Drawing a line in the sea : the 2010 Gaza flotilla incident and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict / edited by Thomas E. Copeland, with Althea H. Cook and Lisa M. McCartan.

Includes index.

Introduction : understanding the Gaza flotilla incident / Thomas E. Copeland -- Ethnic and religious dimensions of the Israeli-Palestinian struggle / Samuel Stanton and Jeanette Fregulia -- Why there? The origin, evolution, and historical significance of the Gaza Strip / Richard Spence -- Iran and weapons proliferation in Lebanon and Gaza / Alethia H. Cook -- Ethical considerations and Israeli policy towards the Palestinians / Spencer Meredith -- Islamic resurgence in Turkey : the Mavi Marmara incident as its statement / Susan Jellissen -- Hamas : ideology, elections, and governance in Gaza / Joseph Spoerl -- Charity begins (and ends?) at home : the nexus between Islamic social welfare and the funding of terrorism / Eric Metchik -- RMA's, hybrid wars, and the Gaza flotilla incident / David Walker -- Tactical ethics : an evaluation of the Israeli naval commando assault on the MV Mavi Marmara / Deane-Peter Baker -- Playing offense and defense : examining the effectiveness of Israel's counterterrorism strategies / Lisa M. McCartan -- Understanding American media reaction to the Gaza flotilla incident / Carmine Scavo -- US-Israeli relations in the wake of the flotilla incident / Christos Frentzos -- Drawing a line in the sea : what the Gaza flotilla incident means / Alethia Cook and Thomas E. Copeland.

The deadly May 31, 2010 Gaza flotilla incident has been misunderstood. This book explores the incident in more detail than mainstream media coverage has allowed{u2014}explaining the background, key players, and the incident itself{u2014}enriched by the authors having had unique access to senior Israeli officials in the immediate aftermath of the event. The incident is a microcosm of the struggle between terrorism and democratic societies, and raises a number of legal, ethical, and strategic political issues in the contemporary Middle East. Chapters address the political and military scenario preceding the incident, key state and non-state actors involved, military and ethical dimensions of the operation, and the aftermath in the media and politics. The book provides thoughtful and readable analysis that is useful to policy makers and to the general public, and draws some important conclusions for the continuing conflict between democratic states and terrorists and their sponsors.