Israeli commandos on Monday stormed six ships carrying hundreds of
pro-Palestinian activists on an aid mission to the blockaded Gaza Strip,
killing at least 10 people and wounding dozens after encountering
unexpected resistance as the forces boarded the vessels.
The
operation in international waters off the Gaza coast was a nightmare
scenario for Israel that looked certain to further damage its
international standing, strain already tense relations with Turkey - the
unofficial sponsor of the mission - and draw unwanted attention to
Gaza's plight.
The tough Israeli response drew condemnations from
Turkey, France and the U.N.'s Mideast envoy, while Greece suspended a
military exercise with Israel and postponed a visit by Israel's air
force chief.
About 10,000 Turks also marched from Israel's
Consulate in Istanbul toward the city's main square, shouting slogans
denouncing Israel. The protesters earlier Monday tried storm the
Consulate building but were blocked by police.
The Israeli
ambassadors in Sweden, Spain, Denmark and Greece were summoned for
meetings, and the French foreign minister called for an investigation.
Activists from all of those European countries were on board the
flotilla. In neighboring Jordan, hundreds demonstrated in the capital
Amman to protest the Israeli action and demand that their government
breaks diplomatic relations with the Jewish state.
There were
conflicting accounts of what happened early Monday.
An Al-Jazeera
reporter on one of the Turkish ships said the Israelis fired at the
vessel before boarding it. The Israelis, who had declared they would not
let the ships reach Gaza, said they only opened fire after being
attacked by activists with sticks, knives and live fire from weapons
seized from the Israeli commandos.
"On board the ship we found
weapons prepared in advance and used against our forces," declared
Israel's deputy foreign minister, Danny Ayalon.
"The organizers'
intent was violent, their method was violent and the results were
unfortunately violent. Israel regrets any loss of life and did
everything to avoid this outcome."
Israeli security forces were on
alert across the country. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned
the Israeli "aggression," declared three days of mourning across the
West Bank and called on the U.N. Security Council and Arab League to
hold emergency sessions on the incident.
Ismail Haniyeh, leader of
the rival Hamas government in Gaza, condemned the "brutal" Israeli
attack and called on U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to intervene.
The
activists were headed to Gaza on a mission meant to draw attention to a
3-year-old Israeli blockade of the coastal territory. Israel imposed
the blockade after Hamas, hich it considers a terrorist group, violently
seized the territory. Critics say the blockade has unfairly hurt Gaza's
1.5 million people.
"It's disgusting that they have come on board
and attacked civilians. We are civilians," said Greta Berlin, a
spokeswoman for the Free Gaza movement, which organized he flotilla. She
spoke from the Mediterranean island of Cyprus and said she had lost
contact with the flotilla.
Before the ships set sail from waters
off the east Mediterranean island of Cyprus on Sunday, Israel had urged
the flotilla not to try to breach the blockade and ffered to transfer
the cargo to Gaza from an Israeli port, following a security inspection.
Israeli
naval commandos stormed the ships in a predawn raid while they were in
international waters after ordering them to stop about 80 miles (130
kilometers) from Gaza's coast, according to activists.
A Turkis
website showed video of pandemonium on board one of the ships, with
activists in orange life jackets running around as some tried to help an
activist apparently unconscious on the deck. The site also showed video
of an Israeli helicopter flying overhead and Israeli warships nearby.
Turkey's
NTV showed actvists beating one Israeli soldier with sticks as he
rappelled from a helicopter onto one of the boats.
The al-Jazeera
satellite channel reported by telephone from the Turkish ship leading
the flotilla that Israeli navy forces fired at the ship and boarded it,
wounding the captain.
"These savages are klling people here,
please help," a Turkish television reporter said.
The broadcast
ended with a voice shouting in Hebrew, "Everybody shut up!"
The
Israeli military said troops only opened fire after encountering
unexpected resistance from the activists. Activists attacked troops with
knives and ir rods, and opened fire with two pistols seized from the
forces.
A total of five soldiers were wounded, two seriously,
including at least one hit by live fire, the army said. Two of the dead
activists had fired at soldiers with pistols, the army said.
"They
planned this attack," said Israeli military spokeswoman Lt. Col. Avital
Leibovitch. "Our soldiers were injured from these knives and sharp
metal objects ... as well as from live fire."
The violent takeover
threatened to deal yet another blow to Israel's international image,
already tarnished by war crimes accusations in Gaza and its blockade of
the impoverished Palestinian territory.
It occurred a day before
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was to meet with President Barack
Obama at the White House to discuss the Middle East peace process.
The
ships were being towed to the Israeli port of Ashdod, and wounded were
evacuated by helicopter to Israeli hospitals, officials said. One of the
ships had reached port by midday.
There were no details on the
identities of the casualties, or on the conditions of some of the more
prominent people on board, including 1976 Nobel Peace Prize laureate
Mairead Corrigan Maguire of Northern Ireland, European legislators and
Holocaust survivor Hedy Epstein, 85.
Satellite phones on board the
ships were turned off, and communication with a small group of
reporters embedded with the Israeli military was blocked.
The Free
Gaza Movement is an international group of pro-Palestinian activists
that claims the blockade, imposed three years ago after the militant
Islamic Hamas group overran Gaza, is unjust and a violation of
international law.
Organizers included people affiliated with the
International Solidarity Movement, a pro-Palestinian group that often
sends international activists into battle zones, and the IHH, a Turkish
aid group that Israel accuses of having terrorist links.
The
Turkish Foreign Ministry condemned the Israeli raid and said it was
summoning the Israeli ambassador for an "urgent explanation."
Hasan
Naiboglu, the Turkish maritime affairs undersecretary, told the
Anatolia news agency that Israel had jammed communications with the
ships. He accused Israel of violating international law by carrying out
the raid in international waters.
Turkey had unofficially
supported the aid mission and has been vocally critical of Israeli
military operations against Palestinians in Gaza.
Israel's Ynet
news website said Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak called Turkish
officials, including the defense and foreign ministers, to discuss the
raid.
The United Nations expressed "shock" and condemned the
killings. "We are in contact with the Israeli authorities to express our
deep concern and to seek a full explanation," said a statement from the
highest-ranking U.N. official in the region, Robert Serry.
The
flotilla of three cargo ships and three passenger ships carrying 10,000
tons of aid and 700 activists was carrying items that Israel bars from
reaching Gaza, like cement and other building materials.
This is
the ninth time that the Free Gaza movement has tried to ship in
humanitarian aid to Gaza since August 2008.
Israel has allowed
ships through five times, but has blocked them from entering Gaza waters
since a three-week military offensive against Gaza's Hamas rulers in
January 2009.
The latest flotilla was the largest to date.
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