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Template:Campaignbox Arab-Israeli conflict The Gaza flotilla clash occurred in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea on 31 May 2010 when a flotilla of armed pro-Palestinian activists, unofficially sponsored by Turkey, attempted to breach the Gaza blockade and was intercepted by Israeli naval forces. Israeli forces boarded the flotilla after it refused requests to change its route to Ashdod's port. Five of the six ships were subdued peacefully. However, between 9 and 19 passengers of the MV Mavi Marmara were reported to have been killed in violent clashes with Israeli soldiers who landed on the ship, with up to 60 passengers and as many as 10 Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers wounded. The exact number of injured and killed are unknown because Israeli military censors have temporarily blocked the information.

The Free Gaza Movement's flotilla had planned to break through the Gaza blockade, despite Israeli declarations that they would turn the ships back and transfer the aid via land through Ashdod port. After the flotilla activists ignored repeated calls to turn back, Israeli soldiers armed with paintball rifles and handguns boarded the ships.

The boarding of one of the ships, the Turkish-flagged Mavi Marmara, turned violent, when activists attacked and beat soldiers with iron clubs while the latter were abseiling onto the vessel. A firefight ensued. The Israel Defense Forces said that the passengers fired on them, while activists said soldiers opened fire immediately after boarding.

Israel's actions sparked widespread international criticism and the European Union, the United States and officials from the United Nations called for an investigation. Palestinians demonstrating against Israel threw rocks and bottles at Israeli soldiers. The incident prompted demonstrations against Israel in a number of countries, with Turkish demonstrators attempting to storm the Israeli consulate in Istanbul.

Background

The six-ship flotilla, composed of Turkish, Irish, American, Swedish and Greek flagged ships, was organized to ship humanitarian aid, including items such as cement which Israel classifies as "banned materials", to the Gaza Strip, in violation of the Blockade of Gaza. The ships were owned or chartered by a number of non-governmental organizations, including the Free Gaza Movement (FGM), the Turkish Foundation for Human Rights and Freedom and Humanitarian Relief and the Greek Boat for Gaza.

It was the ninth time that the FGM had tried to ship aid to Gaza. Five aid shipments had been allowed through prior to the Gaza war of 2008–09 but all shipments following the war were blocked by Israeli forces. The latest flotilla was the largest to date, carrying 10,000 tons of humanitarian aid and supplies. It also carried journalists, European parliamentarians and 700 pro-Palestinian activists, including the Northern Irish Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mairead Corrigan Maguire, and the head of the Israeli Islamic Movement in Israel Raed Salah. Many of those aboard were Turkish citizens, though the flotilla also included activists from Algeria, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Kuwait, Malaysia, Norway, The Netherlands, Palestine, Poland, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Israeli spokesmen stated that the flotilla would not be permitted to reach Gaza but would be redirected to the port of Ashdod, where a special detention facility had been set up for the activists. Israeli officials also claimed that all non-banned 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. Activists aboard the ships repeatedly said they would not respond with violence to the navy's interception of their flotilla prior to the boarding.

Activist ships involved

• Challenger 1
• Challenger 1I
• Eleftheri Mesogeios
• MV Mavi Marmara (Blue Marmara)
• MV Rachel Corrie
• Sfendoni

Events leading up to the clash

The flotilla began its journey on Sunday 30 May 2010 from international waters off the coast of Cyprus, after the government of Cyprus refused to cooperate with the Free Gaza Movement, or allow activists to sail from its harbors, with the Cyprus Police stating that "anything related to the trip to Gaza is not permitted". The flotilla sailed after two days of delays, aiming to reach Gaza on Monday afternoon. The Israeli Navy made initial contact with the flotilla at 11 p.m. (23:00) on 30 May, 200 kilometres (120 mi) offshore in international waters, ordering the ships to follow them to port or otherwise be boarded.

The Israeli navy contacted the captain of the Mavi Marmara, asking him to identify himself and say where the ship was headed. Shortly after, two Israeli naval vessels flanked the flotilla on either side, but at a distance.

Just before the raid, the Israeli Navy again contacted the Mavi Marmara, warning it that it was approaching an "area of hostility which is under naval blockade", and telling it that it could instead dock in the Port of Ashdod, where the supplies would be delivered through the "formal land crossings" under the observation of activists, after which the fleet would be allowed to leave to their home ports. The Mavi Marmara replied "Negative, negative. Our destination is Gaza".

Boarding

Israeli commandos from the elite Shayetet 13 unit boarded the ships at around 04:00 IST while in international waters 64 kilometres (40 mi) off the Gaza coast. Five of the six ships were boarded peacefully and without any major incidents.

Mavi Marmara boarding

According to the IDF (Israeli Defense Force), activists on the Mavi Marmara responded with violence and soldiers were forced to fire in self-defense. The Israeli military released video footage to support this claim. According to Major Avital Leibovich of the IDF Spokesperson's Unit, the activists attacked the soldiers with pistols, knives, slingshots, spikes and clubs. A spokesperson for the Free Gaza Movement said in response that the activists were committed not to pose any violent resistance. "The only resistance that there might be would be passive resistance such as physically blocking the steering room, or blocking the engine room downstairs, so that they couldn't get taken over. But that was just symbolic resistance." According to Al Jazeera's journalist Jamal Elshayyal, a white surrender flag was raised from the ship and there was no live fire coming from the activists.

Israeli military's account

According to the Israeli military, activists armed with knives, bats, slingshots used for shooting glass marbles, and metal pipes attacked commandos as they fast-roped from helicopters. Soldiers were reportedly beaten badly, but attempted to fight back. The Israeli commandos said there were prepared to encounter political activists seeking to hold a protest, and were armed with paintball guns and sidearms. The commandos were instructed not to use the sidearms except in an emergency, when their lives were at risk. According to the Israeli Navy, the soldiers were told they were to verbally convince activists to give up, and if not successful, use paintballs. The army instructed the commando soldiers to use their handguns only under extreme circumstances. A soldier was said to have been stabbed and seriously injured. The Israeli military said that activists grabbed soldiers and tried to hold them hostage, stripping them of their helmets and equipment. An Israeli commando said "There was live fire at some point against us ... They were shooting at us from below deck." A second helicopter ferried in an additional 30 commandos who were also attacked as they descended. A firebomb and stun grenade were both thrown at troops. The commandos remained pinned down, and the planned rush towards the vessel's bridge became impossible. Commandos also boarded the boat from rubber dinghies, but activists beat their hands as they climbed aboard. Stun grenades were used in an attempt to disperse activists, but they continued to attack soldiers. Some soldiers had their guns wrested away, and one was thrown to the lower deck 30 feet below, where he sustained a severe head injury. After this, the commander of the operation authorized the use of live ammunition. Commandos pulled out their handguns and fired at the activists' legs, prompting activists equipped with firearms wrested away from soldiers to return fire. Commandos then began shooting to kill, and advanced towads the bridge while firing at attacking activists. The commandos reached the bridge and took over the ship after 30 minutes. Some fighting can be seen in the video released by the Israeli military of Israeli soldiers boarding the Mavi Marmara.

Flotilla organizers' and activists' account

Organizers of the convoy have strongly denied the account of Israeli military. Arafat Shoukri, of the Free Gaza Movement (FGM), one the co-organizers of the flotilla convey, said those on board one ship had called them by telephone to say that Israeli helicopters had arrived. "Then we started to hear screams, shouting, shooting everywhere," he said. "We heard some of them shouting 'We are raising the white flag, stop shooting at us'". He dismissed Israel's claims of activists having weapons on board as "cheap propaganda".

Due to communications blackout after attack, it has been so far difficult to get accounts from activists on board.

Sfendoni boarding

According to the Greek NGO Boat for Gaza, both the Sfendoni and the Mavi Marmara came under live fire.

Claims of weapons found onboard

Israel said there were weapons on board: "We found weapons prepared in advance and used against our forces". Activists said that would be impossible because "all the boats were carefully inspected by the government before they left the port of departure." Video footage was reported to show various weapons found on the ship used to attack Israeli soldiers. Turkish officials denied that weapons were on board, stating that every passenger had been searched with X-ray machines and metal detectors before boarding. Senior officials in the Customs Undersecretariat called the Israeli allegations tantamount to "complete nonsense".

Following the clash

Following the clash, Israeli naval forces began towing the flotilla's vessels to Ashdod, from where the activists are to be deported. Israel said humanitarian aid confiscated from the ships would be transferred to Gaza, but Israel would not transfer banned items such as cement.

A statement released by the Foreign Affairs Minister of Israel claimed that violence against the soldiers was pre-planned, and that several pistols and "light weaponry" were found on the ships.

Arrests

At least 32 activists who had been onboard the ships were arrested and incarcerated by the Israel Prisons Service after refusing to sign deportation orders, including two who were wounded but refused hospital treatment.

Deaths and injuries

Full details as to the exact number of injuries and deaths were not immediately available because Israel military censors blocked that information from the press. Early reports suggested that as many as nine of the ten deaths reported before the information ban was actuated were of Turkish citizens.

Activists

Reports indicate that between 9 and 19 activists have been killed and dozens more injured.

Israeli

Israeli reports say that between 4 and 10 soldiers were injured in the clash. The Israeli military reported that two soldiers had sustained gunshot wounds, and one soldier sustained a serious head wound and lost consciousness after being tossed from an upper deck by the activists.

Notable people onboard FGM flotilla

There were 25 EU MP's on aboard or planned to be aboard the vessels.

Legality of raid

Mark Regev, spokesman for the Prime Minister of Israel, has stated that "the San Remo memorandum states, specifically 67A, that if you have a boat that is charging a blockaded area you are allowed to intercept even prior to it reaching the blockaded area if you've warned them in advance, and that we did a number of times and they had a stated goal which they openly expressed, of breaking the blockade. That blockade is in place to protect our people."

Senior political analyst Marwan Bishara of Al Jazeera has stated that "Attacking other nations' citizens in international waters because they resisted arrest is not only illegal, but serves to demean international legal norms." Turkey, the unofficial sponsor of the mission has said through its Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, "this attack is state terrorism, violating international law." The Turkish government has requested NATO convene in an emergency session to discuss the incident.

Robin Churchill, a professor of international law at the University of Dundee in Scotland, said the Israeli commandos boarded the ship outside of Israel's territorial waters. "As far as I can see, there is no legal basis for boarding these ships," Churchill said.

Dr. Robbie Sabel of Hebrew University, an international law expert, has stated that "a state, in a time of conflict, can impose an embargo, and while it cannot carry out embargo activities in the territorial waters of a third party, it can carry out embargo activities in international waters. Within this framework it is legal to detain a civilian vessel trying to break an embargo and if in the course of detaining the vessel, force is used against the forces carrying out the detention then that force has every right to act in self defense."

On Monday, a group of lawyers including Avigdor Feldman, Yiftah Cohen, Itamar Mann and Omer Shatz petitioned the Israeli High Court, charging that Israel had violated the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea by capturing the boats in international waters. Robbie Sabel, the former legal adviser to the Israeli foreign ministry, told The Jerusalem Post that the state would almost certainly argue that the seizure of the vessels was an executive act with which the court was not authorized to intervene.

Navi Pillay, the UN high commissioner for human rights, said she was registering shock "at reports that humanitarian aid was met with violence early this morning, reportedly causing death and injury as the convoy approached the Gaza coast" and that "nothing can justify the appalling outcome of this operation, which reportedly took place in international waters." Voice of Russia reported that "Russia calls attention to the fact that the Israeli interception of a Gaza-bound international aid flotilla took place in international waters, which represents a gross violation of international law".

The Organization of the Islamic Conference, comprising of 57 countries, described the flotilla incident as "a serious escalation and a flagrant violation of the international law and human values." The organization further said it would initiate action at the level of the Security Council and the Human Rights Commission to examine the fallout of the attack.

Ove Bring, expert on public international law, said that Israel had no right to take military action. That is also supported by Mark Klamberg at Stockholm University.

Hugo Tiberg, professor in maritime law, states that Isreal had no right to attack the ships.

International reaction

There has been widespread condemnation of Israel's actions during the Gaza flotilla clash of 31 May 2010, while some governments refrained from criticism but merely commented on the death on board. Governments and international organizations deplored the incident and strongly criticized the Israeli action. .

See also

• 2007–2010 blockade of the Gaza Strip

References

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External links

• Video: Close-Up Footage of Israeli soldiers boarding the Mavi Marmara Israel defence force video – (YouTube)
• Video: Helicoptor Footage of Israeli soldiers boarding the Mavi Marmara Israel defence force video – (YouTube)
• "Gaza Freedom flotilla carried world-renowned names and veteran activists" - The Guardian (lists passengers)

• Current events from May 2010
• Military operations involving Israel
• International maritime incidents
• Political activism
• Current events
• Israel–Turkey relations
• Israel – United States relations
• Greece-Israel relations
• 2010 in international relations
• 2010 in the Palestinian territories
• Blockades