SO WHAT CAN BE DONE?
As a result of Monday's maritime incident, Israel is facing international condemnation and the Gazans are no better off.
Analysts warn that Turkey will not improve its ties with Israel until the core problems are addressed and in principle, which means ending the Israeli grip on Gaza.
For most experts here, the standoff between Israel and Hamas appears to be a lost cause but both Shurab and Diker have suggestions for what can be done to ease the situation for the people of Gaza.
Shurab believed Israel should lift the blockade and Diker stressed Hamas need a change, but both saw that their own side can play a role, too.
Shurab said a change in the nature of the leadership in Gaza would help persuade Israel to lift its partial siege, as he called it.
Hamas must end its ongoing intra-Palestinian rift with Fatah, he argued, suggesting that elections should be allowed to take place.
"If Hamas is then in government it will be responsible for lifting the blockade on Gaza by responding positively to the international community in accepting the previous agreements signed by the Palestinian National Authority and the Palestinian Liberation Organization," he said.
Meanwhile, there are reports that a further two boats are heading for Gaza and Israel will be judged on its actions in dealing with them. Israel will try at all costs to avoid further bloodshed given the beating it has taken in the media this week, but it continues to insist it will not allow its marine blockade to be broken.
As a result, Hamas maintained that Israel is guilty of state terrorism and there are signs that the region may once again plunge back towards violence, which will only succeed in adding to the misery of civilians on both sides of the border but in particular, the residents of Gaza.
