Israel's attack on the Gaza aid convoy

I'm sure I'm just reiterating what's been said in a million places on the internet by now, but I guess I ought to add my tuppence.

Frankly, it's all a bit shocking. We know, by now, that Israel takes a lax attitude to international law when it's dealing directly with the Palestinians, and there have been arguments about that for years, and some tenuous but just about sustainable defence by the Israelis. It's not a defence that holds much water with most people, but there is a defence, and a justification.

Here, though, they have attacked a peaceful aid convoy, under Turkish flag, in international waters. They didn't even bother to wait until it was in Palestinian/Israeli waters. It's a world of illegal, let alone immoral.

And, astonishingly, they have the balls to claim that they were on the wrong side of a belligerent attack by the people on the boats because - get this - the Israeli troops who abseiled down from their heavily armed military helicopters, had some guns wrested from them. So, these unarmed civilians, try to defend themselves and manage to take a handgun from an incompetent Israeli soldier, and now the civilians are the "armed belligerents". It's utterly laughable. And embarassing.

Of course, many things about Israel's behaviour in the last couple of decades falls into the laughable and embarassing category, but this feels like it's another step beyond. Frankly, if a Conservative PM of the UK is condemning Israel, and if leader columns in the FT are, it's a pretty shocking state of affairs that Israel has managed to create.

How anyone tries to defend this is beyond me, and it's to the US's great shame that it seems to be blocking even statements of condemnation from the UN. The US should finally be bringing the hammer down on the foul behaviour by the Israeli government, but instead appears to be standing meekly by.

Worth mentioning, too, quite the stupidity of the Israelis here in attacking Turkish vessels. Turkey has been the one country that Israel has managed to build a decent alliance with in the muslim world. Not any more. Bafflingly stupid from Israel. Hard to know what else to say, really.