What should Israel do now?

This is a guest post by AKUS

I know, of course, that this is unlikely to be read by any of the usual suspects in Israel who are responsible for invariably turning a brilliant military action into a PR disaster, but, just in case, here are some ideas for them:
1. Fight the silly “international waters” issue vigorously. The “peace activists” and their supporters are now claiming that this was an unwarranted attack on peaceful ships cruising in international waters.
2. The declared objective of these ships was to get to Gaza. They did not hide their objective, they proclaimed it loudly, frequently, and in every media outlet that could be bothered repeating it.
3. Since Hamas is at war with Israel, they were declaring their intent to aid and abet an enemy of a sovereign state of the United Nations. In fact, they were fellow travelers of Hamas, and Israel is within its rights to defend itself against Hamas and its supporters. Therefore, whether they were in international waters or within the area that Israel had stated is off-limits is immaterial – their declared intention was to reach that area, and the difference between being apprehended where they were and inside the blockaded area is only one of time and distance, not “international law”
4. Since they may well have been carrying weapons for Hamas, and were certainly and deliberately carrying materials Israel has said cannot be delivered to Hamas since Hamas will use them for military purposes, Israel was well within its rights to carry out a search of the ships.
5. Had the “peace activists” not resisted violently, they would have been diverted to Ashdod with no casualties. In fact, they used extreme violence:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/v/gYjkLUcbJWo&color1=0x2b405b&color2=0x6b8ab6&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1%22%3E%3C/param%3E%3Cparam]
6. Point out that this is yet another case of the use of quasi-civilian “human shields” being used to protect Hamas and its operatives.
7. I saw “quasi-human-shields” because, in fact, by allying themselves with Hamas, they became, de facto, members of a widely proscribed terrorist organization.
8. However, it is also clear that the objectives of the organizers (IHH and others) clearly included a desire to have civilians put in harm’s way and be used either to embarrass Israel into not stopping the ships, or to do worse by having “civilian casualties” among “peaceful protesters” (see the clip above for evidence of what a lie that was) call down condemnation on Israel.
9. Point out that any nation that was threatened by a group planning to deliver aid, possibly including arms, and certainly proscribed materials, to a terror group that regularly fired rockets and sent terrorist suicide bombers into its territory would have stopped a shipment like this, without waiting for it to get closer to its planned destination. Israel has the same right.
10. Point out that Israel does not send flotillas of “activists” to the world’s trouble spots to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, and neither should other countries do that to Israel.
11. Point out that countries whose citizens were part of this flotilla passively or actively permitted an act of war against Israel to occur.
12. Point out that with their support of Hamas, those on the ships were taking a belligerent position in an on-going war, opposed to Israel.
13. As combatants, they are not “peaceful activists” any more than various US citizens who were found to have joined Al Queda are “peaceful activists”. The US has had no trouble taking care of those.
14. As combatants, and combatants that offered violent resistance to Israeli troops, they are now POWs. They should be kept in Israeli prisons (and I know that Israeli is foolishly releasing them) until Hamas releases Gilad Shalit in exchange.
There’s probably more I could add, but here are three concluding thoughts:
The reason these hypocrites thought they could get away with their stunt is, in fact, because Israel has, for years allowed them to waltz around Gaza and the WB, sowing their discord and propaganda back home at Israel’s expense. Scanning the passenger list I was shocked to see how many has spent time in the WB or Gaza, returning back to their home country to campaign against the very country that allowed them to do that. Its time to get them all out of there, and make sure they do not come back. Let them rant and rave in Trafalgar Square or on the Seine, but not on the West Bank or in Gaza.
Second, Israel needs a motto that will warn people not to do this. What springs to mind is this:


Leave Israel alone, and it will leave you alone. Mess with Israel, and you will suffer.
Finally:
Kol hakavod, Zahal!!
Another brilliant operation carried out successfully that once again shows Israel’s enemies that there is nowhere that they can escape Israel’s efforts to defend itself and Zahal’s reach.

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