Nadia Hidjab: "israel is "stuck"

US Campaign Advisory Board member Nadia Hijab writes at Agence Free Press:

"Israel is stuck. For decades, it has used the same strategy to achieve its objectives and to rout all challengers: overwhelming force. When it meets violence with violence -- even when it uses disproportionate force as in Beirut in 1982 and 2006 and Gaza in 2008 -- Israel claims self-defense and usually manages to spin the facts its way. And, as it has not yet been held to account in any meaningful way, it has seen no reason to change its strategy.

But when it meets non-violence with violence, the strategy backfires. Israel is pitching the self-defense line to try to shield itself from criticism of its attack on the Freedom Flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza convoy -- but it’s not working.

You cannot claim self-defense when you have decided to send a thousand or so well-armed forces to board boats in international waters -- vessels that were carefully searched before the voyage to make sure there were no arms. Or when you have killed up to 20 civilians and injured 54 others, while suffering no deaths yourself. If the situation were not so tragic, Israel’s spinning would be the stuff of comedy."

Read the full article here, and see more media coverage updates here.