Questions Asked Regarding U.S. Knowledge of, and Response to, Attack that Killed One U.S. Citizen, Others Injured and Detained July 1, 2010, Washington, D.C. – Yesterday, the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) filed eight Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests regarding the United States government’s knowledge of, and actions in relation to, the May 31, 2010 attack by Israel on a flotilla of six vessels in international waters seeking to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, and U.S. policy towards the blockade of Gaza, which has entered its fourth year. The FOIA requests were made to a number of U.S. departments and agencies, including the Coast Guard, the Department of State, the Navy and the U.S. European Command. http://ccrjustice.org/newsroom/press-releases/rights-group-files-foia-requests-regarding-israel-attack-flotilla-delivering-aid-gaza Specifically, the FOIA requests seek information on what, if any, communications were made between the U.S. government and Israel prior to and after the attack; what, if any, information the U.S. shared before or after with Israel about any of the U.S. citizens abroad; what was done to secure the release of detained citizens; and what is being done to return property seized from U.S. citizens and other passengers and to ensure that such property, which includes evidence for any investigations into the attack, is not tampered with or destroyed.

On May 31, 2010, the six ships reached 75 miles away from the coast of Israel. We constantly reiterated that we were traveling in peace and carrying nothing but humanitarian and construction aid to the people of Gaza. At around 3:00 am, the battleships were still following us along with nearly 30 zodiacs that surrounded the flotilla in international waters. At 4:10 am, messages from the ship, Define stated, "Mavi Marmara, all of the boats and ships are approaching you." Shortly after, when most of the participants were performing their morning prayers, pursuit boats carring masked, armed soldiers came alongside the boats. At least 10 Israeli soldiers were in every boat. As they tried to get onboard, they began shooting. Then we heard sounds that were similar to gas bombs. The third sound was the constant sound of machine gun fire. At the same time, military helicpters full of armed soldiers rappeled down, shooting as they descended. This operation was hostile from the very beginning, directed towards killing and killing as many as possible. Israeli soldiers did not open fire on the ships as a warning. They opened fire to kill. The first two people on board were shot in the head, killing them instantly.

http://www.orbooks.com/our-books/midnight/ The Attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla and How It Changed the Course of the Israeli/Palestine Conflict Moustafa Bayoumi, Editor “We have been attacked while in international waters. That means the Israelis have behaved like pirates … The moment they start to steer this ship towards Israel, we have also been kidnapped. The whole action is illegal.” - Henning Mankell, aboard the Gaza Freedom Flotilla

Poignant story by Kevin Neish about being kidnapped on board the Marmara http://www.counterpunch.com/lindorff06162010.html

(London, 17 June 2010) Passengers from the flotilla from several countries (listed below) are urging their governments to demand that Israel release the property illegally seized from the passengers in international waters on 31 May, in particular the many cameras, camcorders, mobile phones etc. that contain evidence of at least the beginning of the shooting of civilians by Israeli soldiers. (This demand is for property only and is independent of the many legal briefs already being worked on due to death and wounding of the passengers.) That evidence will be vital to any search for the truth concerning the events on all six boats and must be secured urgently if Israeli military personnel are ever to be held to account for the deaths of at least nine civilians and the gunshot wounds of at least 40 others who were aboard the Mavi Marmara ship. Israel's 31 May 2010 attack on the civilians on the Freedom Flotilla had terrible consequences, resulting in the death of (at least) nine civilians and the wounding of over 40. It was unprovoked, unwarranted, and illegal. As recognized by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the United Nations (UN) and every government in the world, Israel remains the occupying power in Gaza. When Israeli military forces took control of the six ships in international waters on 31 May 2010, the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 then applied to the civilians on board. The early testimonies of those participating in the flotilla and the video evidence that activists managed to prevent being seized by the Israeli military, provides prima facie evidence of the commission of grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention (i.e. war crimes) by Israeli military personnel involved in the attack on the flotilla and in the detention of its passengers. That evidence suggests that the following crimes were – and/or continue to be – committed:

• wilful killing
• inhuman treatment
• wilfully causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health
• unlawful deportation or transfer
• unlawful confinement
• taking of hostages
• extensive appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly
• theft by use of credit cards of some of the passengers by Israeli military personnel

Therefore, on behalf of the main organizers of the six-vessel Gaza flotilla carrying approximately 700 human rights activists, journalists, members of parliament and other civilians and crew, the Freedom Flotilla coalition calls on all governments to comply with their duties under article 1 of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 and take the following action due to Israel’s theft of the property of those participating in the flotilla. We call on all governments to join us in urgently demanding that Israel:

• immediately relinquishes control of all the property seized on 31 May 2010 during its illegal boarding of our ships.

• releases the property that constitutes evidence and send all those items of property seized on the six boats on 31 May 2010, to the UN by June 30, 2010, including all cameras, mobile phones, laptops and recording devices which recorded the events aboard the six ships.

• releases the remainder of the property (including clothes, credit cards and hard currency) to its rightful owners.

• account for every stolen credit card or mobile or satellite telephone usage, which, if true, appears to have turned acts of illegal appropriation of property into straightforward pillage.

We also call on all governments to urgently demand from Israel that:

• It will preserve all evidence in its possession in its original form (i.e. computer disks, hard-drives, SIM cards, memory cards, as well as any other physical evidence which could be considered relevant to any investigations) for handing over to the independent, impartial investigation ordered by the Security Council and/or UN Fact Finding Mission ordered by the Human Rights Council and in anticipation of the opening of criminal investigations.
• It confirms that none of the film and photographic evidence seized on 31 May 2010 has in fact been destroyed and that it will not do so and to account for every single destroyed or disappeared item.

These crimes have focused international attention on the illegal blockade of Gaza, leading to a welcome international review of the policies of governments across the world towards the closure. There is no natural disaster in Gaza.  Therefore, Gaza does not need long-term humanitarian aid, but instead needs to be allowed to rebuild its economy and trade normally with the rest of the world.  It cannot do this while the closure and naval blockade continue. Contact: Audrey Bomse, France +33 638 972 443 Audreybomse@hotmail.com Kate Maynard, Hickman and Rose, UK + 442077025331 kmaynard@hickmanandrose.co.uk Rochelle Harris, UK - +44(0)7785 116672  rochelle@humanrightsfund.org Rifat Audeh, Jordan  +962 797 397742 rifataudeh@yahoo.ca Huwaida Arraf, Palestine +972-598-336-215, huwaida.arraf@gmail.com

• The detailed statement sent to several governments today can be accessed on the front page of our website for the next week and in survivor testimonies  http://www.freegaza.org/en/testimonies-from-israeli-jail/1230-demands-to-israel-regarding-property

• The countries where the full statement is being sent to governments are:

Turkey, United Kingdom, Spain, Netherlands, Jordan, Ireland, USA, France, Germany, Sweden, Belgium, Holland

International statement concerning the legal consequences of the Israeli attack on the Gaza flotilla on 31 May 2010, with a special focus on the war crime of extensive appropriation of property ALL GOVERNMENTS MUST DEMAND THAT ISRAEL IMMEDIATELY RELEASE ALL PROPERTY APPROPRIATED ON 31 MAY 2010 NOTE: As a first step to achieve justice with regard to the appropriation of property, a partial list of stolen items and details about the further illegal handling of those stolen items will be published in a number of countries today and in the coming days. (These demands do not exclude the ongoing legal work against Israel for loss of life and wounding of passengers.) Introduction 1. This statement

• Is issued by and on behalf of the Freedom Flotilla coalition, who organised the Gaza flotilla of six vessels carrying passengers (consisting of human rights activists, journalists, members of parliament and other civilians) and crew totalling approximately 700 people, taking humanitarian aid to the civilian population of Gaza, which was unlawfully intercepted and attacked in international waters by the Israeli military on 31 May 2010, leading to a series of criminal acts by the Israeli military, some of which are ongoing.
• focuses on the legal consequences of those events, setting out some initial steps that are required in order for the responsible Israeli military personnel and political leaders to be held accountable for their actions on 31 May 2010 and subsequently.
• Is supported by a large number of the individuals who were unlawfully transferred into Israel and mistreated by the Israeli military during their captivity on 31 May and at the beginning of June 2010.  It is also supported by the bereaved families of the nine confirmed dead Turkish citizens (one of whom was a dual national US citizen).

2. Like the eight previous similar sailings to Gaza organised by the Free Gaza Movement and others, and future anticipated sailings, the Gaza humanitarian aid flotilla of May 2010 set out with a number of goals, including the long term goal of trying to bring forward the day of a peaceful settlement to the Palestinian/Israeli dispute. That goal requires an end to Israeli occupation and the opportunity for the Palestinian people to exercise their rights to self-determination.  In the meantime, there is an urgent need for all Palestinians to be freed from the daily, routine abuse of their fundamental rights by Israel, the occupying power.

3. In the shorter term, therefore, another goal of the humanitarian flotilla of human rights activists and others was to seek to defy the closure of Gaza (declared unlawful by the UN and ICRC). Five previous shipments successfully delivered humanitarian cargo to Gaza in 2008 without incident, exposing the hardships and illegality of Israel’s closure policy.

4. The illegal attack on the civilians on the flotilla on 31 May 2010 had terrible consequences, resulting in the death of (at least) nine civilians. It was wholly unnecessary and unwarranted. It has, however, served to focus international attention on the closure of Gaza and has led to a welcome international review of the policies of governments across the world towards the closure. There is no natural disaster in Gaza.  Therefore, Gaza does not in fact need long term humanitarian aid, but instead needs to simply be allowed to rebuild its economy and trade normally with the rest of the world.  It cannot do this whilst the closure and naval blockade continue.

Legal background 1. The near hermetic closure of Gaza, including the naval blockade imposed by Israel, is unlawful.  The comprehensive nature of the closure constitutes collective punishment prohibited by the Fourth Geneva Convention, as was made clear most recently by the ICRC, in its statement of 14 June, available at: http://icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/palestine-update-140610

2. The naval blockade, whenever announced and however policed, is unlawful because it contributes to that collective punishment. Furthermore, Israel has caused disproportionate harm to the civilian population of Gaza, notwithstanding any possible lawful military objective behind the blockade. Israel has failed to ensure that sufficient foodstuffs and medicine and other vital supplies have entered Gaza during the closure, whether by sea or by land, making any arguments about the lawful enforcement of the naval blockade entirely redundant. The UN Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza conflict of September 2009 [commonly referred to as the Goldstone Report] stated in this regard (sections are numbered):–

72. The Mission acknowledges that the supply of humanitarian goods, particularly foodstuffs, allowed into Gaza by Israel temporarily increased during the military operations. The level of goods allowed into Gaza before the military operations, however, was insufficient to meet the needs of the population even before hostilities started, and has again decreased after the end of the military operations. From the facts ascertained by it, the Mission believes that Israel has violated its obligation to allow free passage of all consignments of medical and hospital objects, food and clothing (article 23 of the Fourth Geneva Convention). The Mission also finds that Israel violated specific obligations it has as Occupying Power spelled out in the Fourth Geneva Convention, such as the duty to maintain medical and hospital establishments and services and to agree to relief schemes if the occupied territory is not well supplied. 73. The Mission also concludes that in the destruction by Israeli armed forces of private residential houses, water wells, water tanks, agricultural land and greenhouses there was a specific purpose of denying them for their sustenance to the population of the Gaza Strip. The Mission finds that Israel violated its duty to respect the right of the Gaza population to an adequate standard of living, including access to adequate food, water and housing…. 74. The conditions of life in Gaza, resulting from deliberate actions of the Israeli forces and the declared policies of the Government of Israel – as they were presented by its authorized and legitimate representatives - with regard to the Gaza Strip before, during and after the military operation, cumulatively indicate the intention to inflict collective punishment on the people of the Gaza Strip in violation of international humanitarian law. The report also stated  – 326. The Mission holds the view that Israel continues to be duty-bound under the Fourth Geneva Convention and to the full extent of the means available to it to ensure the supply of foodstuff, medical and hospital items and others to meet the humanitarian needs of the population of the Gaza Strip without qualification. Furthermore, the Mission notes the information it received regarding the lack of compliance by the Government of Israel even with the minimum levels set by the Israeli Court, and in this regard observes that the Government retains wide discretion about the timing and manner of delivering fuel and electricity supplies to the Gaza Strip, and that this discretion appears to have been exercised capriciously and arbitrarily. 3. The devastating impact of the blockade on agriculture, fishing and livelihood, and the humanitarian necessity is also described in the recent report of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), ‘Farming without Land, Fishing without Water: Gaza Agriculture Sector Struggles to Survive’, 25 May 2010. At: The CREATING FOOD INSECURITY, 25 May 2010, which can be viewed at: http://www.ochaopt.org/documents/gaza_agriculture_25_05_2010_press_release_english.pdf

4. As recognised by the UN, Israel remains the occupying power in relation to Gaza. When Israeli military forces took control of the six ships in international waters on 31 May 2010, this triggered the applicability of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 to the civilians whom Israel brought under its control. The legal consequences of this are plain and obvious, namely that, in addition to those acts that may be legally characterised as crimes against humanity, certain of the acts perpetrated by Israeli forces on all six vessels may be grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

5. Indeed, the early testimonies of those participating in the flotilla and the video evidence which activists managed to prevent being seized by the Israeli military, provides prima facie evidence of the commission of grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention by Israeli military personnel involved in the attack on the flotilla and in the detention of its passengers. That evidence suggests that the following crimes were – and/or continue to be – committed:

• willful killing,
• inhuman treatment
• willfully causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health,
• unlawful deportation or transfer
• unlawful confinement
• taking of hostages; and
• extensive appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly.

The rest of this statement focuses on the last mentioned grave breach, because it is (a) on-going and (b) has a direct impact on the possibility of accountability for the other alleged grave breaches. Legal consequences & calls for action by governments In view of the above, it is entirely unacceptable for the international community to co-operate with any and all Israeli internal inquires (including the “Turkel commission” established by the Israeli government on 14 June 2010) or regard any such inquiries as an appropriate or sufficient investigative response to the events of 31 May 2010 and subsequent.  In addition, this internal Israeli inquiry will be conducted without interviews with the crew, human rights activists and others on board the flotilla, nor the Israeli forces involved in the attack, making it wholly insufficient.  Such Israeli commissions are not the fully independent, impartial and transparent inquiry, meeting international standards, that is required. In any event, only a fully independent inquiry, by an impartial and unbiased tribunal empowered to compel witnesses and suspects to testify before it and to ensure accountability, including by enabling criminal charges to be brought against any persons against whom there is evidence of acting illegally, is appropriate and acceptable.  Nothing less will do. Inquiries which serve merely to whitewash the actions of any state’s armed forces and to malign their civilian victims and witnesses serve nobody’s interests in the long term: such ‘inquiries’ fundamentally undermine the rule of law, and bring governments and national justice systems into disrepute. They also serve to prolong conflicts and prevent reconciliation. The Widgery Inquiry into the events of Bloody Sunday in the north of Ireland, the findings of which have very recently been superseded – and effectively overturned – by the Saville Report, published 15 June 2010, stands as a stark example of this fact. Those who participated in the flotilla and their advisors are working – and will continue to work tirelessly – to assist credible criminal investigations, whether in Turkey or other countries (under universal jurisdiction or international law of the sea principles) or at the International Criminal Court.  If the evidence supports the bringing of criminal charges, individuals should face a fair trial. Such investigations should include a focus on the appropriation, retention, misuse and possible destruction of the property of the passengers and crew of the flotilla. We call on all governments to comply with their duties under article 1 of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 to respect and ensure respect for its provisions in all circumstances. In particular, we call on all governments to take the following action in relation to the appropriation of the property of those participating in the flotilla:

• urgently demand that Israel cease its on-going grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention involving  the extensive appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly,  by immediately relinquishing control of all the property seized on 31 May 2010

• as to releasing the property that constitutes evidence, urgently demand that Israel send all those items of property seized on the six boats on 31 May 2010, to the UN forthwith.

(Such property would include all cameras, mobile phones laptops and recording devices which recorded the events aboard the six ships.  In time, Israel will need to also hand over absolutely all of the film and photographic evidence that its forces recorded, unedited.)

• as to the remainder of the property (including clothes, credit cards and hard currency), urgently demand that Israel restore that property to its rightful owners without further delay

• urgently demand that Israel account for every single use of a stolen credit card or mobile or satellite telephone (in respect of which there are several reports) which, if true, appears to have turned acts of illegal appropriation of property into straightforward pillage.

• pending compliance with the above, urgently demand from Israel that it’s governme

(a) confirms that it will preserve all evidence in its possession in its original form (i.e. computer disks, hard-drives, SIM cards, memory cards, as well as any other physical evidence which could be considered relevant to any investigations) for handing over to the independent, impartial investigation ordered by the Security Council and/or UN Fact Finding Mission ordered by the Human Rights Council and in anticipation of the opening of criminal investigations (including in jurisdictions with anti-spoliation laws); and (b) confirms that none of the above-mentioned film and photographic evidence seized on 31 May 2010 has in fact been destroyed and that it will not do so and to account for every single destroyed or disappeared item.

As well as calling on all governments to demand the immediate and unconditional return of appropriated property, we call on all governments which are parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, acting either on their own or jointly with other States (e.g., all European Union States acting jointly),

• to refer the events on the Mavi Marmara, the Sfendoni and the Free Mediterranean (flagged in Comoros and Greece respectively, both State parties to the International Criminal Court) to the International Criminal Court for urgent criminal investigation, with an immediate and urgent focus on the question of retrieving any video and similar evidence which at the time of the referral is still retained by Israel; and

• to open criminal investigations into the events, including in relation to the appropriation of property by  the Israeli military, to facilitate – including through the sharing of intelligence –  the best prospects of prosecuting all suspects identified through those criminal investigations, including all Israeli accessories after the fact, which appear (in the case of appropriated property) to include the most senior members of the Israeli military who permitted and continue to permit the appropriation and retention of property belonging to innocent civilians;

• to fully co-operate with all independent investigations into the events, including the appropriation of property, particularly those conducted in Turkey (being the State of which the majority of the flotilla passengers were nationals);

• to call for an independent and impartial inquiry to investigate, alongside the allegations of other crimes including the possible wilful killing of nine flotilla passengers, the circumstances surrounding the seizure and appropriation of property belonging to the passengers and crew of the Gaza flotilla, and the reasons for the destruction or disappearance of any such property, particularly any video or audio footage of the events of 31 May 2010.

17 June 2010

The Israeli Defence Force responded to signs of peace with acts of war. It attacked a flotilla of boats in international waters that carried people and humanitarian goods. It destroyed precious lives. Brutality has not stopped there. Ordinary Palestinians awaiting much needed help have been victimized yet again. We, as individuals who are not members of activist peace organizations but simply cherish the ideals of peace and justice, are deeply disturbed by what the Israeli government and its military have done and by the disinformation it and its supporters have spread in trying to legitimize acts of crime. It is for these reasons that we are giving our names. By doing so we join, with anguish and outrage, the many fellow citizens around the world who feel as we do. We salute those Israelis who courageously object to the dangerous policies of their government and who condemn the recent attacks against the flotilla of peace for Gaza. We appeal to the Israeli Government to accept the ideals of peace and dialogue and to respect the dignity of others. There is no other way to find a solution in the conflict with Palestine and to end the suffering and the loss of life in Palestine and in Israel.Dr Marin Marinow (Bulgaria)Liljana Milanovic (Serbia)Frank Farrelly (Ireland)Carl Erich Wiberg (Sweden)Alexei Sayle (United Kingdom)Margherita Amodeo (Malta)Elena Gallego Fernández (Spain)Tatjana Teterwa (Belarus)Alex Stuyven (Netherlands)Zarema Katuschewa (Ukraine)Birgitte Arnvig (Denmark)Ragnval Dahl (Norway)Marie-France Sangouard (France)Pierre A. Krenger (Switzerland)Dr. Anita Schächter (Germany)Andrej Bekenjow (Russia)Laura Cardone (Italy)Jan Pelech (Czech)Dr. Norbert Rozsenich (Austria)Andreas Kourakis (Greece)Kristrun Heimisdáttir (Iceland)Eva Rizea (Romenia)Dr. Tanja Gorakova (Slovakia)Damir Hajric (Bosnia & Herzegowina)Prof. Dr. S. de Henauw (Belgium)Anita Campo (Estonia) When year after year promises are not fulfilled, when instead demographic cleansing is the order of the day, when symptoms become the pretence for force and causes are ignored, when military action replaces peaceful dialogue, when honesty becomes travesty, there comes a time when the outcry of ordinary citizens no longer remains a whisper but becomes a crescendo. This time has come. Hans von SponeckFormer United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for IraqJune 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (London, June 15, 2010) The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) issued a statement yesterday stating unequivocally that Israel's closure of the Gaza Strip constitutes collective punishment, an act prohibited under the Geneva Conventions. http://www.freegaza.org/en/home/56-news/1227-israels-gaza-blockade-breaks-law-says-icrc- For the first time, the ICRC explicitly states that Israel's blockade constitutes a violation of international humanitarian law, confirming what the Free Gaza Movement has been saying all along – the closure is illegal and states have neglected their obligation to uphold the Fourth Geneva Convention and compel Israel to end the deliberate strangulation of 1.5 million Palestinians locked in an open-air prison. Therefore, our voyages to defy Israel's blockade are legal and necessary, as civil society is compelled to step up to defend human rights when governments refuse to do so, and we are already organizing another voyage called Freedom Flotilla Two. In the early morning darkness of 31 May, Israel launched a lethal assault on the Freedom Flotilla, assassinating nine men and wounding over 50 human rights activists on all six boats in the flotilla. The world’s attention is now focused on Israel’s continued flagrant violations of international and maritime law, as they hijacked our ships in international waters, forced us into an Israeli port, illegally detained, coerced, and beat the passengers and illegally confiscated or destroyed electronic equipment, audio, photo and video evidence, personal possessions as well as much of the cargo. The Free Gaza Movement is currently working with attorneys in a number of countries, including Turkey, the UK, the Netherlands, Israel and the United States to pursue legal action, since people were killed or badly injured and property was destroyed during Israel’s attack on us in international waters. We continue to call for an independent, international investigation into the attack. Israel's internal government investigation committee is an unacceptable alternative. Israel must not be allowed to continue acting above the law and cannot be trusted to investigate its own actions. Barring political will by our governments to hold Israel accountable, global civil society will continue to act. We will pursue legal action around the world, intensify boycott, divestment and sanctions efforts, and continue to send ships to Gaza until the illegal blockade is ended. Contact: Huwaida Arraf, +972-598-336-215 Greta Berlin, +33 607 374 512 Audrey Bomse, +33 638 972 443

Source: Reuters ICRC says for first time blockade breaks international law, Urges Hamas to allow Gilad Shalit contact with family By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA, June 14 (Reuters) - The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Monday Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip violates the Geneva Conventions and called for its lifting. The neutral humanitarian agency also urged Hamas militants holding Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, captured nearly four years ago in a cross-border raid, to allow his family to have regular contact with him, in line with international law. Israel's raid on a Gaza aid flotilla two weeks ago, in which nine pro-Palestinian Turkish activists were killed, highlighted acute hardships faced by 1.5 million Gazans due to the closure since 2007, it said. They endure unemployment, poverty and warfare, and health care whose quality is at an "all time low". "The whole of Gaza's civilian population is being punished for acts for which they bear no responsibility. The closure therefore constitutes a collective punishment imposed in clear violation of Israel's obligations under international humanitarian law," the ICRC said in a five-page statement. It was the first time the ICRC has said explicitly that Israel's blockade constitutes a violation of international humanitarian law embodied in the Geneva Conventions, an ICRC spokeswoman said. The Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, ratified by Israel, bans collective punishment of a civilian population. Israel is entitled to impose restrictions on military material for legitimate security reasons, but the scope of the closure is disproportionate, covering items of basic necessity, according to the ICRC. "We are urging Israel to put an end to this closure and call upon all those who have an influence on the situation, including Hamas, to do their utmost to help Gaza's civilian population," said Beatrice Megevand-Roggo, head of ICRC operations for the Middle East. The ICRC said Hamas had continually rebuffed its requests to allow its officials to visit Shalit in detention. "In violation of international humanitarian law, it has also refused to allow him to get in touch with his family," it said. Under customary international humanitarian law, captors holding detainees must allow them family contacts, while the Geneva Conventions require that they be treated humanely. Arab League chief Amr Moussa visited the Gaza Strip on Sunday, the highest Arab official to do so since its seizure by Hamas Islamists in 2007, and called for an end to Israel's blockade of the Palestinian territory. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held talks on Friday with Middle East envoy Tony Blair on the blockade. Netanyahu said on Sunday Israel would continue discussions with the international community to prevent weapons and military equipment from reaching Gaza and to allow in humanitarian aid, an apparent signal it was open to revising blockade procedures. "Under international humanitarian law, Israel must ensure that the basic needs of Gazans, including adequate health care, are met," the ICRC said. The blockade, about to enter its fourth year, was "choking off any real possibility of economic development", it said. States are obliged to allow and facilitate rapid and unimpeded passage of all relief supplies, equipment and personnel, according to ICRC which deploys 100 staff in Gaza."The Palestinian authorities ... must do everything within their power to provide proper health care, supply electricity and maintain infrastructure for Gaza's people," it added. Fuel reserves in Gaza, vital for keeping hospital generators running during daily power cuts, keep drying up, it said. Stocks of essential medical supplies were at an all-time low because of a halt in cooperation between authorities in Ramallah, the Fatah-ruled West Bank, and Gaza, the agency said. "The state of the health care system in Gaza has never been worse," said ICRC health coordinator Eileen Daly. "Health is being politicised: that is the main reason the system is failing." Only 60 percent of Gazan residents are connected to a sewage collection system, according to the ICRC which voiced concern that drinking water in most of Gaza is unfit for consumption. (Editing by Janet Lawrence)

Gaza Flotilla survivors recount tales of terror, brutality and fear for their lives Please TAKE ACTION and DEMAND that the United Nations launch an independent investigation into the Israeli attack against unarmed relief ships in the Freedom Flotilla. DEMAND that the international community stop simply condemning Israel's brutal and illegal blockade of Gaza - and start doing something to end it! CONTACT UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon The United Nations, New York NY 10017tel: +1 212 963 5012fax: +1 212 963 2155email: sg@un.org For three days as they were held in captivity last week and unable to speak on their own behalf, Israel presented the massacre against civilian passengers on the Mavi Marmara as self-defense against a “lynching.” Now that the passengers are returning to their home nations, the global community is hearing a much different story, not just regarding the May 31st attack but also new allegations of brutality in the treatment of several passengers afterwards once they were in custody inside Israel. Free Gaza is posting these survivor testimonies on our website, and we will continue to provide updates as more passengers share their experiences. As the passenger accounts trickle in, survivors portray the Israeli military as using excessive and disproportionate force against activists not just on the Mavi Marmara but the other passenger ships as well. Use of tasers, electric shocks, rubber bullets and live ammunition (both on board and from the helicopter hovering above) are documented. Multiple passengers tell eyewitness accounts of soldiers refusing to allow medical treatment of injured passengers, specific and focused targeting of journalists on board and beatings of passengers after their arrival in Israel, causing at least two passengers to need hospitalization. “Keeping passengers held in captivity so that they could not share their perspective was a deliberate attempt by Israel to cover up what really happened on the Mavi Marmara that fateful night,” notes Free Gaza co-founder Greta Berlin. “They knew what the passengers would be recounting, but they hoped that by delaying the release of their testimony until days after the immediate incident, media coverage would be buried as backpage follow-up stories or dismissed purely as old news.” She adds. In her testimony, Annette Groth, a German Parliamentarian who was a passenger on Mavi Marmawa validates that assertion saying “The scandal is that we have to fight the Israeli images only with words. The Israelis confiscated all the activists' cameras, computers, and mobile phones.”   These accounts reveal an “alternative narrative” of the attack on the Freedom Flotilla that cannot be reconciled with the Israeli version. CONTACT Secretary General Ban Ki Moon today and DEMAND an independent investigation!   Updated survivor testimonies available at: http://www.freegaza.org/boat-trips/survivor-testimonies  

Since May 25, thousands of you have visited our websites, a testament to the interest in and the desire to learn the truth about what happened on the flotilla. Please let your friends and family know that the up-to-date news is posted with us. Freegaza.org received about 281393 visits from May 25th to June 9th. Witnessgaza.com received 190463 visits since it was launched in May 25th, follows a table of visits by country: 1. United States 51,744 27.19% 2. United Kingdom 19,761 10.38% 3. Italy 12,909 6.78% 4. Germany 11,875 6.24% 5. Canada 10,617 5.58% 6. France 8,868 4.66% 7. Israel 5,854 3.08% 8. Malaysia 5,499 2.89% 9. Australia 4,784 2.51% 10. Netherlands 3,678 1.93% 11. Ireland 3,519 1.85% 12. Spain 3,290 1.73% 13. Sweden 3,289 1.73% 14. Belgium 2,832 1.49% 15. Finland 2,666 1.40% 16. Norway 2,474 1.30% 17. Greece 2,440 1.28% 18. Turkey 2,431 1.28% 19. Egypt 2,161 1.14% 20. Switzerland 2,124 1.12% 21. Palestinian Territories 1,701 0.89% 22. Austria 1,417 0.74% 23. United Arab Emirates 1,292 0.68% 24. New Zealand 1,253 0.66% 25. Russia 1,191 0.63%  

SFGate, Saturday, June 5, 2010By Iara Lee http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/06/05/EDC31DQ215.DTL

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ISRAELI MILITARY FORCIBLY STOPS AID BOAT TO GAZA - AGAIN   For More Information, please contact:Free Gaza Cyprus: Greta Berlin or Mary Hughestel: +357 99 187275 or +357 96 383 809,   Free Gaza Ireland: Niamh Moloughneytel: +353 (0)85 7747257 or +353 (0)91 472279,   Perdana Global Peace Organisation, Malaysia: Ram Karthigasutel: +60 1222 70159,   (Off the Gaza coast, 5 JUNE) - Just before 9am this morning, the Israeli military forcibly siezed the Irish-owned humanitarian relief ship, the MV Rachel Corrie, from delivering over 1000 tons of medical and construction supplies to besieged Gaza. For the second time in less then a week, Israeli naval commandos stormed an unarmed aid ship, brutally taking its passengers hostage and towing the ship toward Ashdod port in Southern Israel. It is not yet known whether any of the Rachel Corrie's passengers were killed or injured during the attack, but they are believed to be unharmed.   The Corrie carried 11 passengers and 9 crew from 5 different countires, mostly Ireland and Malaysia. The passengers included Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mairead Maguire, Parit Member of the Malaysian Parliament Mohd Nizar Zakaria, and former UN Assistant Secretary General, Denis Halliday. Nine international human rights workers were killed on Monday when Israeli commandos violently stormed the Turkish aid ship, Mavi Marmara and five other unarmed boats taking supplies to Gaza. Prior to being taken hostage by Israeli forces, Derek Graham, an Irish coordinator with the Free Gaza Movement, stated that: "Despite what happened on the Mavi Marmara earlier this week, we are not afraid.   The 1200-ton cargo ship was purchased through a special fund set up by former Malaysian Prime Minister and Perdana Global Peace Organisation (PGPO) chairman Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. The ship was named after an American human rights worker, killed in 2003 when she was crushed by an Israeli military bulldozer in the Gaza Strip. Its cargo included hundreds of tons of medical equipment and cement, as well as paper from the people of Norway, donated to UN-run schools in Gaza.   According to Denis Halliday: "We are the only Gaza-bound aid ship left out here. We’re determined to deliver our cargo.” The Rachel Corrie had been part of the Freedom Flotilla, a 40-nation effort to break through Israel's illegal blockade, before being forced to drop off late last week due to suspicious mechanical problems.   The attack on the Rachel Corrie may spell trouble for Israel's relationship with Ireland. The Irish government had formally requested Israel allow the ship to reach Gaza. On 1 June, the Irish parliament also passed an all-party motion condemning Israel's use of military force against civilian aid ships, and demanding "an end to the illegal Israeli blockade of Gaza."   Nobel Laureate Mairead Maguire summed up the hopes of this joint Irish-Malaysian effort to overcome Israel’s cruel blockade by saying: "We are inspired by the people of Gaza whose courage, love and joy in welcoming us, even in the midst of such suffering gives us all hope. They represent the very best of humanity, and we are all privileged to be given the opportunity to support them in their nonviolent struggle for human dignity, and freedom. This trip will again highlight Israel’s criminal blockade and illegal occupation. In a demonstration of the power of global citizen action, we hope to awaken the conscience of all." ---   Passengers aboard the Rachel Corrie include: Ahmed Faizal bin Azumu, human rights worker, Malaysia Matthias Chang, attorney, author & human rights worker, Malaysia Derek Graham, Free Gaza Ireland Jenny Graham, Free Gaza Ireland Denis Halliday, former UN Assistant Secretary General, Ireland Mohd Jufri Bin Mohd Judin, journalist, Malaysia Shamsul Akmar Musa Kamal, PGPO representative, Malaysia Mairead Maguire, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Ireland Abdul Halim Bin Mohamed, journalist, Malaysia Fiona Thompson, film-maker, Ireland The Hon. Mohd Nizar Zakaria, Parit Member of Parliament, Malaysia    

We partners in the Freedom Flotilla would like to offer our deepest sympathy to the people of Turkey and particularly to the nine families who have lost their brothers, sons and fathers. We have been proud and honored to work with the Foundation for Human Rights & Freedoms & Humanitarian Relief (IHH) and respect its track record of humanitarian missions worldwide. IHH was one of the first charitable organizations to send in teams of doctors to Haiti after the earthquake. Their outreach and aid to impoverished and traumatized people is based on doing the right thing and not on religion, ethnicity or nationality. www.ihh.org.tr They are a member of ECOSOC, one of only 3000 organizations granted consultative status to the UN. http://www.un.org/esa/coordination/ngo/ To be eligible for consultative status, an NGO must have:

• A democratically adopted constitution
• The authority to speak for its members
• A representative structure
• Appropriate mechanisms of accountability and democratic and transparent decision-making processes.

The basic resources of the organization must be derived in the main part from contributions of the national affiliates or other components or from individual members. In the past few days, Israel and its apologists around the world have demonized this charity. Instead of facing the fact that the Israeli navy committed crimes of murder, maiming, hijacking and theft, they are blaming the victim. It is time for all of us who believe to stand up and shout ……………………. WE ARE ALL IHH  

For three days as they were held in captivity and unable to speak on their own behalf, Israel presented the massacre against civilian passengers on the Mavi Marmara as self defense against a “lynching.” Now that the passengers are returning to their home nations, the global community is hearing a much different story, not just regarding the incident but also their treatment afterwards once in custody. Aboard the Mavi Marmara   Iara Lee Brazilian Filmmaker (based in San Francisco) "(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." "We expected them to shoot people in the legs, to shoot in the air, just to scare people, but they were direct," "Some of them shot in the passengers' heads. Many people were murdered – it was unimaginable." Norman Paech Retired German Parliamentarian and Professor "We had not prepared in any way to fight. We didn't even consider it because we knew very well that we would have absolutely no chance against soldiers like this.” "The Israeli government justifies the raid because they were attacked. This is absolutely not the case." Inge Hoeger German Parliamentarian "We felt like we were in a war, like we were being kidnapped." "Nobody had a weapon." Annette Groth German Parliamentarian “The Israeli claim that its commandos acted in self-defence was ‘ridiculous’". "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." "The scandal is that we have to fight the Israeli images only with words.," The Israelis confiscated all the activists' cameras, computers, and mobile phones. Sarah Colborne United Kingdom “The Israeli forces handcuffed members of the activists' medical team who were sent to help treat the injured. It was terrifying...If you talked they pointed a gun at you." "We wrote a sign in Hebrew saying, 'SOS! Need medical assistance. People are dying. Urgent' Hanin Zoabi, who’s a Knesset member, an Israeli Knesset member, took that sign to the front—to the back of the boat, where the soldiers were pointing at her. They ordered her to go back." Haneen Zuaby Minister, Israeli Knesset “The Israeli navy fired on the ships five minutes before commandos descended from ropes that dangled from helicopters. “ The Israeli-Arab legislator said Israeli forces ignored her when she said that they should treat two gravely injured people, who later bled to death. Matthias Gardel Acclaimed Swedish Academic “People were not allowed to go to the lavatories - they were made to soil their clothes.” Gardel was especially horrified by witnessing the experience of a badly wounded man in his late 50s, who the Israeli troops forced to remain on the open deck. "Suddenly, his right eye exploded in a gush of blood - and a blob of something fell out of it." Jamal El-Shayyal Journalist from Al Jazeera "...as this attack started I was on the top deck and within just a few minutes there were live shots being fired from above the ship from above from where the helicopters were." "The first shots that were fired were some sort of sound grenades. There was some tear gas that was fired as well as rubber coated steel bullets. They were fired initially and the live bullets came roughly about five minutes after that, after those initial shots were fired." "There was definitely fire from the air because one of the people who was killed was clearly shot from above. He was...the bullet targeted him at the top of his head. There was also fire coming from the sea as well. Most of the fire initially from the sea was tear gas canisters and sound grenades. But then it became live fire." "Therr is no doubt from what I saw that live ammunition was fired before any Israeli soldier was on deck." (From the top deck,) “you could almost see the soldiers pointing their guns down through some sort of hole or compartment at the bottom side of the helicopter, firing almost indiscriminately without even looking where they were firing and those bullets were definitely live bullets." “There was a Knesset member who approached the Israeli soldiers saying we have injured, she was saying they have injured people, please come and take them. Yet the Israelis refused. Three hours later all three of those people that were injured ended up dying on the spot because no one came to take them." Aboard the Free Mediterranean Michalis Grigoropoulos (Greek) Crewman “Commandos were already using teargas and firing live ammunition as they hit the deck.”"We did not resist at all, we couldn't even if we had wanted to.” "They then used electroshock weapons on some activists," While in custody in Israel, "two Greek activists were beaten up."   Aboard the Challenger I   Huwaida Arraf American, Free Gaza Chair "They started beating people. My head was smashed against the ground and they stepped on my head. They later cuffed me and put a bag over my head. They did that to everybody." On custody: “I asked them to at least give (my personal belongings) back to me, and they refused and forced me into a police van, literally, by pulling me up by my hair and my hands and feet and beating me in order to get me into the van. They drove me out of the port, stopped the car at some point—I’m not sure where because I was a little bit disoriented after being punched in the face and the jaw, and then they just opened the door and threw me out of the van.” “I think I must have passed out for a little bit, because the next thing I knew there was a medic taking me into an ambulance. I was taken to a hospital and checked and released just a few hours later.” Alex Harrison UK Activist “We saw the helicopter come down and we heard the beginnings of the opening of live fire. I didn’t fully take in that they were using live fire. ..but it began to sink in that (that they were using) live fire.” Referring to her boat "Two women were hooded, they had their eyes taped." The Israelis used rubber bullets, sound bombs and tasers against them."We stood and tried to obstruct the armed, masked men and maintained no other defence and still they used violence."   Fiachra O Luain Ulsterman (Ireland)Dual American citizenship I was “brutalized” while in custody in Ben Gurion airport and had bruises all around his body as a result. “As soon as one of them grabbed me, about 15 or 20 jumped me, kicked me, punched me as soon as I hit the ground,” “They had my arm in stress positions, they tried to break my finger.” He said he feared for his life during his time in custody and at one stage asked to see a Rabbi. “I asked to see a Rabbi and they told me I would only see a Rabbi when they killed me . “I saw what they did. I was on the bow of the Challenger 1 and there was live gunfire straight away from below and from the helicopters. One of the men was shot in the head. Another man was shot with a bullet right between his eyes at point blank range.”   Dr. Fintan Lane Ireland “When they boarded our boat, we resisted entirely peacefully. I sat on the floor and tried to reason with them, but the Israeli commandos physically attacked us. Fiachra Ó Luain (see above) was dragged around the ground and I had a gun pointed in my face by a screaming commando. His mania was so intense that I genuinely feared for my life."   On treatment during custody: “I would not cooperate with my illegal detention (by handing over my passport) so I was then physically assaulted, my arms were painfully twisted behind my back for prolonged periods. Ken O’Keefe, the Irish-American passenger, suffered a severe beating at the hands of security officials at Tel Aviv airport before boarding, and his injuries were so bad that he had to be hospitalised in Tel Aviv.”   Shane Dillon Ireland “Israelis had used stun guns, tasers, assaulted people with the butt ends of rifles, pushed people to the ground and stood on them.”   There was a screening system and electronic detectors onboard the largest boat in the flotilla, the Mavi Marmara, to check it passengers for weapons. “Any of the weapons I have seen demonstrated by the Israeli defence forces were typical equipment that you would have on a ship,”   “There was a knife for a galley. They also showed a sledgehammer, which would be on a merchant vessel for anchor cables etc. (Kate) Geraghty, an award-winning photographer, was set upon despite explaining she was an accredited member of the press."She was just doing her journalistic duties. She advised them she was a bona fide photographer. She was just attacked.”   Kate Geraghty Irish (living in Australia) The Israeli attack was "pretty full on." ''It (the Taser attack) hurt and it made me feel sick.' Geraghty had been trying to send out photographs before the boat she was on was taken over Once the commandos boarded the vessel, one of their first acts was to seize all communication equipment, cameras and memory cards.   Aboard the Sfendoni   Janet Kobren Retired Math Teacher (American, Jewish) Regarding custody: "It was a long ordeal, very uncomfortable.” We “occasionally saw passengers beaten by the Israelis before they were put on the planes.” Gene St. Onge American Structural Engineer “This was not peacefully. I was kicked in the head.... As the commandos jumped on the ship we attempted to protect the wheelhouse and the captain. We were able to crowd the inside of the captain’s quarters. I was unable to because I was trying to protect another part of the boat. By the time I got there I noticed that the captain was being pulled and hit. He sustained rather serious injuries although I guess he’s going to be alright. He had a punctured ear drum, a neck injury and a back injury. In the mean time, as I tried to get in I was thrown on the deck a couple times. One of my new friends, who I made many on this trip, Mehdi, a Libyan Arab living in Europe was hit with the butt end of a rifle, in his right eye. He fell to the deck. He was writhing in pain, trying to get away, but he was continually being kicked. When I saw that, I tried to get to him. I was screaming “Leaving him alone!” I kept getting pushed back. Finally I tried to get over to try to cover him. At that point I was hit with the rifle or something. I was bleeding. And I was restrained with handcuffs.”       Aboard the Sophia   Henning Mankell Best-Selling Swedish Novelist “We saw these black rubber boats coming with masked commando soldiers … they climbed aboard. They were very aggressive … there was an older man in the crew, he was perhaps a little slow and they shot him in the arm with an electric gun which is very, very painful … they shot another man with rubber bullets."   The soldiers checked the boat and one soon returned saying they had found weapons. "I have 24 witnesses to this, he showed me my razor, a one-time use razor, and a box cutter he'd found in the kitchen," “All my possessions were taken. They stole my camera, my telephone … even my socks."   “I think the Israeli military went out to commit murder.” “If they had wanted to stop us they could have attacked our rudder and propeller, instead they preferred to send masked commando soldiers to attack us. This was Israel’s choice to do this.”   Dror Feiler Israeli-born Sweden Artist Feiler said that he had tried to talk with the Israeli soldiers on board the ship but was beaten up.  

By Bianca Shaana and Niamh Moloughney In the dark, early hours of May 31, Israel launched a commando and navy attack on 6 unarmed civilian ships carrying humanitarian aid in the international waters of the Mediterranean sea, opening fire before they landed. These highly trained, professional soldiers killed and wounded tens of civilians, many of whom were on the Mavi Marmara, a boat owned by the Turkish charity, IHH (The Foundation for Human Rights & Freedoms & Humanitarian Relief). We in the Free Gaza Movement would like to offer our deepest sympathy to the people of Turkey and particularly to the 9 families who have lost loved ones. 28 children have lost their fathers due to the Israeli attack on the Mavi Marmara.Britain's Guardian newspaper quoted Yalcin Buyuk, the vice-chairman of the Turkish council of forensic medicine, as saying that the nine victims were shot a total of 30 times. Based on preliminary autopsy reports, two men were shot four times each and five others were shot either in the back of the head or in the back. Ibrahim Bilgen, a 60-year-old activist, was shot four times in the temple, chest, hip and back. Nineteen-year-old Furkan Dogan, a US citizen of Turkish descent, was shot five times from less than 45cm away, in the face, the back of the head, twice in the leg and once in the back. Two IHH aid workers, Cevdet Kiliclar and Necdet Yildrim, were amongst the victims. We in Free Gaza are proud and honored to work and be associated with the IHH and its honorable track record of humanitarian missions worldwide. As a human rights organization, it is hard for us to comprehend this kind of violence by Israel, especially when used against civilians embarked upon a humanitarian mission, such as that of the highly respected IHH. Furthermore it is appalling that the inflammatory remarks of Netanyahu, referring to them as "a ship of hate organised by violent Turkish terror extremists" should subsequently be repeated or even referred to by the media as anything but a pathetically transparent attempt to justify the inadmissable. The facts are simple: The blockade of the port of Gaza is illegal, as deemed by international law and the UN. This point cannot be argued, the siege must end, the rights and dignity of the Palestinians in Gaza must be honoured, the port must be opened. Alongside of our partners in the Freedom Flotilla, we demand that Israel returns our boats including the Spirit of Humanity, detained by Israel since early 2009. The Free Gaza Movement and our international parteners intend to launch another flotilla at the first available opportunity. After that there will be yet another... and another... until this diabolical blockade collapses and steps towards peace are finally taken. On June 6, another boat was announced by the ''Jüdische Stimme''. Along with her partners, the EJJP and JJP (UK), they are sending a boat and call to world leaders to help Israel find her way back to reason, a sense of humanity and a life without fear. ''Jewish Voices'' expects the political leaders of Israel and the world to guarantee safe passage for their small vessel to Gaza, thus helping to form a bridge towards peace. The FGM and our partners would like to acknowledge and thank the many governments, in particular that of Ireland and Turkey, for their support for our mission. However most importantly of all, we would like to thank the'ordinary people from everywhere who contributed to the cargo and raised their voices together to spread the message worldwide: This siege of the Gaza strip and the imprisonment of its people must end.

(Sun June 6th, 1.45pm) The Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign has just recieved word that the five Irish prisoners from the MV Rachel Corrie, which was hijacked yesterday by Israeli forces, are due to arrive in Dublin airport at 11.20am tomorrow morning. There will be a welcoming committee to meet them and press conference to follow at 3pm in The Central Hotel, Exchequer Street, Dulin 2. Included among the five returning are Mairead Maguire, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Ireland and Denis Halliday, former UN Assistant Secretary General, Ireland Freda Hughes of the IPSC said, " We are relieved that the prisoners from the MV Rachel Corrie, but we must remember that they were illegally kidnapped and taken against their will to Israel." The boarding by Israeli forces is in defiance of a direct call from the Irish Government, which had formally requested Israel allow the ship to reach Gaza. On 1 June, the Irish parliament also passed an all-party motion condemning Israel's use of military force against civilian aid ships, and demanding "an end to the illegal Israeli blockade of Gaza." The 1200-ton cargo ship was purchased through a special fund set up by former Malaysian Prime Minister and Perdana Global Peace Organisation (PGPO) chairman Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad and is owned by The Free Gaza Movement. Its cargo included hundreds of tons of medical equipment and cement, as well as 20 tons of paper from the people of Norway, donated to UN-run schools in Gaza. ENDS Contact:IPSC Office: 01 6770253Freda Hughes (IPSC): 086 1260359John Dorman (IPSC): 087 2208560Martin Quigley (IPSC): 087 9623624Kevin Squires (IPSC): 087 7413580Mark McDonnell (IPSC): 086 841 6297

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Cyprus, June 6, 2010) The IDF admitted today in a press release that it doctored audio footage from its exchanges with the Gaza flotilla in order to paint the flotilla passengers as anti-Semites. However, their comments made no more sense with this explanation: “This transmission had originally cited the Mavi Marmara ship as being the source of these remarks, however, due to an open channel, the specific ship or ships in the “Freedom Flotilla” responding to the Israeli Navy could not be identified. During radio transmissions between Israeli Navy and the ships of the “Free Gaza” Flotilla on 31 May 2010, the Israeli Navy ship attempts to make contact with the ‘Defne Y’ on channel 16. Other ships from the flotilla respond on the channel, without identifying themselves. At some point during the radio exchange the Israeli Navy is told by one of the ships to “shut up, go back to Auschwitz” (2:05) and “don’t forget 9-11. (5:42).” According to our Captain of Challenger 1, Denis Healey, a man with 25 years of experience on the sea, there would be no way that anyone could communicate with each other without the entire fleet hearing the exchange. “There was no exchange like this by anyone on any boat during the entire time I was piloting the boat,” said Denis. Huwaida Arraf, the woman you hear on the radio, concurred. “The open channel is always the open channel, and everyone knows who is on the radio.” All radio transmissions on the sea are heard by all captains. Once again, Israel is caught in a lie trying to defned itself for the murder and mayhem it committed the morning of May 31, 2010. Contact:Huwaida Arraf,  +970-598-336-215 or +972-548-817-046 Greta Berlin 00 357 99 18 72 75 Audrey Bomse 00 357 96 48 98 05 Mary Hughes 00 357 96 38 38 09    

RICHARD TILLINGHASTRichard Tillinghast is an American poet who lives in Co Tipperary. He is the author of eight books of poetry, the latest of which is Selected Poems (Dedalus Press, 2010 ), as well as several works of non-fiction * http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2010/0605/1224271903842.html# No tinned meat is allowed, no tomato paste, no clothing, no shoes, no notebooks. These will be stored in our warehouses at Kerem Shalom until further notice. Bananas, apples, and persimmons are allowed into Gaza, peaches and dates, and now macaroni (after the American Senator’s visit). These are vital for daily sustenance. But no apricots, no plums, no grapes, no avocados, no jam. These are luxuries and are not allowed. Paper for textbooks is not allowed. The terrorists could use it to print seditious material. And why do you need textbooks now that your schools are rubble? No steel is allowed, no building supplies, no plastic pipe. These the terrorists could use to launch rockets against us. Pumpkins and carrots you may have, but no delicacies, no cherries, no pomegranates, no watermelon, no onions, no chocolate. We have a list of three dozen items that are allowed, but we are not obliged to disclose its contents. This is the decision arrived at by Colonel Levi, Colonel Rosenzweig, and Colonel Segal. Our motto: ‘No prosperity, no development, no humanitarian crisis.’ You may fish in the Mediterranean, but only as far as three km from shore. Beyond that and we open fire. It is a great pity the waters are polluted twenty million gallons of raw sewage dumped into the sea every day is the figure given. Our rockets struck the sewage treatments plants, and at this point spare parts to repair them are not allowed. As long as Hamas threatens us, no cement is allowed, no glass, no medical equipment. We are watching you from our pilotless drones as you cook your sparse meals over open fires and bed down in the ruins of houses destroyed by tank shells. And if your children can’t sleep, missing the ones who were killed in our incursion, or cry out in the night, or wet their beds in your makeshift refugee tents, or scream, feeling pain in their amputated limbs – that’s the price you pay for harbouring terrorists. God gave us this land. A land without a people for a people without a land.

Besieged Gaza, Palestine, 5.6.2010 One-and-a-half years after the Israeli army perpetrated a massacre upon the population of Gaza, Apartheid Israel commits another crime against partisans of Palestine in international waters. The world is moved at the plight of Palestinians and their supporters. All of the seven crossings between Gaza and Israel, including the Rafah Crossing—the only access Gaza has to the external world—remain hermetically sealed. We request that the citizens of the world oppose this deadly, medieval blockade. We no longer rely on governments. The failure of the United Nations and its numerous organizations to condemn such crimes proves their complicity. Only civil society is able to mobilize to demand the application of international law and put an end to Israel's impunity. The intervention of civil society was effective in the late 1980s against the apartheid regime of South Africa. Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu have not only described Israel’s oppressive and violent control of Palestinians as Apartheid, they have also joined this call for the world’s civil society to intervene again. We, therefore, ask people of conscience and civil society organizations to put pressure on their governments until Israel is forced to abide by international law and international humanitarian law. Without the intervention of the international community which was effective against apartheid in South Africa, Israel will continue its war crimes and crimes against humanity, as articulated by the Goldstione report. We call on civil society organizations worldwide to intensify the anti-Israel sanctions campaign to compel Israel to end to its aggression. Signatory Organizations: The One Democratic State Group University Teachers' Association Arab Cultural Forum Palestinian Students’ Campaign for the Academic Boycott of Israel Association of Al-Quds Bank for Culture and Info Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlements International Solidarity Movement Palestine Sailing Federation Palestinian Association for Fishing and Maritime Palestinian Network of Non-Governmental Organizations Palestinian Women Committees Progressive Students Union Medical Relief Society The General Society for Rehabilitation Gaza Community Mental Health Program General Union of Palestinian Women Afaq Jadeeda Cultural Centre for Women and Children Deir Al-Balah Cultural Centre for Women and Children Maghazi Cultural Centre for Children Al-Sahel Centre for Women and Youth Ghassan Kanfani Kindergartens Rachel Corrie Centre, Rafah Rafah Olympia City Sisters Al Awda Centre, Rafah Al Awda Hospital, Jabaliya Camp Ajyal Association, Gaza General Union of Palestinian Syndicates Al Karmel Centre, Nuseirat Local Initiative, Beit Hanoun Union of Health Work Committees Red Crescent Society Gaza Strip Beit Lahiya Cultural Centre Al Awda Centre, Rafah