By Nureddin Sabir

Editor, Redress Information & Analysis

Britain and the European Union, as well as the United States, Russia, Australia, China, India and others, are full of self-congratulations for their role in countering Somali pirates off the east coast of Africa.

The phenomenon of Somali piracy is a consequence of the fact that Somalia has not had a government worthy of the name since 1991. It is gangsterism gone out to sea – an extension of the lawlessness afflicting Somalia. As such, it is easy to understand why it exists and why efforts are being made to root it out.

Yet, there is another type of piracy, one that is applauded and encouraged by the same countries that never fail to let an opportunity pass to congratulate themselves on the efforts they are making to eliminate Somali piracy.

I am talking about the Israeli state-sponsored pirates plying international waters as part of an experiment to see whether it is possible to force a whole people, the Palestinian people of the Gaza Strip, to submit to foreign occupation by starving it.

Below is a clip of the latest in a long line of Israeli acts of piracy, taken moments before Israeli pirates boarded the MV Estelle and forced it to abort its humanitarian mission and divert to the Israeli port of Ashdod.