Israel Hijacks Aid cargo, executes hostages - Pak journo, Talat Hussain taken hostage

[Marxist]

Israel attacked ships "without warning", freed activists say

AMMAN, June 2 (Reuters) - Israeli naval commandos used batons, tear gas, stun grenades, rubber-coated bullets and live ammunition during the storming of aid ships bound for Gaza, activists deported by Israel to Jordan said on Wednesday.

"The Israelis just attacked us without warning after dawn prayer," said Norazma Abdullah, a Malaysian who was among 124 activists who crossed into Jordan at about 7.30 a.m. (0430 GMT).

"They fired with some rubber bullets but after some time they used live ammunition. Five were dead on the spot and after that we surrendered," said Abdullah, who was on the Turkish vessel Mavi Marmara where most of the violence took place.

Abdullah, speaking to Reuters near a Jordan river bridge, said the Israeli commandos had then kept the activists tied up for 15 hours until they reached the Israeli port of Ashdod.

Nine people were killed during Monday's raid on a six-ship convoy trying to deliver humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, where 1.5 million Palestinians are under an Israeli blockade.

Israel says activists attacked its commandos as they came aboard the Turkish vessel, forcing them to shoot in self-defence after activists clubbed and stabbed them and snatched some of their weapons.

Abdullah said the Turkish-backed flotilla had been more than 68 miles off the Gaza coast when it was intercepted.

"Our original plan was to stop there and ask for Israeli permission before we entered and, if they refused, to stay at sea in protest ... but they attacked us before we had a chance to do that," Abdullah added.

The activists expelled to Jordan included nationals from Kuwait, Algeria, Lebanon, Malaysia and Indonesia. They were among 682 detained during the Israeli operation.

Abdul Rahman Failakawee, a Kuwaiti, said the Israelis had used an array of weaponry to subdue those on board the convoy.

"The attack was totally barbaric," he said by telephone from a bus taking the freed activists to Amman. "They used legitimate and maybe illegitimate weapons: rubber bullets, live ammunition, sound bombs and tear gas bombs. They also used batons as they landed to beat those on board to control the ship."

Archbishop Hilarian Capucci, a Greek Catholic prelate from Jerusalem who was imprisoned by Israel in 1974 and later deported, said the maritime attack was unwarranted.

"Our trip to Gaza was a trip of love and God was with us. Israel by its actions had rightly drawn world outrage over its brutality against unarmed people carrying a message of love to an innocent occupied people under seige," Capucci said.

Reuters AlertNet - Israel attacked ships "without warning", freed activists say

 

[Ahmad]

Mr.Genius,
you obviously don't understand English. (oh, sorry I forgot it's not your first language, old joke )
INNOCENT until proven GUILTY.
What YOU'RE doing is accusing Israel of being guilty, and calling them terrorists.

good logic and i need to put back the same thing to you. the same thing can be said about hamas.

 

[SpArK]

More aid ships headed to Gaza

Detained activists from the Gaza-bound flotilla flash victory signs as their bus arrives at Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv on Wednesday. The Free Gaza Movement said more ships are headed to the region, as Israel quickened its expulsion of detained activists.

The Free Gaza Movement was on Wednesday preparing to send more aid ships to Gaza, amid claims that Israel may have sabotaged the aid flotilla, one of the founders of the pro-Palestinian movement told DPA.

The Irish cargo-ship MV Rachel Corrie could reach Gaza within two weeks, said Greta Berlin. Among the activists on board was Irish Nobel Peace laureate Mairead Corrigan Maguire Helen as well as former UB assistant secretary general Dennis Halliday.

Ms. Berlin refused to give the exact position of the vessel as she said the movement suspected Israel had been trying to sabotage the aid flotilla bound for Gaza.

The MS Rachel Corrie had been set to join the convoy headed by the Turkish Marvi Marmara but had suffered sudden damage, forcing it to interrupt its voyage at Cyprus. Another two vessels, the Challenger I and Challenger II had also malfunctioned suddenly, Ms. Berlin said.

Inspections of the ships had shown that the electric wires may have been tampered with, Ms. Berlin said, adding they were still awaiting the results of a full investigation.

The rest of the convoy headed by the Marvi Marmara was on Monday forcefully intercepted by Israel. Nine activists were killed when Israeli soldiers stormed the boats, prompting a wave of international outrage against Israel’s operation.

Four of the dead have so far been identified as Turks, Turkish officials said on Wednesday.

Ms. Berlin’s remarks followed comments by Israeli Deputy Defence Minister Matan Vilnai on Israel Radio, clearly hinting Israel took covert action to sabotage the convoy.

Asked whether there had been alternatives to an assault, Mr. Vilnai said, “All possibilities had been considered,” adding “the fact is that there were fewer than the 10 ships that were supposed to participate in the flotilla”.

The Irish cargo ship is loaded with 1,200 tonnes of aid earmarked for Gaza, including 560 tonnes of cement, 100 tonnes of medical equipment among them CAT scanners, a dental office and 200 electric and regular wheelchairs, as well as papers, sports gear and crayons for children.

“We’re determined to continue with sending boats to Gaza,” Ms. Berlin said.

She rejected Israel’s charges that the activists on board the Mavi Marmara had initiated the violence by attacking the Israeli commandos landing on deck from helicopters with iron rods, chairs and knives.

The Israelis had started to shoot into the crowd for no justifiable reasons, she said.

“And for anyone to be so awful as to says that some sticks are a match for machine guns, stun guns, teargas cannisters and a heavily armed Israeli militia that’s boarding our ships in international waters has a serious issue with who is the real terrorist,” she said.

Israel on Wednesday released 449 of the some 600 foreign activists who had been on board the Gaza aid flotilla and were subsequently detained by Israel in a prison in the south of the country, a spokeswoman for Israel Prison Service told DPA.

They included 123 nationals from Arab states, among them Jordanians and Kuwaitis, who were taken on busses to Israel’s Allenby border crossing over the River Jordan with Israel’s eastern neighbour over night.

The rest were taken to Israel’s Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv for deportation abroad, most of them Turks.

Israel also said it dispatched 10 truckloads of the aid on board the flotilla to the Kerem Shalom crossing point for transportation into Gaza over land, including medical equipment, wheel chairs, and some food, Major Guy Inbar told DPA.



The Hindu : News / International : More aid ships headed to Gaza

 

[JonAsad]

LOL .. dont go off topic now

i asked them to defend israel now..
what do you find off topic in it?

off topic will be if i say defend Pakistan now? isnt it?

 

[SpArK]

i asked them to defend israel now..
what do you find off topic in it?

off topic will be if i say defend Pakistan now? isnt it?

Okay.. MR. Instructor i will convey the message to them.

 

[JonAsad]

Okay.. MR. Instructor i will convey the message to them.

Thank You.. i appreciate it

 

[Xeric]

Under fire for attacking aid flotilla, Israel drags India, Pak into row

Under fire for attacking aid flotilla, Israel drags India, Pak into row - Middle East - World - The Times of India

Tsk tsk.. this is how israel repay the indian cyber-warriors.

 

[EjazR]

Indian-origin aid worker on ship attacked by Israel - Indians Abroad - World - The Times of India

LONDON: An Indian-origin British aid worker is on the ship that was part of the Gaza-bound flotilla attacked by Israel. His family, anxiously waiting for news about his whereabouts, says it was as though their worst nightmares were coming true.

Hours before the troops moved in on Monday, Ismail Adam Patel, an optician based in the Oadby area of Leicester, posted a video on YouTube describing how they were surrounded by Israeli navy forces.

He can be seen standing on deck with a lifejacket and saying: "At the moment, we can see three frigates and a helicopter is hovering overhead, despite the fact we are in international waters, some 100 miles from the shores of Israel. We call upon everybody in Britain to help us to raise the alarm and get our government to intervene."

Patel is one of 28 British citizens who boarded the flotilla in Cyprus Sunday. It was carrying humanitarian supplies to the Gaza strip.

He is also the chairman of pro-Palestinian organisation Friends of Al Aqsa, based in Leicester.

Patel's brother Shockat told the Leicester Mercury newspaper: "When we heard what had happened it was as though our worst nightmares were coming true.

"Before he left we hoped everything would go smoothly but there was always a risk it could go wrong."

Suleman Nagdi, spokesman for Leicestershire Federation of Muslim Organisations, said: "We are trying to do everything practically possible to help the family. My fear is those who are injured will be taken into custody. No contact has been made with Ismail since midnight last night, and watching the scenes on TV of the barbaric actions of the Israeli army only intensifies the concern for his welfare felt by his family."

Edward Garnier, MP from Harborough adjoining Leicester, added: "I have spoken to two foreign office ministers and have passed on his details. I know they are actively checking to see if he is hurt or not. I spoke to him before his trip and he sent me messages up until he got on the flotilla."

In London, pro-Palestinian campaigners staged a blockade near Whitehall shouting "Stop Israel's War Crimes in Gaza" and spoke of their fears about the fate of British citizens and others aboard the flotilla.

Hundreds of activists blocked Whitehall shouting "Free Palestine" and carried flags and banners with slogans such as "Stop Israel's War Crimes in Gaza" and "End the Criminal Siege of Gaza".

The convoy of six ships had about 600 volunteers on board and the activists were trying to defy a blockade imposed by Israel after Hamas took power in Gaza in 2007.

 

[SpArK]

Tsk tsk.. this is how israel repay the indian cyber-warriors.

Tsk..Tsk.. thanks for noticing..they promised me 2 shakel(Israeli currency) for this reply.. waiting for the next cheque.

 

[Xeric]

Tsk..Tsk.. thanks for noticing..they promised me 2 shakel(Israeli currency) for this reply.. waiting for the next cheque.

i dont doubt that.

 

[SpArK]

i dont doubt that.

 

[Aslan]

Police drag a protestor during a pro-Palestine demonstration outside the Israeli embassy in Athens. Photo: AFP

An Israeli soldier takes position with his finger on the trigger during a demonstration by Palestinian protesters and foreign peace activists at the Qalandia checkpoint near the West Bank city of Ramallah. Photo: AFP


A woman is hit by a fragment of a tear gas shot by French anti-riot policemen near the Israeli embassy in Paris. Photo: AFP

A pro-Palestinian demonstrator wears a Free Palestine badge during a protest march to the Israeli embassy in London. Photo: Reuters

Egyptian police stand guard during demostration by members of the Muslim Brotherhood in front of Al-Fath Mosque in Cairo to protest over the Israeli navy operation. Photo: Reuters



Pro-Palestinian protestors run through tear gas during a demonstration outside theIsraeli embassy in Athens. Photo: AFP

 

[Aslan]

Protestors demonstrate outside the Israeli Embassy in London. Photo: AFP

A young boy protests outside Downing St, London. Photo: AFP


A pro-Palestinian protestor stands amidst tear gas during a demonstration outside the Israeli embassy in Athens. Photo: AFP


Police spray tear gas towards protestors during a pro-Palestine demonstration outside the Israeli embassy in Athens. Photo: AFP

 

[Dr.Evil]

i have got a question for you, please take your time and answer me. what is the solution to the plight and suffering of palestinians then? do you ever recognnize their plight in the first place or not? and if you dod then what is the solution for it. how can you solve the issue of palestine and israel in general? what is your proposals to this matter?

I only solution would be having 2 independent Countries ( Palaestine & Israel) and not threatning a country's right to Exist.

The right to exist for Israel is the most important requirement, When nutcases are threatning to wipe themout.

Voilence will not mitigate the suffering of Gazans, they need to come to the talks and kick out all the voilent institutions - Hamas and Hezbollah terrorists.

 

[xenia]

for all those, raniting about sea laws..tell me..when lucitania was sunk during WW1, america entered the war that its civilians were killed..right??it was not even an american ship..
back in 1882, when britain pressed some US soldiers n civilians into service on their ships. america fought a war with britain..
it was legitimate then to fight wars n now a ship carrying humanitarian aid still in international waters should be attacked..this is justified!!
sea laws were same then n now!
y u guys harbour double satndards..in fact we r sick of ur lame excuses!