Last whimper from the Gaza flotilla?

[Valin]

Hot Air:

J.E. Dyer
7/1/11

The US and Canadian Boats to Gaza – M/V Audacity of Hope and M/V Tahrir, respectively – tried to make an unauthorized departure on 1 July from the Greek port they have been detained in (don’t miss Challah Hu Akbar’s coverage at the link). The Greek coast guard promptly intercepted them. This may be the final ride of the 2011 flotilla. Its prospects are certainly dimming: now that AOH and Tahrir have violated a directive from the Greek authorities, which had ordered them to remain in port pending the investigation of a complaint filed against them, the ships can be held there for as long as the Greeks see fit, and their crews might well be charged in court.

(Snip)

Of all the nations on earth, it ought to be the nations of North America and Europe that prevent ships under their flags from being used in such a cause. If for no other reason (e.g., that Israel is a US ally and fellow Western democracy), our concern about order in the unforgiving environment of the seas should prompt us to exercise our prerogative as flag states. There exists no “right” to attempt to break a blockade under the flag of any nation; rather, the authority of a flag state to prevent such an attempt is absolute. The flag state may not always have the means to prevent such an action. But the US, Canada, and the nations of Europe certainly do. In our case, the only question is whether the authority will be used.

The nations of the 2011 flotilla have not used it. Instead, Israel has had to mount a campaign of lawsuits and sabotage to prevent the flotilla from getting underway. To date, Greece has been induced to hold at least six ships in port because of procedural complaints filed against them; two ships have been sabotaged (the second, the Irish ship M/V Saoirse, was reported on Wednesday); and the Israeli law center Shurat HaDin has filed a lawsuit in US federal court to prevent the M/V Audacity of Hope from participating in the flotilla. (Texas Governor Rick Perry wrote on Thursday to urge the Obama administration to intercept and/or prosecute the American flotilla participants, citing Title 18 Section 962 of the US Code.)