Videos: Israeli ships attack aid flotilla

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli commandos stormed a convoy of Gaza-bound aid ships on Monday and more than 10 of the mostly international activists aboard were killed, provoking a diplomatic crisis and Palestinian charges of a "massacre."

www.reuters.com...



Israël à l'assaut de la "flottille de la liberté"



[edit on 31-5-2010 by Americanist]

The 2nd video shows more of the assault...

Audrey Bomse Member Of Gaza Flotilla Resonds To Israeli Press Conf On Attack


[edit on 31-5-2010 by Americanist]

List of international comments made on Israel's attack


Iran:

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said a deadly Israeli military raid Monday on a Gaza-bound aid ship was an "inhuman" act that brought Israel "closer than ever to its end."

"The inhuman action of the Zionist regime... is a sign of its weakness," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency.

Palestine:

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday slammed as "a massacre" a deadly Israeli raid on a fleet of ships carrying aid to Gaza, in which at least 10 passengers were killed.

"We consider this to be a massacre and we condemn it," an official from Abbas' office said on Palestinian television, announcing a three-day mourning period.

"We will have to take some difficult decisions this evening."

Arab League:

Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa slammed a deadly Israeli military raid on Monday against a boat carrying aid for Gaza as a "crime" against a humanitarian mission.

"We condemn this crime... They were trying to help people. They were not on a military mission. Everyone should condemn this," Moussa told AFP.

"We are now conducting calls [with] Arabs to decide on our next step," he added.

Lebanon:

n a statement issued on Monday, Prime Minister Saad Hariri condemned the Israeli commandos attack on an aid convoy headed to Gaza, saying it is “a dangerous and crazy step” that would destabilize the region.

He called on the international community to take action and said Lebanon is in contact with a number of countries to coordinate responses to the incident.

Greece:

Greece summoned Israeli Ambassador Ali Yahya Monday to demand an "immediate" report on the safety of about 30 Greeks on board an aid ship flotilla bound for Gaza targeted in a deadly raid by Israeli commandos.

Yahya was called in for talks with Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Dimitris Droutsas, said a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry.

The Greek government also withdrew from joint military exercises with Tel Aviv in protest to the raid, the Greek Defense Ministry said in a statement issued on Monday.

Spain:

Spain, which holds the rotating EU presidency, summoned Israel's ambassador on Monday for an explanation for a deadly raid on an aid ship flotilla bound for Gaza that reportedly left 15 dead, the Spanish Foreign Ministry said.

Germany:

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle is "deeply concerned" about the deadly Israeli raid on an aid convoy headed to Gaza, an unnamed Foreign Ministry spokesperson told AFP on Monday.

"The Foreign Ministry is now working to establish the full facts of what happened," he added.

France:

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Monday he was "deeply shocked" by Israel’s commandos raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla and insisted "nothing can justify" such violence after more than 10 died.

Sweden:

According to AFP, Sweden’s Foreign Ministry announced on Monday that it has summoned the Israeli ambassador to Stockholm over the "unacceptable" Gaza flotilla raid in which Israeli commandos killed more than 10 people, the Foreign Ministry said.

UN humans rights chief :

UN human rights chief Navi Pillay said during a speech to the UN Human Rights Council on Monday that she was shocked that an aid flotilla bound for the Gaza Strip was "met with violence," after Israeli forces stormed convoy ships.

Ireland:

On Monday, Irish Foreign Minister Michael Martin condemned Israel's deadly raid on aid ships bound for Gaza, adding that Ireland was trying to confirm the safety of eight Irish nationals and one Irish-Turkish national who were on board vessels in the flotilla.

"The reports of up to 15 people killed and 50 injured, if confirmed, would constitute a totally unacceptable response by the Israeli military to what was a humanitarian mission attempting to deliver much-needed supplies to the people of Gaza," Martin said.

Jordan:

More than 2,000 people took to the streets of Amman on Monday to protest Israel's deadly raid on a group of ships carrying aid to the Gaza Strip, AFP reported. Waving Jordanian and Palestinian flags, the demonstrators, including Islamist opposition leaders, marched peacefully from the headquarters of the trade unions to the prime ministry building near the city center.

They demanded that Jordan “sever ties with the Zionist entity, which has proved its barbarism today," the secretary general of the opposition Islamic Action Front (IAF) party said in a statement.

Israeli Arabs:

Israel's Arab community on Monday called a general strike in response to an Israeli naval operation which claimed the lives of at least 10 activists bringing aid supplies to Gaza by boat.

The Higher Arab Monitoring Committee, which represents Israel's 1.3 million-strong Arab community, declared a one-day strike would take place on Tuesday and called for protests across the country.

Meanwhile, hundreds of people flooded onto the streets of the northern Arab Israeli city of Nazareth to protest against the attack.

Police reinforcements were deploying in Jerusalem, Jaffa just south of Tel Aviv and in the Galilee area, public radio reported. Speaking to army radio, Israeli Industry and Trade Minister Benjamin Ben Eliezer called on the Arab Israeli population to "react in a reasonable manner.”

On-board video of Gaza Freedom Flotilla storm, aid workers & Israeli troops clash

Regarding the claims of those on board the flotilla were using weapons such as axes (fire?) and sticks - not sure what international maritime law it, but if the flotilla was indeed attacked and boarded in international waters then those on board have every right to defend themselves.

Shame on the Israeli's for reverting to live ammunition - they knew what they were doing from the start and what they could possibly be up against - looks deliberate to me.

I am appalled at this.

in the videos i saw this "aid" ship continue to keep going even when israel had assault boats trying to stop it.
funny how they never mention if they had tried to negotiate with israel "BEFORE" they got near so israel could inspect the ships and make sure the ship was not carrying arms or muslim terrriosts.
if you poke a lion with a stick, don't be suprised when he attacks you.
why didn't this "aid" ship WORK WITH ISRAEL??

Netanyahu just cancelled his meeting with Obama.
The Zionist, who don’t really want peace, always do things like the murder of those activists, if there is any sign of movement towards peace..


OBAMA BETTER WATCH HIS BACK!

Originally posted by Bravo111
Regarding the claims of those on board the flotilla were using weapons such as axes (fire?) and sticks - not sure what international maritime law it, but if the flotilla was indeed attacked and boarded in international waters then those on board have every right to defend themselves.

Shame on the Israeli's for reverting to live ammunition - they knew what they were doing from the start and what they could possibly be up against - looks deliberate to me.

I am appalled at this.

That's what strikes me the most... There is no reason why you wouldn't have a combination of live/ rubber ammunition. Explain that one to me along with why this all took place in international waters. Those commandos are also wearing heavily armored gear as defense, so it's pretty heavy-handed on their part (to say the least).


Found some extra tid bits in the news after the fact:

An Israeli military spokesman said some of the commandos were equipped with paintball guns but the non-lethal weapons were not enough against activists who charged in with batons.

"They had pistols with live ammunition as back-up, to defend themselves," he said. One of the commandos told reporters he descended by rope from a helicopter onto one of the six ships in the convoy and was immediately attacked by a group of people waiting for them. "They beat us with metal sticks and knives," he said. "There was live fire at some point against us."

Perhaps they haven't heard of stun guns... I'm sure I could find a few ladies here in the States that could have defended themselves quite adequately in a similar situation.

[edit on 31-5-2010 by Americanist]

Originally posted by Bravo111
Regarding the claims of those on board the flotilla were using weapons such as axes (fire?) and sticks - not sure what international maritime law it, but if the flotilla was indeed attacked and boarded in international waters then those on board have every right to defend themselves.

Shame on the Israeli's for reverting to live ammunition - they knew what they were doing from the start and what they could possibly be up against - looks deliberate to me.

I am appalled at this.

i'm not appalled at all...when muslims strap on bombs to kids and women, so they can kill jews...that's when i become "appalled"
when hamas fires rockets from schools and civilian backyards into israel, that's when i become "appalled"
israel needs to be taken seriously and whoever organized this "aid" ship knows better, and knew what the response would be by israel.

Originally posted by jimmyx

Originally posted by Bravo111
Regarding the claims of those on board the flotilla were using weapons such as axes (fire?) and sticks - not sure what international maritime law it, but if the flotilla was indeed attacked and boarded in international waters then those on board have every right to defend themselves.

Shame on the Israeli's for reverting to live ammunition - they knew what they were doing from the start and what they could possibly be up against - looks deliberate to me.

I am appalled at this.

i'm not appalled at all...when muslims strap on bombs to kids and women, so they can kill jews...that's when i become "appalled"
when hamas fires rockets from schools and civilian backyards into israel, that's when i become "appalled"
israel needs to be taken seriously and whoever organized this "aid" ship knows better, and knew what the response would be by israel.

True, it happens... Just like agents disguised as Muslims go on shooting sprees to incite riots/ murder. Should make you ponder what some of the root causes are other than people not liking each other. I'll agree with you on one thing though... We're dealing with corrupt political systems that mask themselves as faith.

reply to post by jimmyx


Since when does anyone "need" Israeli permission to enter another sovereign nation? This happened in international waters. Do you ask for Israeli permission before you drive to work?
There is no excuse for this or the deaths or injuries incurred on the people in the aid flotilla.
How about the American people stiop giving the Israelis so much money in foreign aid? The real sleeping lion here is the American public, who if they ever awake will allow Israel to be destroyed by all the enemies they have made for themselves. They are still settled on lands that were stolen from the Palestinian people back in 1948. Thieves belong in jail.

[edit on 31-5-2010 by Asktheanimals]

Don't pass up Playground Politics - Middle East Edition

I agree with jimmyx. They got what was coming to them.
What did they think would happen if they sail into a naval embargo, don't even stop when they were asked and attack the IDF forces?
What kind of protesters are this?

Seems like they were up to this kind of provocation form the beginning.

Originally posted by Bl4cK
I agree with jimmyx. They got what was coming to them.
What did they think would happen if they sail into a naval embargo, don't even stop when they were asked and attack the IDF forces?
What kind of protesters are this?

Seems like they were up to this kind of provocation form the beginning.

I'm sure you do judging by your sign up date. I guess it was your day to shine... I'm seeing a lot of that today.

I'm sure you do judging by your sign up date. I guess it was your day to shine... I'm seeing a lot of that today.

What has my sign up date to do with this? I signed up yesterday. This inicident didn't happen to that time if you want to say I signed up just because of this thread.

I see you like to get personal insteaed of focusing on the topic...

Originally posted by Bl4cK

I'm sure you do judging by your sign up date. I guess it was your day to shine... I'm seeing a lot of that today.

What has my sign up date to do with this? I signed up yesterday. This inicident didn't happen to that time if you want to say I signed up just because of this thread.

I see you like to get personal insteaed of focusing on the topic...

It's hard to miss the topic. Tell you what... If you read a few more news stories about where this incident took place and who decided to use live rounds, I bet you'll gain your street "cred" on ATS.

reply to post by Americanist


Seeing the main thread on this topic has been closed here, I'm heading off to other forums, where international posters are free to state their opinons without the heavy-handed monitoring of threads and posts

Good thread and posts by the way

Your observations are spot on, imo

I've starred and flagged

reply to post by jimmyx

i'm not appalled at all...when muslims strap on bombs to kids and women, so they can kill jews...that's when i become "appalled" when hamas fires rockets from schools and civilian backyards into israel, that's when i become "appalled"

And honestly, Do you believe that is going to lessen....After this action ?

I think if i was an Israeli abroad right now, I wouldn't advertise that fact.

reply to post by Dock9


I added you to my friends list long ago... I keep track of good people. Many Thanks!