DID Israel act unlawfully?

Alan Dershowitz, Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law at Harvard (I know - great title! That's him on the right), argues that in boarding the Mavi Marmara in international waters Israel did not contravene international law.

"If there is no doubt," he says, "that the offending ships have made a firm determination to break the blockade, then the blockade may be enforced before the offending ships cross the line into offending waters." He adds, "...the United States and other Western countries have frequently boarded ships at high sea to assess their security."

Whichever way you look at it, Israel failed in its mission - this is evident because at least nine people are dead. However, it's looking increasingly as though it is above blame. As Professor Dershowitz points out, at "the moment any person on board picked up a weapon and began to attack the Israeli soldiers, they lost their status as innocent civilians."

Read his article in full here.