Israel in a Box

I do not believe that the Israeli military intended to shoot the people on the Mavi Marmara. Nevertheless, the government is going to have to accept the consequences. The most obvious is that its actions have legitimized Hamas and its fight against the Israeli government.

The other cost is that Israel is forcing its allies to make a choice. For Egypt and Turkey, its closest ones in the region, siding against Israel is a no-brainer because of public opinion in their own countries. Its also likely to force the US to make a choice. Peace between Israel and Palestine is only one of Obama’s three main priorities in the Middle East. Stopping Iran’s nuclear program and improving the image of the US in the region are the other two. If the Obama administration sides with Israel on the flotilla killings, not only will it make settling the Israeli-Palestinian conflict more difficult (by reinforcing a perceived US bias in favor of Israel), it also complicates Obama’s other two priorities. Israelis have long sensed that Obama is hostile to Israel. It’s tragic that their government’s actions may make this a self-fulfilling prophecy.