Turks Sailing Again for Gaza Chart Collision Course With Israel

May 30 (Bloomberg) — In an Istanbul dockyard, workers are outfitting the Mavi Marmara, the ship on which Israeli commandos killed nine Turkish activists a year ago, to lead a second attempt to break Israel’s embargo of the Gaza Strip.

The first voyage ended when soldiers rappelled from helicopters and opened fire after the ship, part of a six-boat flotilla, refused to stop. Israel says people onboard shot first and attacked with iron bars, a charge they deny. This time, activists plan to sail 15 vessels loaded with cargo and pro- Palestinian supporters, setting them on a collision course with Israel’s military.

Their goal is to defy and undermine the blockade of Hamas- ruled Gaza next month by delivering aid to the enclave without permission. At stake are two often conflicting aims: Israel’s stated desire to limit and monitor cargo going into Gaza to prevent weapons from entering and Palestinian demands for self- determination and improved living conditions.

“For the flotilla’s organizers and supporters, including Turkey, it’s a win-win situation, in which they either secure humanitarian passage perceived to be alleviating suffering in Gaza, or are assaulted and perceived to be the victims of state- sponsored violence,” said Shashank Joshi, an associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in London.

Turkey withdrew its ambassador after the raid and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan demanded an apology and compensation before relations are fully restored. The attack prompted UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon to call the blockade “unsustainable and wrong” while U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the deaths a “tragedy.”

Shekel Weakened

The day after the May 31 raid, the shekel weakened to an almost 10-month low while the benchmark TA-25 stock index posted a two-day drop of 2.6 percent amid concern that criticism over the raid would spur investors to sell. The stock index has since rebounded 15 percent.

“The flotilla’s purpose was to embarrass Israel, complicate Israel’s situation regionally and internationally, and this definitely was achieved,” said Alon Liel, former director-general of Israel’s Foreign Ministry. “Israel has to treat this very seriously.”

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on May 17 said he delivered “serious warnings and messages” to Israeli Ambassador Gabby Levy that “Turkey expects the incident won’t be repeated.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his country’s response was justified and warned on April 1 that “Israel is obligated to act aggressively against the flotilla.”

U.S. Plea

Thirty-six members of the U.S. Congress have signed a letter asking Erdogan to stop the convoy, calling it a “provocation.”

“The question is whether Israel can prevent the transfer of goods and perhaps weapons to Gaza, and continue the isolation of Hamas without hurting its international image even further,” Gerald Steinberg, a political scientist at Bar-Ilan University near Tel Aviv, said in a phone interview.

Israel imposed the embargo after the Islamic Hamas movement seized control of the Gaza Strip in 2007, ending a partnership government with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas a year after winning parliamentary elections. Hamas is considered a terrorist group by Israel, the European Union and the United States; not by Turkey. The two Palestinian groups signed a reconciliation agreement in Cairo on May 4.

Unemployment in Gaza stands at about 37.4 percent, the World Bank said in April. Per capita gross domestic product in the Palestinian territory is about $775, according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. By comparison, Israel’s GDP per capita is about $30,000, according to its Central Bureau of Statistics.

Blockade Loosened

via Turks Sailing Again for Gaza Chart Collision Course With Israel.