Since Israel interdicted six ships claiming to carry humanitarian aid to Gaza, the dominant meme surrounding the incident has been that the resulting casualties were just further evidence of Israel’s “rogue state” status. Claims by the activists on the ships that they were merely humanitarian aid workers caught up in an unjustified Israeli assault are usually taken at face value by Israel’s critics. Meanwhile, Israel’s attempts to explain its side of the story are automatically dismissed. Similarly, Israel’s need to do something to interdict the smuggling of weapons to Hamas is just plain ignored in the rush to yet another round of global condemnation.

Fortunately, indications of what really happened are there for those willing to see them. Video of mobs attacking Israeli soldiers with clubs and knives provide a clear indication that these were not “peace activists” merely trying to deliver food, toys, and schoolbooks. The mere presence of such weapons is alone enough to disprove their claims to non-violence. Moreover, evidence is emerging that the whole thing may have been a trap designed to seize Jewish hostages, with all the ugly history of torture and killing that intention carries with it.

It also appears that guns may have been on the ship as well:

The soldiers reported that the activists had fired on them during the confrontation and that at least two commandos suffered gunshot wounds. After the incident, 9mm bullet casings were found – a kind not used by the naval commandos.

Of course, anti-Israel zealots will inevitably insist that evidence of weapons carried by the activist was planted by Israel, but such stories will be difficult to sustain in light of the gunshot wounds suffered by the first Israeli soldiers to board the ship. At a minimum, Israel’s critics bear a very high burden of proof to sustain their allegations — a burden they has as yet not even attempted to meet, relying instead on a continuation of the very strong anti-Israel bias that dominates the international media.

While evidence in favor of Israel’s side of the story continue to mount for those who look for it, the fact that one has to look for it shows the problem — Israel’s critics simply don’t seem interested in seeing that kind of evidence. And their calls for an “impartial investigation” are suspect in light of their disinterest. They have been blind to the evidence of links between the sponsoring group and radical anti-Israel and anti-Semitic groups. They have not addressed the question of why “peace activists” would be carrying a large stash of clubs, knives, and guns. They have not explained why “humanitarian aid” requires seizing hostages and dragging them below decks. And they have ignored requests to explain why, if humanitarian aid to Gaza is so desperately needed, Hamas doesn’t use its smuggling operations to acquire food and medicine instead of missiles and assault rifles. Instead, the most influential voices of the global anti-Israel crusade often can’t even bring themselves to report Israel’s side of the story at all, preferring instead to just repeat anti-Israel activists’ claims as if they were absolute truth.

And until they do address such questions in a full and open debate, their demands that Israel be put in the dock will continue to seem hollow and self-serving at best.

UPDATE: The IDF reports that it is unloading and delivering the humanitarian aid that was contained on the ships. It is understandably declining to deliver military items, such as camouflage netting, that were included among the truly humanitarian items.