a sea of propaganda

a sea of propaganda

Israel and Palestine: A sea of propaganda
June 1, 2010, 20:50
Any episode that involves, directly or indirectly, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is always dominated by propaganda from both sides. A recent attempt to enter Gaza in a fleet of humanitarian aid is no different.

Seems unquestionable that the operational option used by Israel to stop the ships was not the most appropriate and, although it is still premature to make a definitive assessment, it appears that it was disproportionate. Israel tries to justify the action as self defense, but the approach seems largely unjustified.

However, to not get caught up in the narrative pushed by supporters of Israel and Palestine, it should be the entire trajectory of the case.

Once it became public the intention of the activists, Israel proposed that the delivery of aid were made by land, an offer rejected by the protesters.

Furthermore, although the ships were in Turkey, had protesters in Istanbul, near the Israeli Consulate, activists who even then seemed ready to vandalize so they knew the failure of the mission of the boats - although the fleet had yet to make a stopover in Cyprus before arriving in Gaza.

While it is undeniable the need to send humanitarian aid to Gaza, Israel's stance is not as intransigent as it announces and Hamas is not so selfless as to be advocates.

Israel lets in about 15 tons of humanitarian aid in Gaza a week. Hamas has already attacked several humanitarian organizations in Gaza and is known to only provide help to fellow, ignoring people in favor of the PLO - also Palestinians.

Although present themselves as pro-peace activists, apparently on board the ship were members of the HHI, a group known to have close ties with Hamas and suspect the fund.

Before boarding, some members of this organization have signed their wills and desires of past statements. Indeed, in interviews after the arrest, these activists said they were committed to "resistance" to Israel and expressed their wish to die as "martyrs."

However well-intentioned some activists, and as the facts set out above show, the initiative was a deliberate provocation. This was intended to put Israel in the midst of a public relations disaster that, judging by the news coverage was a goal achieved.

Attempts to negotiate were rejected by the activists, stop orders were ignored and at sea, given the nature of some of the groups that formed the fleet, the action was far from politically innocuous.

Diogo Groom.

Researcher at the Portuguese Institute of International Relations and Security (IPRIS)