I feel this discussion has gone off the third rail very quickly. I see diary after diary discussing Israeli/Palestinian relations, but to me that isn't what is at stake here.
It is about Activism.
This is a subject we should care deeply about, as it is the very purpose of this site. The question isn't about Israel's treatment of Palestinians. It is about Israel's response to international or local activism. This was not an attack on the Palestinian people. It was an attack a political movement aimed at advancing a cause. We should stand with political activists, even if we disagree with what they are advocating.
Lawful or Unlawful peaceful protest is irrelevant to the matter.
Legal ramifications of civil disobedience is irrelevant to the discussion of a true activist. The law is derived from power, and cannot be the governing merit in evaluating the treatment of protesters. These protesters were attempting to break through a Israeli blockade, which Israel has a sovereign right to institute, but doesn't have moral authority to enforce.
If you truly believed the blockade was a means of political and economic in oppression, then you are compelled to ignore the law. Any law based in immorality, is no law at all. This is the essence of civil disobedience, and we should be careful about arbitrarily assigning this right to certain people and not others.
During the elections in Iran, the very act of the protests became illegal by government decree. There can be no question on this. Iran has a sovereign right to impose any laws it wants. Still we knew that this law should not be enforced, because it was fundamentally immoral.
When our nation rebelled, Thomas Jefferson scrolled a concept in the preamble of our justification for the rebellion.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
This doctrine supersedes any law of any government. It is the essential concept of liberty, that a person for no other reason than his or her humanity has a right to challenge any political decision they feel is unjust. As long as their action is not a direct and immediate threat on the liberty of another, their actions are justified. It isn't something that is given by a government or institution. It is, as Mr. Jefferson so concisely pointed out, self-evident.
When people decided it was necessary to get on ships and attempt to deliver aid and political support to the people of Gaza, they were within their rights. They weren't attempting to bomb anyone or deprive anyone of liberty. They were simply following a moral imperative they saw necessary. Whether or not we see the same moral imperative is irrelevant.
If you are Pro Israel or Pro Palestinian, these people are either your allies or enemies. If you are a political activist of any stripe, these people are your brothers and sisters. Their right to make their voices heard is our right to do the same.