International Activists Cause Their Own Deaths
By Attacking Non-confrontational Israeli
Commandos?
By Belén Fernández
May 31, 2010 "Palestine Think Tank" -- At a
press briefing this morning following the massacre
by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) commandos of passengers on board the
Mavi Marmara, one of the boats pertaining to the Freedom Flotilla
attempting to break the siege of Gaza, IDF spokeswoman Avital
Liebovitch claimed that the passengers had engaged in “severe violence
against our soldiers.”
According
to Liebovitch, the violence was premeditated and was administered via
live fire, sharp items such as knives, and weapons “grabbed” from the
IDF commandos. While underscoring Israel’s unique ability to portray
its armed forces as victims, the analysis failed to provide a
compelling reason for why—if the alleged attack using grabbed weapons
was indeed premeditated—the IDF did not throw a wrench in the works by
simply refraining from raiding the ship.
Apparently
not satisfied with sporadic violations of logic, Liebovitch reiterated
that the IDF had not desired a confrontation with the activists but
that the justness of the confrontation— which she herself admitted
occurred “not in Israeli territory”—had since been proven given the
passengers’ alleged reaction. The Israeli tendency to award retroactive
justification to its actions was also evident during the 2008-2009
attack on Gaza, which Israel advertised as a defensive war against
Palestinian rockets by severing the portion of the cause-and-effect
timeline that involved deliberate Israeli violations
of the ceasefire agreement with Hamas. The inversion of aggressor and
victim did not of course prevent Gazan civilians from perishing in this
particular confrontation at a rate of approximately 400:1 vis-à-vis
their Israeli counterparts.
As for the inversion of
aggressor and victim aboard the Mavi Marmara, a communiqué
on the website of the Israeli Foreign Ministry this morning confirmed
that pre-planned “life-threatening and violent activity” against the
IDF commandos could have been averted had the humanitarian vessels
heeded the invitation of the Israeli Navy to dock at Ashdod, “where
they would be able to unload their aid material which would then be
transferred over land [to Gaza] after undergoing security inspections.”
Such charitable offers regarding the fate of 10,000 tons of
international aid have yet to be reconciled with the continuing Israel
denial that there is a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, or with the fact
that pencils and laundry detergent have not in recent Gazan history
been eligible for overland transfer. The naval invitation to Ashdod has
meanwhile been called into question by Liebovitch’s declaration this
morning that the purpose of the confrontation on the Mavi Marmara was
simply to prevent the passengers’ entrance to Israel.
Other
finishing touches to Liebovitch’s post-massacre performance include her
announcement that it was fortunate that the commandos participating in
the raid “had those guns” to defend themselves during the attack,
despite her earlier claim that said weaponry had been a critical
feature of the premeditated violence. We can only assume that the same
sort of fortune is awaiting the IDF in the event that it is forced into
another confrontation with Gazan civilians, whose fabricated
humanitarian crisis is of course the root cause of the plot by
international activists to attack Israeli soldiers.
Satrio Arismunandar
Executive ProducerNews Division, Trans TV, Lantai 3
Jl. Kapten P. Tendean Kav. 12 - 14 A, Jakarta 12790
Phone: 7917-7000, 7918-4544 ext. 3542, Fax: 79184558,
79184627 http://satrioarismunandar6.blogspot.comhttp://satrioarismunandar.multiply.com Verba
volant scripta manent...(yang terucap akan lenyap, yang tertulis akan abadi...)
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