Stand With Israel

Israel has come under attack yet again from several world leaders who are calling the actions taken yesterday by their military "criminal" and "inhuman." The AP reports that Israeli commandos stopped six flotillas headed towards Gaza to make sure that their cargo did not contain weapons. The first five ships abided by the checks peacefully, but on the sixth ship, Israeli commandoes were met with strong resistance.

The AP Reports:

"A soldier identified only as a sergeant told reporters at a military briefing that the activists on board 'were armed with knives, scissors, pepper spray and guns.' He said he was armed only with a paintball rifle. 'It was a civilian paintball gun that any 12-year-old can play with,' he said. 'I saw my friends on the deck spitting blood.'
"Israel intercepted the six ships carrying some 10,000 tons of aid for the isolated seaside territory, which has been blockaded by Israel for three years, with Egypt's cooperation. The Israeli government had urged the flotilla not to try to breach the blockade before the ships set sail from waters off Cyprus on Sunday and offered to take some aid in for them.

"Israel has allowed ships through five times, but has blocked them from entering Gaza waters since a three-week military offensive against Gaza's Hamas rulers in January 2009."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed "regret" for the loss of life of ten activists on board, but said the soldiers "had to defend themselves, defend their lives, or they would have been killed."

While the world decries the actions of Israel, I think it's imperative that the United States stand strong with their ally. I support Israel's position to stop and inspect peace missions headed to Gaza for national security purposes and the U.S. should reiterate our support for Israel and stand by them throughout the peace process in the Middle East.