Tag: Mavi Marmara

by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

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Turkey has petitioned Israel to identify the names of the Navy commandos who stopped the IHH flotilla last May from reaching Hamas-controlled Gaza and killed nine terrorists.

The Turkish daily Today%u2019s Zayman reported Saturday that %u201CIstanbul Public Prosecutor’s Office has submitted a letter to Israeli judicial authorities, demanding the identity of responsible people%u201D in the counterterrorist operation. The letter demanded names and contact details along with an official copy of information and documents related to the incident.

Turkey has accused Israel of premediated murder and its probe of the May 31 flotilla clash implicated Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, President Shimon Peres, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Defense Minister Ehud Barak.

The incident froze what already were frigid relations between Israel and Turkey, which was a long-time friend of the Jewish State until Operation Cast Lead two years ago and Prime Minister Erdogan’s rapprochement with fundamental Islam, Syria and Iran.

The flotilla clash sparked international accusations against Israel, which contained some of the condemnation with documented evidence that the IHH %u201Chumanitarian aid” flotilla was a camouflage for an intended armed conflict with Israeli soldiers.

An inspection of the Mavi Marmara boat, which was the only one of the six ships in the flotilla that was involved in the clash, contained no humanitarian aid at all.

Videos taken from the ship showed that IHH activists took and made weapons on board and attacked the Navy commandos, which were unarmed except for paint-ball guns and revolvers, as they descended on deck from hovering helicopters.

Another flotilla, including the Mavi Marmara ship, is being planned in June to test the Israeli maritime blockade on Hamas-controlled Gaza, where the terrorist organization has smuggled in advanced weapons, terrorists and hundreds of tons of explosives over the past several years.

(IsraelNationalNews.com)

via Turkey Demands Israel Give Names of Counter-Terror Commandos – Defense/Middle East – Israel News – Israel National News.

Turkey wants names of Israelis who stormed flotilla: report

(AFP) – 1 day ago

ISTANBUL — Turkish officials have asked Israel for the names and addresses of the soldiers who led a raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla that killed nine Turks last May, a pro-government newspaper said Saturday.

Turkey’s top prosecutor sent a letter to Israeli officials asking for the identities of both the soldiers who stormed the Turkish flagged Mavi Marmana and the political and military leaders involved in the operation, according to the Zaman newspaper.

The letter was transmitted through Turkey’s justice and foreign ministries, the paper said.

The request is part of Turkey’s ongoing investigation for premeditated murder, which has already implicated Israeli President Shimon Peres, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, defence minister Ehud Barak and foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman.

The Mavi Marmana, dispatched by the Turkish humanitarian organisation IHH was stormed by Israeli forces on May 31 in international waters as it approached Gaza, hoping to breach a blockade on the area imposed by Israel.

Nine Turkish nationals were killed in the operation, including one person who also had US citizenship.

Israel’s action provoked widespread international condemnation and Turkish President Abdullah Gul said bilateral relations between the two countries “would never be the same again.”

In January, an Israeli inquiry ruled that the raid was in keeping with international law.

Ankara said it was “stunned and dismayed” by the finding.

Another aid convoy, which includes the Mavi Marmana, is expected to set out for Gaza in late June.

Last month Israel expressed concern over the planned mission, calling it an “incitement to violence.”

Copyright © 2011 AFP. All rights reserved. More »

via AFP: Turkey wants names of Israelis who stormed flotilla: report.

Hassan Ghani, Press TV, Istanbul

She sailed through the very sea she was named after, before she finally reached home. It was here, at the very same dock, that the Mavi Marmara set off on a mission of mercy to gaza seven months ago.

That effort, dubbed the freedom flotilla, with seven ships in total, was attacked in international waters by the Israeli military. Nine aid workers were killed in the incident, including 8 Turks and one US citizen, with almost 60 more injured.

As she pulled into Sarayburnu port, the Mavi Marmara was welcomed by thousands of well-wishers. But the celebrations were tinged with sadness with the presence of the families of those killed. But they too stood by the effort to break the Israeli siege of Gaza.

Also among the crowd were some of the hundreds of volunteers from around the world who’d been onboard when the ship was attacked.

Ahsan Shamruk, a Palestinian who now lives in London, was shot twice in the back of the head.

See and hear Ahsan Shamruk who says he has mixed feelings because he is reminded of the bloodshed on the sihp

Israel has continued to insist that its military acted properly, and that the organisers of the flotilla wanted a confrontation. But those claims have been branded as laughable by the activists who were onboard the ships.

A recent UN fact-finding mission concluded that the Israeli attack breached both international humanitarian law and human rights law, and that it betrayed unacceptable levels of brutality. The incident has also strained relations between Turkey and Israeli, with the Turkish government continuing to demand an apology from Israel.

The IHH charity remains defiant. It organised the Turkish contingent of the flotilla including the Mavi Marmara, and has pledged to send an even larger flotilla of ships to break the siege again in May of 2011.

Israel insists that its commandos were dealing with a serious threat when they opened fire onboard this vessel. But that narrative has been disputed by every single passenger who was onboard this ship. And Bulet Yildirim, the head of the IHH, says that the ship is now not only a symbol of conscience, but also now a symbol of freedom.

via PressTV – Mavi Marmara returns to Istanbul.

Israeli lawmakers are expected to convene on Wednesday in a parliamentary session to discuss Turkey’s demand for an official apology and compensation for relatives of the victims who were killed in Israel’s raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla.

A Knesset committee has agreed over a general discussion of the issue after a proposal by Likud lawmaker Dani Danon who strongly rejected any such move as “giving in to terrorism and motivation for similar future attacks.”

Coalition partner Likud’s Zaev Elkin has also criticized the Israeli cabinet for making no decision on Turkey’s demand and failing to clarify its official position.

Israeli commandos killed last May eight Turks and a U.S.-Turkish citizen in the raid on Mavi Marmara ship, lead vessel of the aid flotilla. Turkey has demanded an apology and compensation for the attack.

Yosef Ciechanover, Israel’s representative on the UN panel investigating the flotilla incident, and Feridun Sinirlioglu, a senior Turkish diplomat met twice last week in Geneva after Turkey sent two fire-fighting planes to help put out Carmel blaze that killed 43 people.

Israel’s top diplomat Avigdor Lieberman and Defense Minister Ehud Barak as well as a number of Israeli politicians and senior military personnel have publicly expressed their opposition to meeting Turkey’s demands.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly said relations with Israel could not go back to normal unless an official apology was made and relatives of the victims were paid redress.

AA