19 Killed As Israel Storms Unarmed Aid Convoy

[Jug Pilot]

19 Killed As Israel Storms Aid Convoy | World News | Sky News

Up to 19 people have been killed after Israeli commandos stormed an aid convoy sailing to the Gaza Strip, say reports.

Witnesses said the violence happened when Israeli soldiers boarded a Turkish ship that was leading the six-ship flotilla.

They opened fire after passengers attacked them with axes and knives, said Israeli private channel 10 television.

The Israeli army said at least 10 activists were among the dead.

There were unconfirmed reports that senior Arab Israeli Islamist leader Raed Salah had been severely injured in the clashes.

Sigh

[Stormlight]

I fully expect a strong condemnation of this terrorist attack. Any minute now.

[chunksmediocrites]

You are of course referring to the 600 terrorists trying to bring aid and comfort to the 1.5 million terrorist Palestinians, amirite?
BBC News:

Israel's deputy foreign minister called the Turkish-led flotilla an "armada of hate and violence in support of Hamas".

Danny Ayalon said it was a "premeditated and outrageous provocation" and the activists on board were intent on violence.

Yeah, evil activists! Submit to armed boarders in international waters like you are supposed to!

[Stormlight]

An armada of hate and violence. Awesome.

[Watser?]

Gush Shalom press release has a different version of events of course:

Press Release 05/31/2010

Uri Avnery: this night a crime was perpetrated in the middle of the sea, by order of the government of Israel and the IDF Command
A warlike attack against aid ships and deadly shooting at peace and humanitarian aid activists
It is a crazy thing that only a government that crossed all red lines can do

"Only a crazy government that has lost all restraint and all connection to reality could something like that - consider ships carrying humanitarian aid and peace activists from around the world as an enemy and send massive military force to international waters to attack them, shoot and kill.

"Noone in the world will believe the lies and excuses which the government and army spokesmen come up with," said former Knesset member Uri Avnery of the Gush Shalom movement. Gush Shalom activists together with activists of other organizations are to depart at 11:00 from Tel Aviv to protest in front of the prepared detention facility where the international peace activists will be brought.

Greta Berlin, the spokeswoman for the flotilla organizers located in Cyprus, told Gush Shalom activists that the Israeli commandos landed by helicopter on the boats and immediately opened fire.

This is a day of disgrace to the State of Israel, a day of anxiety in which we discover that our future was entrusted to a bunch of trigger-happy people without any responsibility. This day is a day of disgrace and madness and stupidity without limit, the day the Israeli government took care to blacken the name of the country in the world, adding convincing evidence of aggressiveness and brutality to Israel's already bad international image, discouraging and distancing the few remaining friends.

Indeed, today a provocation took place off the coast of Gaza - but the provocateurs were not the peace activists invited by the Palestinians and seeking to reach Gaza. The provocation was carried out by Navy ships commandos at the bidding of the Israeli government, blocking the way of the aid boats and using deadly force.

It is time to lift the siege on the Gaza Strip, which causes severe suffering to its residents. Today the Israeli government ripped the mask of its face with its own hands and exposed the fact that Israel did not "disengage" from Gaza. Real disengagement from the area does not go together with blocking the access to it or sending soldiers to shoot and kill and wound those who try to get there.

The State of Israel promised in the Oslo Accords 17 years ago to enable and encourage the establishment of a deep water port in Gaza, through which Palestinians could import and export freely to develop their economy. It's time to realize this commitment and open the Port of Gaza. Only after the Gaza port will be open to free and undisturbed movement, just like the Ashdod and Haifa ports, will Israel really have disengaged from the Gaza Strip. Until then, the world will continue - and rightly so - to consider the Gaza Strip under Israeli occupation and the State of Israel as responsible for the fate of the people living there.

This is piracy of the most blatant kind.

[Watser?]

[Watser?]

More than 60 activists from Jerusalem and Tel Aviv were denied entry into the port of Ashdod, to where the Israeli army announced it was bringing the ships and the hundreds of international activists from the Freedom Flotilla, brutally attacked by the Israeli navy earlier this morning (31 May). In the attack at least 16 activists were murdered and dozens injured.

The Israeli activists were denied entry into the normally open Ashdod port, the largest in Israel. Port entrances were blockaded and demonstrators were forced to attempt and demonstrate nearby, on a hill overlooking the port. Right-wing thugs arrived, however, and pushed the demonstrators out of the area while the Israeli police looked on and did nothing.

The Alternative Information Center - Activists from Israel Denied Right to Enter Ashdod Port, Demonstrate Nearby

[Gonzo]

I will now air my frustration.

Dear World,
Calm the fuck down. I am too tired for this. You are all idiots without a clue. Go back to bed before you hurt yourselves or anyone else. Unload your fucking guns, put down those knives, and try some herbal tea.
Thanks,
Gonzo

[LadyShea]

"We prepared (the soldiers) to deal with peace activists, not to fight,"

Israeli police say 16 Gaza activists sent to jail - Yahoo! News

Um, dropping soldiers from helicopters in International waters is considered a good way of dealing with peace activists?

[Watser?]

The Turks are really pissed off over this one, PM Erdogan called it state terrorism and NATO is going to be discussing it at their request.

BBC has a news page that is constantly updated. Activists have this to say about the ludicrous accusations of attacks by their side:

0845: Audrey Bomse of the Free Gaza movement, which organised the convoy, tells the BBC:

"I can tell you that there were no firearms - all the boats were carefully inspected by the government before they left the port of departure.

"You can't hide a firearm; I suppose you can hide a knife, but there's no evidence there was shooting, there was live streaming coming from the boats.

"You don't see any fire going past the Israelis, you see them coming out of helicopters and shooting immediately."

[Watser?]

Fuckdamn it, another double post.

[Jug Pilot]

Since this occurred in international waters, isn’t this an act of piracy? So shouldn’t the UN be condemning it?

If they waited until they were in Israeli territorial waters they wouldn’t be held accountable. That’s a pretty aggressive thought process. And now they are threatening Turkey.

Israel vs Turkey? I don’t think this would be a good idea for Israel. Turkey is part of NATO, if Turkey is attacked the other NATO members are obligated by treaty, to attack the attacking country.

So in theory it would be Israel vs

Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Now the US could exert some control, but the part that would make the kabuki theater fun to watch

The Berlin Plus agreement is a comprehensive package of agreements made between NATO and the European Union on 16 December 2002. With this agreement the EU was given the possibility to use NATO assets in case it wanted to act independently in an international crisis, on the condition that NATO itself did not want to act—the so-called "right of first refusal".[6] Only if NATO refused to act would the EU have the option to act. The combined military spending of all NATO members constitutes over 70% of the world's defence spending, with the United States alone accounting for about half the total military spending of the world and the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Italy accounting for a further 15%.

Add in Dollars are being replaced with the Euro as the standard makes it more interesting if Israel and Turkey go at it. (BTW, I haven't had time to write this up, and lost in the news, but we recently saw the first attack by a Financial entity with a WMD against a sovereign nation (EU) which is why France and Germany are clamping down on Hedge funds ).

[Watser?]

They wouldn't have gone into Israeli territorial waters anyway, but Palestinian territorial waters.

But yeah, technically the Turks could call it an act of war against a Turkish ship, which would mean a NATO-country has been attacked.

[Miisa]

From the outside NATO seems a little odd, almost farcical (in addition to being one side of a cold war front with no actual opponent any more), what with two NATO countries being heavily armed in the event of a seemingly imminent war against each other (Greece vs. Turkey).

[Dingfod]

There is the USA vs France thing going on too.

[Miisa]

Yeah, but that is just nose-thumbing and high school clique wars.

[Watser?]

Greeks and Turks have mellowed a lot in the last decade. And now they have a mutual enemy in Israel, they both canceled military exercises.

Meanwhile, the Turks seem to be willing to escalate this beyond what I figured:

Ankara warned that further supply vessels will be sent to Gaza, escorted by the Turkish Navy, a development with unpredictable consequences.

Turkey threatens action; Israel on alert - World - ibnlive

Unpredictable is putting it mildly...

[D. Scarlatti]

The best trained army in the world, and they got thrown overboard by peace activists -- whom were promptly shot dead.

[Watser?]

Yeah, I've already cancelled my Krav Maga classes.

[BigBlue2]

Turkey is (or was - relations have cooled recently, even before this incident) actually Israel's closest ally in the region. Pissing Turkey off this way is a mind-bogglingly stupid act.

[California Tanker]

Unpredictable is putting it mildly...

I'll lay $20 that the Turks will be instructed only to fire on Israeli vessels if fired upon first, and the Israelis will be given mirror instructions. Thus the next set of aid ships will be boarded as before as the Turkish ships sit there with their bluff called. Except hopefully with less violence.

The only way that would get out of hand would be if the Turks put troops on the aid ships themselves, but I very much doubt that would happen.

Since this occurred in international waters, isn’t this an act of piracy?

Technically, no, as piracy is a non-state action. Closest would be act of war, though the legal status does get a little complicated. For example, if we assume that Gaza and Israel are in a de-facto state of war (as I believe international courts have ruled) then the blockade is a legitimate tactic of war, and going to violate that blockade makes you a combatant. Of course, it's all far more complicated than that, but it's just another aspect.

NTM

[But]

Originally Posted by Watser?

Yeah, I've already cancelled my Krav Maga classes.

And booked seminars on Non - the art of violent resistance?

[chunksmediocrites]

Israeli footage here on BBC News showing the attempts to repel and fight the Israelis, and the Israeli troops fighting the people on the ships.

[D. Scarlatti]

BBC: The subtitles and circles on this footage were put there by the Israeli army.

Odd, Fox News didn't point that out.

[LadyShea]

How many times does Israel need to take nukes to a rock throwing fight before we label them rogue lunatics?

I read somewhere (can't find it now) that Israel is claiming they had non-lethal weapons. How did 20 people die then?