Days after nine so-called “peace activists” on a ship bound for Gaza died in a violent confrontation with Israeli soldiers, another ship was boarded by Israeli soldiers. Activists on that boat were also trying to violate Israel’s blockade of Gaza, which was put in place to prevent the entry of terrorists and weapons used to attack Israeli civilians.
But there was a very different result this time. The activists did not attack soldiers with metal bars, knives and other weapons, and did not attempt to throw them overboard. They peacefully surrendered to the soldiers enforcing the blockade, and in turn they were treated peacefully by those soldiers.
In fact, most of the vessels traveling in a convoy with the ship where the earlier violence took place were also peaceful — if wrongly motivated — and were handled by Israel with respect and dignity.
That refutes the notion that Israeli soldiers were spoiling for a fight or eager to harm the passengers. Rather, some of the “peace activists” used violence to provoke a violent response.
The stinging criticism of Israel for trying to protect its citizens from terrorism is unjust.