'Freedom Flotilla' aid convoy sets off for Gaza

reply to post by Peruvianmonk


Thanks for keeping us posted!

Gaza flotilla changes course

Ships prefer confrontation with Israeli navy take place in daylight.

The Gaza protest flotilla changed course to gain distance from the Israeli navy boats which had hailed them, demanded they identify themselves and warned them they would not be allowed to reach Gaza, an Al-Jazeera reporter with the flotilla said just past midnight on Monday. According to the report, the flotilla organizers wish any confrontation to occur during daylight hours rather than in the dark.

The IDF contacted the boats by radio, clarified that the Gaza Strip is a closed military zone and offered the sailors two options: to follow the navy to Ashdod Port or be commandeered by commandos, according to flotilla organizers.

The initial contact took place about 200 km. off the Gaza Coast. Flotilla organizers said they detected three Israel Navy ships on the radar.

The flotilla will wave to Israeli ships, they'll wave back, ask if they need assistance delivering the aid, and they'll voluntarily go to an Israeli port and let Israel deliver the aid themselves. And after much friendly conversation, the men/women from the aid convoy will accept an apology for any inconvenience and warmest wishes from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. They'll accept free tickets to an Israeli opera or something and then get a free life home. The end.

Turkey will not send warships or planes - that would be ridiculous

Incident over, nothing bad will happen & ATS goes back to more realistic & imminent WW3 doom

LOL or at least... I hope because an incident with Turkey would be as disastrous as Israel going to war with Syria, Hezbollah and Iran.

[edit on 30-5-2010 by john124]

english.aljazeera.net...

It asserted that the flotilla would be breaking international law by landing in Gaza, a claim the organisers rejected.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon demands Israel ends the Gaza blockade

Current levels of aid is only around a 1/4 of the bare minimum needed. Isn't that in breach of international law?

[edit on 30-5-2010 by john124]

Not sure if this has been posted yet.

Israeli ships stalk pro-Palestinian aid flotilla

From the AP Article:

HAIFA, Israel – Israeli warships stalked a flotilla carrying hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists, including a Nobel laureate and a Holocaust survivor heading for the Gaza Strip on Monday, edging closer to a naval showdown on the high seas.

Huwaida Arraf, one of the organizers, said the six-ship flotilla began the journey from international waters off the coast of Cyprus on Sunday afternoon after two days of delays. She said they expected to reach Gaza, about 250 miles (400 kilometers) away, on Monday afternoon, and that two more ships would follow in "a second wave."

The flotilla was "fully prepared for the different scenarios" that might arise, and organizers were hopeful that Israeli authorities would "do what's right" and not stop the convoy, she said.

"We fully intend to go to Gaza regardless of any intimidation or threats of violence against us," she said. "They are going to have to forcefully stop us."

Godspeed to the Freedom Flotilla and all those aboard.

have they been boarded?

It looks like people with guns on the boats. And the news is all panicky

They surprised the flotilla in INTERNATIONAL WATERS... some people are dead now and European Parliamentarians among the wounded.

odb.outbrain.com...

Here's the Twitter link on the Freedom Flotilla . For people who wishes to tweet on that link, the tag is #flotilla .

Freedom Flotilla

Looks like bad news; 2 dead, 30 wounded (unconfirmed)

Note: The tag may not work, due to possible Twitter censorship.





[edit on 5/31/2010 by coolieno99]

This is REALLY bad.

As if tensions were not high enough in the world as it is.

Now Israel attacks a 'Freedom Flotilla' in international waters. Great.

What a bunch of douche bags.

And I can't wait for someone here to defend what they did today. I know it's coming.

Ain't no defending it.

[edit on 30-5-2010 by muggl3z]

Report from Al Jazeera. I am shocked by this. Totally shocked.

www.youtube.com...

Sky news just said 19 dead.

This is a terror attack by Israel IMO.

Mark Regev Israeli Gov spokesman is saying the violence is 100% the fault of those on the ships-not the gun weilding commandos who stormed the ship and started killing people on board.

How we can call this sick regime our "ally" is beyond my understanding.
People who behave in this way should be treated as the terrorists that they truly are IMO.

Israel

Edit for link:

news.sky.com... 15640829?lpos=World_News_Carousel_Region_0&lid=ARTICLE_15640829_Palestinian_Aid_Convoy%3A_Two_Killed_As_Israeli_Navy_Clashes_With_Boats_Sailing_To_Gaz a_Strip



[edit on 31/5/2010 by Silcone Synapse]

reply to post by Silcone Synapse


Agreed.

I just woke up to this with a text from my friend saying 'i #ing hate Israel'. It's now very hard to argue against that kind of opinion.

According to Reterus Turkey are calling for an emergancy U.N. meeting.

Lets see how the media tries to spin this to the masses because it will only wake more people up as they realise the media is bias and lets not foget who controls most the world media and banking system.

This is an act of war and they want us to back a war with Iran who has attacked no one and turn a blind eye to the zionists having nukes, starving a nation and attacking ships in international waters.

So many people knew a week ago this was going to be an issue? I think a lot of people on the other thread relating to the IDF boarding these ships aren't aware of this. I'm not agreeing or disagreeing with what's happened so far, just trying to pick up what I can and take a rational approach to the whole fiasco.

I'm new enough to ATS that I don't know how to cross-reference the threads, but the moderator had to shut down the other one because it was getting out of hand. I'm glad they did, because I ended up discovering this thread which sort of puts today's events in a different perspective.

For lack of knowledge, I can't confirm or deny that the agency sponsoring the aid has terrorist ties; but it is very clear now that the movement of these ships was a direct attempt to provoke a response from Israel. Please understand I'm not trying to justify any action Israel has taken, I'm just saying this was something that was foreseen and intended to provoke action.

It's kind of like a gang at a park telling you if they see you there again, they're going to beat you up; so you decide to get a bunch of friends together and go to that park specifically to see if the gang will attack you, and you conveniently have cameras standing-by so it can be shown on the evening news.

I just heard a woman on the radio from the isle of wight,who does not yet know if her husband is among the dead or injured.
She believes that there were no weapons on board the flotilla,as they realised that having weapons would give the Israelis an excuse to arrest people.
She said that all the ships were checked for weapons in each port before they left,and that there were no weapons.

The Israelis claim there were firearms,prepared and ready,when the commandos stormed the ships...

I would put money on the Israeli commandos bringing along a crate of AKs or similar,to leave on the ships,as an excuse.

The international community should all impose massive sanctions on the dark regime of Israel IMO.

They should get no outside help from anyone.
Ever.

morning all ,
just read the papers apparently 19 civilians are dead in the confront so far ,

sad just sad ,

reply to post by Silcone Synapse



'acturly it is not uncommon for ships of this sizes to carry some sort of weapons for self protection...

Originally posted by john124
Current levels of aid is only around a 1/4 of the bare minimum needed. Isn't that in breach of international law?

These people write the law as they go along.

All that white stuff coming out the cluster bombs was talcum powder and the reason little is done about it is because they control the media and the banking system.

I was hoping they would try to introduce the amro without having WWIII but looks like i was wrong.

reply to post by Silcone Synapse


It is completley irrelavant whether the protesters shot first etc, which personally i do not believe happened. Reports have been of guns fired by the protesters then downgraded to that they just attacked with knives and clubs. If you are boarded you have a right to defend yourself and property.

Americans know all about this right.

I gurantee these ships were not taking weapons to Hamas, as claimed by mouthpieces of Israel. Why would they risk invalidating their position? It wouldn't in my eyes but Israel and the world's media would have a fieldday with it and use it as justification.

These ships were carrying foreign politicians for #s sake.

However this all turns out, I think it's safe to say that the mainstream media has let us all down yet again. I pay attention to these sorts of things and didn't come across one peep of this ahead of time. Perhaps if the media would have jumped on this potential situation a week ago (as happened here on ATS without me knowing it until this morning), this entire situation could have been avoided.

If Israel was stating last week that there would be issues with these flotillas, couldn't discussions among the nations have taken place ahead of time? Maybe diplomats could have either swayed Israel not to take this sort of action, or have clearly laid-out what the consequences of doing such a thing would be. Heck, if this were covered in the mainstream media last week, maybe Israel would have re-considered based on that alone--realizing this would be a diplomatic nightmare.

As much as I enjoy ATS, I'm really sick of HAVING to rely on blogs and these kinds of sites to get real news. I know about the whole "TPTB" thing, but you'd think at least ONE mainstream media source would jump in and do the right thing. It really is out of hand...all of it.

From Al Jazeera.

Al Jazeera’s Jamal Elshayyal, on board the Mavi Marmara, said Israeli troops had used live ammunition during the operation.

The Israeli Army Radio said soldiers opened fire “after confronting those on board carrying sharp objects”.

Free Gaza Movement, the organisers of the flotilla, however, said the troops opened fire as soon as they stormed the ships.

warincontext.org...

Who do you think is more likely to be telling the truth here?