Israel, which has been perfectly content to ignore successive condemnatory UN resolutions demanding it end the occupation of Palestinian land, nevertheless saw fit Saturday to appeal to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon insisting he stop the latest attempt to sail aid to Gaza.

There could hardly be a clearer demonstration of the Hebrew word “Chutzpah” which means “outrageous cheek”. The Netanyahu government has also been pressuring Greece, where the MV Amalthea has been loading with 2,000 tons of humanitarian aid and Moldova, whose flag the vessel flies, to stop the voyage or have the ship diverted to the Egyptian port of El-Arish.

Saturday night the Israelis were claiming victory in their diplomatic arm-twisting. It remains to be seen if the vessel, chartered by a Libyan charity, will actually sail at all and if it does, will abide by the routing imposed by the Israelis.

It is high time the international community woke up to the enormity of the Israeli blockade of Gaza. It does not matter that in the wake of the murderous pirate attack against the Mavi Marmara, the Israelis “eased” this siege. Their blockade contravenes international law. If the occupation of Palestinians’ land is illegal then it stands to reason that putting an economic and welfare noose around their necks is no less illegal, to say nothing of being deeply immoral.

That the Israelis should seek to browbeat other countries to respect the cordon they have thrown around the 1.3 million inhabitants of Gaza is despicable. That Netanyahu should even have sought to appeal to the UN is outrageous.

The answer is for Israel to be challenged in detail. An international flotilla of not eight but many dozens of merchant vessels needs to be loaded with aid — most especially much needed building materials — and sent to Gaza. And just to make sure these vessels are not subject to further pirate attacks, warships of the nations whose ships are involved should convoy the freedom fleet into Gaza waters and protect it while it discharges its cargo. If Israel dares to attack, as well it might, then it can expect not only a naval response but a major diplomatic incident.

In an ideal world the United States should be part of this process. In the late 18th century Washington was glad to take on and help defeat the Barbary corsairs. Today US warships are part of the international force seeking to check Somali pirates. Therefore why should the Americans not be part of a perfectly legal international effort to bring urgently required supplies to the beleaguered people of Gaza? This is nothing to do with Hamas that Washington and Brussels persist in regarding a pariah administration. It has everything to do with humanitarian assistance for a substantial population who have been bombed, brutalized and beggared by Israeli oppression.

In the end it is not enough for the international community simply to wring its hands over Israel’s behavior. It needs to be challenged physically and a large multinational freedom fleet escorted by warships from many nations looks like a powerful option.


Source: Arab News