I'm not actually certain of the purpose of the blockade--is it just to keep weapons out? Or is it to keep the Gazan people in poverty to punish them for electing Hamas leaders, and maybe persuade them to elect somebody other than Hamas? If it's the latter, that seems stupid and counterproductive to me, but that doesn't mean it's not part of the thinking.
Otherwise... Well, i think you're right that what this ship did is the most effective way to challenge the blockade. Also, though, I think the IDF shooting some people on the ship is probably better for the political goals of the people on the ship than it is for Israel. After all, what happened is bringing a lot of attention to the issue, and there does seem to be pressure on the Israeli government as a result of this to stop being so hard-line. That doesn't mean that they'll listen, of course, but I think they'll have to consider it more seriously than they would have before this. (That might also mean that Israel would have been better-served letting this ship land in Gaza, even if they did want to keep the general blockade up. But then that would have made them look weak, and there clearly would have had to be a breaking point somewhere--but that breaking point could have been in a situation that didn't make Israel look as bad as it does now. So then the question is whether a loosening of the blockade to avoid conflict here would have actually been a problem for Israel's interests, or whether it's just that Netanyahu and/or others who were responsible just didn't want to look weak.)
no subject
Otherwise... Well, i think you're right that what this ship did is the most effective way to challenge the blockade. Also, though, I think the IDF shooting some people on the ship is probably better for the political goals of the people on the ship than it is for Israel. After all, what happened is bringing a lot of attention to the issue, and there does seem to be pressure on the Israeli government as a result of this to stop being so hard-line. That doesn't mean that they'll listen, of course, but I think they'll have to consider it more seriously than they would have before this. (That might also mean that Israel would have been better-served letting this ship land in Gaza, even if they did want to keep the general blockade up. But then that would have made them look weak, and there clearly would have had to be a breaking point somewhere--but that breaking point could have been in a situation that didn't make Israel look as bad as it does now. So then the question is whether a loosening of the blockade to avoid conflict here would have actually been a problem for Israel's interests, or whether it's just that Netanyahu and/or others who were responsible just didn't want to look weak.)