ATTACK ON HUMANITARIAN HELP FLOTILLA FOR GAZA

Israeli Prof. Dov Shinar, expert on peace journalism, declared that the Israeli attack on aid ships was carried out upon a decision of the government. "Nobody can expect Israel to come out of this unharmed. Israel is not going to benefit from this". According to the latest figures, at least ten people were killed when the Israeli military stormed aid ships carrying humanitarian aid for Gaza last night (31 May).

"It would have been better to allow passage to the flotilla"

Shinar told bianet that it would have been better to allow passage to the flotilla. "On an international scale, a negative attitude against Israel will increase after this operation. This will initiate a propaganda process which will make it even more difficult to find a solution to the problem in Gaza. The actual problem is much more profound, the problem itself has come to a point where it cannot be discussed any more".

Reason: "anti-terrorism"

Shinar said that the Israeli government used "anti-terror" terms in the days prior to the attack in order to persuade the public. He explained that doubt was created by saying "We do not know what the flotilla contains and who is on the ships". This propaganda moved towards right wing and security-orientated politics, Shinar said.

"The majority of the population support the operations. The operation is entirely based on the decision of the government. The military has no authority for such decisions any way. The order is issued by the Ministry of Defence. The coalition government mostly supports the decision. Even the Labour Party complies with these policies".

"Israel and Hamas need to find ways of communication"

According to Shinar, the media has abstained from commenting the operations so far. "In fact, nobody really knows what actually happened. People especially wonder how this decision was taken. The media had actually been concentrating on this topic before the operation. But right now, the journalists are in a position to wait and see what is going to happen".

Shinar expects harsh international criticism against the Israeli operation. "This process demonstrates the importance of discussing the problem itself. Israel and Hamas have to find ways to communicate", Shinar added. (TK/VK)