[Skybird]

Technically, if a blockade is announced and is valid by rules of certain treaty and international laws, the side establishing a blockad enot only can but has the legal obligation to enforce the blockade - it cannot allow any exceptions, just one single blockade runner allowed to get through would render the legality of the whole blockade immediately invalid. Also, technically the side establishing a blockade has the right to stop blockade runners not just the moment when they enter the blockaded zone, but before.

This is like I see it - and last week I heared an expert for international law commenting on the issue, confirming all the above and explicitly referring to the rules of international law for maintaining blockades, and when a blockade is legal and valid, and when not. To me, the Israeli blockade of an enemy who even describes himself as being at war with Israel, makes perfectly sense and is perfectly legal by the rules.

The organisers of this Gaza flotilla already have admitted in press conferences that they do not see their mission as bringing humanitarian aid to Gaza, but to enforce a breaking of the blockade. Which would, by the legal logic of the valid legal rules, mean that the lagality of the blockade by Israel would become invalid. Therefore, Israel has no other choice than to enforce a strict blockade. And since this time there will be several ships more than last time, making it more challenging a task for the Navy to stop all vessel without sinking them by live fire, sabotaging the vessel was an to-be-expected and very reasonable option. I personally would have preferred the French solution: to sink the ships via contact mines in harbour. They did that with a Greenpeace ship once, I think it was the Rainbow Warrior, wasn't it?