Israeli naval commandos seized control of a French yacht – the last remaining ship from the Freedom Flotilla 2 – as the crew attempted to finalize a protest against Israel’s sea blockade of the Gaza Strip.
No one was hurt during today’s seizure – a stark improvement from last May when nine activists were murdered during a similar demonstration.
Israel’s navy brass have claimed success from the military operation, saying the blockade is necessary to prevent arms from being smuggled into Gaza.
So Israel can claim success, but how about the activists from the Freedom Flotilla? Can they claim success as well?
Yes. Absolutely!
While they admittedly failed to attain their primary goal to bring humanitarian aide to the oppressed peoples of Gaza, the Flotilla’s overall act of protest was designed to call attention to the continuing injustices perpetrated by the State of Israel – a goal which has been a resounding success.
Today’s Flotilla interception garnered massive headlines, capturing top billing on many news sites, which will ultimately help the Palestinian cause.
Now, a small percentage of the people who happen to come upon these articles might just wonder why foreign professors, journalists and other upstanding citizens would take such dramatic and daring actions.
Then, they might even stumble upon a new perspective for the Israel-Palestine situation, and perhaps even go on to gain sympathy for the Palestinians who have to endure Apartheid-like conditions every single day.
And that is exactly what needs to happen for the situation to improve – Israel’s subjugation of the Palestinian people will only cease once the world comes together to stop it, and that will only happen when enough people know what is going on.
