Will we ever know why Israel decided to raid the Gaza aid convoy?

I thought I would wait a few days before posting anything regarding last week's situation in Israel. Partly to see how it would pan out and how the public and the media would react, and also to see how/if my initial emotive views would change.

Firstly, I am pleased to note that it appears that people are no longer afraid to criticise Israel and her policies for fear of being branded as an anti-Semite. Anti-Semitism, like any other xenophobic vitriol, is horrible, but I find it equally distasteful that it can be used as a defence mechanism for any sort of questioning as to the validity of decisions that the Israeli government makes.

What has struck me most about the whole situation is the ultra-defensive stance that Israel has taken following the incident, and indeed their confusion that anyone would question it. There have been reports of official parades celebrating the soldiers' actions, and Mr Netanyahu and his ministers have been refusing calls (though not yet officially) from Ban Ki-Moon for an international inquiry, stating that their own internal inquiry (in which no soldiers will be questioned) would be 'of international standards' and more than sufficient; the main focus will be on the legality of the blockade on Gaza and the raid on the ship, rather than if it was a reasonable or measured response. The fact that video footage from people on board the ship was confiscated by the Israeli Defence Force (IDF), and that all of the visual reports that have been released have been heavily edited and disputed by witnesses, doesn't fill me with much hope that an internal inquiry would carry any transparency or credibility.

There was also the bewildering spoof video that was made and distributed to foreign news journalists by the Israeli government press office, mocking the people on board the Mavi Marmara - nine of whom were killed by the IDF. The government has since been forced to apologise, but the fact that it was made and seen as appropriate, humorous (is humour even an attitude that an official state organisation should be taking in this instance!?) response in the first place really shocks me.

Is this a state that the international community can trust with an arsenal of nuclear weapons any more than it does Iran or North Korea?

The flotilla included an octogenarian Jewish Holocaust survivor, three German MPs, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, a distinguished author, journalists and supporters from 33 countries (including more than 40 British citizens), and a member of the Knesset, whose parliamentary privileges have since been suspended. Hardly, the collection of extremist terrorists brandishing weapons that the IDF claimed to be protecting its shores from.

The international political community has not reacted well to Israel's actions and normally cordial relations with Turkey (quite possibly Israel's only Muslim ally), for example, have been strained. Even the United States seems to be having problems defending its little cousin, seeming very cautious to either condemn or support the raid.

Obviously there needs to be a solution to this conflict, which has been ongoing since Israel's foundation after the second World War, but surely as a race we have learned by now that fighting conflict with conflict simply breeds more... well... conflict. Wasn't the establishment of organisations like the United Nations supposed to signify that we had progressed into something a bit better, where words, diplomacy and compromise (yes, compromise!) were our tools rather than tit-for-tat fighting, guns, bombs, and reckless killing?

Perhaps I'm just a young idealist. But maybe our leaders need to try a bit harder to reach that ideal.