10 killed in Israeli raid on aid ships

Live coverage on BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/10196585.stm

The Israelis fucked up with this. They should have been better prepared for the option of violent resistance, though all the other ships were overtaken with no violence.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bU12KW-XyZE&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buzOWKxN2co&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nRbcwnp-l8&feature=player_embedded

I am sure Israel will have an excuse..


whatever!

At the end of the day, was there any WMDs found on the ships?

Here is a witness account
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3896796,00.html
Several days ago Haniyeh said, this was a victory for his gov in either case
http://www.jpost.com/Home/Article.aspx?id=176812

Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas said Saturday the flotilla carrying aid and activists to Gaza is a victory for his government and signals the end of the Israeli naval blockade, whether it reaches its destination or is intercepted by the Israeli navy.

"If the ships reach Gaza, it's a victory for Gaza," Haniyeh told some 400 supporters after touring Gaza City's small fishing harbor, where several smaller vessels breaking the blockade have docked in the past. "If they are intercepted and terrorized by the Zionists, it will be a victory for Gaza, too, and they will move again in new ships to break the siege of Gaza."

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The son of a bitch must be laughing his ass off right now

Sky (UK's Fox) refers to the people on the ship as 'activists'.

And so it begins

Why? They are 'activists'. The main groups behind this are ISM and IHH
Here is another video up close (Michael, that's for you)
http://elderofziyon.blogspot.com/2010/05/new-video-of-soldiers-being-beaten-with.html
Here is a video of the 'activists' before the trip chanting "Chaibar, Chaibar..." (for those unfamiliar, this is a reference to Mohammed's slaughter of Jews in the 7th century)
http://elderofziyon.blogspot.com/2010/05/peace-activists-threatened-jews-before.html
And here is the account of soldiers, including a nice picture of "peace activist" sporting a knife
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diploma...flotilla-activists-tried-to-lynch-us-1.293089

EDIT: Just to be clear here. I hold the Israeli commanders fully responsible for lack of professionalism, for coming unprepared to this eventuality and for allowing the situation to escalate to the need of deadly force that had lead to unneeded loss of life. This being said, let's not pretend that those on board were harmless peace activists.

Which one? In my first post? Yes it worked. In the last post? The link goes to a blog post with the video embedded because the direct link to youtube requires age verification.

http://www.commentarymagazine.com/blogs/index.php/hazony/303751

UPDATE: A good friend of mine is a nurse who was on duty in the emergency room at a Jerusalem hospital when some of the injured “activists” were brought in. She tells me that many of them are wearing camouflage. “Not sure they were official Turkish army clothes,” she says, “but they weren’t civilian dress, that’s for sure.”

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There are additional videos of the attack circulating, but they are somewhat hard to see and discern above the fact that the soldiers were attacked as they landed. The video I posted in post 9 is the best I've seen.

Do peace activists ever have a problem with Hamas firing rockets indiscriminately into Israel?

I imagine the do. They just also have a problem with Gaza being blockaded so normal people who live there can't get basic building supplies and medicines.

No side it all right or all wrong, but jumping on a ship full of aid supplies and celebri-activists (inclduing a Noble Prize winner) in international waters was not a genius decision. I don't see why this type of non-military material is blockaded.

I don't get the outrage, just watched the video and those soldiers could easily have been killed.

The activists seemed to be close to beating the soldiers to death with metal bars and chairs etc.

The soldiers needed to defend themselves and that's what they did.

The soldiers wouldn't have had to defend themselves if they stayed off the ships.

I'm all for doing as much as legally possible to prevent terrorists attacks but, as Veinglory said, blockades hurt normal people trying to lead normal lives.

veinglory said:

I imagine the do. They just also have a problem with Gaza being blockaded so normal people who live there can't get basic building supplies and medicines.

No side it all right or all wrong, but jumping on a ship full of aid supplies and celebri-activists (inclduing a Noble Prize winner) in international waters was not a genius decision. I don't see why this type of non-military material is blockaded.

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Look, this wasn't about aid. First, Israel lets through vast amounts of aid. Second, the flotilla were repeatedly offered, including just before they were boarded, to go to Ashdod and to superwise the passage of their aid through the land crossings after inspection (the last time such a flotilla was stopped, all the supplies were passed through the crossings). So, this wasn't about aid.

It wasn't about human rights either. The father of Gilad Shalit offered to support their mission if they took a letter and a package for his son. They refused out of hand. I also posted a link as to who exactly was behind this flotilla (hint, the Nobel laureate and others like him were a front), and what exactly they chanted just a day before they sailed, so this wasn't about peace either. This was a pr stunt intended to play into Hamas's hands, but one of the ships (strange how there were casualties only on a ship where people had attacked the soldiers with metal rods, knives and guns, isn't it?) came to spoil for a fight (despite the claims by the organisers that they wouldn't violently resist).

P.S. A video of the weapons on board of the vessel where the fighting took place
http://elderofziyon.blogspot.com/2010/05/video-of-weapons-found-aboard-terror.html

firedrake said:

The soldiers wouldn't have had to defend themselves if they stayed off the ships.

I'm all for doing as much as legally possible to prevent terrorists attacks but, as Veinglory said, blockades hurt normal people trying to lead normal lives.

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The blockade is legal and Israel is entitled to enforce it.
http://www.icrc.org/ihl.nsf/385ec082b509e76c41256739003e636d/7694fe2016f347e1c125641f002d49ce

67. Merchant vessels flying the flag of neutral States may not be attacked unless they:

(a) are believed on reasonable grounds to be carrying contraband or breaching a blockade, and after prior warning they intentionally and clearly refuse to stop, or intentionally and clearly resist visit, search or capture;

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Zefiris said:

I don't get the outrage, just watched the video and those soldiers could easily have been killed.

The activists seemed to be close to beating the soldiers to death with metal bars and chairs etc.

The soldiers needed to defend themselves and that's what they did.

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As far as I've been able to make out from news reports, the soldiers dropped onto those ships in international waters, ie they were acting as invaders, not defenders.

dmytryp said:

Look, this wasn't about aid. First, Israel lets through vast amounts of aid.

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It does?

How much?

it's just I'm a little curious, unless the media is so anti-Israeli they go out of their way to find the one or two impoverished Palestinian settlements in the Gaza or West Bank.

International law allows to enforce blockade in international waters (not in waters of a neutral party). Or do you think that the Cuban blockade during the missile crisis was unlawful?

firedrake said:

It does?

How much?

it's just I'm a little curious, unless the media is so anti-Israeli they go out of their way to find the one or two impoverished Palestinian settlements in the Gaza or West Bank.

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Interersing you ask. People had been warning of the "imminent humanitarian crisis" in Gaza for over 10 years, yet nobody yet died of hunger. Strange.
As to the amounts of aid
http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Humanitar...ian_aid_Gaza_after_IDF_operation_Jan_2009.htm
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=287169
(140 truckloads today)
There was also an article (I'll find it later) about how the excess of goods coming through the tunnels forces the prices down
There are other things as well. Don't get me wrong, the life of average Gazan is very hard, but not as hard as some would like to portray, and it is to a very large extent stems from their government (Hamas)

EDIT: I hadn't noticed your reference to the WB earlier. It is another animal altogether. There are plenty of reports about economic revival there.

To the extent the activists tried to run a blockade some of the responsibility lies upon their decision, but no way does Israel get a pass for killing and wounding them in order to prevent them getting food and medical supplies to Gaza.

Israel acts as if they can do whatever they want as long as they throw in the word "security" into the equation. That goes out the window when unarmed people are gunned down.

Israel should be roundly condemned for this act of aggression. They are acting with the same disdain for international law and human rights that they accuse their enemies of doing.