Biden defends Israel's handling of raid on Gaza aid flotilla

PanARMENIAN.Net - Vice President Joe Biden defended Israel's handling of the raid on a Gaza aid flotilla, departing from the Obama administration's posture of wait and see.

Biden said Israel has an absolute right to defend its security interests. "It's legitimate for Israel to say, 'I don't know what's on that ship. These guys are dropping eight -- 3,000 rockets on my people," Biden said.

The flotilla of six ships, loaded with assistance for the Gaza Strip's 1.5 million residents and aimed at breaching Israel's blockade of the strip, was organized in part by a Turkish group that has ties to Hamas, the terrorist group that controls Gaza.

Israel's raid before dawn Monday on the largest ship ended in bloodshed when passengers clashed with commandos. Nine passengers were killed, six Israeli soldiers were injured, and Israel's relations with Turkey, which flagged the ship, were at an all-time low. Israeli troops boarded and commandeered the five smaller ships without incident.

Biden repeated the Obama administration's position that Israel should ease the Gaza blockade for humanitarian reasons, and should investigate the incident. He also emphasized that he understood Israeli concerns.

"As we put pressure, and the world put pressure on Israel to let material go into Gaza to help those people who are suffering, the ordinary Palestinians there, what happened?" he asked. "Hamas would confiscate it, put it in a warehouse, and sell it."

Biden's defense of Israel differed in tone from other Obama administration statements that reserved comment until an investigation uncovers the facts, jta.org reported.