in this case the MORE force you use the more you will loose
The problem is that at some point you actually have to use force or accept whatever behavior the opponent engages in. My first thought upon viewing the IDF video was that if this incident were replicated in the U.S., with the Israelis being police officers, the shooting would have been justified. (Jury nullification notwithstanding.) It would be PR hell for all involved, but justified.

Without entering into the right/wrong/stupid/justified tug-of-war about the blockade, its worth noting that Israel began it for a reason. (Love Rex's Winnie-the-Pooh reference to describe it.) At the time it seemed worth the effort as an avenue to degrade the political control of a universally acknowledged terrorist organization. That fact is utterly lost in the narrative being placed before the world WRT to this incident. I don't know how you win in a 4G environment when your opponent's population, and for that matter the entire region, is predisposed to believe the worst about you.

Final thought. Does it sound too conspiracy theorist to point out that this happened right before Netanyahu was supposed to meet with the president? I'm not going Cynthia McKinney here, just wondering if the timing has any relation.