First eyewitness accounts of raid contradict version put out by Israeli officials

[kpete]

Israelis opened fire before boarding Gaza flotilla, say released activists

First eyewitness accounts of raid contradict version put out by Israeli officials


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Survivors of the Israeli assault on a flotilla carrying relief supplies to Gaza returned to Greece and Turkey today, giving the first eyewitness accounts of the raid in which at least 10 people died.

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"It was extremely bad and very tough clashes took place. The Mavi Marmara is filled with blood," said Cetin, whose husband is the Mavi Marmara's chief engineer.

She told reporters that she and her child hid in the bathroom of their cabin during the confrontation. "The operation started immediately with firing. First it was warning shots, but when the Mavi Marmara wouldn't stop these warnings turned into an attack," she said.

"There were sound and smoke bombs and later they used gas bombs. Following the bombings they started to come on board from helicopters."

more:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jun/01/gaza-flotilla-eyewitness-accounts-gunfire



UPDATE TO ADD:
MK Zoabi: Israel carried out provocative military operation

Published: 06.01.10, 13:21 / Israel News

Knesset Member Hanin Zoabi (Balad) who participated in the international flotilla to the Gaza Strip said, "It was clear from the size of the force that boarded the ship that the purpose was not only to stop this sail, but to cause the largest possible number of fatalities in order to stop such initiatives in the future."


At a press conference in Nazareth, Zoabi said, 'Our goal was to break the siege. We had no plans for a confrontation. Israel carried out a provocative military operation. Israel is used to doing as it pleases with the Palestinians. The main problem is not the ship, but the siege." (Roee Nahmias)

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3897360,00.html

[conscious evolution]

1. Kicking for exposure

[itsrobert]

2. Wouldn't they be the second eye witnesses?

As Israel had eyewitnesses put out their accounts first?

[PDJane]

3. Yes, of course.

It's highly unlikely that the aid flotilla would bring in weapons and fighters. What is Israel protecting itself against? People with peace and empathy in their hearts? An 85-year-old holocaust survivor? A retired diplomat? A nobel peace prize winner? A bunch of European parliamentarians?

No. This is an illegal operation designed to keep a barely-fed population under the thumb of the Israelis. The whole blockade is illegal; it's not their waters that they are patrolling.

What in hell are they 'protecting themseles' against?

[Mari333]

4. the whole world is watching. knr

[GodlessBiker]

8. +1

[David__77]

5. The pressure is now on the Palestinians to seize the opportunity.

I am doubtful that they will. They would be wise to dissolve the PA and declare their intention to seek rights as citizens of the state of Israel through a peaceful civil rights struggle. It matters little if this would be or would not be their long-term strategic aim, but to do so at this point would have devastating implications for Israel's current policies and create tremendous pressure for settlement on terms more favorable to Palestinians than what could be imagined now.

I'm noting this now, because I believe this will happen. The demands for a unitary state will be growing over the coming months. If only the Palestinians had the political discipline to pull such a strategic move off.

[atreides1]

6. Great Idea

But the Israelis will never allow it. And the only way a civil rights struggle will be effective is if you aren't limited to where you can protest.


The Israeli government will shut down all the crossings from both Gaza and the West Bank, preventing any protests that the Palestinians might even consider.

[David__77]

7. In this world today, the flow of information couldn't be halted.

I do not think it wise for Palestinians to engage in hopeless battles with stones and slingshots, or futile fights with AK-47s or grenades. It is wise to rise up as thousands, in groups of tens or so if need be, and confront the Israeli authorities at all places they are present. They can learn a lot of S. Africa. It wasn't ultimately the low-level armed struggle of the ANC that brought down apartheid, it was other forms of resistance that hit the state economically. Dissolve the PA and let the Israeli state assume the economic burden of providing for the millions in West Bank and Gaza.