Despite all the ink expended and video footage broadcast, we still do not have a clear picture of exactly what happened aboard the lead aid flotilla ship that was raided by Israeli commandos Monday. In the end, an objective international investigation must take place in order to clarify for everyone exactly what took place aboard the Mavi Marmara. As usual, Israel has said that it will undertake its own investigation, but we know from experience that Israel's approach to investigating its own crimes is erratic and normally wonting. Whatever details may emerge from any investigation and whichever way fingers may point once conclusions are drawn, the more lasting effect of this abomination on the high seas may be the loosening of the blockade on Gaza. Doubtless, Israel will never back down from blockading weapons. But the clearly avoidable deaths that took place during the Israeli assault on Monday may do more than all the international politicking to return a shred of humanity to the impoverished and oppressed strip. Even the turn-of-the-year military invasion of Gaza, which showed Israel's true face, did not have the same effect as this latest military action. In fact, the murders aboard the Mavi Marmara are just the latest in a string of incidents that show a lack of any desire for peace on the part of the Israeli government. The right-wing coalition headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has taken a ham-fisted approach to the country's relations with the rest of the world, and the world has finally begun to tire of the country's “woe is me” response to every military action taken against Palestinians. From the invasion of Gaza and its accompanying war crimes to the announcement of new settlement activity in East Jerusalem when US Vice President Joe Biden visited Israel to the current inexplicable imbroglio on the high seas, the current Israeli government has turned tone-deaf to the rightful condemnation emanating from governments and, more importantly, peoples around the world. No matter the details of what happened in the Mediterranean, there is only one reason for it: the continued, illegal collective punishment represented by the Gaza blockade, especially in light of genuine attempts on the part of Hamas to put an end to the cross-border firing of missiles from Gaza into Israel. If Israel wants peace, as it repeatedly alleges, then it knows what must be done: remove the blockade of Gaza and accept the Arab peace plan to create a Palestinian state. Then, and only then, will a resolution of the Palestinian tragedy be within reach. __
