A CNN video report about the recent attempt to circumvent the Gaza naval blockade contains a shocking inaccuracy. Towards the end of the segment, correspondent Paula Hancocks says:
A UN Fact Finding Mission concluded in 2011 that the blockade was unlawful, while Israel defends its rights to protect its borders.
This is false. The Palmer Report, commissioned by the UN in 2011, found that the Israeli blockade was in compliance with international law. According to the report:
The fundamental principle of the freedom of navigation on the high seas is subject to only certain limited exceptions under international law. Israel faces a real threat to its security from militant groups in Gaza. The naval blockade was imposed as a legitimate security measure in order to prevent weapons from entering Gaza by sea and its implementation complied with the requirements of international law.
The legality of the blockade is a key point for viewers to understand the current situation and this error must be fixed immediately. International Law Professor Eugene Kontorovich, writing in the Washington Post (and Commentary) points out that it’s not just the 2011 Palmer Commission that showed the legality of the blockade. The relative lack of criticism against the blockade today points to an admission that, yes, Israel is within its right to stop and search ships headed for Hamas-controlled Gaza.
Of course, there is another situation in which non-hostile vessels can be stopped on the high seas — blockade running. . . [G]iven Israel’s armed activities certainly do not enjoy a presumption of legality from the international community, this silence comes quite close to an acknowledgement of the legitimacy of the blockade.
CNN must make clear that Israel’s position is legal.
[sc:graybox ]Contact CNN on its feedback page and demand that the story be corrected. Please mention that the error occurred at 1:30 of the Paula Hancocks video segment from June 29, “Israel blocks ship attempting to break Gaza blockade.” URL is http://edition.cnn.com/2015/06/29/middleeast/israel-blocks-ship-from-gaza/index.html.
