On March 5, 1770, Boston was under military occupation. Chafing under British repression, an angry young American got into a verbal argument with a British sentry. The argument escalated. The sentry got reinforcements from a squad of Britsh soldiers, while the American was backed up by fellow angry Americans. Heated words were exchanged, followed by thrown snowballs and rocks; they were beaten back by butt-strikes from British muskets.
One of the Americans threw a club, striking one of the soldiers. The soldiers opened up with volleys of musket fire. Three people were killed immediately. Two more died later of their injuries, and eleven more were wounded.
Sound familiar?
Whether Israel deliberately ordered the shootings aboard Mavi Marmara, or they happened because people lost their cool, Israel really screwed up when they boarded the ship, using the tactics they used. They could have easily waited until daylight, used established maritime protocol, and boarded the ship without bloodshed. Tensions were already high due to the siege and military occupation of Gaza, and the numerous human rights violations committed by the state of Israel. By taking this action, at best, there was significant risk of an incident like this, and if they deliberately gave orders to fire on civilians, then they're guilty of murder.
The repercussions for the British for the Boston Massacre were harsh. Anti-British sentiment was inflamed, and five years later, the colonies were in full revolt. The rest is history.
The Israeli government is going to be hit with similar repercussions. It doesn't matter if the passengers and crew on the ship fought back. It doesn't matter if they were acting out. The Israeli troops were out of control, used utterly barbaric amounts of force, when they could have easily backed off, let cooler heads prevail, and stopped the ship without killing anyone. 19 people are dead, dozens more are wounded, and Israel's standing in the world community may never recover.
Over two centuries have passed, and people still remember the Boston Massacre. People will not soon forget the massacre on the Mavi Marmara.
Crossposted at Meldroc.com