Israel attacks unarmed Gaza aid flotilla, reports of 19 dead and dozens injured

[Al-khiyal]

10 قتلى على الاقل في صفوف المتضامنين الاجانب مع غزة

افادت الانباء بسقوط قتلى في صفوف المتضامنين الاجانب على احدى سفن قافلة المساعدات المتجهة الى قطاع غزة المحاصر بعد اقتحامها من قبل القوات الاسرائيلية التي اعترضت القافلة في عرض البحر.

وقد صعد قوات الكوماندوز الاسرائيلية الى احدى السفن على الاقل.

وبثت محطات تلفزيون تركية صورا تظهر وقوع اصابات في صفوف النشطاء الموجودين على متن احدى السفن فيما قالت محطة سي ان ان ترك ان الاقتحام الاسرائيلي لاحدى السفن اسفر عن قوع قتلين و30 اصابة في صفوف ركاب السفن.

بينما ذكر التلفزيون الإسرائيلي " القناة العاشرة" أن عدد القتلى يتجاوز العشرة وقد يصل الى 16، وذلك بعد ان هاجم عدد من ركاب السفن الجنود الاسرائيليين بالسكاكين والفؤوس. الا ان المحطة لم تحدد ما اذا كان القتلى من ركاب السفن ام من الجنود الاسرائيليين.

من جانبها، قالت اذاعة الجيش الاسرائيلي إن اكثر من عشرة اشخاص قتلوا في صدامات اندلعت عندما حاول ركاب سفن التضامن تجريد الجنود الاسرائيليين المقتحمين من اسلحتهم.

تنديد

ونددت وزارة الخارجية التركية بشدة "بما قامت به إسرائيل في المياه الدولية ضد سفن تحمل على متنها مدنيين" وقالت إن "هذه العمليات ربما سيكون لها عواقب وخيمة."

وجاء في بيان اصدرته الخارجية "أن الوزارة استدعت السفير الإسرائيلي وطلبت منه إيضاحات عاجلة لما حدث."

وأضاف البيان أن المعلومات المتوفرة للوزارة تؤكد سقوط قتيلين حتى الآن.

وقد عززت الشرطة التركية اجراءات الامن حول مسكن السفير الاسرائيلي بانقره حيث تجمع عدد من المتظاهرين للاحتجاج على العملية العسكرية الاسرائيلية.

ونقلت الانباء عن مصادر في حركة حماس في قطاع غزة ان الاصابات وقعت عندما اقتحم الكوماندوس الاسرائيلي احدى السفن التي تقل النشطاء.

وكانت القافلة التي تضم ست سفن وتحمل 700 متطوع قد غادرت الموانىء القبرصية بعد ظهر الاحد وكان من المقرر ان تصل الى ميناء غزة ظهيرة الإثنين.

وكانت اسرائيل قد حذرت من أنها ستستخدم القوة لاعتراض القافلة وترحيل الناشطين الموجودين على متنها، وقال المتحدث باسم رئيس الوزراء الإسرائيلي مارك رجيف إن الناشطين رفضوا عرضاً إسرائيلياً بنقل المساعدات إلى غزة.

وعلم مراسل بي بي سي أن إسرائيل اتصلت بالسفن وأبلغت القائمين عليها بأنهم سيواجهون مشكلة لو أصروا على مواصلة الرحلة إلى غزة.

وقال رئيس اللجنة الشعبية لمواجهة الحصار جمال الخضري "كان من المفترض ان تصل ثماني سفن ولكن بعد تعطل سفينتين من المقرر ان تصل ست منها فقط".

وتمكن عدد من البرلمانيين الاوربيين من الالتحاق بالقافلة، بعد ان كانت السلطات القبرصية قد منعت التحاقهم بالقافلة عبر موانئها.

"ضبط النفس"

وكانت الامم المتحدة قد دعت الى ضبط النفس بعد ان هددت اسرائيل باعتراض السفن، اذ قال الجيش الاسرائيلي ان سفنا حربية اسرائيلية قد تحركت الى عرض البحر لاعتراض القافلة.

وقال وزير الخارجية الاسرائيلي افيجدور ليبرمان ان بلاده قد استعدت لايقاف قافلة السفن "مهما كان الثمن" ووصف القافلة نوع من "الاستفزاز" داعيا المجتمع الدولي الى تفهم اجراءات اسرائيل الصارمة.

واضاف: "لدينا كل العزم والارادة السياسية لمنع هذا الاستفزاز ضدنا، اعتقد اننا مستعدون مهما كان الثمن لمنع هذا الاستفزاز".

وقالت اسرائيل انها ستجبر السفن على التوجه الى الموانىء الاسرائيلية وتخيير الناشطين الموجودين على متنها بين المغادرة او السجن وسيقومون بعد الفحص الامني لحمولة السفن بنقلها الى غزة عبر الامم المتحدة.

القانون الدولي

وفي وقت سابق ابلغت اسرائيل سفراء كل من قبرص وتركيا واليونان وايرلندا- وهي الدول التي ابحرت منها السفن- انها "اصدرت مذكرات تمنع دخول السفن الى غزة" وان تلك السفن تنتهك القانون الدولي.

الا ان حركة "غزة الحرة" التي تنظم تلك الحملة نفت ذلك وجاء في بيان لها ان "اسرائيل تزعم اننا ننتهك القانون الدولي بالابحار بسفن غير مسلحة تحمل المساعدات الانسانية لاشخاص في حاجة ماسة اليها".

وهذه هي المرة التاسعة التي تنظم فيها حركة "غزة الحرة" المنظمة المؤيدة للفلسطينيين ارسال سفن محملة بالتجهيزات والمساعدات الى غزة وقد نجحوا في ايصالها خمس مرات، فيما فشلوا في الوصول الى القطاع ثلاث مرات منذ اول رحلة قاموا بها في اب/اغسطس 2008 اذ منعت اسرائيل وصول اي سفن اخرى منذ هجومها العسكري على غزة الذي انتهى في يناير 2009.

[Al-khiyal]

10 dead as Israeli warships confront flotilla, protests in Turkey

May 31, 2010 -- According to Israeli television and radio stations on Monday at least 10 people were killed as Israeli forces stormed a boat carrying pro-Palestinian activists bound for Gaza. According to the reports Israeli warships intercepted a six-ship Palestinian aid convoy sailing for the Gaza Strip with Israeli marine commandos opening fire after being attacked with axes and knives by a number of the passengers on board the aid ships. Unfortunately the reports did not clarify if any of the dead and injured were passengers or members of the Israeli navy rather confirming 10 killed and at least 30 wounded. These resulted from clashes which broke out after the passengers allegedly tried to grab weapons off the naval commandos who tried to storm one of the boats. Which boats were involved is also not clear as yet. Other reports from a Turkish ship leading the flotilla claim that Israeli navy forces had fired at the ship and then boarded it. The six-ship flotilla began the journey from international waters off the coast of Cyprus on Sunday afternoon after two days of delays. They expected to reach Gaza, about 400km away, later today, with two more ships to follow later. Organisers say that they will not be dettered from their mission and are proceeding to Gaza. In related news Turkish police blocked dozens of stone-throwing protesters who tried to storm the Israeli Consulate in Istanbul over reports of an Israeli attack on at least one aid ship. Pictures taken from CNN-Turk and NTV showed dozens of angry protesters scuffling with Turkish police guarding the consulate in Istanbul. According to the Israeli military they deny that their forces attacked the boats but confirmed they would enforce the blockade of Hamas controlled Gaza. Turkish Protesters later staged a more peaceful demonstration outside the consulate.

[Al-khiyal]

At least 16 dead as Israeli troops storm Gaza aid flotilla

May 31, 2010 -- Israeli commandoes have stormed a flotilla of ships carrying activists and aid supplies to the blockaded Palestinian enclave of Gaza, killing as many as as 16 of those on board. Fighting broke out between the activists and the masked Israeli troops, who rappelled on to deck from helicopters before dawn. A spokesman for the flotilla, Greta Berlin, said she had been told that ten people had been killed and dozens wounded, accusing Israeli troops of indiscriminately shooting at "unarmed civilians". But an Israeli radio station said that between 14 and 16 were dead in a continuing operation. "How could the Israeli military attack civilians like this?" Ms Berlin said. "Do they think that because they can attack Palestinians indiscriminately they can attack anyone? "We have two other boats. This is not going to stop us."

The Israeli government's handling of the confrontation was under intense international pressure even as it continued. The Israeli ambassador to Turkey, the base of one of the human rights organisation which organised the flotilla, was summoned by the foreign ministry in Ankara, as the Israeli consulate in Istanbul came under attack. One Israeli minister issued immediate words of regret. "The images are certainly not pleasant. I can only voice regret at all the fatalities," Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, the trade and industry minister, told army radio. But he added that the commandoes had been attacked with batons and activists had sought to take their weapons off them. Israeli military sources said four of its men had been injured, one stabbed, and that they had been shot at. "The flotilla's participants were not innocent and used violence against the soldiers. They were waiting for the forces' arrival," they were quoted by a news website as saying.

The flotilla had set sail on Sunday from northern, or Turkish, Cyprus. Six boats were led by the Mavi Marmara, which carried 600 activists from around the world, including Mairead Corrigan Maguire, the Northern Ireland peace protester who won a Nobel Prize in 1976. It came under almost immediate monitoring from Israeli drones and the navy, with two vessels flanking it in international waters. The flotilla, which had been warned that it would not be allowed to reach Gaza, attempted to slow and change course, hoping to prevent a confrontation until daylight, when the Israeli military action could be better filmed. But in the early hours of this morning local time commandoes boarded from helicopters. The activists were not carrying guns, but television footage shown by al-Jazeera and Turkish television channels show hand-to-hand fighting, with activists wearing life-jackets striking commandoes with sticks. The Israeli army said its troops were assaulted with axes and knives. The television footage did not show firing but shots could be heard in the background. One man was shown lying unconscious on the deck, while another man was helped away. A woman wearing hijab, the Muslim headscarf, was seen carrying a stretcher covered in blood. The al-Jazeera broadcast stopped with a voice shouting in Hebrew: "Everyone shut up".

Israel imposed its blockade on Gaza after the strip was taken over by the militant group Hamas in 2007. It has allowed some food and medical supplies through, but has prevented large-scale rebuilding following the bombardment and invasion of 2008-9. The flotilla is the latest in a series of attempts by activists to break through the blockade. The boats were carrying food and building supplies. Activists said at least two of the other boats, one Greek and one Turkish, had been boarded from Israeli naval vessels. Activists said two of the other boats in the flotilla were American-flagged. The confrontation took place in international waters 80 miles off the Gaza coast. It was attacked by the head of the Hamas government in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh. "We call on the Secretary-General of the U.N., Ban Ki-moon, to shoulder his responsibilities to protect the safety of the solidarity groups who were on board these ships and to secure their way to Gaza," he said.

Turkish television meanwhile showed hundreds of protesters trying to storm the Israeli consulate in Istanbul. The incident will be particularly damaging for Israel's relations with what had been seen as its closest ally in the Muslim world. "By targeting civilians, Israel has once again shown its disregard for human life and peaceful initiatives," a Turkish foreign ministry statement said. "We strongly condemn these inhumane practices of Israel. "This deplorable incident, which took place in open seas and constitutes a fragrant breach of international law, may lead to irreparable consequences in our bilateral relations."

[Al-khiyal]

At least 10 activists killed as Israel Navy opens fire on Gaza aid flotilla

May 31, 2010 -- Israel Navy troops opened fire on pro-Palestinian activists aboard a six-ship aid flotilla sailing for the Gaza Stripearly Monday, killing at least 10 and wounding several others after the convoy ignored orders to turn back. The Israeli military said 10 activists were killed after its troops came under fire while intercepting the convoy. Unofficial reports put the death toll at between 14 and 20. Turkey's NTV said over 60 were also wounded after Israel Defense Forces vessels stormed the flotilla in international waters. "Our initial findings show that at least 10 convoy participants were killed," an army spokesman said. The military said in a statement: "Navy fighters took control of six ships that tried to violate the naval blockade (of the Gaza Strip) ... During the takeover, the soldiers encountered serious physical violence by the protesters, who attacked them with live fire." The IDF earlier confirmed that two navy commandos had been wounded in fight, which apparently broke out after activists tried to sieze their weapons.

According to the IDF, commandos who stormed the Turkish ferry Mavi Marmara, the largest vessel in the convoy, encountered violent resistance from activists armed with sticks and knives. Activists attacked a commando with iron bars as he descended onto the ship from a helicopter, the army said. The IDF said its rules of engagement allowed troops to open fire in what it called a "life-threatening situation". Elite troops from Shayetet 13, a naval commando unit, boarded the protest boats at around 4:00 A.M. Earlier Monday, Al Jazeera reported that the Gaza aid flotilla had changed course to avoid a confrontation with Israeli warships.

The Israeli naval vessels reportedly made contact earlier with the six-ship flotilla, which is carrying 10,000 tons of humanitarian aid and supplies to Gaza. Some 700 pro-Palestinian activists are on the boats, including 1976 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mairead Corrigan Maguire of Northern Ireland, European legislators and an elderly Holocaust survivor. The Israeli navy was operating under the assumption that the activists manning the boats would not heed their calls to turn around, and Israeli troops were prepared to board the ships and steer them away from the Gaza shores and toward the Israeli port city of Ashdod.

Huwaida Arraf, one of the flotilla organizers, said the six-ship flotilla began the journey from international waters off the coast of Cyprus on Sunday afternoon after two days of delays. According to organizers, the flotilla was expected to reach Gaza, about 400 kilometers away, on Monday afternoon, and two more ships would follow in a second wave. The flotilla was fully prepared for the different scenarios that might arise, and organizers were hopeful that Israeli authorities would do what's right and not stop the convoy, one of the organizers said. "We fully intend to go to Gaza regardless of any intimidation or threats of violence against us," Arraf said. "They are going to have to forcefully stop us."

After nightfall, three Israeli navy missile boats left their base in Haifa, heading out to sea to confront the activists' ships. Two hours later, Israel Radio broadcast a recording of one of the missile boats warning the flotilla not to approach Gaza. "If you ignore this order and enter the blockaded area, the Israeli navy will be forced to take all the necessary measures in order to enforce this blockade," the radio message continued. The flotilla, which includes three cargo ships and three passenger ships, is trying to draw attention to Israel's three-year blockade of the Gaza Strip. The boats are carrying items that Israel bars from reaching Gaza, like cement and other building materials. The activists said they also were carrying hundreds of electric-powered wheelchairs, prefabricated homes and water purifiers. Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said that after a security check, permitted humanitarian aid confiscated from the boats will be transferred to Gaza through authorized channels. However, Israel would not transfer items it has banned from Gaza under its blockade rules. Palmor said that for example, cement would be allowed only if it is tied to a specific project.

This is the ninth time that the Free Gaza movement has tried to ship in humanitarian aid to Gaza since August 2008. Israel has let ships through five times, but has blocked them from entering Gaza waters since the three-week military offensive against Gaza's Hamas rulers in January 2009. The flotilla bound for Gaza is the largest to date. The mission has experienced repeated delays, both due to mechanical problems and a decision by Cyprus to bar any boat from sailing from its shore to Gaza. The ban forced a group of European lawmakers to depart from the breakaway Turkish Cypriot northern part of the island late Saturday.

Israel and Egypt imposed the blockade on Gaza after Hamas militants violently seized control of the seaside territory in June 2007. Israel says the measures are needed to prevent Hamas, which has fired thousands of rockets at Israel, from building up its arsenal. But United Nations officials and international aid groups say the blockade has been counterproductive, failing to weaken the Islamic militant group while devastating the local economy.

Israel rejects claims of a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, saying it allows more than enough food and medicine into the territory. The Israelis also point to the bustling smuggling industry along Gaza's southern border with Egypt, which has managed to bring consumer goods, gasoline and livestock into the seaside strip. Israel has condemned the flotilla as a provocation and vowed to block it from reaching Gaza.
Israeli military officials said they hoped to resolve the situation peacefully but are prepared for all scenarios. Naval commandos have been training for days in anticipation of the standoff. Military officials, speaking on condition of anonymity under official guidelines, said the forces would likely take over the boats under the cover of darkness. Palmor said foreigners on the ships would be sent back to their countries. Activists who did not willingly agree to be deported would be detained. A special detention facility had been set up in Ashdod.

[Al-khiyal]

Israel boards Gaza-bound ships, 15 dead: reports

JERUSALEM, May 31, 2010 (Reuters) -- About 15 people were killed on Monday when the Israeli navy intercepted ships carrying aid and pro-Palestinian activists toward the Gaza Strip, Israel's private Channel 10 television said. As a diplomatic furor took shape, especially with long-time Muslim ally Turkey whose flag some of the ships were flying, an Israeli minister said: "The images are certainly not pleasant. I can only voice regret at all the fatalities." Israeli Trade Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer gave no details of what Channel 10 said were 14 to 16 deaths. But he told Israel's Army Radio: "I can also understand ... how soldiers are coming down and are set upon with batons and tools. The moment someone tries to snatch your weapon, to steal your weapons, that's where you begin to lose control."

The bloodshed thwarted Israel's hopes of avoiding casualties - which could hurt its diplomatic relations, especially with Turkey, where media reported ministers were meeting. Israel's Western allies have also been critical of its Gaza embargo. Turkey said it "strongly protested" against the military action, calling the interception of the ships unacceptable and cautioning in a statement issued by its Foreign Ministry that "Israel will have to endure the consequences of this behavior." Israel has said it was absolutely determined to maintain its blockade of the Islamist-controlled Palestinian territory of 1.5 million, citing fears that arms supplies could reach Hamas by sea. It has previously halted such activist ships, although some others have reached Gaza before.

Greta Berlin, a spokeswoman for the Free Gaza Movement which organized the convoy said she was told of 10 dead by an Israeli lawyer for the group but had had no contact with the ships. "How could the Israeli military attack civilians like this?" she said. "Do they think that because they can attack Palestinians indiscriminately they can attack anyone? We have two other boats. This is not going to stop us."

Israeli media said some marine commandoes were slightly hurt. Captured ships were sailing toward Israel's southern Mediterranean port of Ashdod, media said. The convoy set off in international waters off Cyprus on Sunday in defiance of an Israeli-led blockade of the Gaza Strip and warnings that it would be intercepted. The flotilla was organized by, among others, a Turkish human rights organization. Turkey had urged Israel to allow it safe passage and said the 10,000 tonnes of aid the convoy was carrying was humanitarian. Turkey, long Israel's best Muslim friend and a key ally in a hostile Middle East, was highly critical of Israel's attack on Gaza 18 months ago, in which 1,400 Palestinians were killed. Relations between the two states are now distinctly chilly and bloodshed at sea will do nothing to improve them.

France24 television aired video of a woman in a Muslim headress holding a stretcher with a large bloodstain on it. Below her lay a man, apparently injured, in a blanket. CNN showed pictures of a commando apparently rappeling down a rope and clashing with a man wielding a stick. Other TV images showed what appeared to be rubber boarding launches.

The United Nations and Western powers have urged Israel to ease its restrictions on Gaza to prevent a humanitarian crisis. They have been urging Israel to let in concrete and steel to allow for postwar reconstruction. Israel denies there is a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, saying food, medicine and medical equipment are allowed in regularly. It says the restrictions are necessary to prevent weapons and materials that could be used to make them from reaching Hamas.

[Al-khiyal]

Assaut israélien contre une flottille destinée à Gaza, 16 morts

Lundi 31 Mai 2010 -- L'intervention israélienne contre une flottille de navires à destination de la bande de Gaza a fait jusqu'à 16 morts, selon le dernier bilan rapporté lundi par la chaîne privée israélienne Channel 10. Des commandos de la marine israélienne sont intervenus pour intercepter les six navires du convoi humanitaire organisé par des groupes de militants de la cause palestinienne, qui ont ignoré les avertissements israéliens et les ordres de rebrousser chemin. Selon Channel 10, les militants se trouvant à bord des bateaux ont opposé une violente résistance aux militaires.

[Al-khiyal]

Trois jours de deuil dans les territoires palestiniens

Lundi 31 Mai 2010 -- Le président de l'Autorité palestinienne Mahmoud Abbas a condamné lundi le raid meurtrier israélien contre la flotille internationale en route vers Gaza, le qualifiant de «massacre», et a décrété trois jours de deuil dans les territoires palestiniens. «Nous considérons qu'il s'agit d'un massacre que nous condamnons» et «nous prendrons des décisions difficiles ce soir», a-t-il affirmé. Une réunion de la direction palestinienne sur cette question est prévue lundi soir.

«Nous appelons tous les Arabes et les musulmans à se soulever devant les ambassades sionistes dans le monde entier», a déclaré un porte-parole du Hamas à Gaza, Sami Abou Zouhri, quelques heures après le raid meurtrier israélien sur la flottille d'aide pro-palestinienne, qualifié d'«attaque barbare».

De son côté, la Turquie, d'où provenait certains bateaux, a convoqué l'ambassadeur israélien à Ankara. «Nous condamnons fortement ces pratiques inhumaines d'Israël», a déclaré le ministère des Affaires étrangères dans un communiqué. «Cet incident déplorable, qui a eu lieu en pleine mer et constitue une violation claire de la loi internationale, peut entraîner des conséquences irréparables sur nos relations bilatérales», ajoute le communiqué. À Istanbul, environ 400 manifestants scandaient des slogans hostiles à Israël devant le consulat israélien. À Ankara, un peu moins de 200 personnes étaient venues manifester devant la résidence de l'ambassadeur d'Israël.

En Israël, où le niveau d'alerte a été élevé «pour faire face à d'éventuels désordres» parmi les Arabes israéliens, le ministre de l'Industrie et du Commerce, Binyamin Ben Eliezer, a exprimé à la radio militaire ses «regrets pour tous les morts» après l'abordage : «les images ne sont pas sympathiques, je ne peux qu'exprimer mon regret pour tous les morts», a-t-il réagi depuis une réunion du Forum Economique Mondial au Qatar. «On attendait nos soldats avec des haches et des couteaux et quand en plus quelqu'un tente de vous prendre votre arme, dans ces cas-là on commence à perdre le contrôle de la situation, l'incident commence ainsi et on ne sait pas comment il finit», a-t-il toutefois ajouté. «Nous n'avions aucune intention d'ouvrir le feu mais il y a eu une énorme provocation», a-t-il affirmé.

L'Union européenne demande une «enquête complète» des autorités israéliennes sur les circonstances de leur raid sur la flottille d'aide pro-palestinienne, a indiqué un porte-parole du chef de la diplomatie de l'UE, Catherine Ashton.

En France, le porte-parole de l'UMP, Frédéric Lefebvre, a «regretté» la mort de militants pro-Palestiniens, tout en évoquant des «provocations» de la part «ceux qui se disent les amis des Palestiniens». «À partir du moment où il y a des morts, on ne peut que le regretter, et puis il y a peut-être une surréaction» d'Israël, a déclaré M. Lefebvre sur LCI. Il a critiqué «ceux qui se disent les amis des Palestiniens», dénonçant de leur part «des provocations qui en réalité ont comme conséquence de durcir» les relations entre Israéliens et Palestiniens «à un moment où chacun veut la paix». «Ce n'est pas nécessairement très sage», a dit le porte-parole de l'UMP.