And of course we would do well to remember that Israel is in breach of more than 1 *Security Council Resolution* and recently was found guilty of "War Crimes" by the investigating official, and an Israeli himself, *Mr GoldStone*

What is the official definition of "Rogue State?"

It is not piracy to SINK a belligerent ship in wartime. A belligerent ship is one that is carrying cargo to an blockaded area. The laws of maritime warfare are VERY clear, and were used by both sides extensively in WWII.

Interesting, the number of posters who made no attempt to consider this WITHOUT Israel...

The thing is, our Navy does use both inflatable boats and helicopters to get armed soldiers/sailors onto the decks of ships which are attempting to evade blockades. Some of these blockades are in International Waters (those in the Persian/Arabian Gulf & those around N.Korea stand out) and nobody is leveling charges of piracy at the RAN.

I hate to break it to you, but if Australian Soldiers/Sailors were subjected to the response that boarding party was, they would in all likelihood (and quite legally) have opened fire.

As to Hamas, the ruling party is the ruling party, it is up to the persons involved to demonstrate they were not providing aid to the Brigades... There is a demonstrable case that they were acting to provide material and/or propagandist support to HAMAS. It is for them to establish that they have a defence. The fact is, they undertook to support the intentional use of force against the IDF, that suggests they were supporting the Brigades.

If Israel had any brains they would have blocked the ships with ships of their own. Then the protesters would have had to ram them to continue. Making the protesters seem the belligerent ones.

By boarding at night, from helicopters they were asking for trouble. In the videos you can see protesters grabbing hold of the ropes the soldiers were using to descend from the helicopters. A reasonable reaction to being boarded by hostile troops in international waters. This may have upset and scared the soldiers who naturally would have tried to stop such interference. Once a few protesters are manhandled, a few more arrive to help them and suddenly the soldiers are outnumbered and fearing for their lives and then the shooting begins.
That the so called "best army in the world" could not predict and avoid such an outcome is nothing but gross incompetence.
You wouldnt see the Aussie military being so idiotic.

Oh and not to mention the siege of Gaza is illegal and anyone has a right to run the Israeli blockade.
Israel was under no threat so cannot in any way claim self defense.
If they really did have paintball guns they were being used exactly as desperate criminals use them: as a bluff to gain advantage at the critical moment-- and if that fails, a ploy to afterwards support a cover story of good will and good intentions.

This is the wrong question. We should be asking instead why is there a blockade of Gaza, which is occupied by Israel. What is Israel doing pushing Palestinians into the Gaza ghetto, walling them off, and then blockading Gaza, when it's occupied by Israel already? This generation of Gazan children will not be as tall as their parents, due to malnutrition. While there is no exact parallel, the world has seen this sort of victimisation of people before - colonise a place then push the natives into the margins, persecute and sometimes kill them - sound familiar? It should to any colonial nation. And how should the international community of nations react? The same as with South Africa under apartheid - condemn the unethical behaviour, cut sporting and cultural ties, introduce economic sanctions if necessary. The Israeli government has this year made the nation of Israel look like a rogue state governed by extremists who pay no attention to international law - forging the passports of real citizens of other countries (thereby putting those people in danger), attacking peace activists in international waters.

tick tick tick tick. Israels enemies have and will increase but most people are to silly to read the end of the story.

I think that the Israelis and Palestinians are all as bad as each other really.

Both sides believe they are right and will fight for their rights.
There is too long a history of conflict between the two peoples.

Maybe the people who brokered the Irish and English peace in Northern Ireland, to stop their mad bombing of each other, could give some pointers to these guys?

You see, in my opinion, it is not just one religion against another, it is just groups of violent men using violence because they get off on it.