The Obama administration meanwhile continues to back the Israeli assault on the flotilla while rejecting calls for an end to the Gaza blockade. In an interview with Charlie Rose, Vice President Joe Biden said Israel should decide whether its siege of Gaza should continue. Biden also criticized the aid flotilla for trying to break Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza.

Joseph Biden: “You can argue whether Israel should have dropped people onto that ship or not, but the truth of the matter is, Israel has a right to know — they’re at war with Hamas — has a right to know whether or not arms are being smuggled in. And up to now, Charlie, what’s happened? They’ve said, 'Here you go. You're in the Mediterranean. This ship, if you divert slightly north, you can unload it, and we’ll get the stuff into Gaza.’ So what’s the big deal here? What’s the big deal of insisting it go straight to Gaza? Well, it’s legitimate for Israel to say, 'I don't know what’s on that ship. These guys are dropping eight — 3,000 rockets on my people.’”