Looking at the map of Gaza I see it's by the water, don't they have their own port?
If Israel is blocking Gaza's own territory by the water then that is wrong. Nobody has the right to block someone elses territory.
If Israel wants to deal with it they can go to a full out war (invasion) with Gaza, I actually thought Gaza was the area of palestine that was landlocked.
I'm all for a major Israeli / Palestine all out war. Let them settle it once and for all, I'm getting sick of reading about this issue in the newspaper all the time, I want to see other news for a change, like Pamela Anderson and her hepatitis.
A blockade is an Act of War, and any of the parts of a conflict may set up a blockade.
There are rules according to International Law that has to be followed.
One of the rules (which Israel did not follow initially) is that there must be a list of what
materials is under blockade.
This list must not contain certain things like medical supplies, and enough food must be
let through to prevent starvation.
Dual use materials, like concrete, can be on the list.
War is certainly not a solution to the problem.
A political settlement is needed, but that is not going to happen
until the Palestinians get a leadership that is interested in the welfare
of the Palestinians, and it is not going to happen with the current
Israeli government.
Are you on some kind of psychedelic trip or something? Enemy combatants? It was carrying activists form 50 differents nations. There were even priests, journalists and members of parliaments among them. Besides, they didn't find anything illegal on the ship. Then they tried to compensate it by showing some kitchen knifes and ripped guardrails, which could be found pretty much in any household to show the world how 'malicious' the activists were.
Spare me from your silly reinterpretations of the international law. The funny thing is that you are essentially reimagining the international law in order to support one of its worst violators.
You can't fvcking drop commandos from helicopters on the civillian ships in internatinal waters over the intelligence you think you have, then expect to be greeted with flowers. Are you out of your freaking mind? You will face with resistance. Let me dumb it down a little for you, if you break into someone's home by using violence, then you can't blame the owner of the house with being a "war criminal" if he tries to stop you with violence. Does it make any sense? No?..
If Israel was indeed acting in self defence, its political price would NEVER EVER be as expensive as an apology. Turkey shall never extend an apology to Russia over the downed Jet despite any political and economic repercussions since it was a self defence in one of its purest form
Your call for Turkish Navy escort alone tells how cluless you are on the issue. You can't even predict its posible outcomes and how it would mean a major escalation which could result even in a war. Besides, I don't see how a Navy escort could be suitlbe option to prevent the entry of contrabands into Gaza. In case of such an agreement between Turkey and Israel, some mechanisms and procedures in order to guarantee Israel's safety would surely be implemented anyway.
Under International Law (the San Remo Manual, which governs warfare at sea), International Waters
do NOT have any special protection for civilian ships.
Any civilian ship may not be boarded there, but a civilian ship which has STATED ITS INTENT
to attempt to break the blockade, may be boarded on International Waters.
Resisting boarding, is equivalent to resisting the Police when they enter Your house
with warrant to search through it.
Even if you do not have any illegal items at home, violent resisting will make You a criminal,
and in severe cases, You may be legally shot.
International Laws have similar clauses about resisting legal boarding.
If you resist the boarding, you are by definition an enemy combatant and can be shot.
I think You better read up on International Law, instead of just reading the articles of
sloppy Journalists, which established the MYTH, that International Waters give some kind
of protection.
Paragraph 67 of the Manual states that it is permitted for belligerents to attack merchant vessels flying the flag of neutral States outside of neutral waters if they "are believed on reasonable grounds to be carrying
contraband or breaching a
blockade, and if after prior warning they intentionally and clearly refuse to stop, or intentionally and clearly resist visit, search or capture". Paragraph 146 states that it is permitted to capture neutral merchant vessels outside neutral waters if they are engaged in any of the activities referred to in paragraph 67. The term
neutral waters is defined in paragraph 14: "Neutral waters consist of the internal waters, territorial sea, and, where applicable, the archipelagic waters, of neutral States."
Israel cannot inspect the vessel inside Turkish (or other territorial) waters, but pretty much anywhere else. The INTENT to break the blockade is enough to allow inspection.
Not having any contraband does not give protection against beeing inspected,
so what materials were actually found on the ships is irrelevant.
Accompanying the vessel with a Navy Escort is fully regulated by International Law,
and cannot be questioned by Israel, and will surely not lead to war, if Turkey acts
responsibly and gives advanced warning to Israel about its intent,
to give IDF a chance to educate the Navy.
This means that Turkey takes FULL responsibility for the cargo and the ships should be inspected by Turkey, and not by Israel.
If a Turkish citizen brings a gun, without the knowledge of their superiors, they are STILL
responsible for breaking International Law, so it is not something that should be taken lightly.
The reason You do not understand these things is that You have not done any research
like actually reading the neccessary parts of International Law.