ALL SOUND AND FURY, SIGNIFYING NOTHING?

So the Libyan ship came and went - and nothing. Not quite sure what it was all about - organisers of the ship insist they weren't trying to provoke the Israelis and they just wanted to deliver aid, but Israel has made it quite clear they're not letting anyone into Gaza via the sea. Depending on who you read/listen to, Israel's blockade on Gaza is/is not legal. If these ships are trying to bring world attention to Gaza, they're pretty effective, because for a short time us journalists land up reporting hourly what's the latest. But how effective are they in the long run? And if this is policy - where will it end? Will you have ship after ship coming, trying to break the Gaza blockade? A possible alternative is rather having Gaza controlled by the international community - or at least the Gaza borders, and maybe in that way Israel can be sure weapons and the like are not being fired from Gaza into Israel - after all this is Israel's main motivation as to why it won't let ships come to its shore.

The situation seems so repetitive - there doesn't seem to be any movement forward. Iran seems to have retracted its threat to send more ships; the Lebanese/Hizbulla ship seems to have floated off the face of the earth; the Free Gaza movement is still threatening to send more ships later in the year. There's a report today that the Turkish activist organization, IHH, that organized the flotilla in May has "surprises" up its sleeves. The group says it will continue its efforts to bring supplies into Gaza, not only by sea, but overland as well. And Israel insists it will react harshly - and consistently - to all future planned Flotillas. So are we likely - merely - to see more of the same?