Nine pro-Palestenian activists were killed when Israel commandos boarded a flotilla carrying aid to the blockaded Gaza strip region. The aid was coming from Turkey and many of those activists killed were Turks. Turkey has been an important ally for Israel, the only Muslim friend in the Middle East, but early yesterday Turkey’s ambassador in Israel was pulled.
President Benjamin Netanyahu defended the Israeli military’s actions, saying the commandos, enforcing what Israel says is a legal blockade, were set upon by passengers on the Turkish ship they boarded and fired only in self-defense. The military released a video of the early moments of the raid to support that claim.
Organizers of the flotilla said that the Israeli commandos opened fire as soon as they landed on deck, and they also released a video to support their claims. In addition, Reuters reported that Israel was holding hundreds of activists incommunicado in and around the port city of Ashdod, refusing to permit journalists access to witnesses who might contradict Israel’s version of events. Around 50 of the passengers had volunteered to be deported but over 600 were refusing to be repatriated.
The deaths at sea have thrown Israel’s Gaza blockade into the limelight and every nation in Europe and in the Middle East has condemned the actions on board the flotilla. The statement by the United Nations Security Council early on Tuesday stressed “the need for sustained and regular flow of goods and people to Gaza.”
The story out of Israel is that the Navy commandos were sent aboard to commandeer the ship and steer it to the port Ashdod, which it had refused to do, and when the commandos boarded they were surprised by an angry mob with weapons. Thus, leaving them no choice but self-defense. The fatalities all occurred aboard the Mavi Marmara, a Turkish passenger vessel that was carrying about 600 activists under the auspices of Insani Yardim Vakfi, an organization also known as I.H.H. Israeli officials have characterized it as a dangerous Islamic organization with terrorist links. Yet the organization, founded in 1992 to collect aid for the Bosnians, is now active in 120 countries and has been present at recent disaster areas like Haiti and New Orleans.
This leaves a dangerous balancing act for the Obama Administration. Relations are already strained with Israel over new construction plans in the West Bank. This situation at sea could be a detriment to peace talks with Palestine and new sanction against Iran.
President Benjamin Netanyahu defended the Israeli military’s actions, saying the commandos, enforcing what Israel says is a legal blockade, were set upon by passengers on the Turkish ship they boarded and fired only in self-defense. The military released a video of the early moments of the raid to support that claim.
Organizers of the flotilla said that the Israeli commandos opened fire as soon as they landed on deck, and they also released a video to support their claims. In addition, Reuters reported that Israel was holding hundreds of activists incommunicado in and around the port city of Ashdod, refusing to permit journalists access to witnesses who might contradict Israel’s version of events. Around 50 of the passengers had volunteered to be deported but over 600 were refusing to be repatriated.
The deaths at sea have thrown Israel’s Gaza blockade into the limelight and every nation in Europe and in the Middle East has condemned the actions on board the flotilla. The statement by the United Nations Security Council early on Tuesday stressed “the need for sustained and regular flow of goods and people to Gaza.”
The story out of Israel is that the Navy commandos were sent aboard to commandeer the ship and steer it to the port Ashdod, which it had refused to do, and when the commandos boarded they were surprised by an angry mob with weapons. Thus, leaving them no choice but self-defense. The fatalities all occurred aboard the Mavi Marmara, a Turkish passenger vessel that was carrying about 600 activists under the auspices of Insani Yardim Vakfi, an organization also known as I.H.H. Israeli officials have characterized it as a dangerous Islamic organization with terrorist links. Yet the organization, founded in 1992 to collect aid for the Bosnians, is now active in 120 countries and has been present at recent disaster areas like Haiti and New Orleans.
This leaves a dangerous balancing act for the Obama Administration. Relations are already strained with Israel over new construction plans in the West Bank. This situation at sea could be a detriment to peace talks with Palestine and new sanction against Iran.
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