Gaza flotilla raid

Gaza flotilla raid
Israeli IDF soldiers wield automatic weapons aboard the Turkish vessel MV Marmara Israeli commandos aboard the MV Mavi Marmara
Location	International waters off the coast of the Gaza Strip
Date	31 May 2010 (2010-05-31) 04:00 (UTC+3)
Deaths	at least 10 activists
Injured	at least 60 activists injured; 6 IDF soldiers injured
Perpetrators	Israel Defense Forces

The Gaza flotilla clash was a violent confrontation in the international waters of the Mediterranean Sea on 31 May 2010 between a six-ship flotilla organized by the Free Gaza Movement and Israeli naval forces. At least 10 pro-Palestinian activists aboard the ships were reported to have been killed. Six Israeli commandos were reported as wounded, two seriously, along with around 60 activists.

The highly publicized flotilla had planned to break through the Gaza blockade, despite Israeli declarations that they would turn the ships back. After the flotilla activists ignored repeated calls to turn back, Israeli soldiers boarded the ships.

Live fire ensued during the boarding, with conflicting reports about the circumstances of the violence. The Israel Defense Forces said the activists opened fire on the soldiers with two handguns stolen from the soldiers, while activists said soldiers opened fire immediately after boarding.

The Israeli raid was condemned by Arab states, while European states (particularly those who had citizens on board) called their respective Israeli ambassadors for meetings and, together with the United Nations and European Union, called for an investigation.

Background

Main article: Free Gaza Movement § May 2010 sailing

The six-ship flotilla, including Turkish, Irish, American, Swedish and Greek flagged ships, was organized by the Free Gaza Movement (FGM) to ship humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, which is currently blockaded by Israel following the 2007 Hamas takeover and the kidnapping of soldier Gilad Shalit into Gaza. It was the ninth time that the FGM had tried to ship aid to Gaza. Five aid shipments had been allowed through prior to the war but all shipments following the war were blocked by Israeli forces. The latest flotilla was the largest to date, carrying 10,000 tons of humanitarian aid and supplies. It also carried journalists, European parliamentarians and 700 pro-Palestinian activists, including the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mairead Corrigan Maguire, and the Israeli Islamic movement head Raed Salah. Many of those aboard were Turkish citizens, though the flotilla also included passengers from Algeria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Kuwait, Malaysia, Norway, The Netherlands, Palestine, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Israeli spokesmen stated that the flotilla would not be permitted to reach Gaza but would be redirected to the port of Ashdod, where a special detention facility had been set up for the passengers. Foreigners would be deported or, if they did not willingly agree to be deported, would be detained. Activists aboard the ships repeatedly said they would not respond with violence to the navy's interception of their flotilla prior to the boarding. No independent account of the clash is available since the communications are cut off by Israel.

Reliable information about the violence is hard to get, as Israeli signal jamming and military censorship is preventing independent reporting of the incident.

Ships involved

• Eleftheri Mesogeios - Greek flag
• MV Mavi Marmara (Blue Marmara) - Turkish flag
• Sfendoni - Greek flag
• The Rachel Corrie - Irish flag

Events leading up to the clash

The flotilla began its journey on Sunday 30 May 2010 from international waters off the coast of Cyprus, after the government of Cyprus refused to cooperate with the Free Gaza Movement, or allow activists to sail from its harbors, with the Cypriot police stating that "anything related to the trip to Gaza is not permitted". The flotilla sailed after two days of delays, aiming to reach Gaza on Monday afternoon. The Israeli Navy made initial contact with the flotilla at 11 p.m. (23:00) on 30 May, 200 kilometres (120 mi) offshore in international waters, ordering the ships to follow them to port or otherwise be boarded.

The Israeli navy 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 flanked the flotilla on either side, but at a distance.

Boarding and violence

Israeli commandos from the elite Shayetet 13 unit boarded the ships at 04:00 while in international waters 64 kilometres (40 mi) off the Gaza coast. Footage from the flotilla's lead vessel, the MV Mavi Marmara, showed activists clashing with Israeli soldiers. Al Jazeera's journalist Jamal Elshayyal sent the footage before the communication was cut off. He said that a white surrender flag was raised from the ship and there was no live fire coming from the passengers.

According to the Israeli military, activists armed with knives, bats and metal pipes attempted to repel the sailors. A sailor was said to have been stabbed and seriously injured. A spokesperson for the Free Gaza Movement said that the activists "were not going to pose any violent resistance. The only resistance that there might be would be passive resistance such as physically blocking the steering room, or blocking the engine room downstairs, so that they couldn't get taken over. But that was just symbolic resistance."

Al-Jazeera reports that "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."

A statement released by the Foreign Affairs Minister of Israel claimed that violence against the soldiers was pre-planned, and that several pistols and "light weaponry" were found on the ships.

Following the clash, Israeli naval forces began towing the flotilla's vessels to Ashdod, from where the passengers are to be deported. Israel said humanitarian aid confiscated from the ships would be transferred to Gaza, but Israel would not transfer "banned" items such as cement.

Israel said there were weapons on board: "We found weapons prepared in advance and used against our forces". Activists said that would be impossible because "all the boats were carefully inspected by the government before they left the port of departure." An Al-Jazeera reporter in Jerusalem, commenting on images from the ship, said it seemed that the activists were peaceful. Israeli actions were widely condemned.

The Israeli deputy foreign minister, Danny Ayalon, expressed regret for the loss of life and asserted that Israel had done "everything to avoid this outcome". He accused the flotilla of being an "armada of hate" which had carried out a "premeditated and outrageous provocation". Israeli defense minister Ehud Barak called the flotilla a "political provocation" and said that its sponsors were "violent supporters of a terror organization" who were to blame for the bloodshed. Israeli Defense Forces chief Gabi Ashkenazi said that the use of live fire had been forced on the naval commandos by the activists' violence.

Casualties

Early reports indicated that at least 19 activists had been killed and dozens more injured by live fire from Israeli forces. Israeli casualties were stated to be four wounded.

Notable people onboard

• Raza Agha – Pakistan's news channel AAJ TV producer
• Paul and Barry Chuckle – British children's entertainers
• Jamal Elshayyal – News producer for Al Jazeera English
• Hedy Epstein – American peace activist and Holocaust survivor
• Dror Feiler – Swedish-Israeli artist
• Mattias Gardell – Swedish historian
• Kate Geraghty - Sydney Morning Herald photographer
• Annette Groth – Member of the German Bundestag
• Inge Höger – Member of the German Bundestag
• Talat Hussain – Pakistani journalist and executive director
• Mehmet Kaplan – Member of the Parliament of Sweden[5]
• Mairead Corrigan Maguire – Northern Irish Nobel Peace Prize laureate
• Paul McGeough - Sydney Morning Herald journalist
• Abbas Nasser – Al Jazeera Arabic news journalist
• Abbas Al Lawati – Dubai-based Gulf News journalist
• Edda Manga – Swedish historian
• Henning Mankell – Swedish author
• Raed Salah – Leader of the northern branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel. Saleh was reported to be seriously wounded.
• Waleed Al-Tabtabaie – Member of Kuwaiti parliament
• Haneen Zoubi – Israeli-Arab member of Knesset

Reactions

United Nations reactions

• Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-Moon called for "a full investigation to determine exactly how this bloodshed took place" and urged Israel to "urgently provide a full explanation".
• United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay said "I am also registering my shock at reports that humanitarian aid was met with violence early this morning, reportedly causing death and injury as the convoy approached the Gaza coast."
• The UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Robert H. Serry, and the director of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, Filippo Grandi declared that "these tragedies are completely inevitable if Israel does not listen to the callings of the international community to end the unacceptable and counter-productive blockade of Gaza."

European reactions

• The European Union has called for an independent investigation into the events.

• The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry demanded the immediate release of two Bulgarian journalists travelling in the convoy.
• Denmark's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lene Espersen, described the confrontation as strongly worrying and has summoned the Israeli ambassador to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to explain the incident
• French President Nicolas Sarkozy condemned "the disproportionate use of force" against the flotilla. French Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Bernard Kouchner was "profoundly shocked" by the incident and demanded an inquiry. Kouchner stated, "Nothing can justify the use of violence such as this, which we condemn."
• German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle voiced "deep concern" at reports of deaths when Israeli commandos stormed a flotilla of six activist ships heading to Gaza.
• Two of the ships, Eleftheri Mesogeios ("Free Mediterranean Sea") and "Sfendoni" ("Sling") were under the Greek flag. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Dimitris Droutsas has called Ali Yahia, the Israeli Ambassador in Greece for briefing and explanations about the incident. The joint Greek-Israeli military exercise "Minoas 2010" was stopped. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the official position of Greece is that the activity of NGOs must be exercised freely, under the obvious condition that it is lawful. The Ministry also activated its Crisis Handling Unit for the relatives of those aboard the mission.
• Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin said he was "gravely concerned" about the reports of at least ten people being killed. His department is trying to confirm the safety of nine Irish passport holders who were part of the convoy. The Israeli ambassador to Ireland has been summoned to the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs.
• Italian Deputy Foreign Minister Alfredo Mantica called the international flotilla to the Gaza Strip a "provocation". However, he did not justify the Israeli course of action. "The manner of the response is debatable, but to think that it would all pass without Israeli action is naiveté on the part of the organizers. I believe someone wanted to see how harsh Israel's response would be," he said.
• Spain has summoned the Israeli ambassador for questioning.
• Sweden summoned the Israeli ambassador, Benny Dagan, to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Foreign Affairs Secretary Frank Belfrage called the incident "unacceptable".
• The United Kingdom's Foreign Secretary William Hague said he "deplored" the loss of life and called on Israel to open border crossings for aid access.

• The Holy See expressed "great concern and pain" about the Israeli attack.
• Norway's Foreign Minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, has called for a meeting with the Israeli ambassador to Norway.
• In Turkey, hundreds of protesters tried to storm the Israeli consulate in Istanbul. A Turkish foreign ministry statement condemned Israel, and the country was reported to have summoned the Israeli ambassador to lodge a protest. Turkey has recalled its ambassador to Israel.

Arab reactions

• The Arab League called an emergency meeting on 1 June to discuss what it called Israel's "terrorist act" against the flotilla.

• Jordanian minister of communication and media affairs Nabil al-Sharif called the Israeli action an "ugly, unacceptable crime" and said that Jordan held Israel "completely accountable and responsible for any harm caused to the Jordanians on board."
• The Kuwaiti parliament has called an emergency session to discuss the attack.
• Saad Hariri, the Prime Minister of Lebanon, said, "The Israeli attack on the aid convoy is a dangerous and crazy step that will exacerbate tensions in the region. Lebanon firmly denounces this attack and calls on the international community, notably major powers... to take action in order to end this continued violation of human rights and threat to international peace."
• Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas said that "Israel has committed a massacre".
  • Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said, "We call on all Arabs and Muslims to rise up in front of Zionist embassies across the whole world".
• The Syrian government has called a meeting of the Arab League to discuss the attack.

Other countries

• Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was "deeply saddened by loss of life following the incident."
• Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmedinejad said that the incident was an "inhuman action of the Zionist regime against the Palestinian people" and that it would bring Israel "closer than ever to its end."
• Pakistan strongly condemned the Israeli action, calling it a cruel act and an open violation of international laws and ethics. Pakistan has also expressed deep concern over the well-being of Pakistanis and journalists on board and Pakistani missions are in touch with Arab countries of the region to get information about the status of the Pakistanis in the flotilla. President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister of Pakistan Yousuf Raza Gilani strongly condemned the Israeli actions. They further said that the Government of Pakistan is exerting all its efforts to find out what had happened to the Pakistanis aboard the flotilla.
• A White House spokesman said that the United States "deeply regrets the loss of life and injuries sustained, and is currently working to understand the circumstances surrounding this tragedy."

See also

• 2007–2010 blockade of the Gaza Strip