For the most part, the MSM is downplaying the attack by elite Israeli assault troops on the civilians of the Gaza relief fleet.
A day after Israeli forces stormed a flotilla carrying humanitarian supplies in a fatal raid, independent information on what transpired remained scant Tuesday.
The death toll of nine killed came from the Israels, who did not release the names of those who died.
The Free Gaza Movement, one of the groups that organized the convoy of ships, said the fatalities numbered higher, but did not offer an exact number.
The surviving passengers themselves were being held incommunicado by Israeli authorities.
A team from the Turkish Red Crescent was expected to fly to Tel Aviv, Israel, on Tuesday to help coordinate the return of the dead and wounded, the organization said in a statement.
Also Tuesday, protesters in several major cities planned to take to the streets in anger. Two such rallies were scheduled in New York and Chicago, Illinois.
In Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has a pre-scheduled meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.
Davotoglu has called the raid "murder conducted by a state." But the Obama administration response has been more tempered.
President Barack Obama expressed "deep regret" at the deaths and "also expressed the importance of learning all the facts and circumstances around this morning’s tragic events as soon as possible," the White House said Monday.
That did not impress Turkey’s ambassador to the United States, Namik Tan, who called the U.S. response "sort of weak."
"Israel should not get away with this," Tan said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cancelled a scheduled meeting with Obama this week to return to Israel to manage the crisis… [emphasis added]
Inserted from <CNN>
Turkey’s response to this is significant, because until now, Turkey has has been Israel’s only ally in the Muslim world.
Now here is a more revealing account.
In what could be a serious blow to Israel’s narrative on the killing of at least nine humanitarian activists making their way to Gaza through international waters, raw video by an Al Jazeera producer, who was filming during the raid, appears to provide evidence that the IDF opened fire on the flotilla even before boarding it.
Israeli forces assert they came under attack by the pro-Palestine civilian group, and video released by the IDF appears to show one soldier being tossed overboard amid a scuffle with unidentified individuals wielding melee weapons, like clubs and chairs.
However, in raw video captured by an Al Jazeera producer and published to YouTube late Monday, two journalists provide a play-by-play of the harrowing event as pops and cracks echo in the background. Even before the Israeli forces were aboard, one says, they were pelting the boat with tear gas and stun grenades, injuring numerous people.
Then he confirms the first death, saying the individual was killed by "munitions," but not specifying whether it was a bullet or something else. Then he confirms that Israeli forces were boarding the ship. Another of the reporters featured in the video works for the Iranian network Press TV. "We are being hit by tear gas, stun grenades, we have navy ships on either side, helicopters overhead," he said. "We are being attacked from every single side. This is in international waters, not Israeli waters, not in the 68-mile exclusion zone. We are being attacked in international waters completely illegally."
"The organizers are telling me now, they are raising a white flag — they are raising a white flag to the Israeli army," the Al Jazeera reporter said. "This is after one person has been killed; a civilian has been killed by munition. That number could be more … Despite the white flag being raised, despite the white flag being raised, the Israeli army is still shooting, still firing live munitions."
Early reports put the number of victims between nine and 19, with dozens injured. (Update: Figures from major wire services put the number at 10, but it may yet change.) The actual number has not yet been confirmed, as the IDF took all the Gaza aid flotilla participants into custody. Numerous victims were reported to be from Turkey. Palestinian leadership called the incident a "war crime." Israeli ally Turkey also pledged their regional neighbor will "face the consequences" for the killings and reportedly planned to send military escort with a future Gaza aid flotilla.
"At least four Israeli soldiers were wounded in the operation, some from gunfire, according to the military," The New York Times added.
"Our soldiers had to defend themselves, to defend their lives," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly said. Other Israeli officials have called the charity organization responsible a group of "extremist supporters of terror." The IDF also alleged that weapons were found on board and that activists opened fire first, calling the the resulting violence a result of "provocation."
However, if these reporters’ immediate accounting of the events proves accurate, the truth of Israel’s claim that they opened fire in self defense would seem to be in doubt.
Portions of the raw video were featured by Al Jazeera and AFP, although the beginning segment and the most clear allegations that Israel opened fire before boarding were not included in their entirety…
…The action sparked protests around the world within hours…
Inserted from <Raw Story>
I reviewed several video clips posted online, including the Israeli offering. The clip that may be most revealing is almost exclusively in Arabic, making it quite confusing to me. Here is an AJ report in English.
While the Israeli clip, if authentic, clearly shows passengers struggling with the attackers it comes from a later time, because it reveals that several Israeli commandos are already aboard. The AJ report was filmed before Israelis had boarded. This convinces me that it was Israeli aggression.
Here are a couple things to consider. First, why was it necessary to prevent food deliveries to hungry people while the ship was still in international waters? Second, why was it necessary to send crack assault troops after civilians?
I called this attack an atrocity for a good reason. It is.
22 Responses to “Israeli Atrocity in the Med”
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This is a hot Palookis of a topic, as you’ll probably note be the silence.
It’s just been a slow day, Ivan. Folks here are pretty outspoken.
Israeli fascism is nothing new; unfortunately neither is US subordination to the Israeli radical right. I’m reminded or the USS Liberty incident; another tragic war crime by Israel.
Dave, I’m all for supporting Israeli independence and territorial integrity, but not this.
It’s long past the time when we should cut off all aid to Israel.
Lib, I completely agree.
Egad.
I think I need to get off this machine.
My comment should read, “as you’ll probably note by the silence.”
….But not so silent now.
I understood. 🙂
Granted, the activists on the ship do not appear to adhere to the teachings of Gandhi – but neither did their actions prove fatal to any armed Israeli soldiers who elected to lead a multi-pronged dawn commando raid on ships that were breaking no laws while in international waters.
And now IDF is spinning it trying to convince us that the Israelis were the victims here?? Wrong! You don’t get to kill civilians simply because you don’t care for their cause. Israel has, yet again, acted as if they can do anything they want … and get away with it. It’s well past time for the U.S. to call a halt to that mindset.
Nameless, as I see it the ways to do that is to cut the purse strings and to stop enabling their war crimes in the Security Council.
I saw the Al Jazeera and Israeli tapes – this is clearly an aggression on Israel’s side. They have NO jurisdiction to board a ship of any kind in international waters – that’s called piracy. These people were defending themselves with bats and knives – against Israeli soldiers armed to the hilt. This is a war crime, plain and simple and I hope there are some serious sanctions not only from the UN, but from us as well. They should kiss their foreign aid of something like $300B a year from us goodbye. Absolute BS on the Israeli side.
And they better release those hostages asap too, because that’s what they are. There is another humanitarian ship out there now as well – if they board that ship, the response from us should be to use all measures that we would use against pirates – because that’s how the Israelis are acting.
If soldiers stormed a ship I was on and started killing people, I’d be swinging a chair or anything else I could lay my hands on out of self-preservation.
Israel has again violated international law by stopping ships in international waters. Will the U.S. protect Israel in the U.N.?
Israel needs to be held accountable for their crimes against international law and their crimes against humanity.
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Ted, I agree.
My patience with Israel is wearing very thin, I cannot separate the growing similarities between the blockade they have imposed on the Gaza Strip and some of the actions the Nazis did to the Jews.
Yes, I know Hamas is evil but starving kids in Gaza does not help the Israeli cause.
Beach, as much as I dislike Hamas, they are the legally elected Palestinian government. Israel’s strategy is to starve out Hamas, but any real peace must be negotiated between Israel, Fatah, and Hamas,
So I’m just catching up, I thought when you were in international waters you were supposed to be safe. Israel needs to take a deep look within itself. Their hands are not clean. I’m not a supporter of any brutal Governments.
Tim, assaulting a ship in international waters is piracy under US and international law.
Okay, but hadn’t they vowed to break through the blockade? And tried to do so, and also said they would keep trying until they succeeded? And the Army’s orders were to maintain the blockade, right? There are two sides to this. Just sayin.
Candace, I agree that they intended to break through the blockade. In my opinion, a blockade that stops food and medicine, not just weapons, is in itself a war crime. The Army’s orders were indeed to maintain the blockade, making those orders criminal. Finally, Gaza is part of independent Palestine, according to the terms of the Helsinki Treaty. Therefore Israel’s claim that the coastal waters off Gaza are Israeli territorial waters is bogus. But this assault took place in international waters.
I am not categorically anti-Israel. Were Israel to come under attack by a foreign nation, I would be calling for US intervention on Israel’s behalf. But this time, I see no way to slice this where Israel’s behavior is not criminal.
The Israeli government has America in their back pocket. We need to disconnect.
I support Israel as a nation, but not their actions, and time and time again, they drag our country into the mud. Conservatives are now trying to politicize this act of Israeli aggression showing that America needs to continue handing Israel a blank check!
I kept thinking of the Berlin Blockade and what would have happened if the Western Allies decided to just allow the Soviet Union to block any kind of aid… instead, an airlift was organized supplying the city… how have things changed since then? Why should America support actions that violate human rights?
I hope Obama takes a hard line with Israel…
Kevin, somehow AIPAC twisted support for Israel, a third rail in US politics, into support for Israeli extremists. I wish they would pay more attention to J Street, the support organization for Israel that reflects the beliefs of American Jews, instead of AIPAC, which has been virtually taken over by the religious right.