It's been explained many times before, in forums much higher and more demanding of factual truth than Free Republic. It was a case of mistaken identity. This happened on day four of a six day war; the Israeli pilots were full of adrenalin and fear. Sh*t happens. Accept it and move on, or join the grassy knowl crowd.
I'm sure they were, having been given orders to attack a U.S. military ship. Maybe that's why they chose to attack with unmarked planes...and just one more time, can you tell me who they possibly thought they were attacking with the U.S. flag on the ship...was it the Palestinian navy flag ship?