Politics Israel attacks Gaza aid fleet

[DLord.Van.Buuren]

Israeli forces have attacked a flotilla of aid-carrying ships aiming to break the country's siege on Gaza.
At least 19 people were killed and dozens injured when troops intercepted the convoy of ships dubbed the Freedom Flotilla early on Monday, Israeli radio reported.
The flotilla was attacked in international waters, 65km off the Gaza coast.

Avital Leibovich, an Israeli military spokeswoman, confirmed that the attack took place in international waters, saying: "This happened in waters outside of Israeli territory, but we have the right to defend ourselves."
Footage from the flotilla's lead vessel, the Mavi Marmara, showed armed Israeli soldiers boarding the ship and helicopters flying overhead.
Al Jazeera's Jamal Elshayyal, on board the Mavi Marmara, said Israeli troops had used live ammunition during the operation.




The Israeli military said four soldiers had been wounded and claimed troops opened fire after "demonstrators onboard attacked the IDF Naval personnel with live fire and light weaponry including knives and clubs".
Free Gaza Movement, the organisers of the flotilla, however, said the troops opened fire as soon as they stormed the convoy.
Our correspondent said that a white surrender flag was raised from the ship and there was no live fire coming from the passengers.
Before losing communication with our correspondent, a voice in Hebrew was clearly heard saying: "Everyone shut up".




Israeli intervention
Earlier, the Israeli navy had contacted the captain of the Mavi Marmara, asking him to identify himself and say where the ship was headed.
Shortly after, two Israeli naval vessels had flanked the flotilla on either side, but at a distance.

Organisers of the flotilla carrying 10,000 tonnes of humanitarian aid then diverted their ships and slowed down to avoid a confrontation during the night.
They also issued all passengers life jackets and asked them to remain below deck.
Al Jazeera’s Ayman Mohyeldin, reporting from Jerusalem, said the Israeli action was surprising.
"All the images being shown from the activists on board those ships show clearly that they were civilians and peaceful in nature, with medical supplies on board. So it will surprise many in the international community to learn what could have possibly led to this type of confrontation," he said.
Meanwhile, Israeli police have been put on a heightened state of alert across the country to prevent any civil disturbances.
Sheikh Raed Salah,a leading member of the Islamic Movement who was on board the ship, was reported to have been seriously injured. He was being treated in Israel's Tal Hasharon hospital.
In Um Al Faham, the stronghold of the Islamic movement in Israel and the birth place of Salah, preparations for mass demonstrations were under way.

Protests
Condemnation has been quick to pour in after the Israeli action.
Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, officially declared a three-day state of mourning over Monday's deaths.
Turkey, Spain, Greece, Denmark and Sweden have all summoned the Israeli ambassador's in their respective countries to protest against the deadly assault.


Thousands of Turkish protesters tried to storm the Israeli consulate in Istanbul soon after the news of the operation broke. The protesters shouted "Damn Israel" as police blocked them.
"(The interception on the convoy) is unacceptable ... Israel will have to endure the consequences of this behaviour," the Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement.
Ismail Haniya, the Hamas leader in Gaza, has also dubbed the Israeli action as "barbaric".
Hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists, including a Nobel laureate and several European legislators, were with the flotilla, aiming to reach Gaza in defiance of an Israeli embargo.
The convoy came from the UK, Ireland, Algeria, Kuwait, Greece and Turkey, and was comprised of about 700 people from 50 nationalities.
But Israel had said it would not allow the flotilla to reach the Gaza Strip and vowed to stop the six ships from reaching the coastal Palestinian territory.
The flotilla had set sail from a port in Cyprus on Sunday and aimed to reach Gaza by Monday morning.
Israel said the boats were embarking on "an act of provocation" against the Israeli military, rather than providing aid, and that it had issued warrants to prohibit their entrance to Gaza.
It asserted that the flotilla would be breaking international law by landing in Gaza, a claim the organisers rejected.

Im a little late since this happend few days ago .

 

[jOKER1989]

This is unacceptable from Israel really

I mean they have nothing to do with what happens between Israel and Hamas

Thanks for your thread my friend

 

[kkck]

I am rather on the uninformed side of the issues in the middle east but I can't say I was surprised by the attack. In my book, the world is made out of 3 big assholes who'd bomb you a mile into the air if you mess with them. The first one is the USA. They have bombed a number of people due to national defense and are damn proud it (I am not from the USA BTW). The third is china. China hasn't actually bombed anyone as far as I recall (other than their own) but right now I don't see them hesitating to bomb an enemy, without a doubt a nation not willing to tolerate crap. The second is israel. Not nearly as powerful as USA or china economically but they are not people to take crap from anyone regardless of the consequences. Israel is not a country that would bluff regarding bombing anyone. Heck, if provoked they'd bomb a box of baby kittens without a second of hesitation while looking at the critters to the eye. Israel was pretty clear they would not let anyone past their blockade, and they meant anyone. I am not saying what they did was right, it certainly was atrocious and such actions should NEVER be allowed to go unpunished but I do think these guys chose the wrong bluff to call. Worth noting, I am surprised so many people survived, before that I would have thought not a single humanitarian would be spared in such a situation. Sometimes I wonder whether it is possible some asshole actually sent those guys with the intention of sacrificing them so that Israel would lose support from the international community though, it just seems to far fetched someone would think Israel was bluffing about not letting anyone pass the blockade.

I want to remind people I do not support what Israel did in any plausible way and am as unhappy about the whole thing as anyone. I don't want anything of what I wrote to be misinterpreted in a way in which it would sound as if I condone their actions.

 

[shaheer]

eh nah not like that ..no one is cranky enogh to try the stunt of sending thier ppl so that they die and Israel gets their support halved or so...i mean if killing ppl was enogh to withdraw Israeli supports then their supports woulnt be this much in the first place ...and last time i checked the cease fire that broke off in 2008/9 was due to Israeli attack on palestinians and thus the palestinians RETALIATED..thats the news i got from all the sources ...... so cease fire or blockade .... doestn make a difference apparantly

 

[kkck]

Baby steps... israel is generally disliked by most, even its allies. This sort of thing does not help in the least. Eventually, bringing up events as the one you just mentioned or the more recent one can make a political difference. Still, even if such a conspiracy is extremely unlikely it still makes no sense someone would approach the blockade in the way they did. It's just the wrong bluff to call so to speak, anyone could have foreseen Israel would open fire at them(at least someone should have thought the odds were above 50%).