If you look at Blumenthal's blog entry, you can see that the IDF pulled back from the initial claim re Al Qaeda, which is why I brought this to your attention. That being said, I am not so naive as to think that the blockade of weapons and war material into Gaza is unnecessary or should not be maintained. I think it is Israel's right and the responsibility of the Israeli government to do all it can to stanch the flow of weapons into Gaza. Hamas is a sworn enemy of Israel. To allow ships and trucks to pass into Gaza unimpeded or un-inspected would be reckless, and no government in the world would do so. It is thus extraordinary hypocrisy when the world criticizes Israel for what any nation would do to protect itself and its citizens.
But all of this being said, I would also say that Israel ought not to impose indiscriminate, collective economic punishment upon the people of Gaza, even if it is the case that the people of Gaza voted for Hamas in a previous election. If you look at the list of embargoed goods, you can see that Israel is as much concerned with making life in Gaza miserable as it is with keeping weapons out of Hamas's hands. The government's calculation has clearly been that if we make things bad enough for the people of Gaza, they will turn against Hamas. Conversely, Israel does not want the Palestinians in Gaza to enjoy such material prosperity that they might continue to support Hamas. Alas, the PA, its crocodile tears for their brethren in Gaza notwithstanding, are quite happy with the Israeli embargo since they are as loathe to see Hamas prosper.
But proceeding in this way, where the injury to the civilians of Gaza is not even collateral damage but intentional harm in the hope of turning the people against Hamas, is morally wrong and has already failed politically. Moreover, the policy is doing grave damage to Israel's standing abroad, even with those who are not its enemies and who are its sometime friends. For all of these reasons, there is a need to open the borders to civilian and even to some "dual-use" goods (such as building supplies), while creating a tough inspection regime to ensure that no weapons or weapon components are able to enter Gaza. This inspection regime alone will be enough to make certain that Gaza does not become an Iranian port on the Mediterranean.
In all of this, I may not be 100% correct -- since such certainty is not available with respect to worldly affairs -- but this is hardly a "naive" view.
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