Ships of "Peace," Winds of War

And more ships will sail, towards Gaza.

Even as one columnist today warned "Israel is endangered today as it has never been before," more ships prepared to move across the waters, intent on imitating, replaying the success of the Mavi Marmara.

Has ever world opinion so sided with the militant Islamic extreme? Has any event turned the tide of public opinion their way, such as this?

Nine died onboard the Mavi Marmara. The nine and other passengers attacked the Israeli commandos who boarded the ship to stop it from breaking a blockade meant to cut off weapon supplies from entering the Gaza Strip.

The hitch? The Mavi Marmara and the six other ships in the flotilla sailed under the guise of being a humanitarian effort, intent on breaking the blockade to deliver needed effects to the people of Gaza.

Nations of the world scathed Israel for attacking a humanitarian ship, for leaving nine passengers dead.

Israel maintains no humanitarian supplies were aboard the Mavi Marmara. It maintains the ship's passengers included those willing to commit suicide for the cause of Allah. It released a video today in which the ships leaders, rallying the shipmates in the days before the battle, were told, "We follow in the footsteps of martyrs, the just and the righteous."

And the leaders told the shipmates Israel would be humiliated before the world. Did they mean they would repel an Israeli invasion of the Mavi Marmara? Or did they mean humiliation would come for attacking a humanitarian ship?

That has happened . . . and could well happen again. As I write, more ships sail toward Gaza. The Iranian Red Cresecent has a fleet upon the waters. The Iranian news agency has said its passengers "are willing to become martyred." Lebanon is sending a fleet. And, a Turkish fleet is being sent, it to be directed by the same group of terrorist-affiliated "humanitarians" as the Mavi Marmara was.

Caroline Glick, the Jerusalem Post columnist who today said Israel is endangered today as never before, speaks of the public relations victory the Islamics are winning, simply by presenting their ships as humanitarian ships, and finding a few passengers willing to provoke an attack to bring down public condemnation upon Israel.

This time, Glick says, use non-lethal weapons -- tear gas, water canons and rubber bullets.

But, provoking an Israeli attack remains the Islamic world's hope. And, the threat of a major regional war, much of the Islamic world combining against Israel, increasingly looms. It looms larger as a result of the Mavi Marmara, and it will grow even more likely with the flotillas yet to come.

"If the (Zionist) entity dares to direct any aggresive attack (against Iranian ships), then it is certain that (Israel) will be met by a much sronger, and firm blow," said the press service in Bahrain.

Syria's president this week also warned of war.

The ships headed for Gaza are coming under a peaceful pretense, humanitarian aid, but they are carried by the winds of war.