Courageous Spanish Judge Issues Arrest Warrants for Netanyahu and Other Israeli Officials Over IDF Sea Attack of 2010 Gaza Relief Flotilla
http://educate-yourself.org/cn/Courageous-Spanish-Judge-Issues-Arrrest-Warrants-for-Netanyahu-and-Other-Israeli-Officials-Over-IDF-Sea-Attack-of-2010-Gaza-Relief-Flotilla17nov15.shtml#top
November 17, 2015
Provocation’: Israel outraged over Spain’s Netanyahu arrest warrant
https://www.rt.com/news/322465-netanyahu-arrest-warrant-spain/
Published time: 17 Nov, 2015
Israel wants to quash an arrest warrant prepared by a Spanish judge for Benjamin Netanyahu over the deadly 2010 IDF attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla that killed ten people.
The Israeli PM and six other former ministers would be arrested if they set foot on Spanish soil.
“We consider it to be a provocation,” said an Israeli foreign ministry spokesperson. “We are working with the Spanish authorities to get it cancelled. We hope it will be over soon.”
Judge Jose de la Mata, who drew up the warrants, ordered the police and civil guard to notify them if any of the seven enter Spain.
Israeli Defence forces carried out a deadly attack [4AM on May 31, 2010] on the Freedom Flotilla aid ship Mavi Marmara, which was attempting to bring supplies to Gaza, in contravention of an Israeli-imposed blockade.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXs3zZT3xPU
Nine activists were killed during the raid that took place in international waters some 150km from Gaza, one more died of wounds later that month.
İbrahim Bilgen (61), Ali Haydar Bengi (39), Cevdet Kılıçlar (38), Çetin Topçuoğlu (54), Necdet Yıldırım (32). Fahri Yaldız (43), Cengiz Songür (47), Cengiz Akyüz (42),
and Furkan Doğan (18),
The tenth to die, Ugur Süleyman Söylemez, (51), died 23 May 2014, in hospital, after having been in a coma for four years. All of the dead were members of, or volunteers for the İHH.
1. Ibrahim Bilgen, 61, an electrical engineer from Siirt. Member of the Chamber of Electrical Engineers of Turkey. Ran as a Saadet (Felicity) Party candidate in the Turkish general election of 2007 and the Siirt mayoral election of 2009. Married with 6 children. (link - link - link - link)
2. Ali Haydar Bengi, 39, ran a telephone repair shop in Diyarbakir. Graduate of Al-Azhar University, Cairo (Department of Arabic Literature). Married to Saniye Bengi; four children - Mehunur (15), Semanur (10) and twins Mohammed and Senanur (5, pictured below). (link - link - link - link)
3. Cevdet Kiliçlar, 38, from Kayseri. A graduate of Marmara University's Faculty of Communications; formerly a newspaper journalist for the National Gazette and the Anatolia Times. For the past year he was a reporter and webmaster for the Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH). Married to Derya Kiliçlar; one daughter, Gülhan, and one son, Erdem.
See him participating in an IHH African relief project here. See his Flickr photos here. (link - link - link - link)
4. Çetin Topçuoglu, 54, from Adana. Former amateur soccer player and taekwondo champion, who coached Turkey's national taekwondo team. Married with one son, Aytek.
His wife, Çigdem Topçuoglu (below, right), was also aboard the Mavi Marmara, but survived. (link - link - link - link)
5. Necdet Yildirim, 32, an IHH aid worker from Malatya. Married to Refika Yıldırım; one daughter, Melek, aged three. (link - link)
6. Fahri Yaldiz, 43, a firefighter who worked for the Municipality of Adiyaman. Married with four sons. Sold his car to help finance the voyage. (link - link - link)
7. Cengiz Songür, 47, from Izmir. Married to Nurcan Songür; six daughters and one son. (link - link - link - link - link)
8. Cengiz Akyüz, 41, a teacher from Iskenderun. Married to Nimet Akyüz ; three children - Furkan (14), Beyza (12) and Erva Kardelen (nine). (link - link)
9. Furkan Dogan, 19, in his senior year at Kayseri High School where he was awaiting the results of his university entrance exams; hoped to become a doctor. Loved chess. Son of Dr. Ahmet Dogan, Assoc Prof at Erciyes University. A U.S. citizen, with two siblings. (link - link - link - link - link - link - slideshow)
Final update to this post, 21 Aug 2010.
Autopsies revealed the nine Turkish men were shot with 30 bullets and five were killed with close-range bullets to the head.
The other Israelis who have been issued warrants are ex-foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman,
ex-defense minister Ehud Barak,
ex-deputy prime ministers Moshe Ya'alon
and Eli Yishai,
former state minister Benny Begin,
and Israeli Navy commander Eliezer Marom.
The investigation began after Spanish activists that were part of the flotilla filed a criminal complaint against the Israelis involved in the raid. In June this year, the five year investigation was put on hold, but can be reopened if any of the suspects visited Spain.
A UN report slammed the deadly IDF raid: “Israel’s decision to board the vessels with such substantial force at a great distance from the blockade zone and with no final warning immediately prior to the boarding was excessive and unreasonable.”
South African police have arrest warrants for four Israeli commanders involved in the Freedom Flotilla carnage. An alert was circulated to South African Border Control system in September.
South Africa will liaise with Interpol Turkey to extradite the Israelis should they arrive. A court in Istanbul issued arrest warrants for the four in 2014.
Gadija Davids, a South African journalist, first made the complaint about the attack in 2011. She says she was kidnapped and assaulted before being imprisoned in Israel after the IDF stormed the aid ship.
“This decision has allowed us to hold these commanders, now fugitives from justice responsible to answer for crimes that were committed in the high seas,” Davids said.
Interview: 'We Are Not Terrorists,' Gaza Activist Says
May 31, 2010
http://www.rferl.org/content/Interview_We_Are_Not_Terrorists_Gaza_Activist_Says/2058141.html
At least 10 pro-Palestinian activists were killed after Israeli commandos stormed a convoy of ships carrying supplies for the Gaza Strip on May 31.
Greta Berlin, co-founder of the Free Gaza Movement, an organizer of the convoy, spoke with RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service correspondent Anna Zamejc about the deadly event.
RFE/RL: What happened this morning?
Greta Berlin: We were attacked by Israeli militaries. We were flotilla, six civilian ships and about 4:30 this morning Israeli "commandos," if that's what you want to call them, rappelled down off a helicopter and landed at least on the deck of the Turkish [ship], not sure about the other one, looked around and started to shoot at us.
They have killed 10 people that we know of -- that's the number I'm going to stick with right now until I get further confirmation. Then they commandeered the ships and forced them to go in the Ashdod port. They were several members of parliament on board, including MPs from Sweden, Norway, and Germany. We were 70 miles off the coast of Israel, they attacked us. That is a crime; they committed a crime on international waters.
RFE/RL: The Israeli officials say there were weapons aboard the flotilla to be smuggled into the Gaza Strip, which was the reason Israeli commandos stormed the ship. Is that true?
Berlin: I suppose, if you consider the paper and wheelchairs and crutches weapons, then the Israelis might have a point. Look, everyone on those ships was inspected before we left. The only weapons that were on board belonged to the Israelis. They might have planted them -- after all they stormed us and they killed us.
All you have to do is to look at the statistics what actually happened. We have at least 10 people dead, they were civilians! They stormed our boats! We have manifest on every one of those boats that say what is on those boats. And it was 4:30 in the morning when everybody is sleeping.
I will venture to say that Israel is lying about this, because the weapons that I saw coming on board this morning belonged to Israel.
RFE/RL: So you claim Israel planted the weapons after they stormed the ship?
Berlin: If there were weapons, they planted those weapons.
RFE/RL: You said that so far 10 people have been confirmed dead. What nationalities were they?
Berlin: I don't know yet, we have heard nothing. We have heard nothing from the ships, they've jammed all our communication, they took all our cell phones away, we have not been able to communicate with anybody since 3:30 this morning, Cyprus time.
RFE/RL: They were also rumors that Muslim leader Raed Salah is among the casualties. But this is something you haven't confirmed yet, right?
Berlin: Yes, it's what I've heard but we haven't confirmed it. Nobody has any firm information about people who were killed and wounded.
RFE/RL: This was not the first time you went to Gaza with aid. How many times have you sent those ships to the Gaza Strip and why was the last convoy stormed by Israel?
Berlin: Since August 2009 the Free Gaza Movement has gone nine times to Gaza. The first five we entered Gaza, we took members of parliament on our yard and nothing was done to us. There were many, many threats. Israel has threatened us all along, the last thing they want is for the people of Gaza to be free and to be able to rebuild their society. We went in five times, the last three were brutally stopped and we only had one boat.
A pro-Palestinian activist is evacuated to a hospital in Jerusalem.
So the Free Gaza Movement along with four other partners said: "We would not go back to Gaza again unless we have a flotilla. We need to take something substantive, not just sort of a token that says: 'we support your desire to be free.' We want to take back a substantive amount of supplies and take them into Gaza." And that's what we get.
Israel is terrified that if we open up a sea route to Gaza, Gaza eventually will be free and will have its own might to do its own trade. Gaza is the only territory in the world that has no access to its sea. Every other territory that borders water or an ocean has the right to its territory except for Gaza. We were trying to say to the world: a million and half people who live in Gaza are in outdoor prison and Israel has no right to do it.
RFE/RL: What kind of supplies do you carry on the ships and what goods were onboard the last flotilla sent to Gaza?
Berlin: That's another reason Israel is terrified. Because the small amount of supplies we brought in on the yard was very small, they were just tokens. We're coming in with 10,000 tons of supplies Israel refuses to allow into Gaza. Israel only allows 81 items into Gaza. They won't allow any rebuilding supplies, they don't allow paper, they don't allow crayons for the children, they don't allow jam, they don't allow chocolate.
We didn't bring anything in on those ships except items that were already forbidden by Israel and were forbidden for the people of Gaza could not rebuild their infrastructure. We had cement, water-purification systems, prefab homes, 20 tons of paper -- Israel doesn't allow the people of Gaza to print their own books.
So there wasn't any way that Israel was going to take this easily because we have said to the world that Israel occupied Gaza and they are treating people as so they have the right to commit a slow-motion genocide on them and it hasn't gotten in and we will still continue to try to do that, then we will be successful opening a sea lane from Gaza to the rest of the world.
RFE/RL: When it comes to people on board the ships, do you have full control over who enters them? There were six ships in the flotilla; Israeli media claim that people related to terrorism were on board one of the ships. What's your response to that?
Berlin: I can only speak for the Free Gaza Movement, we are one of five partners. Every single one of our passengers has been vetted. They had to have two recommendations before they get on board and we know exactly who was on board. But frankly, as far as I'm concerned, the only terrorist we saw this morning was Israel.
RFE/RL: So can you acknowledge from your side, that there were no people on board you would know of who had any links to terrorism?
Berlin: I'm the wrong person to ask, you need to ask the Turks. Because the people Israel is accusing of being terrorists, were on the Turkish ship. We are responsible only for our own passengers.
No, I don't acknowledge any of that. The terrorists that came on board that boat last night were Israelis. They came armed to the teeth, they killed at least 10 of us, none of them were killed.
For all I know, there was one wounded in some kind of a scuffle. But they do this all the time, they kill a hundred Palestinians to every one Israeli.
Now they're killing 10 peaceful activists who were showing up in blue jeans. That is no excuse. If they thought there were any terrorists on board, they could have boarded the boat the way they did last summer, arrested the passengers, taken them off to jails. They did not need to have this kind of force.
RFE/RL: What kind of consequences will this morning's event have?
Berlin: I do think that Israel is becoming ostracized among the world community the way South Africa was. Between the Lebanon war, Operation Cast Lead last year, and now attacking civilians on board what I call "ships of mercy," I think it's probably high time for the governments of the world to tell Israel, "You can't do this anymore."
We're doing this because the governments have refused to hold Israel accountable for its war crimes. So when governments don't do that, then civil society has an obligation do that.
This is why the Free Gaza Movement has been, in fact for the last two years to begin with, is to tell the world that Israel has no right to practice collective punishment on a people that are occupied. And Israel in fact is occupying them because they don't get anything that doesn't go through Israel first.
So this is a real challenge for Israel, because we are challenging their status quo of being able to hold 1.5 million people in prison.
ICC: Israel's killing of 9 Gaza flotilla protesters ‘not of sufficient gravity’ for war crimes probe
Published 6 Nov, 2014
https://www.rt.com/news/202643-icc-israel-war-crimes-flotilla/
The killing of nine Gaza Freedom Flotilla protesters in 2010 by Israeli forces lacked “sufficient gravity" to come under its jurisdiction, the International Criminal Court (ICC) said, adding that there was reason to suspect war crimes were committed.
"Following a thorough legal and factual analysis of the information available, I have concluded that there is a reasonable basis to believe that war crimes under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court were committed on one of the vessels, the Mavi Marmara, when Israeli Defense Forces intercepted the 'Gaza Freedom Flotilla,’” the International Criminal Court's (ICC) chief prosecutor Fatou B. Bensouda said in a statement. However Bensouda ruled in the 61-page report that any cases relating to the incident, which brought Israeli-Turkish relations to a historic low, "would not be of sufficient gravity to justify further action by the ICC."
The Israeli raid on Gaza Freedom Flotilla in international waters on May 31, 2010, killed eight Turkish nationals and an American of Turkish origin as the vessels tried to penetrate the Israeli blockade on Gaza maintained since 2007.
The lawsuit against the state of Israel was filed in The Hague three years later on behalf of Turkey's Humanitarian Aid Foundation (IHH) and the victim's families, with an authorization from Comoros Islands in which the raided vessel, the Mavi Marmara, was registered.
A lawyer representing Comoros pledged not to quit the case.
"This is a moral struggle that we're pursuing by ourselves. It's a legal struggle; a struggle in the name of humanity. This struggle isn't over," said Ramazan Ariturk, as quoted by AP. "We will object to a higher court at the International Criminal Court and we believe without a doubt that we will prevail."
Article 12(2) of the Rome Statute stipulates that the court's jurisdiction extends to crimes committed on board a vessel or aircraft of a member state and its territory. Turkey, Israel and Palestine are not members of the ICC.
Israeli lawyer Nick Kaufman thus claimed that Mavi Marmara was deliberately reflagged just before the flotilla set sail, to exploit a jurisdictional vehicle for the “continuing and obsessive ‘lawfare’ against Israel at the ICC.”
A 2011 UN report found that the raid was justified, but that Israel had used “excessive force.”
Representatives of the Comoros government, meanwhile, are planning to apply for a review of the decision, which “marks the first time a state referral by an ICC States Party has ever been rejected by ... prosecutors without even initiating an investigation.”
"It confirms the view expressed by politicians, civil society organizations, NGOs and commentators from many quarters that Israel has a 'special status,'" said lawyers Rodney Dixon and Geoffrey Nice.
The 2010 atrocity caused international condemnation and severely damaged Turkish-Israeli relations. Three years after the raid, in March 2013, Turkey received an official apology from Israel over the incident.
In 2012, the ICC declined Palestine’s bid for an investigation into the 2008-09 Israeli military offensive on the Gaza strip on the basis that Palestine was not a recognized state at the time.
The Mavi Marmara ship, the lead boat of a flotilla headed to the Gaza strip which was stormed by Israeli naval commandos in the Mediterranean on May 31, 2010, returns in istanbul in this file photo dated Dec. 26, 2010. (Photo: AP)
October 22, 2015
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak is being sued in the US over his nation's deadly raid on six Turkish boats trying to break Israel's blockade of Gaza in 2010, an event that still affects relations between Turkey and Israel.
The Turkish parents of 19-year-oldFurkan Doğan, among nine killed in the raid, sued Barak in federal court in Los Angeles on Oct. 16, claiming unlawful death and torture. Barak, Israel's defense minister at the time of the raid, was served with the papers on Tuesday after giving a speech near Los Angeles.
The Israeli Consulate in Los Angeles was unable to immediately provide a contact for Barak, who is still in the area.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon, based in Jerusalem, said in a statement that the lawsuit "is yet another attempt to abuse otherwise legitimate legal tools for the cynical, political purpose of attacking the State of Israel."
"We are confident that the United States will not lend its hand to such abuse," said Nahshon, who does not speak for Barak.
On May 31, 2010, Israeli forces raided a Gaza-bound flotilla of mainly Turkish activists, killing eight Turks and Doğan aboard the Mavi Marmara, the largest of the six vessels in the flotilla. Doğan was a US citizen born in New York who lived in Turkey with his parents.
A United Nations panel found the raid was "excessive and unreasonable," but it also blamed Turkey. The panel said Israel's naval blockade of Gaza was legally imposed as a legitimate security measure to prevent weapons smuggling but added that the killing of the nine activists was unacceptable.
The deaths deteriorated once-close ties between Turkey and Israel, but the countries have been discussing reconciliation in recent months.
Attorneys for Doğan's parents said Wednesday that they have been pursuing Barak for years to serve him with litigation, coming closest in France in 2010. "It's been an ongoing process ever since this happened to get accountability," said Rodney Dixon, a London-based attorney in Los Angeles for the litigation. "It's a major breakthrough."
Dan Stormer, a Los Angeles attorney also working on the case, said Barak is a "war criminal who led a massacre" and that Doğan's family deserves justice.
Doğan's parents have an uphill battle with the litigation, said Douglass Cassel, who teaches international human rights law and international criminal law at the University of Notre Dame. "All down the line, the hurdles are daunting," said Cassel, especially because a 2013 Supreme Court ruling imposed limits on the ability of foreigners to use American courts to seek accountability and monetary damages for human rights abuses.
The case also could be thrown out for political reasons and Barak may qualify for immunity, Cassel said.
Israeli soldiers accused manager and chair
07/11/2015, Saturday
http://mavi-marmara.ihh.org.tr/tr/main/news/0/israilli-yonetici-ve-askerler-sanik-sandalyes/2981
[Electronic translation into English]
ICC's Appeals Court, an application made by the prosecution on the grounds that Israel can not be tried in the ICC refused contrary finding procedure and returned to the prosecutor.
Although he admitted that the ICC Prosecutor Fatou Benasouda war crimes committed in the Mavi Marmara, the occupant is looking for legal ways to see Israel in return for trial in the ICC Court of Appeal. The court "without adequate analysis of the decision not to reconsider the prosecution of Israeli's prosecutor" by rejecting the prosecutor's objection to the reference made to it was declared that the quest for a way out of order.
Israeli soldiers and administrators to be remembered for crimes committed in the Blue Marmara ship on 14/05/2013 Comoros flag state of the ship Mavi Marmara on behalf of the State, he made reference to the ICC in the Netherlands-The Hague. Application file was added as a party to the Rome Statute in Cambodian side and Greece.
ICC Prosecutor, "Israel's Mavi Marmara attack in the war crimes he committed, to continue effective control over Gaza" occupier "is the status of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla in marine protected areas all participants in international law that the civil status of Israeli soldiers and of the passengers in the fleet Although he knew that the civilians carried out the attack that "had been identified. ICC Prosecutor identify this sorting "Israel's self-defense thesis that finding worthy of discussion" and mentioned that "when the autopsy reports of those who lost their lives assessment; from the beginning, from the feet, they were shot several times in the neck and at least five people were shot dead from gunshot distance, "he said.
The prosecution also victims of these crimes and the number of deaths in the off-peak rate will be the ICC's jurisdiction ("Gravity" principle) it decided that there was no investigative powers of the grounds.
Israel, remain exempt from prosecution for crimes committed in the Mavi Marmara, and does not eliminate the risk of impunity and questioned whether the account has entered into all kinds of intensive efforts to sustain the law does not recognize policy.
The decision of the ICC Prosecutor "Israel's Mavi Marmara attack in the 'war crime' committed by" although it has been determined "the severity of the crime" justification showing the Comoros against the termination end of the investigation the State Attorney and the Mavi Marmara victims lawyers on 29.01.2015 "War Crimes functioning Punishment of Israel "it had to petition. Preliminary examination of this appeal the Court observed in court Mavi Marmara had found the right lawyer. Although not place the Court of Appeal judgment procedure applying to the ICC prosecutor, had gone looking for a way to avoid criminal prosecution of Israelis. 06/11/2015 The prosecutor in the Court of Appeal that the reference to the date (yesterday) as his refusal, the Israeli authorities to prevent the prosecution and the defendant's chair to sit the soldiers had no legal grounds to remain.
ICC Prosecutor or bowed to pressure Israel to the ICC's caused him to lose all legitimacy, or no longer suitable as Israeli criminals to the ICC, the aim will be sat in the dock.
Mavi Marmara incident is not a separate case from the conflict between Palestine and Israel and the Gaza blockade. International Criminal Tribunal for the purpose of organization and responsibility 'to ensure justice. The establishment of the ICC, which has become a hope for many victims in the justice expectations. But the ICC since its inception has been criticized constantly because of his position in the proceedings to date. The Mavi Marmara file this clamp is fully contracted.
The ICC Prosecutor to investigate the attack scale, qualifications of offenders in cases where constant war crimes to the shape of the action and ignore evidence to show aggravating factor when looking at the impact should start to be tried immediately.
ICC Mavi Marmara technical information about the file:
Application Deadline: May 14, 2013
Applicant States: Comoros State, Greece, Cambodia
Crime: War Crimes
Accused:
1. Shimon Peres, President of Israel
2. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister
3. Ehud Barak, the Israeli defense minister Period
4. Avigdor Lieberman, the Israeli foreign minister Period
5. Gabi Ashkenazi, chief of staff of Israel Period
6. Alfred Eliezer Marom, Israel Period Navy Commander
7. Amos Yadlin, Head of Intelligence period İsrial
8. Tal Russo, commander of the Central Command İsrial Mavi Marmara attack
9. Other commands and implements all political, civil and military officials.
As many as 10 people killed after troops storm flotilla trying to break Gaza blockade.
01 Jun 2010
Al Jazeera's Ayman Mohyeldin reports from Jerusalem on the storming of the flotilla and its aftermath
Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, gave his "full backing" to the military forces after the raid, which he said "was to prevent the infiltration of thousands of rockets, missiles and other arms that could hit our cities, communities or people".
"I give my complete backing to the army, the soldiers and commanders who acted to defend the state and to protect their lives." He also said Israel regretted the loss of life in the raid.
Protests worldwide
Israeli media reported that many of the dead were Turkish nationals.
Hamas, the Palestinian group which governs the Gaza Strip, said the assault was a "massacre" and called on the international community to intervene.
The Hamas leader in Gaza, Ismail Haniya, urged Arabs and Muslims to show their anger by staging protests outside Israeli embassies across the globe.
The call came even as demonstrationsdenouncing the Israeli raid were being held in many cities around the world, including the capitals of Syria, Jordan and Lebanon.
Thousands of Turkish protesters tried to storm the Israeli consulate in Istanbul soon after the news of the operation broke.
Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, officially declared a three-day state of mourning.
The United Nations Security Council met on Monday afternoon for an emergency session to discuss the matter.
Oscar Fernandez-Taranco, the chief foreign policy official of the UN, called on Israel to end its "counterproductive" and "unacceptable" blockade of Gaza.
Live ammunition
Al Jazeera's Jamal Elshayyal, on board the flotilla's lead ship, the Mavi Marmara, said in his last report before communications were cut off, that Israeli troops used live ammunition during the assault.
The Israeli military, 10 of whose soldiers were reportedly wounded in the operation, said troops opened fire after "demonstrators on board attacked the IDF naval personnel with live fire and light weaponry including knives and clubs".
Our correspondent said that a white surrender flag was raised from the ship and there was no live fire coming from the passengers.
Al Jazeera's Sherine Tadros, reporting from the Israeli port of Ashdod, where the aid ships were taken after the assault, said the Israeli army was not giving any details of who had been killed, injured or detained.
"As soon as [the ships] land here, the goods [will be] taken [and] put into a terminal, and the passengers [made to] undergo extensive security checks," she said.
"[They will be] given the choice either to go home straight away, in which case they will be taken to Tel Aviv airport. Or if they resist deportation, they will be taken to a nearby detention centre where, we understand, they will [remain] for at least 72 hours."
More than 80 activists had been detained by mid-evening, Sabine Hadad, the spokeswoman for Israel's immigration police, told AFP.
"So far, 83 have been detained, of whom 25 have agreed to be deported. The rest are going to jail," she said.
Hadad said the Israeli authorities were expecting "hundreds more" arrests through the night.
Israeli defence
Defending Monday's military raid, Mark Regev, the Israeli government spokesperson, said the Israeli commandos came under fire from people on board the flotilla whom he branded as "violent extremists".
"Israel was totally within its rights under international law to intercept the ship and to take it to the port of Ashdod," he told Al Jazeera.
"Unfortunately they were met by the activists on the boats with deadly violence, knives, metal clubs, even live fire on our service people. They initiated the violence."
He said the people on board the flotilla were not peaceful activists.
"They are part of the IHH, which is a radical Turkish Islamist organisation which has been investigated by Western governments and by the Turkish government itself in the past for their links with terrorist organisations."
But Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's prime minister, said the flotilla was carefully inspected before departure that there was no one on board "other than civilian volunteers.
"I want to say to the world, to the heads of state and the governments, that these boats that left from Turkey and other countries were checked in a strict way under the framework of the rules of international navigation and were only loaded with humanitarian aid," he said.
Israeli 'cover-up'
Murat Mercan, the head of Turkey's foreign relations committee, said that claiming activists on board had links to terrorist organisations was Israel's way of covering up its mistake.
"Any allegation that the members of this ship is attached to al-Qaeda is a big lie because there are Israeli civilians, Israeli authorities, Israeli parliamentarians on board the ship," he told Al Jazeera.
"Does he [Regev] think that those are also attached to al-Qaeda?"
Dozens of activists were seriously injured in Monday's Israeli raid on the high seas [AFP]
The flotilla, aiming to break the Israeli siege of Gaza, was attacked in international waters, 65km off the Palestinian coastal enclave.
Avital Leibovich, an Israeli military spokeswoman, confirmed that the attack took place in international waters, saying: "This happened in waters outside of Israeli territory, but we have the right to defend ourselves."
Mark Taylor, an international legal expert, told Al Jazeera that every state, including Israel, has the right to self-defence.
"In situations in which the state feels that it needs to take an act in international waters to defend itself, it will do that," he said.
"But that doesn't necessarily mean that it's legal under international law.
"In this case, we're looking at a humanitarian aid convoy, with prominent people and activists, clearly not a military target in any way whatsoever."
'Dire need of aid'
Israel said the flotilla boats - carrying 10,000 tonnes of humanitarian aid - were embarking on "an act of provocation" against the Israeli military rather than providing aid, and issued warrants to prohibit their entrance to Gaza.
But Adnan Abu-Hasana, a spokesman for UNRWA, said the Gazans are in dire need of aid after Israel's war on the territory in December 2008-January 2009 destroyed buildings and infrastructure.
"We need hundreds of thousands of tonnes [of aid] to rebuild Gaza," he told Al Jazeera.
"We need more of building materials ... We need spare parts for machines in the agricultural and industrial sectors, for the fishermen, all these sectors are nearly collapsed.
"Eighty per cent of the Gazans are dependent on humanitarian aid coming from UN organisations such as UNRWA."
(CNN) -- The deaths of nine people during a raid by Israeli soldiers on a flotilla bringing aid to Palestinians in Gaza has once again brought worldwide attention on Israel's blockade of the area.
Who organized the flotilla?
The Free Gaza Movement, a Cyprus-based human rights group, brought together a number of organizations to form the Freedom Flotilla. The coalition includes the European Campaign to end the siege of Gaza. Another pro-Palestinian group, Insani Yardim Vakfi (IHH), a Turkish organization, also sent a ship. The flotilla left Cyprus on Sunday and had been due to arrive in Gaza on Monday.
Why a flotilla?
The Free Gaza Movement says it wants to raise awareness of what it describes as the "illegal siege on Gaza" by Israel. It says the blockade of Gaza by Israel is unjustified and that it denies Palestinians vital goods and services. "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 group says on its Web site.
What does the convoy consist of?
Six ships -- three passenger and three cargo vessels -- carrying over 10,000 tons of aid and 600 passengers from more than 20 countries, says the Free Gaza Movement. Most of the passengers were Turkish. The cargo consists of food, medical aid and other supplies including cement, prefabricated housing and educational equipment, the group said. The Turkish prime minister said Monday that the vessels were inspected before they left port in Turkey to make sure the cargo did not include weapons.
What does Israel say about the blockade?
Video: 'It's outrageous'
Video: Condemnation from Turkey
Video: Gaza flotilla boarded by Israel military
The blockade was imposed by Israel in 2007 after the militant group Hamas seized control of the territory. It is designed to stop the smuggling of arms into Gaza, the Israeli government says. Israel says the Gaza shoreline is closed to maritime traffic. Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev said Israeli civilians were plagued a year ago by rockets and missiles fired from Gaza that originated in places like Iran and Syria.
What does the U.N. say about the blockade?
The U.N. has described the blockade of Gaza by Israel as the "collective punishment" of the Palestinian people living there. The United Nations has repeatedly criticized the blockade and the insufficient flow of materials into the area for basic needs and reconstruction. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has warned the closure "creates unacceptable suffering, hurts forces of moderation and empowers extremists."
What goods does Israel allow into Gaza?
About 15,000 tons of humanitarian aid flows into Gaza each week, Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev said. Israel says it allows enough humanitarian aid -- including food and medicines - into Gaza for the people who live there and that the blockade is designed to stop Hamas from building or acquiring arms. Israel has never published a list of banned items but it has refused to allow into Gaza books, paper, blankets and reconstruction materials. The U.N. says 80 percent of Gazans rely on some form of humanitarian aid.
Why did Israel object to the flotilla?
The Israeli government described the flotilla has a "provocation" and said it was a political stunt. Danny Ayalon, the Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister, said: "The organizers' intent was violent, their method was violent and the results were unfortunately violent." The Free Gaza Movement said the flotilla's aim was to "challenge Israel's blockade of 1.5 million Palestinians trapped in an open-air prison."
Was there another route for this aid?
The Israeli government said it would allow humanitarian aid on the flotilla into Gaza through its normal channels. An IDF spokesman said the vessels "refused to comply with an invitation to come to Ashdod port where they could transfer aid into the Gaza strip." Audrey Bomse, legal advisor to the Free Gaza Movement, told CNN the group did not believe the Israelis would let the cargo into Gaza and that the cargo also included reconstruction aid which Israel does not allow into Gaza
How did things turn violent?
The Israel government says its soldiers faced violent resistance as they boarded the largest ship, the Marmara. The Free Gaza Movement denies there was violent resistance to Israeli soldiers, saying the soldiers immediately opened fire on unarmed civilians. Video released by the Israeli Defense Forces showed intense fighting on the decks of the ship.
What happens next?
The ships were escorted to the Israeli port of Ashdod and 15 people who had been aboard were taken to an Israeli prison in Beer Sheva, according to a spokesman for the Israeli prison authority. Meanwhile diplomatic tensions rise. Turkey recalled its ambassador to Israel, there was widespread international condemnation of the Israeli operation and the U.N. Security Council met Monday.
Have ships been sent to Gaza during the blockade before?
Yes, the Free Gaza Movement on its website says it has organized eight voyages to Gaza, "successfully arriving in Gaza five times." The group said its "boats are the first international ships to sail to the Gaza Strip since 1967."
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