One of the casualties of Israel’s commando raid on a Turkish vessel carrying aid to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip might be the Obama administration’s diplomatic strategy in the Mideast.
Whatever the truth of the incident, the Obama administration is caught between Israel and its critics at a time when the United States is trying to bring stability to the troubled region.
Also, the administration might encounter more difficulties in rallying support for punishing Iran over its suspect nuclear program, reining in Iranian and Syrian support for the militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah and getting the Mideast peace talks back on track.
At least nine pro-Palestinian activists were killed in the May 31 assault on the Turkish ship leading the aid convoy, once again testing the limits of U.S. support for the Jewish state.
Mindful of the potential fallout, the White House reacted cautiously, calling for the disclosure of the full facts of the raid.
Though activists portrayed the raid as an unprovoked assault by armed commandos on peaceful demonstrators, the Israelis said their forces were caught off guard by protesters wielding sticks, slingshots and metal rods, and acted in self-defense.
While Israel had hoped to defend its blockade of Hamas-ruled Gaza with the high-seas raid, it may have speeded the embargo’s end, judging by initial expressions of international outrage.
The pre-dawn commando operation also raised new questions about one of the pillars of U.S. policy — that Hamas can be left unattended as Washington tries to broker a peace deal between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The raid tested U.S.-Israeli ties that have not yet fully recovered from their most serious dispute in decades, triggered by Israeli construction plans in disputed east Jerusalem.
The crisis could also aggravate divisions between the United States and its NATO ally, Turkey. As a member of the U.N. Security Council, Turkey is in a position to help or hinder U.S.-led efforts to impose new sanctions against Iran’s secretive drive to enrich uranium. Along with Brazil, Turkey has been trying to avert fresh penalties on Iran by brokering a confidence-building agreement with Tehran, but the United States and its European allies have rejected it.
The interception of the six-boat flotilla carrying 10,000 tons of supplies for Gaza trained the global spotlight on the blockade. Israel and Egypt sealed Gaza’s borders after Hamas overran the territory in 2007, wresting control from Abbas-loyal forces.
The blockade, under which Israel allows in only essential humanitarian supplies, was intended to prevent the smuggling of weapons into the narrow strip for use against the Israelis, but it is said to have deepened poverty among the 1.5 million Palestinians there. It also failed to dislodge Hamas.
European diplomats this week demanded a swift end to the border closure. The United States has called for an easing of conditions in Gaza while recognizing Israel’s concern about the flow of arms into the territory.
“We support expanding the flow of goods to the people of Gaza. But this must be done in a spirit of cooperation, not confrontation,” State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said.
Overall, comments from U.S. officials, including the White House, were supportive of Israel.
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs stood by the president’s earlier statement expressing “deep regret” for the loss of life in the attack.
He said the raid does nothing to change the “trusted relationship” between the United States and Israel.
“We are greatly supportive of their security,” he added. “That’s not going to change.”
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on June 1 supported a U.N. Security Council statement that condemned the “acts” and called for a prompt and credible investigation. But U.S. officials did not say whether they blamed Israel or the activists for the bloodshed.
Alejandro Wolff, the deputy U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, suggested to reporters in New York that some of the activists might have sought to provoke the Israelis into a harsh response.
“This sort of incident when you have statements coming from some of the participants in the flotilla, suggesting that maybe it was not solely to provide humanitarian assistance, but it may have been intended to provoke — not that everyone on that flotilla had that intention — give pause,” Wolff said.
In a jab at Israel, Clinton said the situation in Gaza, which is controlled by Hamas and under an Israeli blockade, is “unsustainable and unacceptable.”
In remarks to reporters at the State Department, Clinton did not call for an end to the blockade, but she pressed Israel to allow greater access for humanitarian relief supplies, “including reconstruction and building supplies.”
She also said Israel’s legitimate security needs must be taken into account and that the ultimate answer to the conflict is for Israel and the Palestinians to resume talks toward a final peace settlement.
Meanwhile, the pre-dawn raid seemed certain to strengthen Gaza’s Islamic militant Hamas rulers at the expense of U.S. allies in the region, key among them Hamas’ main rival, Abbas, as well as Egypt and Jordan.
Abbas has denounced the raid as a “sinful massacre,” but he signaled he would continue the indirect talks. However, public outrage at home might force Abbas to quit the talks.
U.S. officials said they expected Israel to conduct a full investigation. Statements from the State Department and the “Quartet” of Mideast peacemakers — the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations — were expected to make a similar call for a thorough account of the raid, the officials said.
Robert Burns of the Associated Press contributed to this report.