Israel boarded a Hamas blockade-running convoy in international waters and gave its commandos permission to use deadly force this past weekend. This action shows the kind of spine which characterizes Israel when they are at their best, such as when they bombed the Iraqi Osirak reactor in 1981. But it is very interesting in what it reveals about the Israeli calculus.

Why board the ships in international waters ?

Presumably boarding the ships before they crossed into Israeli territorial waters gave the commandos the element of surprise. In any case, the advantage was clearly tactical: the point was to make the operation go smoother. But they could as well have waited another day. Instead they chose to unmistakably violate international law. (I am not criticizing here. I am only pointing out the fact). Why ?

Why choose to use deadly force ?

The Israeli commandos were prepared, if necessary, to use deadly force. Why ?

Answer: no down side

Both of these decisions indicate that Israel is not only ignoring but actually flaunting "international opinion." They are clearly not the least interested in PR. And the question is: "why should they be ?" The post-cold-war balance of power is no balance at all. The only real military power left in the world, at least away from the China Sea, is the United States. As long as the United States does not militarily interfere with Israel there is no real-world check on their behavior. Even the possibility of sanctions (curtailing of military support from the U.S.) is remote. So while other nations react to the caterwauling of the "international community," which typically means the collection of Arab kleptocracies and their sympathizers, Israel, and particularly leaders like Netanyahu, recognize that (a) Hamas is, as always, merely engaged in some kind of psychodrama which it is playing out on the world stage, (b) the power in the Middle East is Israel's to use so long as they continue to use it wisely, and (c) troubling to play to Hamas' gallery as though it actually means something is definitely counterproductive and probably (no definitely) demeaning as well.

On the "activist" side

A boat load (actually, a whole flotilla full) of role-playing Arab activists must make for the most excruciating Mediterranean cruise imaginable. The mind boggles what the cruise out from Turkey must have been like. Did they play Figs to Figs ? Evidently there were bands of hardened Al Qaeda thugs on board who dutifully attacked when the commandos rappelled into their midst. I suspect that the balance of the freedom fighters kept their heads well below-decks when the action was taking place. So it always seems to be with armies of the people. The only ones with a stomach for violence are those killers for whom violence is a vocation.

As I write this, it seems that another ship or two is heading to test the Israeli blockade again. Given what Israel has suffered in PR as a result of this most recent action, what can make anyone on the activist side think that Israel will see any benefit at all in behaving any differently this time ?