there is no way to peace, peace is the way!
...the world is come undone, I like to change it everyday but change don't come at once, it's a wave, building before it breaks.
"...Dimitri...He talks to me...'.."The Ghost of Greece..".
"..That's One Happy Fuckin Ghost.."
“..That came up on the Pillow Case...This is for the Greek, With Our Apologies.....”
heya, there were demonstrations in Greece, right? They showed pictures last night! Hope it stood peaceful...
Post edited by breakmarysfall on
there is no way to peace, peace is the way!
...the world is come undone, I like to change it everyday but change don't come at once, it's a wave, building before it breaks.
It's pretty clear to me that a lot on here hate Israel jewish people no matter what the case may be. None of us know what were on those boats b/c none of us were there.Why dont we take the time to hear both sides before we start bashing people.
Why would you try and defend the murder of over 10 civilian aid workers? We're only mostly getting Israel's side of the story because the Israeli's have imposed a media blackout and have yet to release the prisoners. Sound familiar? During their massacre in Gaza in January 2009 they did the same thing. They only want one side of the story to get out. Either way, let's say for arguments sake that the Israeli commando's had peaceful intentions - despite being armed with machine guns and raiding the vessel at night - and they were attacked by the aid workers; how would that justify using deadly force and killing over ten people? It was an attack planned days in advance, and an attack that took place in international waters at night. If the Israeli's intention was to peacefully inspect the cargo then why did it board the ships in darkness armed with machine guns and pistols whilst the majority of those on board were sleeping? Surely it would have made sense to conduct an inspection in broad daylight with the co-operation of those on board the ship?
Still, It's kind of despicable that over 10 civilian aid workers are slaughtered and you hear people talking about how the Israeli's were attacked. Once again Israels multi-million dollar spin machine is managing to turn reality on it's head. Fortunately it's only the morons of this world who swallow Israel's bullshit lies. Anyone with half a brain can see right through their crap.
heya, there were demonstration in Greece, right? They showed pictures last night! Hope it stood peaceful...
yep,there are every day now..i just wish no victims..
"...Dimitri...He talks to me...'.."The Ghost of Greece..".
"..That's One Happy Fuckin Ghost.."
“..That came up on the Pillow Case...This is for the Greek, With Our Apologies.....”
heya, there were demonstration in Greece, right? They showed pictures last night! Hope it stood peaceful...
yep,there are every day now..i just wish no victims..
... me too...
there is no way to peace, peace is the way!
...the world is come undone, I like to change it everyday but change don't come at once, it's a wave, building before it breaks.
Since August 2008, the Free Gaza Movement has sailed from Cyprus to the Gaza Strip on several successful voyages, bringing in international witnesses to see first hand the devastating effects of Israeli violence against the Palestinian people. Ours are the first international boats to journey to Gaza since 1967.
We are Italian, Irish, Canadian, Greek, Tunisian, German, Australian, American, English, Scottish, Danish, Israeli, and Palestinian. We are of all ages and backgrounds. We have years of experience volunteering in Gaza and the West Bank at the invitation of Palestinians. But now, because of the increasing stranglehold of Israel's illegal occupation of Palestine, many of us find it almost impossible to enter Gaza, and an increasing number have been refused entry to Israel and the West Bank as well.
We want to break the siege of Gaza. We want to raise international awareness about the prison-like closure of the Gaza Strip and pressure the international community to review its sanctions policy and end its support for continued Israeli occupation. We want to uphold Palestine's right to welcome internationals as visitors, human rights observers, humanitarian aid workers, journalists, or otherwise.
We have not and will not ask for Israel’s permission. It is our intent to overcome this brutal siege through civil resistance and non-violent direct action, and establish a permanent sea lane between Gaza and the rest of the world.
Points of Unity
All participants in the Free Gaza Movement accept the following principles and practices:
1. We respect the human rights of everyone, regardless of race, tribe, religion, ethnicity, nationality, citizenship or language.
2. The lawful inhabitants of all territories occupied by Israel since June 5, 1967 must have unimpeded access to international waters and air space, in conformity with all UN resolutions and international law.
3. The lawful inhabitants of all territories occupied by Israel since June 5, 1967 have the right to control all entry and exit to and from those territories without Israeli interference.
4. Israel must withdraw its military presence from all territories occupied since June 5, 1967 and revoke all legislation, regulations, directives and practices that apply differently to different populations living in those territories.
5. Israel must demolish all barriers built to restrict passage in all territories occupied by Israel since June 5, 1967.
6. We recognize the right of all Palestinian refugees and exiles and their heirs to return to their homes in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories; to recover their properties, and to receive compensation for damage, dispossession and unlawful use of such property. This is an individual and not a collective right, and cannot be negotiated except by the individual.
7. We stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people, but support no particular political party or organization, without exception.
8. We agree to adhere to the principles of nonviolence and nonviolent resistance in word and deed at all times.
Haneen Zuabi, a member of the Israeli Knesset who was on the Mavi Marmara, has accused Israel of trying to "cause the largest number of fatalities".
She was released today after questioning and has been giving her version of events at a news conference, according to the Israeli news website ynetnews.com she told a conference.
"I entered the captain's room. He was asked to stop by the Israeli soldiers. He said, 'We are a Turkish ship.' We were 130 miles off. It was 11:30 pm. We saw four Israel vessels, they were at a distance because we were in international waters. At 4:15 am we saw the ships approaching.
"They were dinghies and choppers. At 4:30 am the forces landed quickly. I did not hear any warning from the ships, because noise was coming from the ships and the choppers. Within 10 minutes there were already three bodies. The entire operation took about an hour."
"There was not a single passenger who raised a club. We put on our life vests. There were no clubs or anything of the sort. There were gunshots, I don't know if they were live bullets or not. There were gunshots fired from the ships in our direction.
"A clear message was being sent to us, for us to know that our lives were in danger. We convened that we were not interested in a confrontation. What we saw was five bodies. There were only civilians and there were no weapons. There was a sense that I many not come out of it alive. Israel spoke of a provocation, but there was no provocation."
Haneen Zuabi, a member of the Israeli Knesset who was on the Mavi Marmara, has accused Israel of trying to "cause the largest number of fatalities".
She was released today after questioning and has been giving her version of events at a news conference, according to the Israeli news website ynetnews.com she told a conference.
"I entered the captain's room. He was asked to stop by the Israeli soldiers. He said, 'We are a Turkish ship.' We were 130 miles off. It was 11:30 pm. We saw four Israel vessels, they were at a distance because we were in international waters. At 4:15 am we saw the ships approaching.
"They were dinghies and choppers. At 4:30 am the forces landed quickly. I did not hear any warning from the ships, because noise was coming from the ships and the choppers. Within 10 minutes there were already three bodies. The entire operation took about an hour."
"There was not a single passenger who raised a club. We put on our life vests. There were no clubs or anything of the sort. There were gunshots, I don't know if they were live bullets or not. There were gunshots fired from the ships in our direction.
"A clear message was being sent to us, for us to know that our lives were in danger. We convened that we were not interested in a confrontation. What we saw was five bodies. There were only civilians and there were no weapons. There was a sense that I many not come out of it alive. Israel spoke of a provocation, but there was no provocation."
Thats fucked up :evil:
One Aussie was shot and another four are being held in detention. Two of them reporters and all their equipment has been confiscated.
One Australian has been shot and four more are in Israeli detention after they were caught in a deadly clash over a humanitarian mission bound for Gaza.
The Australians were on board an aid flotilla trying to reach the Palestinian territory.
Nine people died when Israeli forces stormed the ships, sparking international condemnation. A 20-year-old Australian man has undergone surgery after being shot in the leg.
The incident has added further strain to the troubled relationship between Australia and Israel.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd spoke out against the violence and loss of life.
"The Australian government condemns any use of violence under the sorts of circumstances that we have seen," he told reporters in Canberra.
"Furthermore, we are deeply concerned about the loss of life which has occurred."
Mr Rudd called for Israel's blockade of Gaza to end.
Australia and Israel's usually cordial relations have become troubled with the attack on the aid convoy coming soon after the federal government expelled an Israeli diplomat.
The expulsion was in retaliation for Israel's use of forged Australian passports in an assassination in Dubai.
Foreign Minister Stephen Smith also deplored the flotilla incident, describing it as "terrible and shocking" in a speech to parliament.
"I think very many Australians will be shocked by it," he said.
Australia called on Israel to conduct an independent inquiry into the incident straight away, and for that inquiry to be transparent.
The Australians in Israeli detention include two Fairfax reporters, Paul McGeough and Kate Geraghty.
They are understood to have refused an offer of deportation and are now in a detention centre at Beersheva. They have had their footage and equipment confiscated.
Peter Fray, editor of Fairfax's The Sydney Morning Herald, called on Israel to allow the reporters to tell their story.
Mr Fray said the reporters had "every right" to be on board the flotilla.
"We ask that Israel respect their right to do their jobs," he said.
The other detained Australians are two women who are understood to be unharmed.
Protests were held in Australian cities on Tuesday against Israel's actions. An estimated 4000 people stormed Sydney's Town Hall forecourt, chanting "Israel, USA, how many kids have you killed today?".
The crowd observed a minute's silence to remember the dead, standing by banners that read "Israel is a terrorist state".
In Canberra, about 120 protesters clasped candles and chanted in front of the Israeli embassy.
Palestinian flags were waved and some wore traditional scarves in a gesture of support.
The crowd heard that Israel had gone too far in attacking the convoy, and that the international community had to act swiftly or such actions would be repeated.
Protester Mahmoud Abujafar, who was born in the West Bank but lives in Canberra, said he had been feeling bad about the deaths all day.
"People came to help us, the people in Gaza, and they were killed," he told AAP.
He said he was feeling very proud of the Australians who had joined the aid flotilla.
Protesters chanted "free free Palestine" and "shame" as police guarded the gate to the embassy.
Earlier in the day, federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said the flotilla incident was "very distressing" and expressed his regret.
The opposition has not criticised Israel, saying more time is needed to sift through the differing claims about what happened.
It's pretty clear to me that a lot on here hate Israel jewish people no matter what the case may be. None of us know what were on those boats b/c none of us were there.Why dont we take the time to hear both sides before we start bashing people.
Why would you try and defend the murder of over 10 civilian aid workers? We're only mostly getting Israel's side of the story because the Israeli's have imposed a media blackout and have yet to release the prisoners. Sound familiar? During their massacre in Gaza in January 2009 they did the same thing. They only want one side of the story to get out. Either way, let's say for arguments sake that the Israeli commando's had peaceful intentions - despite being armed with machine guns and raiding the vessel at night - and they were attacked by the aid workers; how would that justify using deadly force and killing over ten people? It was an attack planned days in advance, and an attack that took place in international waters at night. If the Israeli's intention was to peacefully inspect the cargo then why did it board the ships in darkness armed with machine guns and pistols whilst the majority of those on board were sleeping? Surely it would have made sense to conduct an inspection in broad daylight with the co-operation of those on board the ship?
Still, It's kind of despicable that over 10 civilian aid workers are slaughtered and you hear people talking about how the Israeli's were attacked. Once again Israels multi-million dollar spin machine is managing to turn reality on it's head. Fortunately it's only the morons of this world who swallow Israel's bullshit lies. Anyone with half a brain can see right through their crap.
Im not condoning any one being killed,but if the seals were only defending themselves then that's a different story. and it looked like to me the Israelis were getting attacked as they were bording that ship. I didn't see any gunfire from the video i saw. Only the Israelis being beaten with clubs and one of them being thrown off one of the decks.
All Im saying is I think we should hear both sides before making any judgement.
Gaza flotilla raid: 'We heard gunfire – then our ship turned into lake of blood'
Activists aboard Mavi Marmara speak of shock at rapid attacks and deny assaults on Israeli commandos
Robert Booth, Kate Connolly in Berlin, Tom Philips in Rio de Janeiro and Helena Smith
The Guardian, Wednesday 2 June 2010
'Some formed human shields, others fought back with makeshift weapons, while a few of the most vulnerable hid below deck and prayed for the violence and killing to stop.
But what united every survivor who spoke out today about yesterday's pre-dawn assault by Israeli commandos on the pro-Palestinian aid flotilla to Gaza, was a sense of deep shock at the speed, aggression and lethal force of the Israeli response to what they reiterated was nothing more than a humanitarian aid effort.
Speaking on arrival back in Berlin, wrapped in an airline blanket from the Israeli national airline El Al, Norman Paech, a 72-year-old German pro-Palestinian activist described waking up to hear "striking explosions" as the assault began on the Mavi Marmara, the flotilla's informal flagship.
"I hurried up and dressed myself and colleagues said to me 'we're under attack, the Israelis are here'," he said. "The aggression came from the sky, from helicopters from which soldiers came down by ropes. We waited in the fore room and saw them carrying an Israeli soldier who looked to me like he'd had a breakdown. Then the second and third came, but after these three injured soldiers then I saw a lot – maybe 10 – passengers who were severely hurt, injured, covered in blood. They were treated in the salon next to me. One was so badly injured I am sure he must have died soon after. I didn't even consider going upstairs as it was just too dangerous."
One of the strongest condemnations of Israel's actions came from the Swedish novelist Henning Mankell who had been aboard the Swedish aid ship Sofia. Mankell, the author of the Wallander series called for global sanctions against Israel to put pressure on it to lift the blockade of Gaza. "I think we should use the experience of South Africa, where we know that the sanctions had a great impact. It took time, but they had an impact," Mankell said. He also denied there had been any weapons aboard the aid ships. "I can promise there was not a single weapon aboard the ships," he told a reporter who was returning to Sweden with him after the writer had been deported by Israel.
Nilufer Cetin, a Turkish activist, and her baby boy hid in a bathroom below deck as stun grenades, live ammunition and teargas exploded above them. Speaking on her return to Istanbul, she described how "the ship turned into a lake of blood".
"We stayed in our cabin and played games amid the sound of gunfire," she said. "I protected him by staying in my cabin, then went to the bathroom. I put a gas mask and lifejacket on my son. They used smoke bombs followed by gas canisters. They started to descend on to the ship with helicopters." She added the clashes were "extremely bad and brutal".
Iara Lee, a Brazilian filmmaker who was also on the Mavi Marmara, claimed the Israeli troops had invaded the ship after cutting all communications and "started shooting at people". She spoke to Brazil's TV Globo from the prison in southern Israel where an estimated 600 foreign activists, including around 40 Britons, were being held. Israeli officials said tonight that they would all be freed immediately.
Lee said: "[The attack] was a surprise, because it happened in the middle of the night, in the darkness, in international waters, because we knew there would be a confrontation but not in international waters. Their first tactic was to cut all of our satellite communications and then they attacked. All I witnessed first hand was the shooting. They came on board and started shooting at people."
She said the commandos then sent the women to a lower level of the ship.
"They said we were terrorists – it was absurd. They came into the part where the women were, lots and lots of them, dressed in black and with gigantic weapons as if they were in a war. They confiscated all of our telephones and all of our luggage and took everything out of the bags and put it on the floor."
"We expected them to shoot people in the legs, to shoot in the air, just to scare people, but they were direct," she said, in a separate interview with the Folha de São Paulo newspaper. "Some of them shot in the passengers' heads. Many people were murdered – it was unimaginable."
The released activists gave varying accounts of the level of resistance mounted by the passengers.
Annette Groth, a German politician, described at a press conference how she had seen Israeli soldiers outside her cabin, after they had stormed the ship.
"They were shooting without warning," she said. "It was like war … They had guns, Taser weapons, some type of teargas and other weaponry, compared to two-and-a-half wooden sticks we had between us. To talk of self-defence is ridiculous."
Footage of the assault shown on Turkish TV and images released by the Israeli military clearly showed some commandos being beaten with sticks by passengers.
However, Paech said he saw no arms being used by the activists. "There were only two men with short sticks but no knives, iron rods, pistols or any real weapons," he said. "Throughout our planning of the mission we said: 'no arms, no explosives', we said we'd only resist politically, with normal means."
An Arab member of the Israeli Knesset, Hanin Zoabi, who was on board the Mavi Marmara, said "not a single passenger …raised a club".
At a press conference in Nazareth, she said: "A clear message was being sent to us, for us to know that our lives were in danger. We were not interested in a confrontation. What we saw was five bodies. There were only civilians and there were no weapons … Israel spoke of a provocation, but there was no provocation."
According to a spokeswoman for the Israeli Defence Force (IDF), Avital Leibovich, its warships gave the activists several warnings before commandos were dropped from helicopters on to the deck of the Mavi Marmara.
"We found ourselves in the middle of a lynching," she told reporters in the Israeli port of Ashdod. About 10 activists had attacked commandos, taking their pistols, she said. "It was a massive attack. What happened was a last resort."
The violence was not confined to the Mavi Marmara. Speaking at Athens airport, Mihalis Grigoropoulos, crew on one of the other five vessels, said the Israelis came down from helicopters and threw ropes from inflatable boats, climbing aboard using teargas and live ammunition.
"We did not resist at all, we couldn't even if we had wanted to," he said. "What could we have done against the commandos who climbed aboard? The only thing some people tried was to delay them from getting to the bridge, forming a human shield. They were fired on with plastic bullets and stunned with electric devices."
Greek activist Dimitris Gielalis, aboard a third vessel, the Sfendoni, gave a similar account. "Suddenly from everywhere we saw inflatables coming at us, and within seconds fully equipped commandos came up on the boat. They came up and used plastic bullets, we had beatings, we had electric shocks, any method we can think of, they used," he said.
The tough treatment did not end after they were taken into custody in Israel, others said.
"During their interrogation, many of them were badly beaten in front of us," said Aris Papadokostopoulos.
It's pretty clear to me that a lot on here hate Israel jewish people no matter what the case may be. None of us know what were on those boats b/c none of us were there.Why dont we take the time to hear both sides before we start bashing people.
Why would you try and defend the murder of over 10 civilian aid workers? We're only mostly getting Israel's side of the story because the Israeli's have imposed a media blackout and have yet to release the prisoners. Sound familiar? During their massacre in Gaza in January 2009 they did the same thing. They only want one side of the story to get out. Either way, let's say for arguments sake that the Israeli commando's had peaceful intentions - despite being armed with machine guns and raiding the vessel at night - and they were attacked by the aid workers; how would that justify using deadly force and killing over ten people? It was an attack planned days in advance, and an attack that took place in international waters at night. If the Israeli's intention was to peacefully inspect the cargo then why did it board the ships in darkness armed with machine guns and pistols whilst the majority of those on board were sleeping? Surely it would have made sense to conduct an inspection in broad daylight with the co-operation of those on board the ship?
Still, It's kind of despicable that over 10 civilian aid workers are slaughtered and you hear people talking about how the Israeli's were attacked. Once again Israels multi-million dollar spin machine is managing to turn reality on it's head. Fortunately it's only the morons of this world who swallow Israel's bullshit lies. Anyone with half a brain can see right through their crap.
Im not condoning any one being killed,but if the seals were only defending themselves then that's a different story. and it looked like to me the Israelis were getting attacked as they were bording that ship. I didn't see any gunfire from the video i saw. Only the Israelis being beaten with clubs and one of them being thrown off one of the decks.
All Im saying is I think we should hear both sides before making any judgement.
I don't think you get to play that card...that the ones INVADING are the victims. When those soldiers invaded the ships and breached the rights of the people on those ships they themselves (the invaders) lost all right to their own protection.
Comments
there is no way to peace,
peace is the WAY.
...the world is come undone, I like to change it everyday but change don't come at once, it's a wave, building before it breaks.
"..That's One Happy Fuckin Ghost.."
“..That came up on the Pillow Case...This is for the Greek, With Our Apologies.....”
heya,
...the world is come undone, I like to change it everyday but change don't come at once, it's a wave, building before it breaks.
Why would you try and defend the murder of over 10 civilian aid workers? We're only mostly getting Israel's side of the story because the Israeli's have imposed a media blackout and have yet to release the prisoners. Sound familiar? During their massacre in Gaza in January 2009 they did the same thing. They only want one side of the story to get out. Either way, let's say for arguments sake that the Israeli commando's had peaceful intentions - despite being armed with machine guns and raiding the vessel at night - and they were attacked by the aid workers; how would that justify using deadly force and killing over ten people? It was an attack planned days in advance, and an attack that took place in international waters at night. If the Israeli's intention was to peacefully inspect the cargo then why did it board the ships in darkness armed with machine guns and pistols whilst the majority of those on board were sleeping? Surely it would have made sense to conduct an inspection in broad daylight with the co-operation of those on board the ship?
Still, It's kind of despicable that over 10 civilian aid workers are slaughtered and you hear people talking about how the Israeli's were attacked. Once again Israels multi-million dollar spin machine is managing to turn reality on it's head. Fortunately it's only the morons of this world who swallow Israel's bullshit lies. Anyone with half a brain can see right through their crap.
"..That's One Happy Fuckin Ghost.."
“..That came up on the Pillow Case...This is for the Greek, With Our Apologies.....”
... me too...
...the world is come undone, I like to change it everyday but change don't come at once, it's a wave, building before it breaks.
Our Mission
Written by Free Gaza Movement | 30 January 2009
Since August 2008, the Free Gaza Movement has sailed from Cyprus to the Gaza Strip on several successful voyages, bringing in international witnesses to see first hand the devastating effects of Israeli violence against the Palestinian people. Ours are the first international boats to journey to Gaza since 1967.
We are Italian, Irish, Canadian, Greek, Tunisian, German, Australian, American, English, Scottish, Danish, Israeli, and Palestinian. We are of all ages and backgrounds. We have years of experience volunteering in Gaza and the West Bank at the invitation of Palestinians. But now, because of the increasing stranglehold of Israel's illegal occupation of Palestine, many of us find it almost impossible to enter Gaza, and an increasing number have been refused entry to Israel and the West Bank as well.
We want to break the siege of Gaza. We want to raise international awareness about the prison-like closure of the Gaza Strip and pressure the international community to review its sanctions policy and end its support for continued Israeli occupation. We want to uphold Palestine's right to welcome internationals as visitors, human rights observers, humanitarian aid workers, journalists, or otherwise.
We have not and will not ask for Israel’s permission. It is our intent to overcome this brutal siege through civil resistance and non-violent direct action, and establish a permanent sea lane between Gaza and the rest of the world.
Points of Unity
All participants in the Free Gaza Movement accept the following principles and practices:
1. We respect the human rights of everyone, regardless of race, tribe, religion, ethnicity, nationality, citizenship or language.
2. The lawful inhabitants of all territories occupied by Israel since June 5, 1967 must have unimpeded access to international waters and air space, in conformity with all UN resolutions and international law.
3. The lawful inhabitants of all territories occupied by Israel since June 5, 1967 have the right to control all entry and exit to and from those territories without Israeli interference.
4. Israel must withdraw its military presence from all territories occupied since June 5, 1967 and revoke all legislation, regulations, directives and practices that apply differently to different populations living in those territories.
5. Israel must demolish all barriers built to restrict passage in all territories occupied by Israel since June 5, 1967.
6. We recognize the right of all Palestinian refugees and exiles and their heirs to return to their homes in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories; to recover their properties, and to receive compensation for damage, dispossession and unlawful use of such property. This is an individual and not a collective right, and cannot be negotiated except by the individual.
7. We stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people, but support no particular political party or organization, without exception.
8. We agree to adhere to the principles of nonviolence and nonviolent resistance in word and deed at all times.
O.k...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/20 ... llout-live
Haneen Zuabi, a member of the Israeli Knesset who was on the Mavi Marmara, has accused Israel of trying to "cause the largest number of fatalities".
She was released today after questioning and has been giving her version of events at a news conference, according to the Israeli news website ynetnews.com she told a conference.
"I entered the captain's room. He was asked to stop by the Israeli soldiers. He said, 'We are a Turkish ship.' We were 130 miles off. It was 11:30 pm. We saw four Israel vessels, they were at a distance because we were in international waters. At 4:15 am we saw the ships approaching.
"They were dinghies and choppers. At 4:30 am the forces landed quickly. I did not hear any warning from the ships, because noise was coming from the ships and the choppers. Within 10 minutes there were already three bodies. The entire operation took about an hour."
"There was not a single passenger who raised a club. We put on our life vests. There were no clubs or anything of the sort. There were gunshots, I don't know if they were live bullets or not. There were gunshots fired from the ships in our direction.
"A clear message was being sent to us, for us to know that our lives were in danger. We convened that we were not interested in a confrontation. What we saw was five bodies. There were only civilians and there were no weapons. There was a sense that I many not come out of it alive. Israel spoke of a provocation, but there was no provocation."
Thats fucked up :evil:
One Aussie was shot and another four are being held in detention. Two of them reporters and all their equipment has been confiscated.
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=1062242
One Australian has been shot and four more are in Israeli detention after they were caught in a deadly clash over a humanitarian mission bound for Gaza.
The Australians were on board an aid flotilla trying to reach the Palestinian territory.
Nine people died when Israeli forces stormed the ships, sparking international condemnation. A 20-year-old Australian man has undergone surgery after being shot in the leg.
The incident has added further strain to the troubled relationship between Australia and Israel.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd spoke out against the violence and loss of life.
"The Australian government condemns any use of violence under the sorts of circumstances that we have seen," he told reporters in Canberra.
"Furthermore, we are deeply concerned about the loss of life which has occurred."
Mr Rudd called for Israel's blockade of Gaza to end.
Australia and Israel's usually cordial relations have become troubled with the attack on the aid convoy coming soon after the federal government expelled an Israeli diplomat.
The expulsion was in retaliation for Israel's use of forged Australian passports in an assassination in Dubai.
Foreign Minister Stephen Smith also deplored the flotilla incident, describing it as "terrible and shocking" in a speech to parliament.
"I think very many Australians will be shocked by it," he said.
Australia called on Israel to conduct an independent inquiry into the incident straight away, and for that inquiry to be transparent.
The Australians in Israeli detention include two Fairfax reporters, Paul McGeough and Kate Geraghty.
They are understood to have refused an offer of deportation and are now in a detention centre at Beersheva. They have had their footage and equipment confiscated.
Peter Fray, editor of Fairfax's The Sydney Morning Herald, called on Israel to allow the reporters to tell their story.
Mr Fray said the reporters had "every right" to be on board the flotilla.
"We ask that Israel respect their right to do their jobs," he said.
The other detained Australians are two women who are understood to be unharmed.
Protests were held in Australian cities on Tuesday against Israel's actions. An estimated 4000 people stormed Sydney's Town Hall forecourt, chanting "Israel, USA, how many kids have you killed today?".
The crowd observed a minute's silence to remember the dead, standing by banners that read "Israel is a terrorist state".
In Canberra, about 120 protesters clasped candles and chanted in front of the Israeli embassy.
Palestinian flags were waved and some wore traditional scarves in a gesture of support.
The crowd heard that Israel had gone too far in attacking the convoy, and that the international community had to act swiftly or such actions would be repeated.
Protester Mahmoud Abujafar, who was born in the West Bank but lives in Canberra, said he had been feeling bad about the deaths all day.
"People came to help us, the people in Gaza, and they were killed," he told AAP.
He said he was feeling very proud of the Australians who had joined the aid flotilla.
Protesters chanted "free free Palestine" and "shame" as police guarded the gate to the embassy.
Earlier in the day, federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said the flotilla incident was "very distressing" and expressed his regret.
The opposition has not criticised Israel, saying more time is needed to sift through the differing claims about what happened.
Im not condoning any one being killed,but if the seals were only defending themselves then that's a different story. and it looked like to me the Israelis were getting attacked as they were bording that ship. I didn't see any gunfire from the video i saw. Only the Israelis being beaten with clubs and one of them being thrown off one of the decks.
All Im saying is I think we should hear both sides before making any judgement.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/ju ... ship-blood
Gaza flotilla raid: 'We heard gunfire – then our ship turned into lake of blood'
Activists aboard Mavi Marmara speak of shock at rapid attacks and deny assaults on Israeli commandos
Robert Booth, Kate Connolly in Berlin, Tom Philips in Rio de Janeiro and Helena Smith
The Guardian, Wednesday 2 June 2010
'Some formed human shields, others fought back with makeshift weapons, while a few of the most vulnerable hid below deck and prayed for the violence and killing to stop.
But what united every survivor who spoke out today about yesterday's pre-dawn assault by Israeli commandos on the pro-Palestinian aid flotilla to Gaza, was a sense of deep shock at the speed, aggression and lethal force of the Israeli response to what they reiterated was nothing more than a humanitarian aid effort.
Speaking on arrival back in Berlin, wrapped in an airline blanket from the Israeli national airline El Al, Norman Paech, a 72-year-old German pro-Palestinian activist described waking up to hear "striking explosions" as the assault began on the Mavi Marmara, the flotilla's informal flagship.
"I hurried up and dressed myself and colleagues said to me 'we're under attack, the Israelis are here'," he said. "The aggression came from the sky, from helicopters from which soldiers came down by ropes. We waited in the fore room and saw them carrying an Israeli soldier who looked to me like he'd had a breakdown. Then the second and third came, but after these three injured soldiers then I saw a lot – maybe 10 – passengers who were severely hurt, injured, covered in blood. They were treated in the salon next to me. One was so badly injured I am sure he must have died soon after. I didn't even consider going upstairs as it was just too dangerous."
One of the strongest condemnations of Israel's actions came from the Swedish novelist Henning Mankell who had been aboard the Swedish aid ship Sofia. Mankell, the author of the Wallander series called for global sanctions against Israel to put pressure on it to lift the blockade of Gaza. "I think we should use the experience of South Africa, where we know that the sanctions had a great impact. It took time, but they had an impact," Mankell said. He also denied there had been any weapons aboard the aid ships. "I can promise there was not a single weapon aboard the ships," he told a reporter who was returning to Sweden with him after the writer had been deported by Israel.
Nilufer Cetin, a Turkish activist, and her baby boy hid in a bathroom below deck as stun grenades, live ammunition and teargas exploded above them. Speaking on her return to Istanbul, she described how "the ship turned into a lake of blood".
"We stayed in our cabin and played games amid the sound of gunfire," she said. "I protected him by staying in my cabin, then went to the bathroom. I put a gas mask and lifejacket on my son. They used smoke bombs followed by gas canisters. They started to descend on to the ship with helicopters." She added the clashes were "extremely bad and brutal".
Iara Lee, a Brazilian filmmaker who was also on the Mavi Marmara, claimed the Israeli troops had invaded the ship after cutting all communications and "started shooting at people". She spoke to Brazil's TV Globo from the prison in southern Israel where an estimated 600 foreign activists, including around 40 Britons, were being held. Israeli officials said tonight that they would all be freed immediately.
Lee said: "[The attack] was a surprise, because it happened in the middle of the night, in the darkness, in international waters, because we knew there would be a confrontation but not in international waters. Their first tactic was to cut all of our satellite communications and then they attacked. All I witnessed first hand was the shooting. They came on board and started shooting at people."
She said the commandos then sent the women to a lower level of the ship.
"They said we were terrorists – it was absurd. They came into the part where the women were, lots and lots of them, dressed in black and with gigantic weapons as if they were in a war. They confiscated all of our telephones and all of our luggage and took everything out of the bags and put it on the floor."
"We expected them to shoot people in the legs, to shoot in the air, just to scare people, but they were direct," she said, in a separate interview with the Folha de São Paulo newspaper. "Some of them shot in the passengers' heads. Many people were murdered – it was unimaginable."
The released activists gave varying accounts of the level of resistance mounted by the passengers.
Annette Groth, a German politician, described at a press conference how she had seen Israeli soldiers outside her cabin, after they had stormed the ship.
"They were shooting without warning," she said. "It was like war … They had guns, Taser weapons, some type of teargas and other weaponry, compared to two-and-a-half wooden sticks we had between us. To talk of self-defence is ridiculous."
Footage of the assault shown on Turkish TV and images released by the Israeli military clearly showed some commandos being beaten with sticks by passengers.
However, Paech said he saw no arms being used by the activists. "There were only two men with short sticks but no knives, iron rods, pistols or any real weapons," he said. "Throughout our planning of the mission we said: 'no arms, no explosives', we said we'd only resist politically, with normal means."
An Arab member of the Israeli Knesset, Hanin Zoabi, who was on board the Mavi Marmara, said "not a single passenger …raised a club".
At a press conference in Nazareth, she said: "A clear message was being sent to us, for us to know that our lives were in danger. We were not interested in a confrontation. What we saw was five bodies. There were only civilians and there were no weapons … Israel spoke of a provocation, but there was no provocation."
According to a spokeswoman for the Israeli Defence Force (IDF), Avital Leibovich, its warships gave the activists several warnings before commandos were dropped from helicopters on to the deck of the Mavi Marmara.
"We found ourselves in the middle of a lynching," she told reporters in the Israeli port of Ashdod. About 10 activists had attacked commandos, taking their pistols, she said. "It was a massive attack. What happened was a last resort."
The violence was not confined to the Mavi Marmara. Speaking at Athens airport, Mihalis Grigoropoulos, crew on one of the other five vessels, said the Israelis came down from helicopters and threw ropes from inflatable boats, climbing aboard using teargas and live ammunition.
"We did not resist at all, we couldn't even if we had wanted to," he said. "What could we have done against the commandos who climbed aboard? The only thing some people tried was to delay them from getting to the bridge, forming a human shield. They were fired on with plastic bullets and stunned with electric devices."
Greek activist Dimitris Gielalis, aboard a third vessel, the Sfendoni, gave a similar account. "Suddenly from everywhere we saw inflatables coming at us, and within seconds fully equipped commandos came up on the boat. They came up and used plastic bullets, we had beatings, we had electric shocks, any method we can think of, they used," he said.
The tough treatment did not end after they were taken into custody in Israel, others said.
"During their interrogation, many of them were badly beaten in front of us," said Aris Papadokostopoulos.
I don't think you get to play that card...that the ones INVADING are the victims. When those soldiers invaded the ships and breached the rights of the people on those ships they themselves (the invaders) lost all right to their own protection.