For two years, Turkey has tirelessly maligned Israel, aided its enemies and schemed to destroy its army's strategic value as a key American ally. This campaign hit a serious contretemps in the UN report out Friday, Sept. 2 which justified Israel's Gaza blockade and its navy's interception of a Turkish vessel bent on breaching that blockade, although Israel was assailed for its "excessive response" to the violence of Turkish extremists.  Ankara thereupon expelled the Israeli ambassador and suspended its military accords with Israel.

The organizers of Freedom Flotilla II against Israel's naval blockade on Gaza – among them Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal's son-in-law Hamoud Tareq - never dreamed the stalling of their expedition would be served up as the founding step of the nascent pro-US Israel-Greek-Turkish alliance. If Mahmoud wants to jump aboard this grouping, he must drop his UN move for Palestinian recognition, so pre-empting the storm Binyamin Netanyahu's ill-wishers are counting on for ending his rule.

Contrary to the purportedly peaceful nature of the flotilla setting out this week to break Israel's Gaza blockade, Israeli intelligence sources reported Monday, June 27, that some activists are extremists willing to forcibly resist efforts to intercept their boats and kill Israeli servicemen coming on board.
Senior officials in Jerusalem who briefed reporters Monday night reported information received that the organizers of the flotilla had laid in a store of poisoned chemicals for this purpose.