There was nothing illegal in Israel’s actions

Enemies of Israel (though of course they go on insisting that they are mere “critics” of Israel) continue to say that because the IDF boarded the flotilla in international waters, the boarding, though it was entirely non-violent, was an act of piracy and therefore the people on the ships had every right to use violence against the IDF, including stabbing them, shooting them, throwing them overboard, taking them prisoner, and so on, while the IDF, being the aggressors, had no right to defend themselves. Among other things the “critics” have missed are that Israel and Hamas are in a state of armed beligerency, that blockades are a recognized tool of war, that if a ship running a blockade refuses to stop voluntarily, it may be stopped involuntarily, and that there are no rules stating that a blockade can only be enforced within the enforcer’s territorial waters. To the contrary, once a ship belonging to a non-participant to an armed conflict leaves its home port with the intention of breaking a blockade, it is considered as being in the act of breaking the blockade and can be stopped. See again the discussion in the entry, “Israel’s actions: legal and necessary.”

Posted by Lawrence Auster at June 07, 2010 05:16 PM | Send