Amos Harel, 08/02/10, Haaretz

The Reut Institute released last week a devastating report on the fallout from the flotilla incident. According to the experts from the nonpartisan Israeli research institute, the flotilla was a "political-strategic terror attack" that was planned, undisturbed, over the course of more than a year, succeeded beyond its organizers' expectations and caused significant damage to Israel.

The report's authors state that the crux of the incident was the alliance forged among Hamas, various Islamic organizations and leftist organizations operating in places like London, Paris, Brussels, Madrid, Toronto and San Francisco. They write that the planning of the flotilla was carried out openly over the Internet and in public conferences, and that Ankara's decision to make Gaza a main sticking point with Israel was apparent months in advance.

The researchers point to a broad, global, constantly changing campaign for the delegitimization of Israel that began several years ago and whose ultimate purpose is to bring about the dissolution of Israel, a la South African apartheid and the Soviet Union.

It's possible, said Reut founder and president Gidi Grinstein, that the flotilla is "already yesterday's war and Hamas and its partners will search for other avenues. The name of the game is delegitimization. The problem is that Israel is not prepared to deal with this war. If it's a strategic problem then it must be dealt with accordingly. A broad coalition of organizations that work against us and cause us enormous damage in terms of global public opinion has been created, but it is still a war that can be won."

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To read the report in Hebrew, click here.