Gaza flotilla raid: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

Line 128:

====Activists' and flotilla organizers' accounts====

[[File:Idf soldier treated.png|thumb|IDF commando being treated by Dr. Hasan Huseyin Uysal, a Turkish doctor.<ref name="ynetnews1">[http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3903079,00.html ''YNetNews'': Turkish doctor who treated soldiers says more humane]</ref> ''Source: Ali Abunimah, [[Hürriyet]]'']]

Hours before the raid, the head of the İHH declared, "We’re going to defeat the Israeli commandos-–we’re declaring it now. If you bring your soldiers here, we will throw you off the ship and you’ll be humiliated in front of the whole world." Later, according to the crew of the ship, a group of about İHH 40 organizers took over the ship.<ref name="DeathInTheMed">{{cite news|source=BBC|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/panorama/hi/default.stm|archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/5sQWBREWH|date=August 20, 2010|accessdate=September 1, 2010|archivedate=September 1, 2010|title=Death in the Med}} See also [http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00thr24 possible alternate availability].</ref>

Line 195:

===Flotilla participants===

====Deaths====

[[File:Flotilla passenger with head wound.JPG|thumb|[[Cevdet Kılıçlar]], killed during the raid on the ''Mavi Marmara''. ''Source: [[Iara Lee]], Caipirinha Foundation'']]Nine activists were shot and killed in the raid. Cengiz Akyüz (42), Ali Heyder Bengi (39),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ihh.org.tr/sehit-ve-yaralilarda-son-durum/ |title=Şehit Ve Yaralilarimizin Tam Listesi |publisher=Ihh.org.tr |date= |accessdate=2010-06-08}}</ref> [[İbrahim Bilgen]] (61), [[Cevdet Kılıçlar]] (38), Cengiz Songür (47), [[Çetin Topçuoğlu]] (53), Fahri Yaldız (43), Necdet Yıldırım (32)<ref name="Guardian Shot"/> were Turkish nationals, and [[Furkan Doğan]] (19), was an American, whom some sources say held dual citizenship.<ref name="yahoo1">[http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100605/ap_on_re_mi_ea/gaza_blockade_32 Israeli naval commandos seize Gaza-bound aid ship], Associated Press.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/06/201064962648284.html |title=Israel to release Turkish activists – Middle East |publisher=Al Jazeera English |date= |accessdate=June 5, 2010}}</ref> Doğan's father rejected this, saying his American-born son had only a Turkish residency stamp in his US passport: "Furkan was a US citizen only and he did not think that he would be killed since he was an American." <ref name="furkando">{{cite web|url=http://www.milliyet.com.tr/furkan-dogan-in-babasi-oglum-amerikan-vatandasi-olduguna-guvenip-yola-cikti-/turkiye/sondakika/06.06.2010/1247396/default.htm |title=Furkan Doğan'ın babası: Oğlum Amerikan vatandaşı olduğuna güvenip yola çıktı |publisher=Milliyet.com.tr|date= |accessdate=2010-06-08}}</ref> İbrahim Bilgen was a Turkish [[politician]] from the [[Felicity Party]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=some-people-from-the-flotilla-still-missing-says-ngo-president-2010-06-03 |title=Aid flotilla activists missing, says Turkish charity head |publisher=Hurriyet Daily News |date=June 3, 2010 |accessdate=June 7, 2010}}</ref> Most of the dead were members of, or volunteers for the İHH,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/04/AR2010060404806.html |title=Turkey's Erdogan bears responsibility in flotilla fiasco |publisher=Washingtonpost.com |date=2010-06-05 |accessdate=2010-06-26}}</ref> while Ali Heyder Bengi was the chairman of Aydınlık Yarınlar İçin Hak ve Özgürlükler Eğitim Kültür ve Dayanışma Derneği (AYDER).<ref name=bengi2>{{cite web|url=http://www.zaman.com.tr/haber.do?haberno=990657&title=gazze-sehitlerinden-ali-haydar-benginin-ailesi-taziyeleri-kabul-ediyor|title=Gazze şehitlerinden Ali Haydar Bengi'nin ailesi taziyeleri kabul ediyor| publisher=zaman| accessdate= 18 August 2010| date=1 June 2010}}</ref>

Autopsies performed in Turkey showed that the nine killed had died of 9mm gunshot wounds, five of them from gunshot wounds to the head.<ref name="Guardian Shot"/><ref name="CNN Autopsies"/> The dead were shot 30 times in total, with many shots fired at close range. Five of the victims were shot either in the back of the head or in the back, and at least four were shot from both front and back.<ref name="Guardian Shot"/> "From the analysis of the bullet distance on one of the bodies," Dr. Haluk Ince, the director of Istanbul's Medical Examination Institute, said, "the gun was fired between 2 and 14 centimeters' distance from the victim's head."<ref name="CNN Autopsies"/> [[Furkan Doğan]] was shot five times from less that 45&nbsp;cm, in the face, in the back of the head, twice in the leg and once in the back.<ref name="Guardian Shot"/>

Line 213:

===Investigation for on-board weapons===

{{Undue|section|date=June 2010}} <!--- Please add the activists' responses regarding the classification of some items as weapons --->

[[File:Weapons on Marmaris.jpg|thumb|<!-- THE CAPTION OF THIS IMAGE HAS EXPERIENCED EDIT-WARRING. Deliberate on Talk Page before making changes.-->Various items from the ''Mavi Marmara'' were recovered by the IDF, including knives, sticks, metal bars, and other diverse tools, some of which were used as [[weapon]]s<ref name="IDFSPOKE">{{cite web|url=http://idfspokesperson.com/2010/06/01/photos-of-the-mavi-marmaras-equipment-and-weapons-1-jun-2010/|title=Photos of the Mavi Marmara’s Equipment and Weapons|publisher=Israel Defense Force Spokesperson|date=June 1, 2010 |accessdate=June 5, 2010}}</ref> against the IDF by activists on board. ''Source: IDF'']]

The cargo of the ships included medical supplies as well as knives, clubs, slingshots, bulletproof vests, gas masks and night vision goggles. Israeli Army found the weapons and military supplies only on [[Mavi Marmara]].<ref name="wheelchair">{{cite web |author=Ron Friedman |url=http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=177342 |work=JPost.com |title=Wheelchairs as well as weapons found on board aid ships |date=3 June 2010}}</ref> A statement released by the [[Foreign Affairs Minister of Israel]] claimed that violence against the soldiers was pre-planned, and that "light weaponry" was found on the ships, including pistols that had been seized from IDF commandos. Israel stated that the naval forces "found weapons prepared in advance and used against our forces."<ref name="IsraeliVideo"/><ref>[http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-3896543,00.html "ישראל: בידי הפעילים במשט לעזה היה נשק (Israel: the activists on flotilla to Gaza had weapons at hand)"], [[Ynet]] (Hebrew), 31 May 2010</ref> IDF photos displayed daggers, kitchen and pocket knives, metal and wooden poles, flares, wrenches and slingshots with marble projectiles said to have been used against the soldiers.<ref name="FAZ Holzstöcke" group=text>{{cite news|last=Rößler|first=Hans-Christian|journal=Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung|title=Holzstöcke zu Eisenstangen (Wooden staves to iron bars)|date=June 5, 2010|url=http://www.faz.net/s/RubB30ABD11B91F41C0BF2722C308D40318/Doc~E9DBECE78EBE94D5D8F5D8796FA48B544~ATpl~Ecommon~Scontent.html|accessdate=June 5, 2010|quote=Als Anschauungsmaterial für die Gewaltbereitschaft der Aktivisten verbreitete die Armee später Bilder von Holz- und Eisenstangen, Steinschleudern, Murmeln, aber auch Schraubenschlüsseln und einer Reihe von Messern, wie sie in jedem größeren Haushalt zu finden sind. (As a support to the claim that the activists were ready for violence, the army later published images of wooden staves and iron bars, slingshots, marbles, and also of screwdrivers and a set of knives, such as can be found in any larger household.)}}</ref><ref name="IDFSPOKE"/> The activists were said to have also lobbed [[stun grenades]] at IDF soldiers, and the IDF furnished video reflecting this.<ref name=grenades>{{cite news|url=http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=177261|title='Activists threw stun grenades': New IDF footage shows attacks before soldiers boarded 'Mavi Marmara'|author=JPost.com staff|publisher=Jerusalem Post|date=2 June 2010}}</ref> An activist said that it would have been impossible to have firearms on board because "all the boats were carefully inspected by the government before they left the port of departure."<ref name="LIVE: Israeli raid on Gaza flotilla">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/10196585.stm|title=LIVE: Israeli raid on Gaza flotilla|date=May 31, 2010|publisher=BBC|accessdate=May 31, 2010}}</ref> Turkish officials supported the activists' account, stating that every passenger that had left Turkey had been searched with X-ray machines and metal detectors before boarding. Senior officials in the [[Ministries of Turkey|Customs Undersecretariat]] called the Israeli statements tantamount to "complete nonsense".<ref name="urlCustoms officials deny Israeli claims weapons were onboard">{{cite news |url=http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/news-211697-customs-officials-deny-israeli-claims-weapons-were-onboard.html |title=Customs officials deny Israeli claims weapons were onboard |author=Emre Soncan, Muzaffer Salcioğlu, Cihan Yenilmez |work=[[Today's Zaman]] |date=May 31, 2010}}</ref>