Arab News Editorial: Ship shenanigans

Arab News Editorial: Ship shenanigans

Will the world now finally wake up to the brutality of Israeli government?

Another aid ship, the Irish-flagged Rachel Corrie, has been boarded and seized by the Israeli Navy in a further act of piracy. As with last week's murderous assault on the main Freedom Flotilla in which nine peace activists died in a hail of bullets, the attackers used sophisticated communications jamming equipment before the attack. Last night, therefore, the world only had the Israelis' word that the ship had been captured without resistance from the largely Irish crew.

The vessel, which had quite legitimately refused orders to alter course away from Gaza, was reportedly on its way to the port of Ashdod in Israel.  From there, the Netanyahu government announced the aid would be taken on to Gaza once it had been inspected and forbidden items, such as building materials had been removed.

Hamas however has been refusing to accept the original cargo seized from the Freedom Flotilla, unless everything it contained, including cement and building materials were released. It was expected that it would take the same stance over the latest goods that were destined for the 1.6 million Palestinians blockaded in Gaza. This may at first glance seem self-defeating, but since Egypt, in response to Israel's bloody piracy last week, has thrown open its border and effectively ended the blockade, it must be hoped that the sufferings of the entrapped Gaza population are already being relieved.

With even Washington now saying openly that the continued Gaza blockade is insupportable, the Israelis are almost completely isolated diplomatically. Their bloody high seas aggression against the Turkish vessel the MV Mavi Mamara has seriously damaged their relations with both Ankara and Cairo. It remains to be seen how tough a response the Turkish government will take. Certainly the majority of Turks has been horrified at Israel's deadly behavior and there is little mood to protect arms and trade deals which the Israelis have fostered between the two countries.

There is one key point that has generally been overlooked in the worldwide coverage of Israeli piracy and that is why the Palestinians of Gaza are so in need of the building materials which the Israelis claim could be used by Hamas for aggressive purposes. Thousands of structures, homes, schools, hospitals and public buildings were destroyed or seriously damaged in the barbarous Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Ghetto in December 2008. The destruction added to the already considerable woes of an isolated and brutalized Palestinian population.

Thus the reason that cement and other building materials are so urgently needed is to repair the havoc and wreckage that the Israelis themselves created. For sure the Hamas administration may seek to build bunkers but the real purpose of the construction items is to allow the people of Gaza to rebuild their homes and their lives. In this sense then, Israel is perpetuating the bombardment of 17 months ago, seeking to maintain the widespread destruction they wrought so shamelessly.

Once again, those who long for justice for Palestinians will be asking, will the world now finally wake up to the cynical brutality of this allegedly civilized Israeli government?