A flotilla consisting of 6 vessels carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza, which has been under Israeli blockade for a long time, came under the attack of Israeli armed forces on May 31, 2010. 9 .Turkish nationals from among 700 civilians from 32 countries onboard the vessel Mavi Marmara were killed in the attack. 30 others were also wounded. The area where the raid took place was 72 miles off the Gaza border in the international waters of the Mediterranean. Israeli forces later took all the vessels hostage and had them tugged to an Israeli port, detained the civilians onboard and interrogated them for hours. Israel's attack has drawn harsh reaction from almost all countries in the world, Turkey in particular. While Turkey and Sweden recalled their ambassadors from Israel, dozens of countries, including Greece, issued statements in condemnation of the bloody raid. The most important reaction was the denouncement of Israel by the UN Security Council which convened at the behest of Turkey. Battered by strong worded reactions and condemnations, Israel released all detainees the next day and gave permission for them to go back home.

The crisis this incident has triggered has somewhat relented but the questions it generated continue to be debated and it seems they will be discussed in the forthcoming term too. The incident, besides being a tragedy with grave dimensions, is one which has made for deep unease for the entire international community, not to mention Turkey.. Professor Dr.Ramazan Gözen of Ankara's Çankaya University has this assessment on the subject.

First and foremost, the Israeli military operation against civilian ships is none other than violation of international law in all respects. There are three solid reasons showing that Israel flagrantly violated international law: The operation is one launched against sailing ships in the international waters, which is in full contravention of international rules and regulations. According to centuries-old international law practices, what counts in open seas is the principle of freedom. Except for extraordinary situations, no ship is entitled to intercept another or can launch a military operation. Piracy, narco-trafficking and human smuggling are what is meant by extraordinary situations. Actions against any ship which has nothing to do with any of these conditions is qualified as piracy or banditry. The aid flotilla is known to be an international non-governmental initiative to take humanitarian aid to Gaza. No weapons were found in the searches conducted on the ships, which also proves the volunteers were all civilians. Therefore, an armed operation against vessels with civilian and defenseless people onboard is also against international law. Israeli military also violated basic human rights by using disproportionate force against civilians. Finally, confiscation of the material and detainment of the civilians onboard the vessel by the Israeli soldiers is an over the edge attitude. Whatever happens onboard a vessel in the open seas has to be sorted out by the country under whose flag the ship is registered. The ship itself and the people onboard are under the judicial protection of the sovereign state that they are the citizens of. Israel having detained the civilians and confiscated the ship in open defiance of this principle is gross disrespect to sovereign states and a crime. Crimes of this kind necessitate judicial and punitive investigations of international scale and what is expected is the punishment of offenders.

The international community has strongly reacted to Israel over its violations A large part of the world regardless of religion took a harsh stand against Israel's illegal actions. Besides the 32 countries which had their nationals in the flotilla, many others issued statements to condemn Israel. International organizations held extraordinary meetings and took decisions lambasting Israel. The official statements made on behalf of the UN, NATO, the EU, the Arab League and the Organization of the Islamic Conference were very important. Headlines critical of Israel and editorials excoriating the bloody raid dominated the international media. The Guardian epitomized the situation by describing the bloody raid as Israel's own goal Israel had a nose-dive in its relations with many countries in the aftermath of this incident, triggering a crisis in its domestic and foreign policies. The stance taken by the majority of countries to ostracize Israel will likely put a strain on its foreign policy. If its exclusion does take place, Israel may realize it has committed a mistake and may have to act more cautiously from now on. The international community, the US in particular, may be forced to take solid steps towards the resolution of the Gaza problem. On the other hand, we see that a serious crisis in Israel's domestic policy is also in the works. Pro-peace elements both in the Israeli media and the population are of the conviction that the Netanyahu government, the Defense Ministry in particular, is throwing a spanner in the works of Israel. Many say that it will be no surprise to see the Netanyahu government crumble down after this incident.

The strongest impact of the attack was naturally on Turkey-Israel relations. The two countries' bilateral relations which steadily deteriorated following Israel's occupation of Gaza on December 19, 2008 reached an all time low with this attack. We can go as far as saying that this is the worst incident in the 60 year history of Turkey-Israel relations as this is the first time Israeli military forces have deliberately killed and wounded Turkish nationals. The crisis deepened with the decisions taken by Turkey and Israel in the wake of the incident. Turkey recalled its ambassador to Israel. The military exercises and sports competitions were cancelled. The Foreign Ministry summoned Israel's Ambassador in Ankara and protested. In addition to these reactions, Turkey worked hard for the international community to hit out against Israel, taking the lead for international organizations, including the UN, to take action and for resolutions to be released to condemn Israel. Israel's attack was carried out not only against Turkey but also the interests, rules and future of the international community. As a result, the crisis induced by Israel's bloody raid has not been defused as yet and it seems it will simmer in the forthcoming days, weeks and perhaps months by assuming yet even more serious dimensions. This crisis will perhaps be a breaking point in terms of the future of bilateral relations, regional and global policies.

We hope that everyone gets favourable lessons from this incident and the repetition of similar events can be prevented. We also hope that the blockade of Gaza will come to an end, the plight of the regional people will be remedied and the Palestine problem will be resolved with a lasting solution.