Turkey's prime minister determined to have a war with Israel.

[scottie]

MrBubbles said:

they said it was excessive but legal.

legally israel has the right to capture any ship violating the blockade and sink any ship that resists, so in theory they could have legally sunk the mavi marmara.  and anyone on the ship that had resisted could be taken as a pow.

I question your interpretation of the law

 

"Under international law [Israel] can use force when boarding a ship.

"If force is disproportionate it would be a violation of the key tenets of the use of force," said Commander James Kraska, professor of international law at the U.S. Naval War College.

Israeli authorities said marines who boarded the Turkish vessel Mavi Marmara opened fire in self-defense after activists clubbed and stabbed them and snatched some of their weapons.

Legal experts say proportional force does not mean that guns cannot be used by forces when being attacked with knives.""

http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/06/02/us-israel-flotilla-gaza-idUSTRE65133D20100602

 

Shooting the 9 people was unlawful (although it is enough of a grey area that nothing would ever come of it), sinking the boat would have been extremely unlawful.

 

Edit - Provided a link