The interests of the United States and Israel are no longer indistinguishable, as US reaction to Israel’s attack on the Gaza flotilla illustrates, blogs Lindsey Hilsum.
Sometimes it’s hard for Israelis to understand the depth of feeling provoked by an event like the killings on board the Mavi Marmara.
At the Barzilai Medical Centre in Ashkelon, where 21 of the wounded were taken, the staff were amazed at the anger displayed by activists who refused treatment, even from Palestinian doctors who work in the hospital.
“There was a lot of hatred,” said Lea Malul, the Public Affairs Director. “You know, before Operation Cast Lead last year, we used to get Hamas patients. They were very nice. But in my view these people were not peaceful – if you’re dealing with peace you come with guitars and sing John Lennon.”
Most of those treated in Ashkelon were Turks. The Israeli government says that IHH, the Turkish organisation which led the flotilla and whose activists were on board the Mavi Marmara, is connected not only with Hamas but also al-Qaida.
They have produced no evidence for this, and even Israel’s closest ally, the USA, appears to be reserving judgment until it has had a chance to weigh the varying versions of events beginning to emerge as activists are deported and tell their stories.
Gone are the days, it seems, when the US saw Israel’s interests and its own as indistinguishable. Today the Israeli Mossad chief Meir Dagan told the Israeli parliament’s foreign affairs and defense committee that “bit by bit, Israel is becoming less of a strategic asset for America,” pointing out that in some ways US unquestioning support for Israel is a relic of the cold war. “Israel’s importance was greater when there was conflict between the blocs,” he said.
Nowadays the US has strategic interests which are increasingly difficult to finesse as Israel becomes more isolated in the world. It needs nurture relations with Turkey – a growing regional power – and China, if it is to contain Iran. Israel’s use of deadly force in an incident like the storming of the Mavi Marmara makes that more difficult.
The Turkish government finds its former alliance with Israel impossible to defend, as voters expect it to take a stand on the suffering of the Palestinians. China doesn’t worry about voters, but it is not a natural ally of Israel despite economic ties.
To some extent, Israel understands the pressure under which it puts its allies at times like this. That’s why it’s trying to make amends by asking Egypt to open the Rafah crossing into Gaza, so Palestinians can get out and aid can get in. It is also promising that the aid now unloaded from the Free Gaza flotilla will get to the Palestinians.
But, with at least nine and maybe more dead, such actions may not be enough to convince even those who would like to support Israel.