Gaza Activists Claim "Brutal" Israeli Raid
Activists returning to Europe after Israeli forces raided their aid flotilla said Tuesday that the commandos had beaten passengers and used electric shocks during the assault.
Six Greeks and several others, including a Turkish woman and her 1-year-old baby, were released Tuesday, but Israel has barred access to hundreds of others seized during the raid that killed at least nine people and wounded dozens early Monday.
CBS News correspondent Robert Berger in Jerusalem reports that about 600 activists and aid workers were arrested after the flotilla was escorted to the Israeli port of Ashdod following the raids, which took place in international waters. About two thirds of those aboard the aid ships were Turkish.
Turkey's prime minister on Tuesday called the raid a "bloody massacre," and warned that no one should test Turkey's patience.
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Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Turkish lawmakers "this bloody massacre by Israel on ships that were taking humanitarian aid to Gaza deserves every kind of curse."
Most of those killed were aboard the Turkish-flagged Mavi Marmara, and there have been conflicting accounts of what happened during the assault.
Israel said the activists attacked its commandos as they boarded the six ships taking tons of supplies to Gaza, while the flotilla's organizers said the Israeli forces opened fire first. CBS News correspondent Richard Roth reports that Israel claims the first five ships were boarded without incident, and the battle came on the sixth.
There were conflicting statements Tuesday from members of the "Free Gaza Coalition," which organized the flotilla, as to whether they would try again to thwart the blockade this week.
Another large cargo ship, the MV Rachel Corrie, left port in Ireland and was sailing toward Gazan waters Tuesday.
Dr. Arafat Shoukri, Director of the Council for European-Palestinian Relations, a partner in the "Free Gaza" aid operation, told CBSNews.com the Corrie was still three days away from the Middle East and that the flotilla's organizers "have not decided yet" whether it should continue on its path.
"We will decide in the coming two days," Shoukri told CBS.
However, Greta Berlin, another member of the coalition, told the Associated Press Tuesday that the Corrie, along with another boat full of aid materials, would arrive in the region late this week or early next week.
"This initiative is not going to stop," she said from the group's base in Cyprus. "We think eventually Israel will get some kind of common sense. They're going to have to stop the blockade of Gaza, and one of the ways to do this is for us to continue to send the boats."
The discrepancy in the two coalition members' stances could not be immediately resolved. CBS News was attempting to contact the coalition to clarify its stance on any further attempts to breach the blockade.
Turkish activist Nilufer Cetin, who had hidden with her baby in her cabin's bathroom aboard the Mavi Marmara, told reporters she believed there were 11 dead.
"The ship turned into a lake of blood," Cetin told reporters in Istanbul, having returned after Israeli officials warned that jail would be too harsh for her child.
"We were aware of the possible danger" in joining the trip, she said. "But there are thousands of babies in Gaza. If we had reached Gaza we would have played with them and taken them food."
She said Israeli vessels "harassed" the flotilla for two hours starting around 10 p.m. Sunday, and returned at around 4 a.m. Monday, fired warning shots and told the ships to turn back.
"When the Mavi Marmara continued on its course the harassment turned into an attack. They used smoke bombs followed by gas canisters. They started to descend onto the ship with helicopters," she said, calling the clashes that then erupted "extremely bad and brutal."
"I was one of the first victims to be released because I had a child," she told reporters, but "they confiscated everything, our telephones, laptops are all gone." Her husband - the ship's engineer - was still being held by Israeli authorities.
Some 400 Turkish activists were on the six-ship flotilla, along with more than 30 Greeks and people of some 20 other nations including Germany, the U.S. and Russia. Roth reports that nine of those in detention are thought to be Americans.
The ships had been trying to break the three-year blockade of Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid, the activists said.
In a move sure to anger Israel, an Egyptian official said Tuesday the government was temporarily lifting its blockade of the Gaza Strip to allow aid into the area a day after Israel's raid.
The governor of northern Sinai, Murad Muwafi, said President Hosni Mubarak ordered the opening of the border crossing to Gaza in the town of Rafah for several days. Muwafi said the opening of the crossing - which Egypt sealed after Gaza was taken over by Hamas militants in 2007 - was an effort to "alleviate the suffering of our Palestinian brothers after the Israeli attack."
Greek activist Dimitris Gielalis, who had been aboard the Sfendoni, told the AP he and his shipmates suddenly say "inflatables coming at us, and within seconds fully equipped commandos came up on the boat," said. He was among six Greeks returned home Tuesday.
"They came up and used plastic bullets, we had beatings, we had electric shocks, any method we can think of, they used," he said.
He said the boat's captain was beaten for refusing to leave the wheel, and had sustained non-life-threatening injuries, while a cameraman filming the raid was hit with a rifle butt in the eye," he said. "Of course we weren't prepared for a situation of war."
The returning Greeks said those still in custody were refusing to sign papers demanded by Israeli authorities.
"During their interrogation, many of them were badly beaten in front of us," said Aris Papadokostopoulos, who was aboard the Free Mediterranean traveling behind the Turkish ship and carrying mainly Greek and Swedish activists.
Papadokostopoulos said the flotilla was about 80 miles off Gaza when the raid occurred around 4 a.m. Monday.
"The Turkish ship was in front of us ... on which there was a terrible raid from the air and from the sea and from everywhere, with shooting," he said.
Aboard the other boats, he said, commandos beat activists, but nobody was gravely injured. He said no one put up resistance on the Free Mediterranean, which was carrying a cargo of wheelchairs, building material and medical and pharmaceutical aid.
"Some people were hit by clubs and electric shocks," he said.
Crew member Mihalis Grigoropoulos said he was on the bridge of the Free Mediterranean and heard shooting coming from the Turkish ship.
Several people who tried to stop the Israeli forces from getting to the bridge were hit by electric shocks and plastic bullets, he said. "We didn't' resist at all. Even if we had wanted to, what could we do?"
Civil engineer Thanassis Petrogiannis said he had joined the flotilla to provide help in rebuilding destroyed Palestinian homes.
He said that, while in Israeli custody, authorities had demanded he sign a paper written in Hebrew. He refused, and was eventually given another document that he signed.
"Everyone who didn't accept to sign is in jail," he said.
Grigoropoulos, the crew member, and Gielalis said they were not asked to sign anything, though their cell phones, cameras and clothes were confiscated before they were expelled.
While the six Greeks "are in good health," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Grigoris Delavekouras said Greece was demanding the others still in custody be repatriated as soon as possible.
"Israel bears responsibility for their safety. So it must contribute so they can return quickly to Greece," he said.
Turkey said it was sending three ambulance planes to Israel to pick up 20 more Turkish activists injured in the operation.
Three Turkish Airlines planes were on standby waiting to fly back other activists, the prime minister's office said.
© 2010 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Six Greeks and several others, including a Turkish woman and her 1-year-old baby, were released Tuesday, but Israel has barred access to hundreds of others seized during the raid that killed at least nine people and wounded dozens early Monday.
CBS News correspondent Robert Berger in Jerusalem reports that about 600 activists and aid workers were arrested after the flotilla was escorted to the Israeli port of Ashdod following the raids, which took place in international waters. About two thirds of those aboard the aid ships were Turkish.
Turkey's prime minister on Tuesday called the raid a "bloody massacre," and warned that no one should test Turkey's patience.
Gazans Rush to Egypt Border after Israeli Raid
U.N. Calls for Probe into Israeli Aid Ship Raid
Turkey Blasts Israel's "Bloody Massacre
Israeli Raid Puts Obama, U.S. in Hot Seat
Photos: Protests against Israeli Flotilla Raid
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Turkish lawmakers "this bloody massacre by Israel on ships that were taking humanitarian aid to Gaza deserves every kind of curse."
Most of those killed were aboard the Turkish-flagged Mavi Marmara, and there have been conflicting accounts of what happened during the assault.
Israel said the activists attacked its commandos as they boarded the six ships taking tons of supplies to Gaza, while the flotilla's organizers said the Israeli forces opened fire first. CBS News correspondent Richard Roth reports that Israel claims the first five ships were boarded without incident, and the battle came on the sixth.
There were conflicting statements Tuesday from members of the "Free Gaza Coalition," which organized the flotilla, as to whether they would try again to thwart the blockade this week.
Another large cargo ship, the MV Rachel Corrie, left port in Ireland and was sailing toward Gazan waters Tuesday.
Dr. Arafat Shoukri, Director of the Council for European-Palestinian Relations, a partner in the "Free Gaza" aid operation, told CBSNews.com the Corrie was still three days away from the Middle East and that the flotilla's organizers "have not decided yet" whether it should continue on its path.
"We will decide in the coming two days," Shoukri told CBS.
However, Greta Berlin, another member of the coalition, told the Associated Press Tuesday that the Corrie, along with another boat full of aid materials, would arrive in the region late this week or early next week.
"This initiative is not going to stop," she said from the group's base in Cyprus. "We think eventually Israel will get some kind of common sense. They're going to have to stop the blockade of Gaza, and one of the ways to do this is for us to continue to send the boats."
The discrepancy in the two coalition members' stances could not be immediately resolved. CBS News was attempting to contact the coalition to clarify its stance on any further attempts to breach the blockade.
Turkish activist Nilufer Cetin, who had hidden with her baby in her cabin's bathroom aboard the Mavi Marmara, told reporters she believed there were 11 dead.
"The ship turned into a lake of blood," Cetin told reporters in Istanbul, having returned after Israeli officials warned that jail would be too harsh for her child.
"We were aware of the possible danger" in joining the trip, she said. "But there are thousands of babies in Gaza. If we had reached Gaza we would have played with them and taken them food."
She said Israeli vessels "harassed" the flotilla for two hours starting around 10 p.m. Sunday, and returned at around 4 a.m. Monday, fired warning shots and told the ships to turn back.
"When the Mavi Marmara continued on its course the harassment turned into an attack. They used smoke bombs followed by gas canisters. They started to descend onto the ship with helicopters," she said, calling the clashes that then erupted "extremely bad and brutal."
"I was one of the first victims to be released because I had a child," she told reporters, but "they confiscated everything, our telephones, laptops are all gone." Her husband - the ship's engineer - was still being held by Israeli authorities.
Some 400 Turkish activists were on the six-ship flotilla, along with more than 30 Greeks and people of some 20 other nations including Germany, the U.S. and Russia. Roth reports that nine of those in detention are thought to be Americans.
The ships had been trying to break the three-year blockade of Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid, the activists said.
In a move sure to anger Israel, an Egyptian official said Tuesday the government was temporarily lifting its blockade of the Gaza Strip to allow aid into the area a day after Israel's raid.
The governor of northern Sinai, Murad Muwafi, said President Hosni Mubarak ordered the opening of the border crossing to Gaza in the town of Rafah for several days. Muwafi said the opening of the crossing - which Egypt sealed after Gaza was taken over by Hamas militants in 2007 - was an effort to "alleviate the suffering of our Palestinian brothers after the Israeli attack."
Greek activist Dimitris Gielalis, who had been aboard the Sfendoni, told the AP he and his shipmates suddenly say "inflatables coming at us, and within seconds fully equipped commandos came up on the boat," said. He was among six Greeks returned home Tuesday.
"They came up and used plastic bullets, we had beatings, we had electric shocks, any method we can think of, they used," he said.
He said the boat's captain was beaten for refusing to leave the wheel, and had sustained non-life-threatening injuries, while a cameraman filming the raid was hit with a rifle butt in the eye," he said. "Of course we weren't prepared for a situation of war."
The returning Greeks said those still in custody were refusing to sign papers demanded by Israeli authorities.
"During their interrogation, many of them were badly beaten in front of us," said Aris Papadokostopoulos, who was aboard the Free Mediterranean traveling behind the Turkish ship and carrying mainly Greek and Swedish activists.
Papadokostopoulos said the flotilla was about 80 miles off Gaza when the raid occurred around 4 a.m. Monday.
"The Turkish ship was in front of us ... on which there was a terrible raid from the air and from the sea and from everywhere, with shooting," he said.
Aboard the other boats, he said, commandos beat activists, but nobody was gravely injured. He said no one put up resistance on the Free Mediterranean, which was carrying a cargo of wheelchairs, building material and medical and pharmaceutical aid.
"Some people were hit by clubs and electric shocks," he said.
Crew member Mihalis Grigoropoulos said he was on the bridge of the Free Mediterranean and heard shooting coming from the Turkish ship.
Several people who tried to stop the Israeli forces from getting to the bridge were hit by electric shocks and plastic bullets, he said. "We didn't' resist at all. Even if we had wanted to, what could we do?"
Civil engineer Thanassis Petrogiannis said he had joined the flotilla to provide help in rebuilding destroyed Palestinian homes.
He said that, while in Israeli custody, authorities had demanded he sign a paper written in Hebrew. He refused, and was eventually given another document that he signed.
"Everyone who didn't accept to sign is in jail," he said.
Grigoropoulos, the crew member, and Gielalis said they were not asked to sign anything, though their cell phones, cameras and clothes were confiscated before they were expelled.
While the six Greeks "are in good health," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Grigoris Delavekouras said Greece was demanding the others still in custody be repatriated as soon as possible.
"Israel bears responsibility for their safety. So it must contribute so they can return quickly to Greece," he said.
Turkey said it was sending three ambulance planes to Israel to pick up 20 more Turkish activists injured in the operation.
Three Turkish Airlines planes were on standby waiting to fly back other activists, the prime minister's office said.
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Duh! Of course they would claim such. Minor accident "victims" do the same to garner sympathy and money. (my back! terrible headaches! my life has been ruined! ect.) Same sob story by the activists to drum up sympathy and of course money. Investigation of So called pictures of alleged killed palestinian children by Israeli "brutality" during the recent gaza war, revealed the same child being "killed" several times over in different places.
The whole flottila "massacre" of innocent "humanitarians" is as phoney as a three dollar bill, or as the activists themselves.
Only the gullible and of course Islamics believe the hype.
CNN does not show it anymore on TV, just a grainy reproduction - Oh I guess the editors came back from vacation and decided to GRAIN it up.
What a joke.
2. The inspectors were attacked. All they had were Paint guns ! One was about to be lynched by the angry mob who dropped him from floor to floor, like a pack or wild islamic dogs.
3. Only then did Israel give the OK to fire, only then !
4. The whole thing was a set up. they could bring to any port and have inspected and go on.
5. Within the ships, they found miliary gear and weapons ! Some peace activists.
6. The group behind this has been supporting terror in AMERICA ! the shoe bomber and others.
7.Everyone knows that this is just a sadastic set up. They are not interested in any peace. That is why they have sent over 5000 rockets. What a joke.
Israel tries to protect its citizens from the Hamas government who has sworn never to make peace with Israel and whose stated objective is to destroy Israel and replace it with an Islamic state. It is part of a movement including Hezbollah who also publicly admits to not only wanting to destroy Israel but commit genocide of the Jewish people worldwide. The world organization of the Muslim Brotherhood supports Hezbollah and Hamas using violence against Israel and the Jewish people.
The world sits in silence. This is the real international crime against humanity.
Israel left Gaza completely and dismantled settlements for peace and in return this is what they got. Whether it is hiding among civil population in wars, sending suicide bombers or sending people in boats, their aim is clear. Weaken international support for Israel and thereby hasten the defeat of Israel. We are all pawns in a war being waged by Islamic extremists.
The elephant in the room is the Arab religious Islamic war (now including fundamentalist terror) to destroy the Jewish State of Israel and that has prevented peace and the creation of a Palestinian State for 62 years and continues today by Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood. Don?t kid yourselves. Western democracies are in their targets.
The Israeli government is asking for retaliation and that is what is coming. Unfortunately, it will come at the cost of non-combatant civilians just trying to make a living
The people of Gaza are human shields for Hamas and they use them as such.
The Israel govt made a huge mistake leaving Gaza and letting terrorists take over. President Bush pressured them to leave, they trusted him and look what happened !
Now Egypt is building a wall to keep them trapped too ! ! !
It will be very hard to free the people of Gaza from the terror of Hamas.
Those people on that "aid ship" only made things harder for the people of Gaza.