To stop the flotilla crisis from spinning out of control, US president Barack Obama asked Israeli PM Binyamin Netanyahu to release all the remaining passengers without delay. His bid for Turkish restraint drew from PM Recep Erdogan the threat that if America did not punish Israel, Turkey would. Israel began evacuating diplomats' families from Turkey. Passengers said an al Qaeda-linked cell had imposed a quasi-military regimen aboard the Turkish Marmora.

With two more vessels due to sail within 48 hours to continue the challenge to Israel's Gaza blockade, Israel's deputy defence minister Mattan Vilnai stressed the Israeli commando raid on the pro-Palestinian flotilla succeeded in its mission - although the loss of life was regrettable. Mistakes were made but the IDF would learn from them and defend the blockade in other ways, he said.

He dismissed rising demands at home for the defence minister Ehud Barak to step down.

Turkey threatens reprisals, Greece halts joint maneuver with Israel over Israeli naval commando action which killed 9 activists aboard the pro-Palestinian flotilla lead boat  80 miles out at sea. Casualty figures still not confirmed. Passengers attacked the soldiers, opened fire with gun snatched from a soldier and wielded knives and iron bars. The soldiers shot back after 10 were injured. Helicopters ferried all the casualties to Israeli hospitals. Nationwide alert for disturbances declared in Israel and around its borders. 

Israel will not heed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Review conference resolution due to its "flawed, hypocritical and distorted nature," according to a government statement. Earlier, President Barack Obama deplored Israel's mention in the resolution, which called for a Middle East nuclear-free conference in two years. "We strongly oppose efforts to single out Israel," said Obama, "and US delegation leader NSA James Jones said this placed the 2012 conference prospects in doubt and called Iran the greatest nuclear proliferation threat in the region.

Obama's dual track: He is preparing another round of talks with Iran, while massing US naval and air forces in the Persian Gulf. All Middle East parties maneuver around Assad's placement of places ballistic missiles on the ready.

Israel's generals and security chiefs are up in arms over the US-fostered military restraint policy pursued by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak.

The colossal Syrian-Hizballah missile deployment funded by Iran points in only one direction: Israel. It is controlled from a joint Iran-Syria-Hizballah-Hamas command center established in March at Syrian GHQ in Damascus for attacking Israeli military and civilian sites organized in four sectors.
Syria's production lines have been humming for five months converting its missiles from liquid-fuel to the more accurate solid-fuel ballistic missiles with the help of North Korean experts.

A secret message from Ankara to Jerusalem threatens reprisals if Israel prevents the Turkish-led "Freedom Flotilla" of nine vessels from reaching Gaza Port on May 27 for the avowed objects of breaking the naval blockade against the Gaza Strip and delivering humanitarian aid. The Turkish ultimatum confronts Israel's imposition of a 20-nautical mile closure on the enclave, beefed-up naval forces and warning that the convoy will be stopped.

Moscow is negotiating for Israeli robotics technology for building its own UAV fleet while also developing its military ties with Iran and Syria. Its bargaining chip is the S-300 missile interceptor for Iran.

That the proximity talks between Israel and the Palestinians are bound to fail is an open secret although the West Bank is ripe for a deal. But Obama, Netanyahu and Abbas can't overcome their mutual antipathy to save the day.

Israel's advanced military hardware sales to Turkey are petering out under the impact of Tayyep Recep Erdogan's alignment with Syria and Iran and his poisonous attacks, with detrimental effect on the Turkish army's operational capabilities. debkafile sources report that Israel refused to sell the Turkish Navy the Barak 8 missile interceptor, whose radar provides warships with 360-degree coverage against incoming missiles or air attack. Its co-developer India is equally adamant against the sale.

President Barack Obama has given up on tough UN Security Council sanctions on Iran over its nuclear drive, and gone back on the longstanding American commitment assuring Israel of recognized and defensible borders in any future accommodation with its Arab neighbors.
In congratulating Israel on its 62nd Day of Independence, US Secretary of state Hillary Clinton mentions "recognized borders" while omitting the traditional qualifier "defensible."

 

Obama is persuaded by veteran presidential advisers of yore to impose an American solution on the parties to the Middle East conflict, curtail Israeli influence in Washington and "liberate" Arab support for the US. The Mitchell-Ross "incremental" approach is shelved.

Israel's comeback for Obama's attempt to impose his Palestinian will was delivered on the Iranian issue. Washington hit back by bundling the Palestinian and Iranian issues together.

Even if Israel were willing, it could not perform a massive shake-up of its defensive posture in the time allotted for handing 96 percent of the West Bank to the Palestinians, while Abbas, Fayyad and Co. bide their time for the US sledgehammer to work on Israel.