos):
But one of the main players appears to be Turkey. It was a Turkish ship, the Mavi Marmara, which after a big sendoff from Turkey apparently took the lead in the flotilla, its passengers professing nonviolence while waiting with knives and metal cudgels to start a fight. And in Turkey, a lead player in this bloody exercise has been a Turkish foundation, the radical Islamist IHH, or Foundation for Human Rights, Liberties, and Humanitarian Relief. The IHH enjoys consultative status with the UN as a non-governmental organization, or NGO, has an office in Gaza, and has apparently been taking part in this Gaza stunt with the blessing of Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan. Far from serving as a seal of good housekeeping for the IHH, such ties ought to call into question the judgment of both the UN and Erdogan.
While the Times quotes Israel’s ambassador towards the end, the bulk of the article amplifies phony charges made by Israel’s enemies. Instead of illuminating the issue, it simply serves as a clearinghouse for condemnations of Israel.
Crossposted on Soccer Dad.
