Irish artists boycott Israel

A Palestinian child cries during the funeral of a 22-year-old
man who was killed in an Israeli airstrike.


Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=138678§ionid=351020202


More than 150 Irish artists have launched a cultural boycott of Israel, refusing to either perform in the occupied territory or be funded by Tel Aviv-linked institutions.

The artists pledged to continue the boycott "until such time as Israel complies with international law and universal principles of human rights," The Irish Times reported on Friday.

The artists are demanding "an end of the occupation of Palestine; dismantling or at least stopping the settlements; and Israel negotiating in good faith with the Palestinians," said composer Raymond Deane.

Israel was fabricated on the back of full-fledged military operations against Palestine and other Arab territories in 1948.

The regime significantly dimmed the prospects of peace in 1967 by capturing and later annexing the adjoining East al-Quds (Jerusalem).

Despite international criticism of the occupation, Tel Aviv has been propping up Jewish settler units in the occupied West Bank, disregarding a Palestinian demand for reviving the peace process.

Singer and songwriter Damien Dempsey said Israel was being run by the military and expressed hope that the boycott would encourage young Israeli people to "speak out" against the regime, the paper added.

50 ships may join Freedom Flotilla II

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=130014§ionid=351020202



The next Freedom Flotilla will be much bigger than the first one, the head of a non-governmental organization says.

Yasser Qashlaq, the director of the Free Palestine Movement, said on Thursday that up to 50 ships could join the Freedom Flotilla II, the International Middle East Media Center reported.

Meanwhile, the movement, in cooperation with Reporters Without Borders, is organizing a new mission to send educational supplies to the children of the besieged Palestinian territory. Qashlaq said a ship would depart from Lebanon within a week.

The Israeli military attacked the Freedom Flotilla in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea on May 31, killing nine Turkish citizens on board the M.V. Mavi Marmara and injuring about 50 other people who were part of the team on the six-ship convoy.

Israel also arrested and later released nearly 700 activists from 42 countries who were on board the ships of the Freedom Flotilla, which was attempting to break the siege of Gaza in order to deliver 10,000 tons of humanitarian assistance to the long-suffering people of the territory.

The Gazans have endured almost three years of an all-out siege, which has deprived them of food, fuel, and other necessities.

Another aid ship to set sail for Gaza

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=129223§ionid=351020202



Pro-Palestinian activists have launched a campaign to send another aid ship to the Gaza Strip in continuing efforts meant to break the siege of Gaza.

The organizers of the initiative, "Free Palestine Movement" and "Reporters Without Limits," say the vessel will be carrying educational supplies for children of the besieged Palestinian strip.

The two non-governmental groups say the ship is slated for departure from a Lebanese port next week in hope of putting an end to the Israeli blockade.

In addition to aid, the ship will carry 50 Arab and foreign journalists and 25 European activists, including some MPs, AFP reported on Saturday.

The effort comes after Israel seized another Gaza-bound aid ship, named the Rachel Corrie on Saturday, only five days after Tel Aviv's military attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla.

Swedish union to blockade Israeli ships

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=129191§ionid=351020606


Swedish dockworkers plan to launch a blockade of Israeli ships and goods to protest the May 31 attack on the Gaza-bound Freedom Flotilla.

According to Peter Annerback, the spokesperson for the Swedish Port Workers Union, the workers of the union will block Israeli ships and not handle any of their goods from June 15 to 24.

He went on to say that the decision to blockade Israeli ships and goods was taken to condemn the "criminal attack" on the convoy of ships, which was peaceful and non-violent.

All of the 1500 members of the Swedish Port Workers Union have mutually decided to support the Ship to Gaza, which was a part of the Freedom Flotilla.

The Israeli military attacked the Freedom Flotilla in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea early on May 31, killing nine Turkish citizens on board the six ships and injuring about 50 other people.

The fate of three other Freedom Flotilla activists is still unknown.

Israel also arrested nearly 700 activists from 42 countries on board the Freedom Flotilla, which was attempting to break the siege of Gaza in order to deliver 10,000 tons of humanitarian assistance to the long-suffering people of the territory.

Brits protest outside Israeli Embassy

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=129162§ionid=351020606



Several thousand people are protesting in Britain against the Israeli attack on a Gaza-bound aid convoy that killed nine people and injured another 50.

The protesters marched from Downing Street to the Israeli Embassy in London on Saturday, urging the British government to step up pressure on Israel following the deadly commando attack.

The demonstrators were waving flags and placards calling for an end to the Israeli siege of the impoverished coastal strip still recovering form last year's three-week Israeli blitz.

Demonstrators also expressed their outrage over Israeli defiance of the international community in boarding one of the last ships on the flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza on Saturday.

Israeli navy forces seized the MV Rachel Corrie on Saturday, preventing it from breaking the three-year Israeli-imposed blockade of the beleaguered Palestinian territory.

Among the protesters was Sarah Colborne, 43, of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, who was aboard the Freedom Flotilla's Turkish flagship, Mavi Marmara, when it was stormed.

Colborne, who spent almost two days in Israeli custody following the attack, rejected Israeli claims that the activists had terrorist ties, stressing that the boats were purely on a relief mission.

Israel thumbs nose at world anger

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=129235§ionid=351020202



Israel has triggered a new tide of global outrage after it started circulating a video that pokes fun at the Freedom Flotilla activists, recently attacked by armed Israeli commandos.

While world countries and international organizations are up in arms over a deadly Israeli attack on a ship carrying aid for Gazans, Tel Aviv continues to refuse to show any remorse for its violent actions.

In a move that further added insult to injury, the Israeli Press Office (GPO) distributed a link to a highly offensive musical video, dubbed "We Con the World", which was put together by a former member of the Israeli military, Caroline Glick.

Set to the tune of the 1985 hit, "We are the World", the video shows over a dozen Arab lookalikes sporting traditional clothes and singing satirical verses, such as "There's no people dying, so the best that we can do is create the biggest bluff of all."

The move raised a storm of protest across the globe, which was instantly shrugged off by Glick, who described the video as "an important Israeli contribution to the discussion of recent events."

Glick, who now serves as a columnist for an Israeli daily, said she hoped the video would be distributed "far and wide."

Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev, unabashed by the tidal wave of world condemnation, also brushed aside criticism over the video link, saying he actually thought it was "funny."

"I called my kids in to watch it because I thought it was funny," he said, adding that he first noticed the video on the New York Times website.

"It is what Israelis feel … The GPO distributes non-government items, things that we think that show our side of the story," Regev said.

The new move by Israel comes as twenty-eight children lost their fathers as a result of the Israeli attack on the Freedom Flotilla aid convoy.

Nine people died on May 31 when Israeli soldiers opened fire on the Turkish vessel M.V. Mavi Marmara as it attempted to transport humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip.

28 children orphaned by Flotilla attack

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=129187§ionid=351020202



Twenty-eight children lost their fathers as a result of the Israeli attack on the Freedom Flotilla.

Nine people were shot dead on May 31 by Israeli soldiers who attacked the Turkish vessel M.V. Mavi Marmara as it attempted to transport humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip.

Eight of them were fathers whose children are now yatims due to the Israeli assault on the Freedom Flotilla.

The Arabic word yatim is usually translated as orphan. However, in the Islamic religion, the word yatim actually means a child whose father is dead or whose father and mother are dead. This is the reason why Islamic media outlets are calling the children orphans.

Following are brief biographies of the nine people, as reported by Lawrenceofcyberia.blogs.com:

1. Ibrahim Bilgen

Ibrahim Bilgen, 61, was an electrical engineer from Siirt. He was a member of the Chamber of Electrical Engineers of Turkey. He ran as a Saadet (Felicity) Party candidate in the Turkish general election of 2007 and the Siirt mayoral election of 2009. He was married with 6 children.

2. Ali Haydar Bengi

Ali Haydar Bengi, 39, ran a telephone repair shop in Diyarbakir. He was a graduate of Al-Azhar University, Cairo (Department of Arabic Literature). He was married to Saniye Bengi and had four children — Mehunur (15), Semanur (10), and twins Mohammed and Senanur (5).

3. Cevdet Kiliçlar

Cevdet Kiliçlar, 38, was from Kayseri. He was a graduate of Marmara University's Faculty of Communications and 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). He was married to Derya Kiliçlar, and had one daughter, Gülhan, and one son, Erdem.

4. Cetin Topçuoglu

Cetin Topçuoglu, 54, was from Adana. He was a former amateur soccer player and taekwondo champion who coached Turkey's national taekwondo team. He was married and had one son, Aytek. His wife, Cigdem Topçuoglu, was also aboard the Mavi Marmara, but survived.

5. Necdet Yildirim

Necdet Yildirim, 32, was an IHH aid worker from Malatya. He was married to Refika Yildirim and had one daughter, Melek, aged three.

6. Fahri Yaldiz

Fahri Yaldiz, 43, was a firefighter who worked for the Municipality of Adiyaman. He was married and had four sons.

7. Cengiz Songür

Cengiz Songür, 47, was from Izmir. He was married to Nurcan Songür and had six daughters and one son.

8. Cengiz Akyüz

Cengiz Akyüz, 41, was from Iskenderun. He was married to Nimet Akyüz and had three children — Furkan (14), Beyza (12), and Erva Kardelen (nine).

9. Furkan Dogan

Furkan Dogan, 19, was in his senior year at Kayseri High School, where he was awaiting the results of his university entrance exams. He had hoped to become a doctor and loved chess. He was the son of Dr. Ahmet Dogan, an associate professor at Erciyes University. He was a Turkish-American dual national with two siblings.

The Israeli military attacked the Freedom Flotilla in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea early on May 31, killing nine Turkish citizens on board the six ships and injuring about 50 other people.

The fate of three other Freedom Flotilla activists is still unknown.

Israel also arrested nearly 700 activists from 42 countries on board the Freedom Flotilla, which was attempting to break the siege of Gaza in order to deliver 10,000 tons of humanitarian assistance to the long-suffering people of the territory.

Erdogan plans breaking Gaza siege

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=129221§ionid=351020204



As Turkey mourns the death of activists by Israeli forces, Turkey's Prime Minister considers travelling to the Gaza Strip to break the siege on the sliver personally.

The Lebanese newspaper Al-Mustaqbal reported on Saturday that Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan told close associates about his plan to visit the strip to "break the Israeli blockade."

He reportedly informed the US that he considers asking the Turkish navy to accompany aid ships sailing to the Gaza Strip in the future, a plan Washington advised to delay.

Turkey has also formed a commission to investigate Israel's Monday attack on the Freedom Flotilla which left nine Turkish nationals killed.

Namik Tan, Turkish Ambassador to the US, wrote on the Washington Post earlier that "this was the first such attack against civilian Turkish citizens by a foreign military force in our republic's 87-year history."

Ankara demanded an apology by Tel Aviv, a measure Israel said it would not take.

The Gaza Freedom Flotilla, which was stormed by Israeli troops on May 31, attempted to deliver 10,000 tons of humanitarian supplies to the besieged people of Gaza.

The brutal assault carried out by Israeli commandos left more than 40 others injured.

Iran to provide solution for Gaza crisis

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=129248§ionid=351020101



Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki says he will present a set of 'constructive' proposals to resolve the crisis engulfing Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

"After careful deliberation, Iran has come up with a set of tangible and practical proposals to stop Israeli atrocities in the Gaza Strip and resolve the crisis in the sliver," IRNA quoted him as saying on Sunday.

Mottaki made the comments upon arrival in the Saudi city of Jeddah to attend an emergency session of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) on a recent Israeli attack against a Gaza-bound aid ship.

He explained that the tidal wave of condemnation from world countries and international organizations show that Israel had seriously crossed the line when it decided to open fire on humanitarian activists aboard the Freedom Flotilla.

"This inhuman move [by Israel] has been condemned and denounced on the global scene and by leading organizations," he said, expressing hope that the OIC session will be successful in its efforts against Tel Aviv.

"Fortunately, the attack failed to stop the international campaign against [Israel's ongoing blockade of Gaza]….we now see that another ship has set sail for Gaza while more and more countries are voicing support [for the Palestinian cause]," he noted.

Nine people were gunned down by Israeli commandos in the Monday attack on the Turkish vessel M.V. Mavi Marmara, one of whom was a Turkish teenager.

Against a backdrop of Israel's refusal to accept responsibility, OIC Foreign Ministers will convene in Jeddah to explore ways to put a stop to Israeli crimes.

With 57 member states from four continents, the OIC is said to be one of the biggest international organizations and a key player in world affairs.

Israel deports aid ship activists

Source: Al Jazeera
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/06/20106632654441269.html



Israel has begun deporting passengers and crew it seized on board an aid ship aiming to break the blockade of the Gaza Strip.

Eleven activists and eight crew were detained on Saturday after the Malaysia-funded Irish ship, the Rachel Corrie, ignored warnings to divert to the Israeli port of Ashdod.

Six Malaysians crossed the Allenby bridge into Jordon on Sunday after being released by Israel. A Cuban activist, who was injured in last week's assault on the Mavi Mamara, was also released.

One of the freed activists from the Rachel Corrie said that they had been seized outside the maritime exclusion zone enforced by Israel on Gaza.

"Unfortunately we were stopped and they came on baord about 10 miles from the 25 miles line. We didnt resist and gave full co-operation," the activist said.

Meanwhile, Jacky Rowland, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Ashdod, said the vessel Rachel Corrie is being held at the port while its cargo is inspected.

"The aid will be taken off and inspected," she said. "It is not clear how much of it will be taken to Gaza."

The seizure of the Rachel Corrie came five days after Israeli troops killed nine activists while raiding a flotilla of aid ships carrying humanitarian supplies for the beseiged Palestinian territory.

Israeli statement

Israeli naval vessels trailed Rachel Corrie for several hours before boarding it, jamming its radar and cutting off all radio communication.

Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, said naval forces involved in Saturday's operation had followed exactly the same procedures as they had done earlier in the week, but the difference lay in the attitude of the activists on board the vessel.

"We saw today the difference between a ship of peace activists, with whom we don't agree but respect their right to a different opinion from ours, and between a ship of hate organised by violent Turkish terror extremists ... waiting for our soldiers on the deck with axes and knives," Netanyahu's office cited him as saying.

Raising awareness

Mukhriz Mahathir, head of the Perdana Global Peace Organisation, a Malaysian non-governmental organisation that sponsored the Rachel Corrie, said people would be willing to contribute to further aid ships.

"These actions have finally succeeded in raising lots of awareness," he said.

"But for the moment, we are upset that these aid goods have not reached their destination."

The Rachel Corrie is named after an American womanwho was killed by an Israeli military bulldozer in the Gaza Strip in 2003, while protesting against a house demolition.

Pro-Palestinian activists on board the ship had earlier said they were determined to press ahead towards the Gaza coast, despite the Israeli warnings.

"We are not afraid and we are all advocating non-violence… and we will just sit here and go if they insist on commandeering our boat and forcing us into Ashdod," Mairead Maguire, an activist and Nobel Peace laureate aboard Rachel Corrie, said before radio contact with the ship was lost.

The Israeli military had cautioned that troops would consider storming the ship, if it continued its journey towards Gaza.

Al Jazeera's Nicole Johnston, reporting from Gaza, said the Rachel Corrie had hundreds of tonnes of aid, including medical supplies, wheelchairs, cement, building materials and even note pads for children.

UNRWA appeal

Speaking to Al Jazeera on Saturday, Chris Gunness, a spokesman for UNWRA, the United Nations Palestine refugee agency, underscored the need for Gaza's land and sea blockades to be lifted.

"The World Health Organisation needs $20m worth of aid to enter Gaza, there is 44 per cent unemployment and education is in crisis," he said.

"We are turning thousands of five and six year olds away from our schools [and] 39,000 children in Gaza are not receiving United Nations education because we cannot get our building materials in.

"We also want to see exports coming out of Gaza. It is already 80 per cent aid dependent. What we don't want is to make it more aid dependent."

The developments surrounding the Rachel Corrie came as the UN human-rights chief said that Israel could face prosecution for Monday's flotilla raid, and that she was following requests for a referral to the International Criminal Court [ICC] in The Hague.

"I am following very closely the very many calls that come particularly from civil society and from all the people who are suffering in Palestine for that kind of action to be taken," Navi Pillay said on Saturday in Kampala, Uganda, where she was attending the ICC's ongoing review conference.

She said she believed Israel's blockade of Gaza violates international law.

"International humanitarian law prohibits starvation of civilians as a method of warfare ... It is also prohibited to impose collective punishment on the civilian population, so it is [for those reasons] that I have consistently reported to member states that the blockade is illegal and must be lifted," Pillay said.

"Even if it is demonstrated that the blockade is legal under international law, Israel's current military operations against the flotilla must be analysed from the perspective of its obligation to allow humanitarian aid to be brought into the Gaza Strip."

'Israelis threw 4 injured into the sea'

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=129190



Activist Idris Simsek, who was on board one of the six ships of the Freedom Flotilla during the Israeli attack, claims that four wounded activists were thrown into the sea.

The Israeli troops also put immense psychological pressure on the activists of the Freedom Flotilla, the Turkish daily Today's Zaman quoted Simsek as saying in an article published on Saturday.

Simsek said they expected some harassment from the Israeli forces but did not expect an armed attack.

He went on to say that he witnessed that the person who waived the white flag to surrender was shot by the Israeli troops.

Erol Demir, another activist who was on the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara, said there is film footage of the chaos and the carnage on the ship and stated that the footage will show the real face of the Israeli military to the entire world.

“They even shot those who surrendered. Many of our friends saw this. They told me that there were handcuffed people who were shot,” he added.

Hakan Albayrak, a journalist from the Turkish daily Yeni Safak who was also on the ship, said, “It was an outright massacre what Israel did out there. They attacked us in international waters… We had no weapons. I think we lost more people.”

The Israeli military attacked the Freedom Flotilla in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea early on May 31, killing nine Turkish citizens on board the six ships and injuring about 50 other people.

The fate of three other Freedom Flotilla activists is still unknown.

Israel also arrested nearly 700 activists from 42 countries on board the ships of the Freedom Flotilla, which was attempting to break the siege of Gaza in order to deliver 10,000 tons of humanitarian assistance to the long-suffering people of the territory.

'Rachel Corrie victim of piracy, terror'

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=129143§ionid=351020202



Hamas has lambasted Israel for seizing the Rachel Corrie, the aid vessel which had set sail to challenge Tel Aviv's siege of the Gaza Strip.

The Palestinian resistance movement's spokesman, Sami Abu Zuhri said on Friday that "the storming of the Rachel Corrie ship is an act of Israeli pirating and terror. It is a challenge to the international community and a provocation to humanitarian feelings," Reuters reported.

The surge, earlier in the day, saw the Israeli military taking over the Irish vessel in the national waters before towing it away to the port of Ashdod, south of Israel. There were 11 activists onboard the ship.

"Such an Israeli crime to prevent supporters of the Palestinian people will never succeed to end the arrival of those ships. The only way to stop those ships from coming is to end the blockade."

The Gazans have endured almost three years of an all-out Israeli siege which has deprived them of food, fuel and other necessities.

Ghassan Khatib, a spokesman for the Palestinian Authority also said Israel is acting violently against peaceful activists.

The seizure came only five days after Israel attacked the multinational relief mission of Freedom Flotilla.

The assault in international waters 150 km (90 miles) off the coast of Gaza killed at least 9 people and left scores more injured.

Israeli troops board Gaza aid ship Rachel Corrie

Source: Al Jazeera
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/06/201064235620154213.html


Israeli soldiers have boarded a Malaysian-funded Irish aid ship heading towards Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid, and forced it to head towards the Israeli port of Ashdod instead.

The Israeli military in a statement said troops boarded MV Rachel Corrie on Saturday after activists aboard the ship ignored warnings to divert to Ashdod.

"There was no violence or injuries amongst the soldiers or crew...and no shots were fired," the statement added, saying the ship was now being led to Ashdod.

Activists on board the ship were attempting to break the siege of Gaza imposed by Israel, five days after Israeli troops violently intercepted a flotilla of aid ships carrying humanitarian aid for the territory, killing nine activists.

Israeli naval vessels had been trailing the ship for several hours before storming it. Rachel Corrie's radar had also been jammed, cutting off all radio communiation.

Pro-Palestinian activists had earlier said they were determined to press ahead towards the Gaza coast, despite the Israeli warnings.

"We are not afraid and we are all advocating non-violence… and we will just sit here and go if they insist on commandeering our boat and forcing us into Ashdod," Mairead Maguire, an activist aboard Rachel Corrie, said before radio contact with the ship was lost.


Israeli warning

The Israeli military had warned that troops would consider storming the ship, if it continued its journey towards Gaza.

In a statement, the Israel navy warned the ship that it was "approaching an area of hostilities which is under a naval blockade. The Gaza area, coastal region and Gaza Harbour are closed to all maritime traffic."

Avital Leibovich, an Israeli military spokeswoman, told Al Jazeera that the military had a government directive to make sure the ship does not reach Gaza.

Al Jazeera's Nicole Johnston, reporting from Gaza, said the ship had hundreds of tonnes of aid, including medical supplies, wheelchairs, cement, building materials and even note-pads for children.

Determined activists

Dennis Halliday, the former UN assistant secretary-general who is also on board the ship, said on Friday that they expected Israeli military to intercept them.

"The cargo was checked three times - by trade unions in Ireland, by a member of the Irish senate, as well as Irish customs at the port," Halliday said.

"The cargo is sealed and we can't even access it ourselves," he said, explaining why they refused to take the ship to Ashdod.

The Malaysian-funded ship is carrying 11 activists, including Mairead Corrigan, a Nobel Peace laureate and eight crew members.

The ship is named after an American womanwho was killed by an Israeli military bulldozer in the Gaza Strip in 2003, while trying to protest a house demolition.

The Rachel Corrie is funded by Perdana Global Peace Organisation, a Malaysian non-governmental organisation headed by Mahathir Mohamad, the country's former prime minister.

Siege 'unsustainable'

Meanwhile in Washington the US said Israel's blockade on Gaza was unsustainable.

"We are working urgently with Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and other international partners to develop new procedures for delivering more goods and assistance to Gaza," Mike Hammer, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council, said.

"The current arrangements are unsustainable and must be changed. For now, we call on all parties to join us in encouraging responsible decisions by all sides to avoid any unnecessary confrontations," Hammer said in a statement.

"It remains a US priority to provide assistance to the people of Gaza," Hammer said.

"In the interest of the safety of all involved, and the safe transmission of assistance to the people of Gaza, we strongly encourage those on board the Rachel Corrie and other vessels to sail to Ashdod to deliver their materials to Gaza," Hammer said, referring to the Israeli port.

'Don't dare to attack Gaza again'

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=129079§ionid=351020101


Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has warned Israel against any new military operations in the Gaza Strip.

Speaking at the Mausoleum of Imam Khomeini on the 21st anniversary of the death of the Founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ahmadinejad said Israel would have to answer to the world for its blockade of the Gaza Strip, IRNA reported on Friday.

He also praised certain European countries for their stance against Israel following Tel Aviv's attack on the Gaza-bound Freedom Flotilla.

However, the Iranian President criticized the United States for its inadequate response and said that Washington's restrained stance could drive the administration of President Barack Obama into a dead end.

In addition, millions of Iranians staged massive demonstrations in several cities across the country to condemn Israel's deadly attack on the Freedom Flotilla and the continued blockade of the Gaza Strip on Friday.

A six-point statement was issued at the end of the demonstrations, in which the protestors called on the international community and the UN Security Council to take “immediate and serious measures” to bring a halt to Israel's crimes.

The Israeli military attacked the Freedom Flotilla in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea early on May 31, killing at least 19 people on board the six ships, including eight Turkish citizens, and injuring about 50 others.

The fate of three other Freedom Flotilla activists is still unknown.

Israel also arrested nearly 700 activists from 42 countries on board the Freedom Flotilla, which was attempting to break the siege of Gaza in order to deliver 10,000 tons of humanitarian assistance to the long-suffering people of the territory.

The world condemned Israel for the deadly attack, with the Arab League and many European countries calling for immediate action in response to the outrage.

'Israel must answer for Flotilla attack'

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=129074§ionid=3510203



US Congressman Dennis Kucinich has called for Washington to impose diplomatic and financial consequences on Israel over its deadly attack on the Gaza-bound Freedom Flotilla.

Israel's conduct "constitutes an act of belligerence against Turkey, which at one time Israel considered an important ally," the Ohio Democrat wrote in a letter to US President Barack Obama on Friday.

"It also undermines United States troops' efforts in Iraq, since your administration's efforts to achieve stability in the region and to withdraw troops from Iraq have depended upon Turkey's cooperation through use of its air bases," the congressman added.

Kucinich also said that the attack on the Freedom Flotilla should have consequences for the aggressors and urged Obama to call Israel to "an accounting for planning and carrying out the attack."

"If our nation fails to act in any substantive way, the United States licenses the violence and we are complicit in it and our own citizens will be forced to pay the consequences," Kucinich wrote.

Kucinich also called for an independent investigation into the incident.

The Israeli military attacked the Freedom Flotilla in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea early on May 31, killing at least 19 people on board the six ships, including eight Turkish citizens, and injuring about 50 others.

Israel also arrested nearly 700 activists from 42 countries on board the Freedom Flotilla, which was attempting to break the siege of Gaza in order to deliver 10,000 tons of humanitarian assistance to the long-suffering people of the territory.

Lieberman takes on Rachel Corrie

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=129059§ionid=351020202



Tel Aviv has threatened to block a humanitarian mission which is heading for the Israeli blockaded Gaza Strip onboard the aid vessel, Rachel Corrie.

"We will stop the ship, and also any other ship that will try to harm Israeli sovereignty," said far-right Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman in remarks to Israel's Channel 1 television, Reuters reported.

The Irish vessel carries 11 human rights activists as well as a load of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian coastal sliver, which has endured almost three years of an all-out Israeli siege.

Tightened since mid-2007, the crippling restrictions have deprived Gaza's nearly 1.5 million residents of food, fuel and other basic necessities.

"There is no chance the Rachel Corrie will reach the coast of Gaza," Lieberman vowed.

Rachel Corrie is en route the Palestinian coastal territory only a few days after the Israeli forces assaulted the multinational relief convoy, Freedom Flotilla.

The attack in international waters 150km (90 miles) from Gaza killed at least 20 people and left scores more injured.

Egyptians call for end to siege of Gaza

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=129072§ionid=351020502


Tens of thousands of protesters have poured into the streets of Alexandria, Egypt, calling for an end to Israel's three-year blockade of the Gaza Strip.

Waving Palestinian and Turkish flags and chanting slogans in support of Hamas, about 20,000 protesters also vented their anger at Israel over its deadly attack on the Gaza Flotilla on Monday.

"Hamas, Hamas, you are the artillery and we are the bullets," demonstrators chanted.

The Muslim Brotherhood, the main organizer of the protests, also staged demonstrations in Fayoum, south of Cairo, and in the northern Sinai Peninsula city of el-Arish on Friday, Reuters reported.

"Turkey, a thousand salutations. Long live Erdogan and long live the Turkish people," the protestors chanted in Alexandria, referring to the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Ties between Turkey and Israel have hit an all-time low since the assault.

The Israeli military attacked the Freedom Flotilla in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea early on May 31, killing at least 19 people on board the six ships, including eight Turkish citizens, and injuring about 50 others.

Israel also arrested nearly 700 activists from 42 countries on board the Freedom Flotilla, which was attempting to break the siege of Gaza in order to deliver 10,000 tons of humanitarian assistance to the long-suffering people of the territory.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak ordered the opening of the Rafah border crossing to allow humanitarian assistance into the impoverished Gaza Strip a day after the attack on the Freedom Flotilla.

Freedom flotilla ship MV Rachel Corrie continues to head for Gaza

• Six UK and Irish citizens on ship that Israel says cannot dock
• Turkey warns it will reduce ties with Israel to a minimum
• Hamas leader says humanitarian aid alone not enough

Source: The guardian UK
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jun/04/gaza-flotilla-mv-rachel-corrie

By: Adam Gabbatt, and Harriet Sherwood in Gaza City

Passengers aboard an aid ship bound for Gaza were bracing themselves tonight for a clash with Israeli forces after authorities said it would not be allowed to dock in the blockaded area.

The MV Rachel Corrie, which was part of the Freedom Flotilla intercepted by commandos on Monday, leaving nine activists dead, is due to arrive in Gaza by noontomorrow , organisers said.

The Israeli foreign ministry said it had "no desire for confrontation" and would assure the boat safe passage to the port of Ashdod, in Israel.

But passengers issued a defiant message through the Free Gaza Movement website: "Communication is difficult and sometimes impossible and there are many rumours out there started by Israeli authorities, but there is no way we are going to Ashdod," they said in a joint statement. "We are, for sure, on our way to Gaza." The Rachel Corrie, named after a 23-year-old American killed in Gaza in 2003 by an Israeli bulldozer, fell behind the original fleet after mechanical problems. Those aboard suspect it may have been sabotaged.

Communicating with those on board, who include Nobel peace prize laureate Máiread Maguire, has proved difficult.

"They want to get in during daylight tomorrow," said Martin O'Quigley of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign. "They don't want to approach the exclusion zone in darkness."

The Freedom Flotilla, which consisted of six ships, was boarded by Israeli forces at around 3.30am on Monday morning, reportedly around 90 miles from Gaza.
Maguire said the activists were determined to press on, but would offer no resistance should they be boarded.

"We will sit down," she told the Associated Press in a telephone interview from the ship. "They will probably arrest us ... but there will be no resistance."
The White House said yesterday that Israel's blockade of Gaza was unsustainable and urged the Rachel Corrie to sail to Ashdod.

"The current arrangements are unsustainable and must be changed. For now, we call on all parties to join us in encouraging responsible decisions by all sides to avoid any unnecessary confrontations," Mike Hammer, a spokesman for the US national security council, said in a statement. "In the interest of the safety of all involved, and the safe transmission of assistance to the people of Gaza, we strongly encourage those on board the Rachel Corrie and other vessels to sail to Ashdod to deliver their materials to Gaza," he said.

Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, said the ship would be directed to Ashdod. "We shall not allow the ships to reach Gaza. Not now and not later on," the Israeli news website Ynet quoted him as saying. "We intend to direct the Rachel Corrie ship to the Ashdod port and transfer its civilian goods to Gaza following a security check." The Israeli foreign ministry followed up Netanyahu's comments by issued a statement saying it has "no desire to board the ship".

"We have no desire for a confrontation," said the Foreign Ministry Director-General Yossi Gal. "We have no desire to board the ship. If the ship decides to sail the port of Ashdod, then we will ensure its safe arrival and will not board it."
The Rachel Corrie, which is funded by the , is carrying 11 passengers, including the Scottish Captain Eric Harcis.

In addition to six British and Irish citizens on the ship there are six Malaysians, including an MP and a team of journalists, organisers said. Ram Karthigasu, a spokesman for the Malaysian travellers, said they were "determined" to continue the journey towards Gaza.

The ship is carrying school supplies, printing paper, children's shoes, wheelchairs, sports equipment and fire extinguishers, and its load has been checked by the Irish government before it sailed, organisers said. Israel bars cement and other building materials from entering Gaza, saying they are often used for building tunnels to smuggle in weapons and explosives.

Gaza flotilla activists were shot in head at close range

Exclusive: Nine Turkish men on board Mavi Marmara were shot a total of 30 times, autopsy results reveal


Source: The guardian UK
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jun/04/gaza-flotilla-activists-autopsy-results?CMP=twt_gu
By: Robert Booth

Israel was tonight under pressure to allow an independent inquiry into its assault on the Gaza aid flotilla after autopsy results on the bodies of those killed, obtained by the Guardian, revealed they were peppered with 9mm bullets, many fired at close range.

Nine Turkish men on board the Mavi Marmara were shot a total of 30 times and five were killed by gunshot wounds to the head, according to the vice-chairman of the Turkish council of forensic medicine, which carried out the autopsies for the Turkish ministry of justice today.

The results revealed that a 60-year-old man, Ibrahim Bilgen, was shot four times in the temple, chest, hip and back. A 19-year-old, named as Fulkan Dogan, who also has US citizenship, was shot five times from less that 45cm, in the face, in the back of the head, twice in the leg and once in the back. Two other men were shot four times, and five of the victims were shot either in the back of the head or in the back, said Yalcin Buyuk, vice-chairman of the council of forensic medicine.

The findings emerged as more survivors gave their accounts of the raids. Ismail Patel, the chairman of Leicester-based pro-Palestinian group Friends of al-Aqsa, who returned to Britain today, told how he witnessed some of the fatal shootings and claimed that Israel had operated a "shoot to kill policy".

He calculated that during the bloodiest part of the assault, Israeli commandos shot one person every minute. One man was fatally shot in the back of the head just two feet in front him and another was shot once between the eyes. He added that as well as the fatally wounded, 48 others were suffering from gunshot wounds and six activists remained missing, suggesting the death toll may increase.

The new information about the manner and intensity of the killings undermines Israel's insistence that its soldiers opened fire only in self defence and in response to attacks by the activists.

"Given the very disturbing evidence which contradicts the line from the Israeli media and suggests that Israelis have been very selective in the way they have addressed this, there is now an overwhelming need for an international inquiry," said Andrew Slaughter MP, a member of the all party group on Britain and Palestine.
Israel said tonight the number of bullets found in the bodies did not alter the fact that the soldiers were acting in self defence. "The only situation when a soldier shot was when it was a clearly a life-threatening situation," said a spokesman for the Israeli embassy in London. "Pulling the trigger quickly can result in a few bullets being in the same body, but does not change the fact they were in a life-threatening situation."

Protesters from across the country will tomorrow march from Downing Street to the Israeli embassy to call for Israel to be held to account for its actions.
Earlier this week, William Hague, the foreign secretary, said the government would call for an inquiry under international auspices if Israel refuses to establish an independent inquiry, including an international presence.

The autopsy results were released as the last of the Turkish victims was buried.
Dr Haluk Ince, the chairman of the council of forensic medicine in Istanbul, said that in only one case was there a single bullet wound, to the forehead from a distant shot, while every other victim suffered multiple wounds. "All [the bullets] were intact. This is important in a forensic context. When a bullet strikes another place it comes into the body deformed. If it directly comes into the body, the bullet is all intact."

He added that all but one of the bullets retrieved from the bodies came from 9mm rounds. Of the other round, he said: "It was the first time we have seen this kind of material used in firearms. It was just a container including many types of pellets usually used in shotguns. It penetrated the head region in the temple and we found it intact in the brain."

An unnamed Israeli commando, who purportedly led the raid on the Mavi Marmara, today told Israeli news website Ynet News that he shot at a protester who approached him with a knife. "I was in front of a number of people with knives and clubs," he said. "I cocked my weapon when I saw that one was coming towards me with a knife drawn and I fired once. Then another 20 people came at me from all directions and threw me down to the deck below …

"We knew they were peace activists. Though they wanted to break the Gaza blockade, we thought we'd encounter passive resistance, perhaps verbal resistance – we didn't expect this. Everyone wanted to kill us. We encountered terrorists who wanted to kill us and we did everything we could to prevent unnecessary injury."

Tonight the Rachel Corrie, an Irish vessel crewed by supporters of the Free Gaza movement, remained on course for Gaza. Yossi Gal, director general at the Israeli foreign ministry, said Israel had "no desire for a confrontation" but asked for the ship to dock at Ashdod, not Gaza.

"If the ship decides to sail the port of Ashdod, then we will ensure its safe arrival and will not board it," he said.

Turkey will 'never forgive' Israel

Source: Al Jazeera
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2010/06/20106312530449379.html


The Turkish president has said that Israel's military raid on civilian aid ships bound for the Gaza Strip has caused "irreparable" damage to his country's relations with Israel, and will "never" be forgiven.

"From now on, Turkish-Israeli ties will never be the same. This incident has left an irreparable and deep scar," Abdullah Gul said in a televised speech on Thursday, as thousands gathered in the streets of Istanbul to pay their respects to the humanitarian activists killed during the raid.

The raid "is not an issue that can be forgotten... or be covered up... Turkey will never forgive this attack," he said.

Nine people - eight Turks and a US national of Turkish origin- were killed in Monday's pre-dawn raid on the Mavi Mamara, which was carrying aid to Gaza in a bid to break Israel's strangling blockade of the territory.

As their funerals got underway on Thursday, thousands poured onto the streets around the Fatih Mosque in Istanbul, chanting slogans condemning Israel and waving Turkish and Palestinian flags.

Turkish media estimated the size of the crowd as between 15,000 and 20,000 people, a reflection of the depth of anger in Turkey over the Israeli assault on the ships.

Several imams directed the mourners in prayer as eight of the coffins, draped in Turkish and Palestinian flags, were laid on marble stands for people to pay their respects.

Shot from above

The demonstration came as Turkish forensic experts confirmed that the nine activists had been shot dead.

Al Jazeera's Jamal Elshayyal, who reported from the ship during the raid, confirmed that live ammunition had been used by Israeli commandos as they stormed the ship.

He said that he witnessed some of the killings, and confirmed that at least "one person was shot through the top of the head from [the helicopter] above."

Elshayyal was on the top deck when the ship was attacked and said that within a few minutes of seeing the Israeli helicopters, there were shots being fired from above.

"The first shots [coming from Israeli boats at sea] were tear gas, sound grenades and rubber coated steel bullets," said Eshayyal.

"Live shots came five minutes after that. There was definitely live fire from the air and from the sea as well."

He confirmed that some passengers took apart some of the ship's railings to defend themselves as they saw the Israeli soldiers approaching.

"After the shooting and the first deaths, people put up white flags and signs in English and Hebrew," he said.

"An Israeli [on the ship] asked the soldiers to take away the injured, but they did not and the injured died on the ship."

Injured flown home

Earlier on Thursday, three air ambulances landed at a military base in Ankara, the Turkish capital, carrying wounded activists who were transferred from Israeli custody to hospitals in the city.

Hundreds of supporters, including Bulent Arinc, Turkey's deputy prime minister, and several other Turkish politicians, gathered at the airport in Istanbul to welcome the returning activists.

"They faced barbarism and oppression but returned with pride," Arinc told hundreds of jubilant relatives and supporters outside the airport, chanting "God is Great!"

Almost all of the detained passengers on board the flotilla have now been released.

Seven activists wounded in Monday's clashes were still being treated in an Israeli hospital, the Israeli foreign ministry said.

Three others - an Irishman and two women from Australia and Italy - remained in Israel "for technical reasons", the ministry said.

But Ayman Mohyeldin, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Jerusalem, said that four Palestinian-Israelis also remain in prison.

Our correspondent said that Raed Salah, a leader of the Islamic Movement in Israel, was one of those still being held.

Israel defiant

Israel has remained defiant over the raid, rejecting calls for an international investigation into the incident, and warning it is ready to intercept another aid ship, the Rachel Corrie, that is due to head for Gaza next week.

Accusing international critics of "hypocrisy," Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, defended the seizure of the aid ships on Wednesday.

"This was not the Love Boat," he said in a televised address to the nation, referring to the vessel boarded by commandos. "It was a hate boat."

"These weren't pacifists, these weren't peace activists, they were violent supporters of terrorism."

Netanyahu said the aim of the flotilla was to break the blockade of Gaza, not to bring aid.

He said that if the blockade ended, ships would bring in thousands of missiles from Iran to be aimed at Israel and beyond, creating what he said would be an Iranian port on the Mediterranean.

"The same countries that are criticising us today should know that they would be targeted tomorrow," Netanyahu said.

However, Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, said the flotilla tragedy only highlights the serious underlying problem - namely, the siege imposed on the Gaza.

He said that the siege was "counter-productive, unsustainable and wrong".

"It punishes innocent civilians," he said, calling for the siege to be lifted immediately