Ever since Israel was founded by the British after WWII, her Arab neighbours have repeatedly undermined her right to exist as a nation, even going to war with her a couple of times. The people of Palestine elected an Islamofascist terrorist organisation in Hamas to rule them - this terrorist organisation fires rockets into Israel's northern towns on an almost daily basis, provoking the IDF's incursions into Gaza in response.

Furthermore, the "peace" activists weren't so peaceful when the Israeli soldiers boarded their ship, attacking them with bats, knives (and one report said that there were guns aboard). You can't be 100% sure that none of these peace activists weren't trying to smuggle arms to Hamas under the guise of humanitarian aid.

Both sides are to blame for the ongoing mess in the Middle East. Israel may have been heavy-handed, and the lost lives are of course tragic, but let's not all jerk the knee and pin all the blame on their side. Hamas are a far worse danger to world peace than the IDF ever is.

Also, this thread has been short on compassion for the ultimate losers in all this - the ordinary people of Gaza itself, who must suffer while others play at power politics at their expense.