For such a high-tech state, so advanced, could they not have used non-lethal weaponry? Stun guns, tear gas, bean bag guns, and so on. New reports suggest the people on the boat only defended themselves with wooden staves.

And what permits them to do such things to vessels in international waters, in the name of a state? If they were so concerned about weapons being on boards the vessels, why not send their navy there, and tow the vessels back to Ashdod, get the people off, and then check the cargo? Would that not have been a more intelligent way of dealing with this than boarding suspected vessels and shooting protesters?

Israel has enemies I’m sure, but it just seems to me that the past decade they are getting more and more desperate and violent, but with no similar or matching enemy aggression. So the Palestinians send a rocket or two over, then the Israelis flatten towns and any large buildings, hardly a measured or equal response.

Even the US is beginning to lose patience, and although the UN is toothless and useless, even it is starting to act in whatever limited way it can. In the entire sixty years or so this low-level war has been going on, is no-one yet sick and tired of it? Can no-one step forward and finally come up with a workable and lasting peace for the region?

They were formed after WW2 to look after all of us. Everyone on the planet. The big five, US, Russia, UK, France, China, all were supposed to act in our favour whether we came from Ghana, Uruguay, or the Dominican Republic.

But today the US abstained from the vote re: Gaza Truce. It doesn’t stop it of course, since they abstained rather than vetoed. But does anyone remember a time when the US acted in the Palestinian’s favour? Have they, ever?

I suppose it’s just coincidental that the US supplies weapons to Israel?

It does seem very one-sided, rather like, say, the Nazis attacking Holland. One or two rockets thrown over from Gaza doesn’t balance the books in terms of military threat, or of people killed (4 Israelis killed, 385 Palestinians as of Dec. 31st). And, no signs of any halt yet.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a fan of the Palestinians. I just think that treating them like prisoners in their own land, restricting their movement to jobs, restricting materials to them, and so on, it’s abhorrent and beneath a “civilised” people like the Israelis. But then again, firing rockets into Israel from Gaza for… err… well actually I don’t know if there is a reason other than “they’re Jews”, is probably a root cause!

The BBC puts it simply enough:

Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Arye Mekel said the border closures were intended to apply pressure to the Palestinian authorities to stop militants in Gaza firing rockets at Israel.

“If they stop the rockets today, everything would go back to normal,” he said.

Yep, I’d say that would probably do it. If I were the Palestinians, I’d do it just so see if the restrictions stop.

I suppose now the Israeli soldiers can use their american-supplied nightvision scopes though…