31/05/2010 Israeli occupation forces massacred 19 activists on board the Gaza-bound “Freedom” flotilla Sunday overnight and Monday, according to the Israeli TV. 60 other people were also injured. Early reports put the death toll at two then ten.
The killing took place in international waters. Among the injured, leader of the Islamic Movement's northern branch in the occupied territories Sheikh Raed Salah whose injuries were serious, according to reports. Dr. Hani Suleiman, head of the Lebanese mission was also injured in the Israeli attack.
Al-Jazeera Channel reported that the Israeli takeover of the vessels has been completed and the ships were dragged by the Navy to the Ashdod Port. Sixteen detainees from one of the Gaza aid flotilla ships underwent an examination by the Israeli Interior Ministry, and were transferred by Israeli occupation guards to the Ela Prison in Beersheba.
A Turkish charity involved with the flotilla told AFP in Gaza that at least 15 people were killed in the Israeli navy raid, most of them Turkish nationals. "Fifteen people were killed in the raid, most of them Turkish nationals," said Mohammed Kaya, who heads the Gaza branch of the IHH, a Turkish charity involved with organizing the fleet of aid ships.
The Israeli occupation army said that "more than 10 people were killed" when Israeli navy seals stormed the aid. "From an initial report, more than 10 passengers were killed," an Israeli army spokesman told AFP in what was the first official confirmation of deaths on board the convoy.
Few hours later, a Greek non-governmental organization said Monday that Israeli forces in helicopters and inflatable boats fired on a Greek vessel in the aid convoy attacked while heading for Gaza.
The Boat For Gaza group said the Sfendoni was attacked alongside the Turkish vessel Mavi Marmara. "There was an attack with live bullets against the Greek boat Sfendoni and the Turkish boat Mavi Marmara, with helicopters and inflatable boats," the Greek organization said in a statement.
It said the attack took place in international waters about 80 nautical miles from the coast.
Boat For Gaza said it was told about the attack by activists on another Greek vessel, the Eleftheri Mesogeio, which was also seized by the Israeli navy, said the statement.
The statement said the Eleftheri Mesogeio tried to keep going toward Gaza. It quoted one of the activists on board, Takis Politis, as saying Israeli commandos had boarded the vessel.
The statement said that before the satellite telephone line was cut, Politis was heard shouting "they are coming on board with grappling irons, we are under arrest."
Earlier, Israeli marine commandos had opened fire as they stormed one of the ships the (Mavi Marmara). Israeli television justified the commandos’ massacre claiming that the soldiers were attacked with knives and axes, but did not elaborate. The Israeli censor blocks all reports on the activists murdered on the flotilla.
According to a reporter on one of the ships, the Israeli occupation army raided all vessels from the sea and air at the same time and informed all of the passengers that they were under arrest.
The Israeli vessels attacked the flotilla in international waters with aerial reinforcement, using gas. A Qatari television channel broadcast live the dramatic images from the ships, with Hamas spokespeople giving interviews and vowing to punish Israel for "the new crime".
The images showed Commando soldiers with their faces covered. A fighter in uniform, wearing a gas mask, tried to block the camera with his hand, while more and more troops raided the ship after sliding down from a helicopter using a rope.
One of the passengers on the ship called out to the Navy vessels, "Don't attack us. We are unarmed civilians. There are injured people onboard."
The calls were first made in English, and were later joined by Knesset Member Hanin Zuabi (Balad), who called out to the ships in Hebrew.
ISRAEL CLAIMS PASSENGERS ‘STARTED THE VIOLENCE’
Meanwhile, Israel blamed activists on board the Gaza aid ships for the bloodshed which broke out. "They initiated the violence," Mark Regev, spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, claimed. "We made every possible effort to avoid this incident. The servicemen were given instructions that it was to be a police operation and to use maximum restraint. Unfortunately they were attacked with deadly force by the people on the boats - with iron bars, knives and live fire."
Israeli army spokesman General Avi Benayahu said he did not know who ordered a naval commando to open fire on the Freedom Flotilla. "I don't know who gave the order to shoot, it is too early to determine," he told army radio. "The navy acts in accordance with orders and the rules for opening fire are very clear. The soldiers had been warned not to give in to provocations."
Moreover, following the Israeli massacre at sea, the Israeli Transport Ministry instructed the Israeli cruise ship Magic 1 not to dock in Turkish ports. The ship is carrying 850 Israeli passengers and was en route to Antalya. It was diverted to Cyprus.
Arab World Slams Israeli ‘Crime’ against Gaza Aid Boat as AL Convenes Tuesday
31/05/2010 After the Israeli aggression against the Gaza aid convoy Sunday overnight and Monday in which 19 international activists were killed and dozens injured, condemnations from different Arab countries were issued and the Arab League called for an urgent meeting on Tuesday.
Arab League chief Amr Mussa slammed the deadly Israeli military raid on Monday as a "crime" and called a meeting of the 22-country organization about the attack.
Speaking on the sidelines of a World Economic Forum summit in Doha, Qatar, Mussa said he had called a meeting of the Arab League council to be held on Tuesday. "We are all very angry," Mussa said. "Tomorrow, there will be a collective position taken."
"This is another message, a very powerful message, that Israel does not want peace, is not ready to enter into peace. So everything we are doing is to no avail," he said.
Mussa said the Israeli action meant "everything" was now left "hanging in the air," including US-brokered proximity talks that only started on May 9 between the Zionist entity and the Palestinians. He added that "lifting the siege (on Gaza) should be part of any confidence-building measures, any preparation for a successful round of proximity talks."
Syrian President Bachar Assad and Lebanese Prime Minister condemned on Monday the Israeli aggressive crime against activists on board the Gaza-bound “Freedom” flotilla, urging the international community to take tangible steps to put an end to the Israeli ongoing massacres.
In a joint statement they issued following a meeting they held at Assad’s residence in the Syrian capital Damascus, Assad and Hariri said that Syria and Lebanon vehemently condemn the Israeli crime committed by Israel at dawn against unarmed civilians who were carrying humanitarian aids to the Palestinian nation besieged in Gaza strip since years.
IRAN: GAZA SHIP RAID ‘BRINGS ISRAEL CLOSE TO ITS END’
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the deadly Israeli military raid Monday was an "inhuman" act that brought the Zionist entity "closer than ever to its end" adding that the attack was an "insult to human dignity."
"The inhuman action of the Zionist regime against the Palestinian people and preventing the humanitarian aid from reaching Gazans does not show this regime's strength, but is a sign of its weakness, and all this brings this sinister and fake regime closer than ever to its end," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency.
"Today, it is clearly evident that the Palestinian issue is not an Arab or Islamic one, but a world issue. Today, the reason for creating and imposing of the Zionist regime has become evident to all," he said.
"The creation of this fake regime is not only to control the Middle East, but the whole world. Therefore, supporting Palestinian people is like supporting the peace and freedom of all nations."
The Iranian foreign ministry condemned the Israeli "crime" and urged the UN Security Council and the Organization of Islamic Conference to take immediate action against the "Zionist regime." "This incident shows the criminal and war-mongering identity of this regime," the ministry said in a statement carried by the official IRNA news agency.
"This attack has happened... while Gaza is under an inhuman blockade contrary to all international rules. The attack is an example of marine terrorism. We want all Arab and Muslim nations to take a unified stance and want Western nations to end their double standards."
JORDAN, EGYPT CONDEMN ISRAELI ATTACK, SUMMON ISRAELI ENVOYS
Meanwhile, Jordan, which signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994, summoned the Zionist entity's ambassador to Amman, Dani Nevo, to protest about the raid, an official said. "The ambassador was summoned today to the foreign ministry. The government will issue a statement later today," the official told AFP without elaborating.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak denounced Israel's use of "excessive and unjustified force" in the raid on flotilla aid convoy, as the foreign ministry summoned Israel's envoy over the deadly incident.
Mubarak condemned "Israel's use of excessive and unjustified force that led to the loss of innocent lives," according to a presidential statement carried by the official news agency MENA.
The foreign ministry said in a statement that it summoned Israel's ambassador to express its condemnation of the "acts of killing and excessive force against international activists."
Two members of Egypt's parliament affiliated with the banned Muslim Brotherhood group were aboard one of the six boats in the flotilla that was attempting to carry humanitarian aid to the Israeli-blockaded Gaza Strip.
Moreover, Kuwait's parliament speaker condemned the raid on the flotilla, which was carrying 16 Kuwaitis including an MP, as a "heinous Israeli crime," as the cabinet prepared for an emergency meeting on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammad al-Ahmad al-Sabah called the meeting to discuss the latest developments related to the aid convoy, KUNA cited communications minister and government spokesman Mohammad al-Baseeri as saying.
Parliament speaker Jassem al-Khorafi condemned what he called the "heinous Israeli crime against the freedom convoy which was on a peaceful and humanitarian mission of solidarity with the population of Gaza."
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