Leslie Gelb on the Israeli commando mishandling of the pro-Hamas flotilla provocation.

Israel had every right under international law to stop and board ships bound for the Gaza war zone late Sunday. Only knee-jerk left-wingers and the usual legion of poseurs around the world would dispute this. And it is pretty clear that this "humanitarian" flotilla headed for Gaza aimed to provoke a confrontation with Israel. Various representatives of the Free Gaza Movement, one of the main organizers of this deadly extravaganza, have let it slip throughout Monday that their intention was every bit as much "to break" Israel's blockade of Gaza as to deliver the relief goods.

UPDATE: Havertown's Adrian Ashfield, who occasionally posts on this blog under the pseudonym "parallel" has very different views than I when it comes to Israel. So much so, that I have asked him (by e-mail) not to post on the subject. I do, however, welcome his comments in the comment section when and if the subject comes up.