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+--- Thread: Israel has attacked Gaza Flotilla (dead and wounded) (/thread-3885.html)
Israel has attacked Gaza Flotilla (dead and wounded) - Myra Bronstein - 31-05-2010
Magda Hassan Wrote:Ed Jewett Wrote:Does anyone have a fix on the precise location? I'm not entirely sure it matters except in terms of law... These folks are pretty much already deep into the international parish hall of shame. And the USofA which arms and supports them and, well, g'nite. May the world be somehow rosier in the morning.Haaretz has them in international waters.
And Cynthia McKinney's boat was in international waters as well. They still get away with it. I guess there's no line they can't cross.
Israel has attacked Gaza Flotilla (dead and wounded) - Myra Bronstein - 31-05-2010
Looks like they were just practicing on Rachel Corrie.
Israel has attacked Gaza Flotilla (dead and wounded) - Mark Stapleton - 31-05-2010
Just heard a radio interview with one of the organisers of the flotilla, speaking from Cyprus. The attack was definitely in international waters and the number of dead could be as high as sixteen.
Israel has attacked Gaza Flotilla (dead and wounded) - Myra Bronstein - 31-05-2010
Mark Stapleton Wrote:Just heard a radio interview with one of the organisers of the flotilla, speaking from Cyprus. The attack was definitely in international waters and the number of dead could be as high as sixteen.
And the number of injured high as well. I'm reading about 50, per early estimates.
Israel has attacked Gaza Flotilla (dead and wounded) - Magda Hassan - 31-05-2010
It was an air and sea attack. Helicopters dropped commandos on to the ships. They had gas masks and apparently some sort of gas used. Live ammunition. All in international waters. The Turkish ship Mari Marvina was one of the attacked. This had an international crew on board. IDF troops were informed in English and Hebrew that passengers were unarmed and not to attack.
Israel has attacked Gaza Flotilla (dead and wounded) - Peter Presland - 31-05-2010
GPS positions of the flotilla here - The yellow pennants
They are widely dispersed. The Turkish ship from which the Al Jazeera video was broadcast was/is closer to Cyprus than Israel
Israel has attacked Gaza Flotilla (dead and wounded) - Myra Bronstein - 31-05-2010
Magda Hassan Wrote:It was an air and sea attack. Helicopters dropped commandos on to the ships. They had gas masks and apparently some sort of gas used. Live ammunition. All in international waters.
So, the commandos were victims of an unprovoked attack by one or more activists after the commandos dropped from helicopters onto the ship?
Israel has attacked Gaza Flotilla (dead and wounded) - Myra Bronstein - 31-05-2010
The timing of this seems convenient. This is a holiday weekend in the US. Isn't that typically when big news goes unnoticed? I wonder how often the Free Gaza Movement (tries to) deliver aid.
Israel has attacked Gaza Flotilla (dead and wounded) - Myra Bronstein - 31-05-2010
Video report by al jazeera at this link. Emphasis in below article mine. Get a load of the Israeli spin.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/palestinianauthority/7789175/Israeli-troops-attack-ship-carrying-aid-to-Gaza-killing-16.html
"Fighting broke out between the activists and the masked Israeli troops, who rappelled on to deck from helicopters before dawn.
A spokeswoman for the flotilla, Greta Berlin, said she had been told ten people had been killed and dozens wounded, accusing Israeli troops of indiscriminately shooting at "unarmed civilians". But an Israeli radio station said that between 14 and 16 were dead in a continuing operation.
"How could the Israeli military attack civilians like this?" Ms Berlin said. "Do they think that because they can attack Palestinians indiscriminately they can attack anyone?
"We have two other boats. This is not going to stop us."
The Israeli government's handling of the confrontation was under intense international pressure even as it continued. The Israeli ambassador to Turkey, the base of one of the human rights organisation which organised the flotilla, was summoned by the foreign ministry in Anakara, as the Israeli consulate in Istanbul came under attack.
One Israeli minister issued immediate words of regret. "The images are certainly not pleasant. I can only voice regret at all the fatalities," Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, the trade and industry minister, told army radio. But he added that the commandoes had been attacked with batons and activists had sought to take their weapons off them.
Israeli military sources said four of its men had been injured, one stabbed, and that they had been shot at.
"The flotilla's participants were not innocent and used violence against the soldiers. They were waiting for the forces' arrival," they were quoted by a news website as saying.
The flotilla had set sail on Sunday from northern, or Turkish, Cyprus. Six boats were led by the Mavi Marmara, which carried 600 activists from around the world, including Mairead Corrigan Maguire, the Northern Ireland peace protester who won a Nobel Prize in 1976.
It came under almost immediate monitoring from Israeli drones and the navy, with two vessels flanking it in international waters. The flotilla, which had been warned that it would not be allowed to reach Gaza, attempted to slow and change course, hoping to prevent a confrontation until daylight, when the Israeli military action could be better filmed.
But in the early hours of this morning local time commandoes boarded from helicopters.
The activists were not carrying guns, but television footage shown by al-Jazeera and Turkish television channels show hand-to-hand fighting, with activists wearing life-jackets striking commandoes with sticks. The Israeli army said its troops were assaulted with axes and knives. The television footage did not show firing but shots could be heard in the background. One man was shown lying unconscious on the deck, while another man was helped away.
A woman wearing hijab, the Muslim headscarf, was seen carrying a stretcher covered in blood.
The al-Jazeera broadcast stopped with a voice shouting in Hebrew: "Everyone shut up".
Israel imposed its blockade on Gaza after the strip was taken over by the militant group Hamas in 2007. It has allowed some food and medical supplies through, but has prevented large-scale rebuilding following the bombardment and invasion of 2008-9.
The flotilla is the latest in a series of attempts by activists to break through the blockade. The boats were carrying food and building supplies.
Activists said at least two of the other boats, one Greek and one Turkish, had been boarded from Israeli naval vessels. Activists said two of the other boats in the flotilla were American-flagged.
The confrontation took place in international waters 80 miles off the Gaza coast.
It was attacked by the head of the Hamas government in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh.
"We call on the Secretary-General of the U.N., Ban Ki-moon, to shoulder his responsibilities to protect the safety of the solidarity groups who were on board these ships and to secure their way to Gaza," he said.
Turkish television meanwhile showed hundreds of protesters trying to storm the Israeli consulate in Istanbul. The incident will be particularly damaging for Israel's relations with what had been seen as its closest ally in the Muslim world.
"By targeting civilians, Israel has once again shown its disregard for human life and peaceful initiatives," a Turkish foreign ministry statement said. "We strongly condemn these inhumane practices of Israel.
"This deplorable incident, which took place in open seas and constitutes a fragrant breach of international law, may lead to irreparable consequences in our bilateral relations."
Israel has attacked Gaza Flotilla (dead and wounded) - Magda Hassan - 31-05-2010
Don't forget Carsten's thread here: http://www.deeppoliticsforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3974
Looks like they were expecting action. Anyone for a quick game or Russian roulette?