It’s difficult to find any reference in Israel to the Gaza flotilla that doesn’t include the words “provocation” or “publicity stunt”.
“Summer must be close, there’s another flotilla on the way,” a neighbour in my building quipped yesterday in the lift, reflecting a widespread weariness in a country where it is difficult to find consensus on almost anything.
Even liberal Israelis who are generally sympathetic to the plight of Palestinians have little time for the annual flotilla drama, where both sides play out their carefully scripted roles and the situation in Gaza remains exactly the same.
When official Israeli spokespeople explain that some 600 lorries with food and humanitarian aid pass into Gaza every day, it is a narrative almost all Israelis endorse.
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The United Nations says vital supports are still needed including access to clean water and medical supplies. Many Palestinians, it says, are still displaced, living in squalid tent camps, and have no homes in Gaza to return to.
While Israel acknowledges there are shortages in Gaza of certain items, the official line is that most (although not all) of these are classified as dual-use materials, such as concrete and reinforced steel, which authorities say militants could use for construction of tunnels and command centres that were destroyed during the war.
And, the Israeli message continues, the flotilla ships bring little humanitarian aid. Israel has pledged to transfer any such aid to Gaza, via Ashdod port, after undergoing a security inspection.
Meanwhile, Israeli authorities are trying to shape public perceptions of the latest aid flotilla by casting doubt on the motives and seriousness of those aboard.
Israel’s foreign ministry on Thursday posted images of condoms and recreational drugs, allegedly found on the ships that were intercepted in the Mediterranean, to illustrate what was on the boats.
“Approximately 175 activists from more than 20 boats of the condom flotilla ... enjoying themselves aboard Israeli vessels,” Israel’s foreign ministry posted after the activists were transferred to navy vessels, accompanied by video clips of them doing handstands and somersaults.
Authorities have also sought to portray activists on board the flotilla as “useful idiots”, used by a cynical Hamas in an effort to embarrass Israel.
Defence minister Israel Katz announced he was imposing sanctions on a crowdfunding campaign set up by Global Sumud Flotilla, which he said was “organised by the Hamas terror organisation, in co-operation with additional international organisations and under the guise of a humanitarian aid flotilla”.
“The imposition of sanctions on the crowdfunding campaign constitutes a significant step in the effort to disrupt the flotilla’s sources of funding,” said a statement from Katz, adding the move was “intended to deter donors from contributing to a terror organisation”.
Some former security officials, however, have argued that it is time to change the policy of automatically intercepting the flotilla ships, arguing it would be less damaging to Israel’s global image if the vessels were allowed to reach Gaza.
