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Israel has attacked Gaza Flotilla (dead and wounded) - Myra Bronstein - 30-09-2010
[Emphasis mine.]
http://www.alternet.org/investigations/148314/un_report%3A_american_citizen_executed_by_israelis_during_mavi_marmara_raid/?page=1
The report shows conclusively that US citizen Furkan Dogan and five Turkish citizens were murdered execution-style by Israeli commandos.
September 27, 2010 |
The report of the fact-finding mission of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on the Israeli attack on the Gaza flotilla released last week shows conclusively, for the first time, that US citizen Furkan Dogan and five Turkish citizens were murdered execution-style by Israeli commandos.
The report reveals that Dogan, the 19-year-old US citizen of Turkish descent, was filming with a small video camera on the top deck of the Mavi Marmara when he was shot twice in the head, once in the back and in the left leg and foot and that he was shot in the face at point blank range while lying on the ground.
The report says Dogan had apparently been "lying on the deck in a conscious or semi-conscious, state for some time" before being shot in his face.
The forensic evidence that establishes that fact is "tattooing around the wound in his face," indicating that the shot was "delivered at point blank range." The report describes the forensic evidence as showing that "the trajectory of the wound, from bottom to top, together with a vital abrasion to the left shoulder that could be consistent with the bullet exit point, is compatible with the shot being received while he was lying on the ground on his back."
Based on both "forensic and firearm evidence," the fact-finding panel concluded that Dogan's killing and that of five Turkish citizens by the Israeli troops on the Mavi Marmari May 31 "can be characterized as extra-legal, arbitrary and summary executions." (See Report [.pdf] Page 38, Section 170)
The report confirmed what the Obama administration already knew from the autopsy report on Dogan, but the administration has remained silent about the killing of Dogan, which could be an extremely difficult political problem for the administration in its relations with Israel.
The Turkish government gave the autopsy report on Dogan to the US Embassy in July and it was then passed on to the Department of Justice, according to a US government source who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the administration's policy of silence on the matter. The source said the purpose of obtaining the report was to determine whether an investigation of the killing by the Justice Department (DOJ) was appropriate.
Asked by this writer whether the DOJ had received the autopsy report on Dogan, DOJ spokesperson Laura Sweeney refused to comment.
The administration has not volunteered any comment on the fact-finding mission report and was not asked to do so by any news organization. In response to a query from Truthout, a State Department official, who could not speak on the record, read a statement that did not explicitly acknowledge the report's conclusion about the Israeli executions.
The statement said the fact-finding mission's report's "tone and conclusions are unbalanced." It went on to state, "We urge that this report not be used for actions that could disrupt direct negotiations between Israel and Palestine that are now underway or actions that would make it not possible for Israel and Turkey to move beyond the recent strains in their traditional strong relationship."
Although the report's revelations and conclusions about the killing of Dogan and the five other victims were widely reported in the Turkish media last week, not a single story on the report has appeared in US news media.
...
Another passenger whom forensic evidence shows was killed execution-style, according to the OHCHR report, is Ibrahim Bilgen, a 60-year-old Turkish citizen. Bilgen is believed by forensics experts to have been shot initially from the helicopter above the Mavi Marmara and then shot in the side of the head while lying seriously wounded.
The fact-finding mission was given forensic evidence that, after the initial shot in chest from above, Bilgen was shot in the head with a "soft baton round at such close proximity that an entire bean bag and its wadding penetrated the skull and lodged in the chest from above," the mission concluded.
"Soft baton rounds" are supposed to be fired for nonlethal purposes at a distance and aimed only at the stomach, but are lethal when fired at the head, especially from close range.
...
The account, provided by the OHCHR of the events on board the Mavi Marmara on its way to help break the economic siege of Gaza May 31 of this year, refutes the version of events aggressively pushed by the Israeli military and supports the testimony of passengers on board.
...
The idea that the passenger list would be seeded with terrorists determined to attack Israeli defense forces appears to have been a ploy to justify treating the operation as likely to require the use of military force against the passengers.
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The report confirms that, from the beginning of the operation, passengers were fired on by helicopters flying above the Mavi Marmara to drop commandos on the deck.
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Contrary to Israeli claims that one or more Israeli troops were wounded by firearms, the report says no medical evidence of a gunshot wound to an Israeli soldier was found.
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The mission interviewed 112 eyewitnesses to the Israeli attack in London, Geneva, Istanbul and Amman, Jordan. The Israeli government refused to cooperate with the fact-finding mission by making personnel involved in both planning and carrying out the attack available to be interviewed.
Israel has attacked Gaza Flotilla (dead and wounded) - Magda Hassan - 30-09-2010
Thanks for this update Myra. Pretty incontrovertible isn't it?
Israel has attacked Gaza Flotilla (dead and wounded) - Magda Hassan - 30-09-2010
![[Image: poor-israeli-commando.jpg]](http://kenokeefe.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/poor-israeli-commando.jpg)
Israel has attacked Gaza Flotilla (dead and wounded) - Peter Presland - 30-09-2010
Full report pdf here (it's only 420K)
Blog post here
It is very damning indeed. Could hardly believe what I was reading from a UN sponsored report.
It's been published for over a week now. I put the pdf up 0n Wikispooks on 24th September.
But there's been barely a whisper about it from the MSM.
Israel has attacked Gaza Flotilla (dead and wounded) - Magda Hassan - 30-09-2010
Yes, Peter. I was expecting more of a whitewash than this. I'm pleasantly surprised.
Israel has attacked Gaza Flotilla (dead and wounded) - Myra Bronstein - 01-10-2010
Peter Presland Wrote:Full report pdf here (it's only 420K)
Blog post here
It is very damning indeed. Could hardly believe what I was reading from a UN sponsored report.
It's been published for over a week now. I put the pdf up 0n Wikispooks on 24th September.
But there's been barely a whisper about it from the MSM.
Yes, the MSM blockade of this smoking gun report is demonstrable.
Look at the number of news articles on this subject, compared to other subjects, from google news today. Shown in three attachments.
Israel has attacked Gaza Flotilla (dead and wounded) - Myra Bronstein - 01-10-2010
Peter Presland Wrote:Full report pdf here (it's only 420K)
Blog post here
It is very damning indeed. Could hardly believe what I was reading from a UN sponsored report.
...
Same here.
The UN may be a rogue element.
Could explain why Herr Bush the younger appointed that creepy John Bolton guy, an outspoken UN enemy, as UN Ambassador.
Israel has attacked Gaza Flotilla (dead and wounded) - David Guyatt - 06-10-2010
From Myra's No. 221 above:
Quote:The statement said the fact-finding mission's report's "tone and conclusions are unbalanced." It went on to state, "We urge that this report not be used for actions that could disrupt direct negotiations between Israel and Palestine that are now underway or actions that would make it not possible for Israel and Turkey to move beyond the recent strains in their traditional strong relationship."
(my italics)
Ah ha, there we have the US position. Outright murder and flouting of international law is simply to be ignored because otherwise it might disrupt ongoing negotiations.
Fat chance that Israel has any intention (or will ever have, in fact) to actually reach a genuine peaceful settlement in the Middle East.
I also liked the comment that the "report's tone and conclusions are unbalanced". A very sly statement when it is recalled that Israel flatly refused to provide input to the report.
It's all a charade.
Israel has attacked Gaza Flotilla (dead and wounded) - Jan Klimkowski - 23-01-2011
W H I T E W A S H:
Quote:Israeli soldiers fired at Gaza aid flotilla in self-defence, says inquiry
Raid on Gaza-bound ships in which nine activists was killed was legal, government-appointed Turkel commission concludes
Harriet Sherwood in Jerusalem guardian.co.uk, Sunday 23 January 2011 13.43 GMT
Israel acted within international law and its soldiers opened fire in self-defence during a deadly raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla of aid ships last May that prompted worldwide protests, a government-appointed commission concluded today.
The 280-page report of the Turkel Commission broadly endorsed the Israeli military and government versions of events on 31 May. Witnesses on board the lead ship, the Mavi Marmara, on which nine Turkish activists were killed, vigorously contested the Israeli accounts.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the prime minister of Turkey whose relations with Israel reached breaking point after the raid, today rejected the conclusions of the commission, saying it had "no value or credibility".
The report found that Israeli naval commandos were met with violence when they boarded the Mavi Marmara. It identified a key group of about 100 "IHH activists" referring to a Turkish organisation that Israel accuses of having links to Hamas, the Islamist organisation that runs Gaza.
"The IHH activists carried out the violence on board the Mavi Marmara by arming themselves with a wide array of weapons, including iron bars, axes, clubs, slingshots, knives and metal objects. These weapons were capable of causing death or serious injury," the report said. The IHH activists used firearms against the soldiers, it added.
"Overall, the IDF [Israeli Defence Forces] personnel acted professionally in the face of extensive and unanticipated violence," it concluded.
It said the IDF's interception and capture of the vessels in the flotilla conformed with international law. The military's use of force also complied with international law in 127 cases, said the report. There were six cases that were inconclusive.
Activists on board the vessels said the Israeli military initiated the violence and used disproportionate force in the ensuing battle.
The commission also found that Israel's naval blockade of Gaza, which the flotilla was attempting to breach, was primarily for security reasons and was imposed lawfully. It added that it did not "constitute 'collective punishment' of the population of the Gaza Strip".
"Israel is complying with the humanitarian obligations imposed on the blockading party, including the prohibition of starving the civilian population or preventing the supply of objects essential for survival," said the report.
Gisha, an Tel Aviv-based rights organisation, said in a statement that "a primary goal of the restrictions, as declared by Israel, was to paralyse the economy in Gaza and prevent its residents from leading normal lives". It challenged the commission's conclusion that restrictions were justified for military reasons.
Israel eased its blockade on Gaza under international pressure in the aftermath of the flotilla raid. However there are still severe restrictions on the import of construction materials, exports and freedom of movement.
After the report's publication, the Turkish foreign ministry said: "Israel's attack against the humanitarian aid convoy, which violated both wartime and peacetime international law, has also trampled all international principles, rules and norms with the manner in which it was conducted."
Sarah Colbourne, of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, who was on the Marvi Marmara, said: "The facts are simple, the Marvi Marmara was carrying essential humanitarian aid like baby milk to the besieged people of Gaza. There were no guns or weapons on board the boat, we were in international waters, when over 300 bullets rained down on us."
Mark Regev, spokesman for the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, said: "Israel acted in justifiable self-defence. Our soldiers acted to protect themselves and to protect their country. Then as now, Iran seeks to smuggle lethal weaponry to Hamas in Gaza."
The conclusions of the commission, headed by retired supreme court judge Yaakov Turkel, were endorsed by two international observers, who were appointed after claims that an internal Israeli investigation into the flotilla raid would not be objective.
Former Northern Ireland first minister David Trimble and Brigadier-General Ken Watkin of Canada said in a letter accompanying the report that the commission was independent and rigorous.
Israel intercepted the flotilla in international waters, claiming that the boats could be carrying arms or materials that could be used by militants. The nine casualties were all Turkish citizens, who between them sustained 30 bullet wounds.
Although Israel rebuffed calls for an international investigation, it faced criticism over its choice of commissioners, with critics saying the outcome of the inquiry would be a whitewash.
The Turkel commission will continue to investigate the political decision-making process in the runup to the raid. A second report is expected later this year.
Among those who gave evidence to the commission were Netanyahu, the defence minister, Ehud Barak, and army chief Gabi Ashkenazi. The commission was barred from questioning soldiers.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/23/israel-gaza-aid-flotilla-inquiry
Israel has attacked Gaza Flotilla (dead and wounded) - Ed Jewett - 23-01-2011
Self-defense at point-blank range while standing over supine attacker ....
Your Honor, he might have leapt upward and attacked my bullets.