Another flotilla heads to Gaza - Israel News, Ynetnews
Ben, a left-wing activist in the West Bank told Ynet that on board the ships are citizens from the US, Canada, Ireland, Austria, Denmark and the Palestinian Authority. He noted that the ships originally departed from Ireland and Canada.
“The reason we didn’t publically announce the flotilla before reaching international waters was to prevent delays or sabotage which plagued past flotillas,” he said.
Ben added that the ships are slated to reach Gaza shores on Friday and that the activists do not intend to confront IDF soldiers. “There are no weapons on board and we pledged not to use any form of violence but passive resistance,” he noted. According to Ben, the ships carry humanitarian aid worth $30,000.
(bold emphasis added).
$30,000 of aid which, aside from the laughable dollar value, is probably of no use to the residents of Gaza and will likely be confiscated by Hamas apparatchiks if and when it is received in Gaza.
So what is this really about? Well, since the blockade has already been deemed lawful, attempts to break it are a belligerent and unlawful act against Israel. It has nothing to do with “solidarity” or Palestinian statehood, since Hamas is not openly in favour of any current endeavours to enact such statehood. It is not about alleviating suffering, since most people have given up claiming that the Gazans are suffering any particular extraordinary hardships, given the openings of spas, malls, restaurants and hotels. It is also not about any realistic effort to deliver “aid”, since there are many legal and established methods to do so.
So what possible objectives are left to achieve? The flotilla has but one goal: to challenge the legitimacy of Israel by challenging legal sovereign acts of the state. Any statements to the contrary are diversionary window dressing.