'They are Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Protestants, etc, in that group of brave and dedicated human beings trying to help other human beings. At least they are doing something.'

12 M'sians on ship attacked by Israelis

Swipenter: The Israel regime has forgotten the lessons of the Holocaust. They are a nation born out of the Holocaust and yet, they are inflicting the same kind of human sufferings and miseries onto the Palestinians that the Nazis did to them in World War II.

Zionism is all about race and religion, and we Malaysians must surely understand what it means when politicians use race and religion to justify their actions and policies.

Look at it from a humanitarian viewpoint, not from a racial or religious angle, then things are simpler to understand and easier to condemn the Israeli inhumane and harsh treatment meted out to the Palestinians.

Louis: We should help the Palestinians but not at the risk of lives. We must realise that Israel is surrounded by hostile neighbours and will not hesitate to kill if threatened. She is like a wounded tiger, which will kill at the first sign of danger. It is foolhardy to try your luck with them.

Simon Law: I really question why we need to help the Palestinians when our nation cannot even afford to cloth our own natives in the hinterlands of Sarawak. With the headline news about our nation going bankrupt in nine years' time because of the subsidies, I think they should instead send the 10,000 tonnes of humanitarian aid to rural Sarawak instead.

Azmir Ahmad: This is a purely humanitarian aid effort to the long-suffering people of Gaza. It does not matter who they are. In Gaza, there are Muslims, Christians, children and women. Put ourselves in their bodies and souls, then we will know what it is like to be a Gazan.

They are Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Protestants, etc, in that group of brave and dedicated human beings trying to help other human beings. May Allah, Jesus, Lord Budhha save them all. At least they are doing something. What did we do to help?

Magnus: I'm glad that the Malaysians on this humanitarian effort are unhurt. Israel has gone too far this time and I think they will realise that soon enough.

I consider the current Israeli PM, Benjamin Netanyahu, to be a bit of a neanderthal but even I did not think that he would be so stupid as this as to back an attack that risked killing unarmed civilian members of an international humanitarian effort in international waters!

Sometimes out of unexpected tragic consequences and unbelievable stupidity from politicians on this abysmal scale come the real strength of international will and cooperation to find a real way out of such human stupidity.

Perhaps when we look back on this tragedy today from sometime in the future, we will know it to be the final Middle Eastern straw that broke the Israeli camel's back and which paved the way towards that holy grail, i.e. of a lasting negotiated settlement for a two nation state to exist in peace, side by side, in Palestine.

Sarajun Hoda: This is very cruel. Israel cannot do this. Maybe PM Najib Abdul Razak will answer for this, because he is quite fond of having business with Israelis or American Jews with Israeli connections. At least this is what we understand from media reports.

Baiyuensheng: What can our government do in face of the savagery carried out by Israel? As long as the US is behind them, there's nothing we can do, I'm afraid.

Upyes: We are all trying our best to accept and acknowledge Israel as a sovereign nation with every right to exist - but their arrogance, brutality and utter indifference to the suffering of other humans they regard as non-Jew or non-Israeli is matched only by the crude and primitive actions of Umno warlords.

Now more than ever, Umno's reliance on a Zionist PR (public relations) agency brings shame to the country and indirectly validates Israel's inhumane treatment of the Palestinian people - the authentic indigenes of the area.

Satinah Osman: The Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) is reported to have (had) close relations with Israel through certain dubious businesses. They should help to save Malaysians from being jailed in the horrible Israeli jails. Kamunting jail is said to be more comfortable and friendly compared to Israeli holding posts. It's said that the Israelis hit the vessel in international waters. Surely that cannot be condoned by Malaysia.

Loyal Malaysian: The use of force is something which the Israelis are very good at - and disproportionate use at that! The Israelis are so arrogant and abusive of the Palestinians because they know that their big brother, Uncle Sam, is behind them. Now innocent lives fighting for the rights of the Palestinians are lost, and the Israelis will still get away with it.

Anonymous: If my reading is correct, the Israel military is enforcing military/economic blockage of the Gaza strip so that no outside supplies of any sort can reach the people living there.

Citizen: When Dr Mahathir Mohamad said the Malaysian navy would shoot at Vietnamese refugees in the 1970s, nobody complained then. So why these heroic actions when it concerns the Palestinians?

John The Baptist: Freedom flotilla and Lifeline4gaza is a humanitarian aid mission. Malaysia is doing its bit to help the people of Gaza. This is not some terrorist group attacking Israel or its people. Please do not equate this with the killing of boat people. That is a past event and has nothing to do with Freedom Flotilla.

Mohd Radzi Ibrahim: We should never equate them (the activists) to what the Malaysia government did to the Vietnamese. They are not in any way, whatsoever, representative of the Malaysian government.

Malaysian: I remember my 1996 SPM moral paper asking about Mahathir's threat to shoot the Vietnamese boat people who wanted to land in Malaysia. I wrote that he was a hypocrite and "tidak berperikemanusiaan" (no humanitarian values). Got a P7 for that paper. I wonder if the same group who supported Mahathir's decision thinks that the Israelis have a right to shoot these people now?

For me, Mahathir was wrong, and we shouldn't use his actions to justify this attack. If the Palestinians are starving, then they deserve food and help. I don't see any way to resolve their conflict though, especially as both sides are equally stubborn. Both sides are probably preaching hatred to their children right now. I can't see any peace happening in the near future, but good luck to both sides.

Finally, I would also like to join in the chorus of let's not forget the poor Malaysians. Many families are living on RM5-RM10 a day, maybe less. They're probably starving too. We should do what we can to help a fellow human being.

YouTube video of the attack l 1.17 min

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