This is not the first time Israel killed civilians or attacked activists that resist to illegal settlements or blockade. Almost every time it got away with its disproportional use of violence. With the late attack on aid convoy, the Israeli government and its defense minister Ehud Barak wanted to confront the demands for lifting the blockade on Gaza, treating the Palestinians humanely and following international law with a direct defiance to Turkey’s humanitarian and peaceful efforts that also reflect the international community’s conscience.
Israel made several major miscalculations in its attacks on the aid convoy by killing unarmed civilian activists. Netanyahu’s canceling his trip to the US and the announcement that they allow some of the aid to go to Gaza while a day before it killed to stop the same aid ships. Moreover, the Israeli government promised to release the activists some of which it killed as if they were terrorists. All these show that Israel, too, realized the gravity of its mistake but it cannot admit it.
Israel’s first miscalculation was that non-İsraeli blood was cheaper. The Israeli government would kill the Palestinians at will and would easily frame those killed as terrorists anyone criticizing its Zionist policies as anti-Semitism and Islamic radicalism. Because the sole superpower is behind it, it would not be held accountable. They wanted to do the same for the civilian activities around the world who wanted to help the Palestinians under blockade and killing them. However, Israel could not see that those killed activists around the world add an international dimension to the problem Israel managed to keep local for a long time.
The second mistake is its belief that Israel is above international law. By killing the civilian activists in international waters while it could have kept their ships out of Israeli waters or could have taken them to any port by non-violent force. Instead, it chose to use unjustified force to show that they are the king in the neighborhood. However, it miscalculated that international waters are not Israeli property and its violation of international law could be easily seen this time.
The thirdly, Israel underestimated Turkey’s growing frustration not only on the part of the AK Party government but of the whole Turkish public after Israel attacked on Gaza two years ago. When Erdogan stormed out of a Davos meeting with Simon Peres, it was more of a spontaneous humane reaction due to frustration by the situation in Gaza. The mistreatment of the Turkish ambassador in Israel and the blockade on Gaza just added to this frustration.
Lastly, Israel miscalculated the world public opinion. The Zionist leaders managed to convince the Israeli and American public opinion for their violent actions/reactions toward the Palestinians. However, the era of globalization and communication prevents the domination of public opinion by one or two channels. The gravity of this event made even the CNN take a lesser pro-Israeli stance. Because the reckless Israeli actions put the USA in a difficult situation, the Israeli government could not even find a warm arm by the Obama administration that want to start peace talks between Arabs and the Israeli government that continued illegal settlements in occupied territories.
Another major miscalculation Israel made was that Israel was the only democracy in the region. As a result of popular demands, Turkey’s new government launched its new policy of peaceful neighborhood and succeeded in improving its relations with almost all of its neighbors. The reason why Turkey’s relations with Israel are deteriorating is that Israel does not fit in the scheme of peaceful neighborhood. Secondly, Turkey is also a democratic country where the public opinion demands their leaders to respond to the demands for peace in the region.
In brief, Israeli government made a serious miscalculation in attacking the aid ships to Gaza because it presumed that the mere force could get the results, that that international community had no conscience, that it was the only democratic country in the region, that the world public opinion meant nothing, and that they had the best propaganda machine. However, even best propaganda needs to stand on the righteousness and doing the right thing.