Gaza flotilla raid

Gaza flotilla raid
MV Mavi Marmara
Location	International waters of the Mediterranean Sea 32.64113 N 33.56727 E
Target	Gaza-bound flotilla in international waters
Date	31 May 2010 (2010-05-31) 4:30 a.m. (UTC+3)
Executed by	Israeli Navy
Outcome	Seizing control of the ships and detaining the passengers
Casualties	9 passengers killed Several dozen passengers and seven IDF commandos (2 shot) injured

The Gaza flotilla raid also known as the flotilla incident of 31 May 2010, was a military attack by Israel against six ships of the "Gaza Freedom Flotilla" on May 31, 2010. The flotilla, organized by the Free Gaza Movement and the Turkish Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief (İHH), was carrying humanitarian aid and construction materials, as well as ballistic vests, gas masks, night-vision goggles, and large sums of money, intent on breaking Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip. Five of the ships were apprehended without loss of life or severe injuries. On the MV Mavi Marmara, clashes broke out. Nine activists were killed (Eight Turkish nationals and a Turkish-American), and dozens of activists and seven Israeli commandos were wounded, with debate over whether commandos fired before or after boarding the ship. Widespread international condemnation of the raid followed, Israel-Turkey relations were strained, and Israel subsequently eased its blockade.

Overview

Routes of the Gaza-bound flotilla (green) and the Israeli Navy (orange)

The operation, code named Operation Sea Breeze or Operation Sky Winds was an attempt to block the Free Gaza Movement's ninth attempt to break the controversial naval blockade imposed by Israel on the Gaza Strip. Israel proposed inspecting the cargo at the Port of Ashdod and then delivering non-blockaded goods through land crossings, but this proposal was turned down. Israeli forces then raided and seized the Gaza-bound ships in international waters of the Mediterranean Sea.

Israeli Navy warships flanked the flotilla and an aircraft flew overhead after it refused Israeli instructions. Israeli Shayetet 13 naval commandos then abseiled onto the ships from helicopters and boarded from speedboats. They were met with passive resistance on five of the ships, but clashes broke out aboard the MV Mavi Marmara. Nine activists were killed, and dozens were injured. A UNHRC fact-finding mission described six of the nine passengers' deaths as "summary execution" by the Israeli commandos. However, a BBC documentary concluded that Israeli forces had acted in self-defense against a premeditated attack by a group of hardcore IHH activists. Seven Israeli commandos were injured in the skirmish. After seizing control of the ships, Israeli forces towed them to Ashdod and detained the passengers. Both sides place responsibility for the bloodshed on the other, and accounts of the events vary.

The raid prompted widespread international reactions and demonstrations around the world. The United Nations Security Council condemned "those acts resulting in civilian deaths," demanded an impartial investigation of the raid, and called for the immediate release of civilians held by Israel. Israel released all passengers of the flotilla by June 6, 2010. The incident threatened the already deteriorating relations between Turkey and Israel. Turkish president Abdullah Gül described the raid as an attack on Turkey for the first time since World War I.

Israel initially rejected calls from the United Nations and world governments for an international investigation into its raid on the Gaza aid flotilla, but later agreed to cooperate with an investigation conducted by the United Nations. Israel formed the Turkel Committee to investigate the raid. The committee, headed by retired Supreme Court of Israel judge Jacob Turkel, included two international observers. The conclusions of an internal inquiry by the Israel Defense Forces under retired general Giora Eiland were presented to the chief of staff, Gabi Ashkenazi on July 12, 2010. Eiland's report found that the naval commandos had carried out their duties with professionalism, bravery and resourcefulness, and the commanders had exhibited correct decision making. The report further determined that "the use of live fire was justified and that the entire operation was estimable." In August 2010, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced that the U.N. would conduct an investigation of the incident. A separate investigation was conducted by the United Nations Human Rights Council. The findings of this committee, published on September 22, 2010 , called the Israeli operation "disproportionate" and condemend its "unacceptable level of brutality." The UN Human Rights Council had also condemned the raid in June, before its investigation. Another resolution backing the report was passed despite American opposition and EU abstention. Israel accused the UNHRC of a biased, politicized and extremist approach. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the actions of the soldiers as a clear case of self-defense. The Israeli Supreme Court, which rejected several local legal suits against the flotilla raid, wrote in its verdict that "the soldiers were forced to respond in order to defend their lives."

Five shipments had been allowed through prior to the 2008–09 Gaza War, but all shipments following the war were blocked by Israel. This flotilla was the largest to date. An Islamic aid group from Turkey, the İHH (İnsani Yardım Vakfı) (Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief) sponsored a large passenger ship and two cargo ships.

Flotilla organization

Ships

The ships of Gaza flotilla raid comprised three passenger ships and three cargo ships:

• Challenger 1 (small yacht), US, Free Gaza Movement
• MS Sofia, Greece, Greek Ship to Gaza
• Sfendoni, Greece (small passenger boat), Greek Ship to Gaza and European Campaign to End the Siege on Gaza
• MV Mavi Marmara (passenger ship), Comoros, İHH
• Gazze, Turkey, İHH
• Defne Y, Kiribati, İHH

Two other Free Gaza Movement ships, Challenger 2 (USA flagged) and MV Rachel Corrie (Cambodia flagged) were behind the rest of the flotilla due to mechanical problems. There have been claims this was due to Israeli sabotage, though no evidence has been produced. Challenger 2 aborted, but the Rachel Corrie continued its journey.

Cargo

Three of the flotilla ships carried only passengers and their personal belongings, while three other ships carried 10,000 tons of humanitarian aid, with an estimated value of $20 million. The cargo included food, wheelchairs, books, toys, electricity generators, operating theater equipment medicines, medical equipment, textiles, footwear, cash money, mobility scooters, sofas, and building materials, such as cement, which are prohibited under the Israeli blockade, although Israel offered to allow the cement to enter Gaza, if the flotilla were to dock in Ashdod.

In addition, the flotilla was found to be carrying ballistic vests, gas masks, night-vision goggles, clubs, and slingshots.

Two-thirds of the medicines delivered by the flotilla expired between six and fifteen months prior to the raid, and were found to be useless. Some other medicines found on the flotilla were due to expire soon. Additionally, Israel said that much of the cargo, including sensitive medical equipment, was found to have been scattered in the ship's holds, and put in piles rather than packed properly for transport, and consequently damaged. Operating theater equipment, which was supposed to be kept sterile, was carelessly wrapped. The expiring medications and sensistive equipment were kept in frozen storage in the Israeli Defense Ministry before delivery to Gaza.

Ship passengers

Main article: List of participants of the Gaza flotilla

In previous voyages, Free Gaza vessels carried 140 passengers in total. In this flotilla, over 600 activists were on board the Mavi Marmara alone. There were 663 passengers from 37 nations on board the flotilla. Notable people aboard the flotilla included Israeli-Arab member of Knesset Haneen Zoubi, leader of the northern branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel Raed Salah, Swedish novelist Henning Mankell, convicted hijacker Erdinç Tekir, who participated in the Black Sea hijacking, and a number of parliamentarians from European and Arab national legislatures and the European Parliament.

Flotilla motives

Israel questioned the humanitarian motives of flotilla organizers. Israel said it had invited the organizers to use the land crossings but they were "less interested in bringing in aid than in promoting their radical agenda, playing into the hands of Hamas provocations. While they have wrapped themselves in a humanitarian cloak, they are engaging in political propaganda and not in pro-Palestinian aid." Madeline Brooks, columnist for the Canada Free Press called the flotilla's aid "phony" considering that the cargo "included expired medicine and old, outdated medical equipment."

According to early Israeli claims, the ship carried 75 mercenaries with links to al-Qaeda and other terror organizations, who carried $10,000 apiece on their persons, a false claim that was never substantiated, and later retracted. Israel has said that the group boarded separately in a different city and went on deck under different procedures. The Turkish Customs officials and the İHH denied the allegations.

The impending arrival of the fleet was known to Israel government, military intelligence and press. Israel said that the flotilla was violating international law, but one of the flotilla's organizers, Greta Berlin, stated that "[w]e have the right to sail from international waters into the waters of Gaza". Israel informed the fleet that it would be redirected to the port of Ashdod and the cargo would be transferred to Gaza after undergoing a security inspection. Foreigners would be deported or, if they did not willingly agree to be deported, detained.

The flotilla organisers rejected Israel's demand, as it did not believe that Israel would transfer the cargo to Gaza, and said that, "This mission is not about delivering humanitarian supplies, it's about breaking Israel's siege on 1.5 million Palestinians... We want to raise international awareness about the prison-like closure of Gaza and pressure the international community to review its sanctions policy and end its support for continued Israeli occupation."

The UNHRC fact-finding mission noted a "certain tension between the political objectives of the flotilla and its humanitarian objectives", which came to light "the moment the Government of Israel made offers to allow the humanitarian aid to be delivered via Israeli ports but under the supervision of a neutral organization". It also announced that Gaza did not have a deep sea port capable of receiving the sort of cargo ships participating in the flotilla. It concluded that "whilst the mission is satisfied that the flotilla constituted a serious attempt to bring essential humanitarian supplies into Gaza, it seems clear that the primary objective was political, as indeed demonstrated by the decision of those on board the Rachel Corrie to reject a Government of Ireland-sponsored proposal that the cargo in that ship be allowed through Ashdod intact".

Some supporters of the flotilla said that "a violent response from Israel will breathe new life into the Palestine solidarity movement, drawing attention to the blockade." Two of the activists (Ali Haydar Bengi and Ibrahim Bilgen) who died during the MV Mavi Marmara clash had previously said that they wished for martydom. On 29 May, Aljazeera broadcast footage of Mavi Marmara activists participating in a chant calling for battle against Jews.

Former U.S. Marine Kenneth O'Keefe, who was aboard the Mavi Marmara, stated that the activists knew from the outset that there would be no passive resistance. "I knew that if the Israelis boarded that ship, it would be a disaster...You have to be an idiot to board that ship and think it will be a ship of passive resistance," he told Haaretz newspaper.

In a public address in October 2010 on Al-Aqsa TV, Abd Al-Razzaq Al-Maqri, Head of Moroccan and Algerian Delegation to the Gaza Convoy, stated, according to a translation published by MEMRI, that "the mujahideen have told us that they decided not to defeat the oppressive Jews by gunfire, but instead, by daggers."

Initial leg

Six of the eight ships set out on May 30, 2010 from international waters off the coast of Cyprus; the remaining two were delayed by mechanical problems. "We do not even have a jackknife here, but we will not let Israeli soldiers on board this ship," İHH leader Fehmi Bülent Yıldırım told reporters via a live video stream before the convoy set sail.

The government of Cyprus refused to cooperate with the Free Gaza Movement or allow activists to sail from its harbors. The Cyprus Police stated that "anything related to the trip to Gaza is not permitted," and as a result remaining MPs and activists embarked instead from Famagusta in Northern Cyprus. Cypriot and Greek MPs and activists refused to embark via ports in Northern Cyprus. Having been delayed by two days, the flotilla aimed to reach Gaza on the afternoon of 31 May.

Pre-raid sabotage rumors

The IDF or the Mossad may have sabotaged three of the ships before the raid. According to the National Post, Israeli deputy defense minister Matan Vilnai hinted that Israel had exhausted covert means of stalling the vessels. He said: "Everything was considered. I don't want to elaborate beyond that, because the fact is there were not up to 10, or however many ships were [originally] planned." A senior IDF officer hinted to the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee of the Knesset, Israel's parliament, that some of the vessels had been tampered with to halt them far from the Gaza or Israeli coast. According to UPI press coverage, the officer alluded to "grey operations" against the flotilla and said that no such action had been taken against the Mavi Marmara out of fear that the vessel might be stranded in the middle of the sea, endangering the people on board. Israel was accused of sabotaging activist ships in the past but no evidence has been found to back up these claims.

Three ships - the Rachel Corrie, the Challenger I and the Challenger II - suffered damage or malfunction. While the Challenger I was able to continue, the Challenger II had to turn back halfway through the journey and Rachel Corrie docked for repairs in Malta. Greta Berlin of the Free Gaza Movement said that electric wires may have been tampered with.

Raid

The flotilla had planned to break through Israel's Gaza blockade. Israeli soldiers from the Shayetet 13 unit boarded the ships on May 31, 2010, at around 04:00 IST with paintball guns and sidearms while in international waters about 80 miles (130 km) out to sea.

Initial contact

A few minutes after 9:00 P.M., two missile boats and the Sa'ar 5-class corvette INS Lahav left Haifa naval base to intercept the flotilla. The Israeli Navy made initial contact with the flotilla at 11 p.m. (2000 UTC) on 30 May, about 120 miles (190 km) northwest of Gaza, 80 miles (130 km) off the coast of southern Lebanon, in international waters, ordering the ships to follow them to port or otherwise be boarded.

The Israeli Navy radioed Tural Mahmut, the captain of the Mavi Marmara, sending him this message: "Mavi Marmara, you are approaching an area of hostilities, which is under a naval blockade. The Gaza coastal area and Gaza Harbour are closed to all maritime traffic. The Israeli government supports delivery of humanitarian supplies to the civilian population in Gaza Strip and invites you to enter Ashdod port. Delivery of supplies will be in accordance with the authorities' regulations and through the formal land crossing to Gaza and under your observation, after which you can return to your home ports aboard the vessels on which you arrived." The reply was: "Negative, negative. Our destination is Gaza." Shortly after, two naval vessels flanked the flotilla on either side, but at a distance, and an Israeli aircraft flew overhead.

Five days after the raid, IDF released an audio recording purporting to be of a radio exchange between the Israeli Navy and the flotilla. After Israeli warnings that the ships are approaching a blockade, voices responded "Go back to Auschwitz!" and "Don't forget 9/11". Denis Healey, the captain of Challenger I, and activist Huwaida Arraf who was on the bridge of the ship, have disputed the authenticity of the recording. Israel has conceded that it is impossible to trace who made the comments, or from which ship, because they were made on an open channel. An Israeli journalist who was on board an IDF ship confirmed the IDF accounts.

Mavi Marmara boarding

The boarding of the Mavi Marmara resulted in violent clashes between activists and Israeli soldiers. Each side claims that the other started the violence, and the parties disagree on who acted in self-defense against illegitimate actions of the other side. The operation started in the early morning at 4:30. Speedboats and three Black Hawk helicopters, each with a team of 15 soldiers equipped with pistols and paint ball guns, approached the flotilla. The Mavi Marmara's passengers later reported gunfire, blue flares and deafening noise from the first helicopter at this time. Activists attacked the boarding Israeli commandos with improvised weapons and allegedly with seized Israeli firearms. The commandos opened fire with live ammunition after non-lethal means of dispersal failed, and then took control of the ship. Nine passengers were killed and dozens wounded. Seven Israeli commandos were also wounded.

Journalists' accounts

Ron Ben-Yishai, a veteran war correspondent for Yedioth Ahronoth was aboard the INS Victory, an Israeli missile ship. He said the army planned to land a team on the top deck and rush the bridge and take control. He reported that the assessment was that the passengers would show "light resistance and possibly minor violence". He said the soldiers were told to confront protesters verbally, use crowd control tactics and use firearms only to save their own lives, and that their paintball guns possibly contained skin irritants. The commandos who abseiled onto the deck were unexpectedly attacked by activists armed with makeshift weapons, and were unable to rush the bridge as planned. Another helicopter was then sent in with a second troop. At first, the soldiers attempted to stop the violence with stun grenades; however, after a soldier was reported injured, the troops asked for permission to use their firearms, which they received.

Al Jazeera journalist Jamal Elshayyal, aboard the Mavi Marmara, said that passengers took apart some of the railing bars of the ship when they saw the Israeli ship approaching from a distance and that he saw "a number of Israeli soldiers being beaten with them" as soon as they tried to come aboard. "the first shots that were fired were either some sort of sound grenades...there was tear gas that was fired, as well as rubber-coated steel bullets...the live fire came roughly five minutes after that." He continued that "one of the passengers who was on the side of the deck holding a water hose, trying to hose off, if you will, the advancing Israeli Navy, was shot in his arm". Israel has asserted that it did not begin firing live weapons until after the guns of two soldiers on board were taken by passengers, however Elshayyal said "There is no doubt from what I saw that live ammunition was fired before any Israeli soldier was on deck." Elshayyal said two persons were killed before the soldiers had started boarding and three persons died while passengers including a Knesset member, tried in vain to make the soldiers help the wounded. He said he "heard accounts of three, in fact, Israeli soldiers being taken captive during the battle, and those accounts that once they had been taken captive, the intensity of the fighting increased, so the organizers of the ship ordered that these soldiers be released lest the passengers be inflicted more harm."

Al Jazeera cameraman Andre Abu Khalil, also aboard the ship, said to Reuters that the initial wave of Israeli soldiers was overpowered but that there were four captured rather than three, who were "brought to the lowest deck (with) fracture wounds" and only after that live ammunition was used. He claimed that the captive commandos were released after the Israelis agreed to airlift wounded activists. Abu Khalil went on: "Twenty Turkish men formed a human shield to prevent the Israeli soldiers from scaling the ship." "They were banging the pipes on the side of the ship to warn the Israelis not to get closer." The standoff lasted about 10 minutes until the Israelis opened fire, he said: "One man got a direct hit to the head and another one was shot in the neck."

Hours before the raid, the head of the İHH, Fehmi Bülent Yıldırım declared, "We’re going to defeat the Israeli commandos–we’re declaring it now. If you bring your soldiers here, we will throw you off the ship and you’ll be humiliated in front of the whole world." Later, according to the crew of the ship, a group of about 40 İHH activists took over the ship. and did not allow anyone

Activists' and flotilla organizers' accounts

File:Idf soldier treated.png

IDF commando being treated by Dr. Hasan Huseyin Uysal, a Turkish doctor. Source: Ali Abunimah, Hürriyet

Arafat Shoukri, of the Free Gaza Movement, one the organizers of the flotilla convoy, said those on board one ship had called them by telephone to say that Israeli helicopters had arrived. When Israeli boats approached the Mavi Marmara in the early morning, İHH volunteer Ergun Trabzon said, "As the Israelis came close, they threw their hooks onto the bottom decks. Our friends down there cut them off. From above we threw chairs and anything we could find down on them, and after a while they moved away."

Mehmut Tuval, captain of the Mavi Marmara, confirmed that the activists fashioned crude weapons out of the ship's railing and chains before the raid. He said that he and his first mate tried to dispose of the weapons, but succeeded only on a very limited scale. The wife of the Mavi Marmara's chief engineer, Nilüfer Ören, said that activists aboard the ship "were preparing to use violence against the Israeli soldiers." Activists were seen cutting chains and steel off the ship using rotary saws (which were not part of the ship's equipment) roughly two hours before the IDF came aboard. She stated that IDF began tracking them after 90 miles (140 km), there were about 40 ships surrounding the convoy and the announcement was made while the commandos were boarding from helicopters at 04:45 am. She also said that sound bombs and smoke bombs were used. Therefore activists and crew members used gas masks.

Haneen Zoubi said that soldiers opened fire while hovering above in helicopters, before abseiling onto the deck. Robert Mackey of The New York Times suggested that the passengers on the ship may have mistaken the flash grenades and paintball guns for deadly weapons, which enraged them. Espen Goffeng, a 38-year-old Norwegian activist said the Israeli commandos "started off with some kind of paintball bullets with glass in them that left terrible soft tissue wounds. And then rubber bullets. And then live ammunition afterward." Norman Paech, a former member of the German parliament and foreign affairs spokesperson Left Party's parliamentary group, who was aboard the Marmara said he only saw three activists resisting. He said: "They had no knives, no axes, only sticks that they used to defend themselves, but he could not rule out that others used weapons somewhere else on the boat. "We heard some of them shouting We are raising the white flag, stop shooting at us" Shoukri said. He called Israeli accounts of activists having pistols and other weapons "cheap propaganda."

İHH president Yıldırım said that "passengers on the ship showed civil resistance, the press was there, and that the İHH (had) called on the passengers not to allow Israeli soldiers in". Yıldırım stated that the Israelis initially dropped gas bombs, and then fired two rubber bullets before resorting to "nail-like ammunition". He claimed that 10 Israeli soldiers were overpowered and disarmed, and their weapons were thrown into the sea. Yıldırım said that photographer Cevdet Kılıçlar was shot in the head by a soldier one meter away.

British activist Kevin Ovenden claimed that soldiers dropped sound bombs before boarding from speedboats and abseiling from helicopters. He confirmed that activists resisted "with their hands and whatever was to hand" on the top deck, and that some soldiers were "roughed up." Two soldiers were pushed over the top of the ship to the next deck down and another two were disarmed and taken to the bottom of the ship. Ovenden claimed that the commandos started firing rubber bullets almost immediately, and later resorted to live ammunition, although soldiers did not fire indiscriminately or wildly but rather carefully targeted. He confirmed that a man was shot by soldiers after pointing his camera towards them.

Mohamed Beltagy, an Egyptian MP who had been on the ship stated that the flotilla participants overcame three Israeli commandos and snatched their weapons from them. His admission drew heavy criticism in the Egyptian media for granting Israel a "public relations gift." Kenneth O'Keefe, a former Marine who renounced his American citizenship, said that the activists resisted the Israelis, and overpowered and disarmed three Israeli commandos, who were taken to the bottom of the ship after their weapons were tossed to the sea. He said that the activists could have killed them but decided to release them unharmed. Turkish doctor, Dr. Hasan Huseyin Uysal, who treated the soldiers for what he described as superficial wounds, said: "If people on board were so eager to hurt them, why would they not just shoot them to death once they had taken their guns? Why bother carting them inside for treatment? It just doesn’t add up."

According to Canadian activist Kevin Neish, tear gas and stun grenades were fired at the Mavi Marmara before the boarding began. He said that activists repelled an Israeli attempt to board from boats using water hoses and by throwing "nuts and bolts", that he witnessed "men fighting machine guns with three foot lengths of chain", and that three Israeli soldiers were taken prisoner. According to Neish, Israeli soldiers started shooting activists with live ammunition and advanced towards the bridge, shooting activists who tried to defend it, and that he witnessed activists killed "execution-style". Neish disputed the figure of nine dead, claiming that he saw sixteen activists killed.

According to Andre Abu Khalil, captive commandos were released after Israel agreed to airlift wounded. Zoubi mediated negotiations between activists and soldiers. Zoubi, an Al-Jazeera cameraman and at least three other passengers said that IDF soldiers refused to offer medical aid to several wounded activists who died shortly after. Dr. Hazem Farouq, a dentist and Egyptian MP from the Muslim Brotherhood said passengers could not find first aid and did not have material to treat wounds. Farouq said soldiers refused to allow men to carry the wounded and asked women to carry the wounded instead.

Israeli Army accounts

File:Activistboatclash.jpg

Snapshot showing activists beating soldiers, from a video released by the IDF

File:Peace activists throwing an Israeli soldier over board.jpg

Snapshot showing activists throwing an Israeli soldier to a lower deck, from footage released by the IDF

According to the IDF, Israeli commandos prepared to encounter political activists seeking to hold a protest, were armed with paintball guns and handguns as sidearms. The soldiers had orders to try and peacefully convince the activists to give up, and if not successful, to use non-lethal force to commandeer the ship. The commandos were instructed to use the sidearms in an emergency, when their lives were at risk. The commandos fired warning shots and dropped stun grenades prior to abseiling onto the ship.

Israeli commandos first tried to board the ship from speedboats. As the boats approached, activists fired water hoses at them, and pelted them with numerous objects, including a box of plates. The Israelis replied with paintballs and stun grenades, and activists picked up some stun grenades and threw them back. When the commandos tried throwing a ladder onto the ship to climb on board, activists cut it with a chainsaw. The boats then truned back, with some commandos injured.

The IDF then sent in helicopters with commandos on board, who were to abseil on the deck. Activists managed to cause further delay by seizing the first rope and tying it to the ship's antenna. The IDF reported that after rappelling from helicopters onto the deck of the ship, the commandos were immediately attacked by dozens of activists, and that some soldiers were severely beaten and stabbed. An IDF video shows the first four commandos abseiling onto the deck and then being attacked by activists with bars, axes and knives. According to IDF analysis of the video documenting the takeover, "the fourth commando saw his team leader on the deck, with a Turkish activist holding the pistol he had grabbed from him and pointing it to his head. He jumped from the rope and managed to shoot the gun wielding activist, 20 seconds after the first soldier landed on the deck". According to Major Avital Leibovich of the IDF Spokesperson's Unit, the activists attacked the soldiers with knives, slingshots, spikes, and clubs, and with pistols that were seized from Israeli commandos. Two Israeli commandos had their guns wrested away, and a commando said that there was live fire at some point against them from below deck. Two of the commandos sustained gunshot wounds. The troops said later: “We were fired upon, we fired back.” The Israeli Navy said they recovered 9mm shell casings of a kind not used by the Israeli commandos, suggesting that the activists had other weapons not seized from the IDF. They were reportedly thrown overboard prior to the Israeli commandos taking complete control of the ship. Major General Giora Eiland said that the IDF had found evidence of four instances of soldiers coming under fire, and that in at least one case, the fire came from weapons that were not stolen from commandos. Meanwhile, the speedboats again flanked the ship, and commandos managed to climb on board. They fought their way forward along the sides of the ship to reach the bridge, while being attacked by activists.

A preliminary navy investigation found that three commandos were temporarily taken hostage. The three soldiers had been beaten and were unconsious, and activists carried them into one of the passenger halls below. The soldiers were held in the passenger hall for several minutes until they regained consciousness and managed to join the other soldiers. A commando who had been severely injured and captured claimed that some activists had attempted to harm him, while others held them back, choosing instead to send an activist to take him onto the upper deck, when another Israeli soldier saw him and shot the escort with a stun gun, after which he jumped into the water and was rescued by an IDF navy vessel.

Stun grenades, paintballs, and tear gas were used in an attempt to disperse activists. This proved innefective, and IDF commandos continued to be attacked. However, after a soldier was thrown off the upper deck and sustained a severe head injury, the commandos requested and received permission to use live ammunition. The commandos opened fire, aiming towards activists' legs, forcing them to disperse. They then advanced towards the bridge, and shot at activists who attacked them. They reached the bridge and took over the ship after 30 minutes. IDF Lieutenant-General Gabi Ashkenazi testified to Israel's Turkel Commission that the IDF had fired 308 live rounds and about 350 bean bag rounds and paintballs. An aide to the general said that that 70 of these shots were aimed to cause injury, while the others would have been warning shots. Ashkenazi said that passengers took three hand grenades and a pistol from commandos they had overpowered.

Footage

Both sides released footage of the raid. The IDF released nearly 20 videos of the incident. Both sides were described as lacking context and confusing the issue of who initiated hostilities The videos were taken from Israeli Naval vessels and helicopters using night-vision technology. The videos appred to show activists hitting soldiers with metal pipes and a chair, and attacking them with knives and axes. One showed a soldier shooting an activist who was aiming a stolen pistol at his commander. A video also showed a soldier being pushed off deck by activists and thrown onto a lower deck headfirst. One video shows each commando being attacked by metal pipes and bats as he was lowered by helicopter. Other videos show activists beating one of the soldiers and trying to kidnap him. One video that displays the clashes shows one soldier firing a weapon shaped like a paintball gun. The IDF also released footage of wounded IDF commandos being treated and airlifted.

The IDF also showed footage from the ship's surveillance cameras, which displayed activists preparing for a clash hours before the Israeli Navy made contact with the ship. Footage confiscated from activists also shows them breaking off railings to be used against soldiers prior to the clash. Activist footage showed soldiers boarding from speedboats being attacked with numerous objects including a stun grenade and with water hoses, showed activists attacking soldiers as they rappelled down, and showed one soldier being beaten several times with a metal pipe and then stabbed in the arm. Other videos shot by activists also show casualties being evacuated below deck, and being treated for wounds.

A video shot on board by documentary maker Iara Lee shows the captain of the boat announcing over the public address system, "Stop your resistance … They are using live ammunition … Be calm, be very calm." Gunshots are heard. At the end a woman shouts, "We have no guns here, we are civilians taking care of injured people. Don't use violence, we need help." One of the activists shows the camera a waterproofed booklet allegedly taken from the Israeli commandos listing the names, with photos, of several key people among the passengers. Lee says the video was smuggled off the ship in her underwear due to the Israeli confiscation of all photographic and film material.

Other boardings

Israeli minister Avigdor Lieberman said, on the other five ships, "the people got off without a scratch." Numerous passengers aboard Challenger 1, Sfendoni, and Free Mediterrenean stated that the soldiers used tasers, plastic bullets, stun grenades, and beat up the passengers. A report in El Pais said that several people from other ships had also been wounded. Free Gaza organizer Huwaida Arraf, who herself was on the Challenger 1, said that some activists on the other five ships were beaten so severely they were hospitalized.

Sfendoni

Retired diplomat Edward Peck, who was on board the Sfendoni, said that the commandos were well-trained, and behaved reasonably well. The soldiers scuffled with a few activists trying to bar their access to the wheelhouse, but there were no major injuries, Peck said. Paul Larudee, a 64-year-old former linguistics professor from El Cerrito, California onboard the Sfendoni, was beaten and tased according to his family who said that Israeli consular officials informed them that Larudee, a pacifist, was beaten after refusing to follow the orders of troops.

Free Mediterranean

Swedish author Henning Mankell reported that Israeli troops abseiled onto the Free Mediterranean about an hour after the raid on the Mavi Marmara. Michalis Grigoropoulos, who was at the wheel of the ship, said that the Israeli commandos used electric shocks on those who tried to form a human ring on the bridge, along with tear gas and live ammunition. A reporter for the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung wrote that Israeli soldiers approached unarmed civilians with guns drawn and shot a 65 year old person with an electroshock weapon from a distance of ten centimeters. Mankell said soldiers shot "an older man in the crew, he was perhaps a little slow" with an electric gun, and another man with rubber bullets.

Challenger 1

The Challenger 1 accelerated its course in an attempt to allow journalists onboard to broadcast their photos of the ongoing raid. Huwaida Arraf, an American activist who was on the Challenger 1 reported that Israeli soldiers attacked those who tried to block them from taking over the vessel with kicks, tasers, and concussion grenades. She said that the Israelis smashed her face against the ground and stepped on it; later they hand-cuffed her and put a bag over her head. First mate Shane Dillon reported that Israeli troops used stun guns and paintball guns to subdue activists on board, broke the nose of a Belgian woman and beat another passenger. Australian photojournalist Kate Geraghty was tasered by Israeli troops aboard the Challenger 1, while attempting to photograph the raid.

Activist Huwaida Arraf reported that Israeli troops confiscated communication equipment, cameras and memory cards from activists.

Casualties

Flotilla participants

Deaths

Cevdet Kılıçlar, killed during the raid on the Mavi Marmara. Source: Iara Lee, Caipirinha Foundation

Nine activists were killed in the raid: Cengiz Akyüz (42), Ali Haydar Bengi (39), İbrahim Bilgen (61), Furkan Doğan (19), Cevdet Kılıçlar (38), Cengiz Songür (47), Çetin Topçuoğlu (53), Fahri Yaldız (43), and Necdet Yıldırım (32). Most of the dead were members of, or volunteers for the İHH.

The bodies of activists were taken to Israel aboard a missile boat, and flown to Turkey on 2 June. Autopsies performed in Turkey showed that eight of the nine killed had died of 9mm gunshot wounds, with one death from an unnamed atypical round. Five had gunshot wounds to the head and at least four were shot from both back and front. According to UNHRC report, six were the victims of "summary executions," including two shot after they were severely injured.

The İHH reported that the bodies had been washed before their return to Turkey. This removed gunpowder residue and made it hard to determine the shooting distance. According to the organization, the dead had been shot from up above and it was possible to determine which weapons were used. The nine were shot 30 times in total. "From the analysis of the bullet distance on one of the bodies," Dr. Haluk Ince, the director of Istanbul's Medical Examination Institute, said, "the gun was fired between 2 and 14 centimeters' distance from the victim's head." Doğan was shot five times from less that 45 cm, in the face, in the back of the head, twice in the leg and once in the back.

Eight of the dead were buried in Istanbul on 3 June; the last funeral was held in Istanbul on 4 June.

Furkan Doğan, 19, was born in Troy, New York to Turkish parents, and moved to Turkey at age two. He lived in Kayseri, and was according to some sources a dual citizen of the United States and Turkey, although most sources claim that he was a Turkish permanent resident, and a U.S. citizen only. İbrahim Bilgen, 61, was born in Batman. He was a politician of the Felicity Party, previously the Virtue Party, which he had helped found, until it was banned for its Islamism. Bilgen was a longtime resident of Siirt, and was candidate for Mayor during the Turkish local elections, 2009. He was a married father of six. Ali Haydar Bengi, a Kurdish man from Diyarbakır, was the chairman of Aydınlık Yarınlar İçin Hak ve Özgürlükler Eğitim Kültür ve Dayanışma Derneği (AYDER), and a graduate of Al-Azhar University. He owned a telephone repair shop in Diyarbakır, and was married and a father of four. Cevdet Kılıçlar was a journalist and website manager for the İHH from Kayseri. He was a correspondent for numerous Islamist newspapers. He briefly migrated to Germany after Turkish security forces had raided the offices of one of his newspapers, before returning to Turkey, where he continued his journalism, and was involved in Lifeline 3. Çetin Topçuoğlu was a taekwondo coach and champion, an amateur soccer player, and also served as a national judge for Adana Province. He had previously participated in Lifeline 3. Necdet Yıldırım was a member of the İHH from Malatya, and worked at a sports association in Istanbul. Fahri Yaldız was a firefighter and security guard for İHH conferences. He lived in Adıyaman, where he worked as a bodyguard for the Mayor. Cengiz Songür was a textile salesman from İzmir active in Özgür-Der, an Islamist organization. Cengiz Akyüz was an İHH activist and a decorator from İskenderun.

Injuries

The raid also left dozens of activists wounded. After the takeover of the ship, the injured were taken to the roof, where their injuries were treated. Fourteen field surgeries were performed on board the Mavi Marmara. Israeli Air Force helicopters airlifted most of the wounded to Israel, while the remaining injured passengers were diagnosed at Ashdod port and sent for medical treatment. A total of fifty-four activists were admitted to the Israeli hospitals of Hadassah, Sheba, Rambam, Ein Kerem, Beilinson, and Barzilai. Nine of the activists were in severe condition, and some underwent surgery at Rambam and Sheba hospitals. Several patients were transferred from Beilinson Hospital to Israel Prison Service medical facilities. The Turkish government sent Turkish Red Crescent personnel to Israel to treat them. In the following days, most patients were airlifted to Turkey after their conditions stabilized. The Turkish Airlines aircraft transporting them landed at a Turkish Air Force base, after which the injured were taken by ambulance to Turkish hospitals. Two seriously injured activists remained in an Israeli hospital receiving treatment from Turkish Red Crescent personnel, as their condition was judged too severe to fly them home. Both men were flown to Turkey on 4 June, still in life-threatening condition, and were taken by ambulance to Atatürk Hospital.

There were reports of scuffles at Ben Gurion International Airport. Ó Luain was injured when a row broke out with Israeli authorities but he was not seriously hurt. According to flotilla activist Fintan Lan Ken, an Irish-American passenger was beaten by security officials at Tel Aviv airport before boarding and had to be hospitalised.

Israeli military

Israel reported that seven soldiers were injured in the clash, two seriously. One soldier sustained injuries to his head and neck, and was unconscious for 45 minutes, and another one suffered a broken arm. An officer was shot in the stomach. Another officer was shot in the knee, and suffered a skull fracture and stab wounds to the stomach and hand. A Captain was also stabbed in the stomach.

Investigation for on-board weapons

The Israeli Army said that in addition to medical aid and construction materials, they found knives, clubs, slingshots, bulletproof vests, gas masks, and night vision goggles aboard the Mavi Marmara. A statement released by the Foreign Affairs Minister of Israel claimed that violence against the soldiers was pre-planned, and that "light weaponry" was found on the ships, including pistols that had been seized from IDF commandos. Israel stated that the naval forces "found weapons prepared in advance and used against our forces." IDF photos displayed daggers, kitchen and pocket knives, metal and wooden poles, flares, wrenches and slingshots with marble projectiles said to have been used against the soldiers. The activists were said to have also lobbed stun grenades at IDF soldiers, and the IDF furnished video reflecting this. An activist said that it would have been impossible to have firearms on board because "all the boats were carefully inspected by the government before they left the port of departure." Turkish officials supported the activists' account, stating that every passenger that had left Turkey had been searched with X-ray machines and metal detectors before boarding. Senior officials in the Customs Undersecretariat called the Israeli statements tantamount to "complete nonsense".

On 4 June Walla! reported that a senior IDF officer interviewed by Kol Israel radio, said that activists threw weapons and firearms into the sea, and that rifle sights and bullet casings that do not match IDF firearms were found on the ship. Fehmi Bülent Yıldırım said activists had rushed some of the soldiers and snatched their weapons, but had thrown them overboard without using them.

Israeli theft from passangers

Several passengers had charges made to their confiscated debit cards and cell phones. Israel pledged to investigate the issue. An IDF officer and three soldiers were arrested by Israeli Military Police and charged with stealing laptops and cell phones from passengers.

Conclusion of raid

Following the boardings, Israeli naval forces towed the flotilla's vessels to Ashdod, from where the activists were taken into custody by authorities, pending deportation. All activists on board were detained in Ashdod and Beersheba.

At least 32 activists were detained by the Israel Prisons Service, after they refused to sign deportation orders, including two who were wounded but refused hospital treatment. According to Henning Mankell, Israel confiscated their money, credit cards, mobile phones, laptops, cameras, and personal belongings including clothes. They were only allowed to keep papers. Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin described the arrests as "kidnapping" and questioned the logic of bringing the detainees to Israel only to deport them there, instead of giving them "unconditional release".

480 activists were detained and 48 were deported immediately. Reacting to intensifying international criticism of the raid, Israeli officials announced that all 680 activists held would be released, including two dozen Israel had threatened earlier to prosecute, charging they had assaulted its troops. A Turkish mother who had brought her one-year-old child with her agreed to extradition after she was advised that prison conditions were "too harsh" for her baby. One activist said they were not allowed to contact lawyers and were videotaped throughout.

Arab Knesset Member Haneen Zoabi was released on June 1. She attempted to address the Knesset, but was verbally abused by other lawmakers, who told her to "go to Gaza, traitor." She received multiple death threats by phone and mail, and was placed under armed protection after nearly 500 people signed up to a Facebook page calling for her execution. The Knesset proposed stripping her parliamentary privileges and there were numerous calls for her prosecution.

Four other Israeli Arabs who participated in the flotilla were detained and later released on bail. On June 3, the Ashkelon Magistrates' Court accepted an appeal for their release with bail, under the conditions that they remain under house arrest until June 8, and do not leave the country for 45 days.

Some the activists claimed they were beaten during interrogations. Mattias Gardell also said there was sleep deprivation and that he was beaten several times. They also said that treatment depended on their skin colour, ethnicity and if they had a Muslim sounding name.

The Israeli army says there were a total of 718 passengers on flotilla; the last one was released by June 6, 2010.

Delivery of cargo

Israel said humanitarian aid confiscated from the ships would be transferred to Gaza, but that it would not transfer banned items such as cement. At the same briefing, they said that they found construction equipment, including concrete and metal rods, that were not allowed into Gaza. The IDF said that all of the equipment on board was examined and none of it was in shortage in Gaza. According to Israeli and Palestinian sources, Hamas refused to allow the humanitarian aid into Gaza until Israeli authorities released all flotilla detainees and allowed building materials, which are thought to make up 8,000 of the 10,000 tons of the goods, to reach them. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said, "We are not seeking to fill our (bellies), we are looking to break the Israeli siege on Gaza."

On 17 June 2010, Palestinian authorities accepted the delivery of the cargo under UN supervision and coordination. However, Israel stated it "will not transfer to Gaza the weapons and military equipment it had found aboard the Mavi Marmara."

Return of ships

At midday of May 31, 2010 Israeli Navy tugboats towed ships of the aid convoy to the Israeli port of Ashdod, where the ships were impounded by Israeli authorities. NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen requested "the immediate release of the detained civilians and ships held by Israel." Of the seven ships detained in Israel, three of the Turkish owned ships were unconditionally returned. The Israeli Defense Ministry reported that two of the remaining four ships were claimed, but proof of ownership wasn't provided. Nobody claimed ownership of the remaining two ships, and Israel tried locate the owners.

Aftermath

The UN

On 31 May Israeli P.M. Netanyahu asked US President Barack Obama to veto any UN Security Council condemnation of Israel, but the president refused. At the UN Security Council, the US did however block demands for an international inquiry into the raid (similar to Richard Goldstone's inquiry into the Gaza war) and the criticism of Israel for violating international law, as proposed by Turkey, the Palestinians, and Arab nations.

Israel

On 2 June, Israel released over 600 of the detained activists. On 4 June, the Israeli Supreme Court upheld a decision of attorney-general Yehuda Weinstein to halt the police investigation of the incident. On 5 June, the Israeli government's press division apologized for circulating a link to the satiric "We Con the World" video that mocked activists on board, satirizing their purportedly peaceful intentions. On 13 June, Defense Minister Ehud Barak canceled a trip to France amidst threats of charges against Barak and other Israeli officials under the principle of universal jurisdiction. On 16 June, Israel added İHH to its terror watch list.

Egypt

Egypt opened its Rafah Border Crossing with the Gaza Strip to allow humanitarian and medical aid to enter following international criticism of the raid and a call for the border to be opened by Hamas's leader Khaled Meshaal. It is not clear how long it will remain open. According to an Egyptian security source, construction materials such as concrete and steel are still required to be transported via Israel's border crossings.

Turkey

On 4 June, a Turkish state-run news agency reported a possible trial against Israel in which the Turkish autopsy report would be used as evidence. On 29 June the İHH claimed that the attack on the flotilla was planned. Lawyers representing the Turkish victims and IHH wrote to Luis Moreno Ocampo, prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC) asking to prosecute the Israelis involved. Although Israel is not a member of the ICC, the lawyer said the Mavi Marmara was sailing under flag of the Comoros Islands and many Turks were on board, and both these countries were signatories.

Reactions

Domestic reactions

In Israel, the Israel Police and Israel Prison Service were placed on high alert throughout the country, Israeli-Arabs called a general strike in response to the flotilla raid.

International reactions

Main article: Reactions to the Gaza flotilla raid

Demonstration in Stockholm, Sweden

The UN Security Council condemned "those acts which resulted in the loss of lives" and called for a prompt investigation conforming to international standards. The UN Human Rights Council called the attack outrageous and dispatched an independent fact finding mission to investigate violations of international law. Unofficial responses included civilian demonstrations in Malaysia and Lebanon. There were also some rallies in support of Israel. Israel–Turkey relations reached a low point after the incident, with Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan accusing Israel of "state terrorism." Several entertainers canceled appearances in Israel.

Iran's Red Crescent organised an aid shipment that was called off after being informed that Egypt would prevent it from passing through the Suez Canal. B. Lynn Pascoe, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, cautioned "such convoys were not helpful in resolving Gaza’s basic economic problems and needlessly carried the potential for escalation". "Our stated preference has been and remains that aid should be delivered by established routes," the United Nations spokesman said, prior to new Lebanese ships sailing to Gaza on July 23, 2010, "There are established routes for supplies to enter by land. That is the way aid should be delivered to the people of Gaza." Israel's United Nations Ambassador Gabriela Shalev said in letter to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon about new Gaza-bound ships: "Israel reserves its right under international law to use all necessary means to prevent these ships from violating the ... naval blockade".

The Gaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation, a Libyan charity organization headed by Saif al-Islam Muammar Al-Gaddafi, chartered the MV Amalthea to deliver humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. The ship carried food, medical supplies and pre-fabricated houses and docked at the port of El Arish, Egypt on 14 July from where the supplies were reportedly to be taken to Gaza by road. The humanitarian aid and supplies were donated by Greek companies and charities.

Easing of Gaza blockade

Main article: 2010 easing of the blockade of the Gaza Strip

Following the raid, Israel faced mounting international calls to ease or lift its blockade. On June 17, Israeli Prime Minister's Office announced a decision to relax the blockade. This announcement received a cool response from the international community.

Three days later, Israel's Security Cabinet approved a new system governing the blockade that would allow practically all non-military or dual-use items to enter the Gaza strip. Israel stated it would expand the transfer of construction materials designated for projects that have been approved by the Palestinian Authority as well as projects that are under international supervision. Despite the easing of the land blockade, Israel announced that it would continue to inspect at the port of Ashdod all goods bound for Gaza by sea. Internationally, this decision received mixed reactions.

As of November 2010, Israel has failed to satisfy the commitment it made in June to ease its blockade of the Gaza strip, according to Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Ashton announced that inadequate amounts of goods are entering Gaza to meet Gaza's humanitarian and reconstruction needs. Ashton also called for Israel to permit entry of construction material that UNRWA requested to rebuild schools and to Israel to allow exports from Gaza.

Investigations

Turkey's foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, reiterated his demands for a United Nations investigation. He said: "We have no trust at all that Israel, a country that has carried out such an attack on a civilian convoy in international waters, will conduct an impartial investigation. To have a defendant acting simultaneously as both prosecutor and judge is not compatible with any principle of law."

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on June 5 that the IDF raid of the Mavi Marmara should be investigated by a New Zealand-led committee, with Israeli and Turkish deputies. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hoped the Israeli-led process would put an end to efforts in the United Nations to set up an international inquiry, which many Israelis fear would be biased. In Israel and around the world, some said the committee lacked sufficient credibility and investigative powers. White House backed Israeli internal inquiry into Gaza flotilla deaths and said that the Israeli inquiry meets the standard of "prompt, impartial, credible and transparent investigation". U.K. Foreign Secretary William Hague, speaking in Luxembourg, stressed the need for "a truly independent inquiry and a thorough investigation that the international community can respect." Dan Meridor responsible for Israeli intelligence services, told Turkish newspaper that there "will be international elements in the commission which is going to be formed".

The Israeli government said it would accept a limited role by non-Israelis in the investigation of the raid, but rejected an independent international inquiry, and said the country is able to conduct a credible review on its own. Analysts suggested that after the controversial UN-sponsored Goldstone Report, Israel lacks faith that the United Nations can do a credible job of investigating events related to Israel. An internal Israeli police investigation was halted by Israeli Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein. A group of Israeli Navy reserve officers issued a letter backing the call for an independent investigation.

The Turkel Commission

See also: Turkel Commission

Following the raid, Israel's government set up the Turkel Commission, a commission of inquiry headed by Israeli Supreme Court Justice Jacob Turkel, to examine the legality of Israel's naval blockade of Gaza and the flotilla raid. It has two (previously three) Israeli members, and two non-voting foreign observers. Turkey and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas dismissed the Israeli investigation, and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon repeated the demand for an independent investigation, stating that the Israeli investigation will not have international credibility. The 300-page Turkel Committee report found the actions of the Israeli navy in the raid and Israel's naval blockade of Gaza were both legal under international law.

The Turkish Inquiry

Turkey also established an inquiry into the events, which found, in contrast to the Israeli inquiry, the blockade and the Israeli raid to have been illegal. After the Turkish inquiry, Turkey described the raid as a violation of international law, "tantamount to banditry and piracy", and described the killings of activists as "state-sponsored terrorism". Concerning the Israeli inquiry, Turkey said its own commission was “surprised, appalled and dismayed that the national inquiry process in Israel has resulted in the exoneration of the Israeli armed forces”.

The UN investigation

On August 2, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced that the U.N. will conduct an investigation of the incident. The panel of inquiry will be presided by Geoffrey Palmer, a former prime minister of New Zealand. The four-member panel also includes Alvaro Uribe, outgoing Colombian president, as vice chair, and one representative each from Israel and Turkey. The panel will start its work on August 10. In a statement, Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said the country had nothing to hide, and that it was in its interest that the truth of the events came to light throughout the world.

The UNHRC fact-finding mission

On July 23, 2010 the United Nations Human Rights Council launched an independent fact-finding mission headed by three prominent international jurists to investigate violations of international law that may have occurred during the flotilla raid. In it's first report, submitted in September 2010, the UN fact-finding mission found that the IDF broke international law, and that there was evidence sufficient to initiate prosecutions for breaches of the Geneva Convention. In particular, the mission found clear evidence for prosection for the war crimes of "wilful killing; torture or inhuman treatment; wilfully causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health" under Article 147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. The report stated that: "The conduct of the Israeli military and other personnel towards the flotilla passengers was not only disproportionate to the occasion but demonstrated levels of totally unnecessary and incredible violence.” The U.N. Human Rights Council report accused Israeli commandos of summarily executing six passengers aboard the MV Mavi Marmara, and claimed to have found no medical evidence of IDF commandos being shot. The report recommended that Israel pay reparations, and also described Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip as "totally intolerable and unacceptable in the 21st century".

The United States expressed concern about the tone, content and conclusions of the report, while the European Union said that it should be transferred to the UN Secretary-General's investigation.

Other investigations

Turkey's Istanbul Bakırköy prosecutor's office, assisted by the Ankara prosecutor's office, has opened a criminal investigation. Possible charges, against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi, would include murder, injury, attacking Turkish citizens, and piracy. A spokesman for the U.S. State Department said, "We will look into the circumstances of the death of an American citizen, as we would do anywhere in the world at all times", noting that the FBI could get involved, "working with the host government", "if we think a crime has been committed".

The Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, an Israeli non-governmental organization, said that, based on laptop files and passenger testimony that a group of 40 "militant" activists boarded before the rest of the passengers, were not searched as they boarded, and that İHH President Fehmi Bülent Yıldırım had briefed this group with a mission of keeping Israelis from taking control of the ship.

The Foreign Press Association, which represents hundreds of journalists in Israel and the Palestinian territories, has complained that Israel is validating its own account by selectively using the seized video and equipment from reporters on board. FPA also criticized Israel's use of captured material without permission. Journalist Paul McGeough told his consul-general "we were robbed of any electronic equipment that we had" and that "Fairfax will fight this .. I could be back in Israel within two weeks to contest this." Israeli public radio reported that authorities had banned the media from providing any information about the dead and wounded, and who was taken to hospital in Israel. The censorship order was later lifted.

Legal assessments

Main article: Legal assessments of the Gaza flotilla raid

International law experts differed over the legality of the Israeli action in published assessments following the raid. Legal commentators generally agreed that Israel was required to respond with a proportional use of force in the face of violent resistance, but the degree of proportionality was disputed.

A fact-finding mission of the UNHRC claimed that Israel had broken international law. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay condemned the Israeli raid, saying it involved disproportionate use of force and that the Gaza blockade was illegal. In the United States, the National Lawyers Guild's International Committee said the blockade's effects were "manifestly excessive" to the conditions of a lawful blockade, and that Israel's blockade, and raid, were therefore not lawful. Richard Falk, professor emeritus of international law at Princeton University said that the "ships that were situated in the high seas where freedom of navigation exists, according to the law of the seas". Anthony D'Amato, a professor of international law at Northwestern University School of Law, said the raid was illegal and that a legitimate blockade would have required a state of war between Israel and Hamas, which he said wasn't the case.

Harvard Law School Professor Alan Dershowitz, Chicago Law School Professor Eric Posner, and Johns Hopkins international law Professor Ruth Wedgwood, said that the naval blockade and the boarding in international waters were in accord with long-standing international law, and comparable to other blockades in unrelated, historical conflicts. Dershowitz and Posner also defended the specific use of force as legal.

See also

• SS Exodus
• SS Struma

Film

Valley of the Wolves: Palestine is an upcoming Turkish action film directed by Zübeyr Şaşmaz. The film, which is part of the Valley of the Wolves media franchise based on the Turkish television series of the same name and is a sequel to Valley of the Wolves Iraq (2006) and Valley of the Wolves: Gladio (2008), sees Polat Alemdar (Necati Şaşmaz) and his team go to Israel/Palestine to track down the Israeli military commander responsible for the Gaza flotilla raid.

References

References with quoted text or translations

Further reading

• Bayoumi, Moustafa (Editor), (2010) Midnight on the Mavi Marmara: The Attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla and How It Changed the Course of the Israeli/Palestine Conflict. Haymarket Books, ISBN 978-1608461219

External links

• "Q&A: The Gaza Freedom flotilla" – The Guardian
• Report of the international fact-finding mission to investigate violations of international law, including international humanitarian and human rights law, resulting from the Israeli attacks on the flotilla of ships carrying humanitarian assistance, UN Human Rights Council.

Israeli response

• Communique from IDF Spokesperson with links to IDF videos, Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 31.5.2010
• IDF's YouTube channel's section of the Gaza flotilla raid – videos from IDF footage and ship's security cameras, YouTube

Activist response

• Flotilla Campaign Summary Report (İHH)
• Free Gaza website
• WitnessGaza Flotilla weblog
• http://gazaflotillasurvivors.posterous.com/
• http://gazaflotilla.delegitimize.com/