Israel attacks Gaza flotilla - Many dead

[judyanderson12]

On this subject, I was just commenting to my brother that I've seen and heard nothing new since the info about the Rachel Corrie ship being boarded and diverted. Is there something somewhere that I'm missing?

 

[mkrnhr]

Israel and US media want to present the aid operation as a muslim only entreprise, that's why they do not talk about this boat.

 

[NormaRegula]

Israel and US media want to present the aid operation as a muslim only entreprise, that's why they do not talk about this boat.

Interesting, now that your point is brought up. That would make sense as to why little has been said of this ship.

 

[rylek]

Israel and US media want to present the aid operation as a muslim only entreprise, that's why they do not talk about this boat.

Interesting, now that your point is brought up. That would make sense as to why little has been said of this ship.

I think another reason might be that the crew is being detained and won't be released for a while.

 

[Joe]

Great report from Cenk Uygur of 'The Young Turks' internet and radio talk show. One to share with family and friends, especially in the US.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTcGmyIGKHY

 

[JEEP]

Come on! I'm only about 30 seconds in on Barney Frank's talk and he says where's the outrage regarding the 46 dead associated with North Korea sinking South Korea's ship???!!!!! Un-f***ing believable!!!! Now they're killing two birds with one stone! Not only deflect the criticism about Israel's actions but reinforce the notion that North Korea committed an act of war against South Korea! I feel nauseous!

 

[aragorn]

A recent video release(!) and more pictures and descriptions of what really happened:

_http://aliabunimah.posterous.com/blog-post-israel-hasbara-fails-again-pics-sho

June 6, 2010
15 hours ago
Israel hasbara fails again: Photos show Mavi Marmara passengers protecting, aiding Israeli soldiers

Captured, disarmed hijackers did not face "lynching" as Israel claimed

The website of Turkish newspaper Hürriyet published a gallery of photos showing Israeli soldiers captured after their attack on the Mavi Marmara in international waters in the early hours of 31 May.

The predictable response of the Israeli army, as quoted in Haaretz, was that the "published pictures serve as clear and unequivocal proof of Israel's repeated arguments that aboard [the Mavi Marmara] were mercenaries who intended to kill Israeli soldiers." Israeli spokespersons and media in recent days have also claimed the soldiers faced "lynching," a provocative term which originated to describe the deliberate mob murders of African Americans by white supremacists in the United States.

The photos indicate nothing of the sort; if anything they show the opposite. First, it is clear that the passengers would have had ample time and opportunity to seriously harm or kill the Israeli soldiers if that had been their intention. While at least 9 flotilla passengers were killed by the Israelis, no Israeli was killed even though it appears at least two and up to four were disarmed and captured as they carried out an illegal, unprovoked armed attack on a civilian ship in international waters.

In some of the Hürriyet photos passengers or medics appear to be protecting and aiding the Israeli soldiers. Below we see a passenger taking a clearly wounded Israeli attacker and protecting him -- not from any violent attack -- but merely from being photographed.


PIC 1

An additional photo, not included in the Hürriyet gallery, but posted on the Facebook fan page of The Economist shows the same soldier, and the person who was holding him, while a third person administers medical care. (Thanks to _http://twitter.com/AmoonaM for tracking down this picture)

PIC 2

Another photo from the Hürriyet gallery, below, again shows a soldier who appears to be getting assistance to stop bleeding on his face with a bandage or white cloth. Of course it is possible to give a lurid, sensational and imaginative, explanation to this photo -- as the Israeli army is trying to do -- and claim that someone is trying to suffocate the soldier! But given the fact that he wasn't suffocated and all the Israeli soldiers came home alive, the most likely explanation, that fits with all the other evidence, is that he was being cared for.


PIC 3

Finally, the fact that passengers were giving aid to captured Israeli hijackers even as the ship was still under full scale assault by the Israeli military is bolstered by video which has recently emerged of the first moments of the attack. In the video, passengers are appealing for help and one says clearly that several soldiers were injured in their descent from the choppers, that they had been taken by the passengers and were receiving medical care. This is in the thick of the action, so it seems entirely credible that the passenger is reporting what he had just witnessed.

At about 3:34 in this video, a man speaking Turkish appears, and according to the french subtitles on the video, says that Israeli helicopters dropped about 10 soldiers onto the ship, that passengers had subdued two, and two others had been injured during their drop. He then says, "our friends are trying to come to their aid right now," and adds, "What we say to the Israelis is that no one should be injured, neither them nor us. Their soldiers who fell onto the bridge are in good hands. Our friends are looking after them, no one is doing them any harm. This operation must be stopped!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAuz6HoqV4g

Maybe french speaking members can check out what is said in the video?

 

[Pierre]

Maybe french speaking members can check out what is said in the video?

I handle it. Give me 30 minutes.

 

[Pierre]

Here is a quick translation of the French subtitles of the video mentioned above...

0:01 We currently have injured people on both sides of the ship. The live retransmission goes on...
0:15 Several people injured
0:19 This operation is going on
0:21 I really wonder how it will end up
0:25 We're still in direct live from the international waters
0:27 We're still in international waters
0:33 What's happening now is a real attack!
0:36 Israel must be held responsible to the 50 participating countries for those acts
1:31 As you can see
1:33 There are injured people on both sides of the ship
1:39 Our friend are trying to heal them as well as possible. That's what we can see from where our location
1:45 But we now that on the other side of the ship there is a big battle going on right now!
1:46 We're trying to keep on filming in order to provide those footages
1:51 Now what you have to do after seeing [that]
1:57 After seeing by yourself you have to help us! The people on board must not be hurt or killed
2:01 The commandos are going down! Yes the commandos are going down!
3:32 They came down from the upper deck they roped down armed soldiers
3:36 Previously they've attacked the back of the ship to deactivate the propellers
3:42 Then, once the ship had slowed down because of this attack
3:48 They came with the helicopter and dropped about 10 soldiers
3:50 However our friends positioned on the upper deck have managed to control 2 soldiers
3:54 2 other soldiers are injured, they fell down while roping down, our friends are currently helping them
4:04 The others are still waiting on the upper deck
4:08 What we ask Israel is that nobody get injured, not them and not us either
4:12 The soldiers that fell on the deck are in good hands, our friends are currently healing them. Nobody harms them
4:16 This operation must stop!
4:18 Yes it must stop...
4:22 The helicopters left after roping down the soldiers, we don't know how many they are!
4:24 Despite that we went to help them, we are human...
4:28 We only defended ourselves, it's a self-defense reflex!
4:38 We just got attacked with firearms!
4:42 We're covered with blood! And it's still shooting!
4:46 Our friends are injured!
4:50 Turkey must intervene!
4:52 Friends, get apart!
5:14 They are back, they are attacking again, we don't know how it's going to end?
5:19 They are attacking again!
5:21 They want to finish this operation before dawn!
5:23 They're still shooting
5:27 You must help us!
5:29 If you hear our voices, if you see those pictures
5:35 We're risking our lives!
5:37 There are more than 600 civilians, and a 1 year old child
5:39 This way they keep on attacking a civilian ship, Israel is pursuing its abuses
5:43 And nobody has reacted yet
5:47 You must absolutely help us in any way possible: email, phone, fax, internet...
5:53 Everything you can do to help us, do it! Right now! Right now!
5:59 Everything you can do, do it to save lives,
6:05 If you don't do it, who know how many casualties there will be... Whole families will be broken...
6:11 They've used firearms!
6:15 They assaulted us with knives!
6:17 Then they used gazes!
6:19 They are all around us and we have no contact with the other ships
6:21 Now it's sure they have no humanity!
6:25 They had told us it would be done quietly, silently, that they were going to talk with us...
6:29 None at all!
6:30 They've bluntly declared war to us!
6:35 They've just thrown a grenade! Personally I stay, they can do whatever they want!
6:39 Let the Turkish people witness it!
7:48 Here it goes, they're attacking again, they throw gas, again and again they're attacking...
7:52 And each time they're using gas and bullets and each time they shoot
8:06 The helicopter is back despite everything that happened, they come back again and again
8:12 Despite all they did, they're back, it's a shame!
8:14 The whole world can see what's going on here...
8:18 It's really unacceptable...
8:20 In a ship with more than 600 civilians...
8:22 With armed commandos
8:24 As if they we in a military operation, they rope down...
8:28 He really seems surrealist...
8:32 Here we go the helicopters is here, there are soldiers on board
8:36 They will rope down soldiers or throw grenades, I can't tell...

 

[aragorn]

Thanks Belibaste! I wish someone could put that English translation into the youtube clip. I'd like to do it but I'm not that experienced in editing subtitles.

There has been another shooting incident in Gaza! You've probably read about this already, but for the record I'll paste it here:

_http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/middle_east/10252229.stm

Israel's navy has shot and killed four Palestinians wearing diving gear off the Gaza coast, officials say.

The Israeli military said it believed those on board the boat were planning a terrorist attack.

Hamas officials in Gaza say four bodies have been recovered and two people are missing.

It comes a week after nine pro-Palestinian activists died in an Israeli raid on an aid flotilla trying to break Israel's blockade of Gaza.

Israel withdrew its forces from Gaza in 2005, but still controls the sea off the territory's coast.

The Israeli military said the boat was carrying "a squad of terrorists wearing diving suits on their way to execute a terror attack".


A spokesman said a naval force had hit its target, but did not give any more details of the operation.

The country's Haaretz newspaper quoted an Israeli army source as saying the incident took place at about 0430 local time (0130 GMT), and that the boat had been heading north to Israel from waters off the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.

The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, a militant group linked to Fatah, has reported that four of its men were killed and a fifth is missing, according to Israeli media.

The men had been training off the Gaza coast, the militant group was quoted as having claimed.

The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said there were no Israeli casualties.

There has been sporadic rocket fire out of Gaza into Israel since last week's naval attack on the Gaza aid flotilla.

Israeli Foreign Ministry official Yigal Palmour said the latest incident reinforced the need for Israel to maintain a tight cordon around Gaza.

"This is the explanation why the border, both land and sea border with Gaza need to be strictly and tightly controlled. We can't allow Hamas to carry out attacks at will on Israelis, on Israeli territory," he told Reuters TV.

The latest Israeli operation comes as Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas visits Turkey for a regional security summit along with Iran and Syria.

Mr Abbas, who heads the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, is expected to pay his respects to the nine activists killed last week, eight of whom were Turks and one a US national of Turkish origin.

Mr Abbas's government is the bitter rival of Hamas, which took control of Gaza from his Fatah movement in 2007.

The deaths have sparked global condemnation but defiance from Israel, which insists it has the right to defend itself.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused Israel of "state terrorism", and is calling Gaza a "historic cause for Turkey".

Another aid ship, the Irish-owned Rachel Corrie, was intercepted by Israel on Saturday and officials have begun deporting its crew and activists.

'European role'
France and Britain have called for Israel to accept a "credible and transparent" investigation into the deadly Israeli raid on 31 May.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner suggested that the EU could play a bigger role to ensure that humanitarian supplies reached Gaza, and that weapons were kept out.

William Hague (left) will seek a consensus with other EU nations
Mr Kouchner also said Europe needed to work harder to convince Israel that its blockade of Gaza was not working, and nor was it in the long-term interests of the region.

His comments followed talks with British counterpart William Hague, who said Europe would maintain pressure on Israel.

But Israel's US ambassador Michael Oren said his country would reject the proposals, and reiterated that an internal inquiry would be held.

Meanwhile, the Iranian Red Crescent has announced it will send two aid ships to Egypt for onward delivery to Gaza through the Rafah crossing later this week, Iranian state media report.

Also on Monday, US Vice-President Joe Biden met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Sharm el-Sheikh.

They had a 90-minute meeting "about a full range of bilateral issues", a spokesman for the US Embassy said, but there were no further details of the discussions released.

Included in that news article on BBC is a video clip. Towards the end of that clip the newsperson tells how it is normal for the people of Gaza to hear machine gun fire. This gun fire, he says, is coming from Israeli troops shooting at fisherboats on the coast of Gaza, 'pointing out to them' where the border is. Now how sick is that...?

 

[combsbt]

I found more footage on board the ship. It is a little graphic as it shows injured passengers, including one man being unconscious and having CPR attempted on him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QByL9Pb-Wo

 

[EdgeofDawn]

The Iranian Red Crescent decided to send the vessels, which will carry food, medications, and medical equipment, following a meeting with the foreign ministry.

Iranian aid ships are due to set sail to Gaza by the end of the week, according to a report in the Sunday Times.



The Iranian Red Crescent decided to send the vessels, which will carry food, medications, and medical equipment, following a meeting with the foreign ministry,



“One ship will carry donations made by the people and the other will carry relief workers. The ships will be sent to Gaza by end of this week,” Iranian Red Crescent director Abdolrauf Adibzadeh told the IRNA news agency.



On Sunday, a representative of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said thatIran's elite Revolutionary Guards are ready to provide a military escort to cargo ships trying to break Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip.



"Iran's Revolutionary Guards naval forces are fully prepared to escort the peace and freedom convoys to Gaza with all their powers and capabilities," Ali Shirazi, Khamenei's representative inside the Revolutionary Guards, was quoted as saying by the semi-official Mehr news agency.

Israel Navy commandos last Monday killed nine activists in clashes on board the Turkish-flagged Mavi Marmara in a convoy trying to deliver aid to Gaza. The incident sparked international outrage, especially in Muslim countries and inTurkey, which threatened to cut its long-standing ties with Israel.



Israeli troops boarded another ship on Saturday and pro-Palestinian activists have promised more as they challenge the blockade imposed four years ago with the stated aim of stopping arms getting to Hamas.
_http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=19609

This seems pretty crazy seeing that Israel is already foaming at the mouth for war with Iran and supposedly has their nuke subs parked off Iran's coast!

 

[Christopher]

Rep Brad Sherman: Prosecute US Citizens involved with Gaza Flotilla

_http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/101633-congressman-wants-americans-on-gaza-flotilla-prosecuted

"Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) — one of Israel's staunchest defenders in Congress — wants Americans who were aboard the Gaza flotilla ships prosecuted."

_http://www.lobelog.com/rep-sherman-prosecute-u-s-citizens-involved-with-gaza-flotilla/

"On a press call hosted by a pro-Israel organization, Rep. Brad Sherman, Democrat of California, told reporters that he intends to seek the prosecution of any U.S. citizens who were aboard or involved with the Freedom Flotilla."



I didn't see any "news" sites publishing stories, seems to be mostly blogs, but I heard mention of Brad Sherman on Truth about Markets London, the Max Keiser show, and looked em up. I was actually more shocked to hear this than the flotilla getting attacked, knowing how insane the Israel government is...though I am accustomed to that slimey feeling when I think about US politicians...

This info gives some background on em, his past voting record and whatnot, if anyone's interested.

_http://www.ontheissues.org/CA/Brad_Sherman.htm

 

[aragorn]

The guy who took the pictures that were published in the Turkish newspapers tells his interesting story:

_http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca/stories_national.php?id=270773

Canadian activist says he hid photos of flotilla raid during Israeli detention
By Dirk Meissner, The Canadian Press
2010-06-08


VICTORIA - A Canadian activist detained when Israeli soldiers raided a flotilla of ships off the Gaza coast says he smuggled photos of the raid off the ship by hiding his memory card in his underwear and other parts of his body. Some of Kevin Neish’s photos were published Monday in the Turkish English-language newspaper, Hurriyet, and other media outlets in the Muslim world. "I hid it here, there and everywhere," Neish, who arrived back in Victoria on the weekend, said at a news conference Monday. "In my pocket, in my hand. It was quite a dance. It was in my mouth. It was in my underwear, the cheeks of my ass. It went all over the place."

Official reports say nine people lost their lives last week when the Israeli’s boarded the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara, part of a flotilla of ships bound for supplies to Gaza, which is currently under an Israeli blockade. Neish said he believes 16 people died in the raid. "A lot of my pictures were gruesome," he said. "People with holes in them." Neish said he handed the photo card over to the Turkish aid group, IHH, which offers humanitarian aid to Gaza. He said he saw the photos but didn’t want to keep them even though he was told he could make money selling them to media outlets. The bloodiest of the photos published by Hurriyet show a bleeding Israeli soldier surrounded by activists. There are no pictures of dead bodies or wounded people. Neish said the people on the ship were helping the soldier.
One photo published by the Turkish daily shows two men with metal bars standing in front of a closed door. Neish said it was taken moments after an Israeli soldier opened the door and fired a barrage of bullets into the room.

He said he decided to hide his photo card when he saw Israeli soldiers destroying other activists’ cameras. "I got my chip out of my camera," he said. "I pitched a lovely expensive camera away so that nobody thought I had a camera. I threw everything away that was associated with cameras." Neish said he was not stripped or body searched when he was finally permitted to leave the ship after spending 12 hours in the bottom of the vessel with hundreds of Turkish activists.
The convoy of several ships were en route to Gaza with aid supplies, in defiance of an Israeli blockade. The naval blockade was imposed more than three years ago in an effort to prevent weapons smuggling to Hamas, which controls the territory. Neish was one of three Canadians detained in Israel _ Rifat Audeh of St. Catharine’s, Ont., and Farooq Burney were also arrested and later released. "When I came off the ship they were flabbergasted to see me at the dockside," said Neish. "They sort of forgot about really giving me the third-degree and they didn’t strip search me and they didn’t do a body cavity search. Because of that, I managed to sneak the chip out."

Neish said he saw many badly injured people and two dead people with what he says were small-calibre bullet holes in their heads, leading him to believe they were executed. "It was a steady stream of dead bodies and gruesomely injured people," he said. "It sounds like out of a movie, but the decks were dripping with blood."
Israeli officials have said some activists attacked the soldiers first, and released video that appears to show some activists moving violently toward the soldiers. They said the video footage proves their commandos acted in self-defence. Neish disputes that. He said there were no weapons on board other than chains and pieces of metal and wood, which he admitted were used by the people on board once the confrontation began. "They were humanitarian aid workers is what they were," he said. "A lot of them were pot-bellied fellows, balding, glasses, looked a lot like me. They weren’t fighters."

 

[aragorn]

Democracynow has interviewed Iara Lee who managed to smuggle out video footage from the incident. I believe this is partly the same footage that Ask_a_debtor posted above. She doesn't say how exactly this footage was smuggled, but if I understood correctly it might have been transmitted on a backup frequency (that wasn't jammed by the Israelis) or something.

_http://www.democracynow.org/2010/6/10/exclusive_journalist_smuggles_out_video_of

EXCLUSIVE: New Video Smuggled Out from Mavi Marmara of Israel’s Deadly Assault on Gaza Aid Flotilla
In a Democracy Now! exclusive, we bring you a sneak preview of previously unseen raw footage from the Mavi Marmara that will be formally released at a press conference at the United Nations later in the day. The footage shows the mood and the activities onboard the Mavi Marmara in the time leading up to the attack, and the immediate reaction of the passengers during the attack. We are joined by filmmaker and activist Iara Lee, one of the few Americans on the Mavi Marmara ship. Her equipment was confiscated, but she managed to smuggle out an hour’s worth of footage. [includes rush transcript]

The whole hour long footage by Iara Lee has been showed today at a UN press conference. Some details at the website _culturesofresistance.org, but I couldn't find the actual (hour long)footage there or anywhere else. Hope it will be distributed widely soon!

_http://www.culturesofresistance.org/UN-press-conference

June 10: Previously Unseen Gaza Freedom Flotilla Footage Released at UN

MEDIA ALERT (FOR PRESS MEMBERS WITH ACCREDITATION ONLY OR UN PRESS MEMBERS):

PRESS CONFERENCE TO RELEASE AS-YET UNSEEN HD FOOTAGE FROM GAZA FLOTILLA'S MAVI MARMARA

PRESENTED BY FILMMAKER IARA LEE

WHO: Iara Lee, a filmmaker from Cultures of Resistance (_www.culturesofresistance.org) who was one of a small number of Americans aboard the Mavi Marmara when it was attacked by Israeli forces. Despite having her equipment confiscated, she was able to smuggle back to the U.S. an hour of footage taken aboard the ship.

WHAT: Statement by Lee followed by the first screening of the raw footage in its entirety. The footage shows the mood and the activities on board the Mavi Marmara in the time leading up to the attack, including a walk through the ship, and the immediate reaction of the passengers during the attack. Lee will take questions from the press after the screening.

WHEN: Thursday, June 10, 4pm EST.

WHERE: United Nations Dag Hammarskjold Library. Visitors' entrance on 46th Street at First Avenue, New York City.

HOW: For UN Press Accreditation, please see: _http://www.un.org/media/accreditation/form/myform.asp

CONTACT: Ina Howard-Parker, Represent Agency, ina<at>representinc.com