<html>
<body>
<img src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/Images/LogoPrint.gif" width=107 height=123 alt="[]">
<font size=3> <br>
UPDATED ON:<br>
Monday, May 31, 2010 <br>
07:52 Mecca time, 04:52 GMT <br>
<a href="http://english.aljazeera.net/">News </a>Middle East <br>
Israel attacks Gaza aid fleet <br>
<br>
</font><font face="Verdana" size=1><b>Aid convoy was attacked 65km off
the Gaza coast</b></font><font size=3> <br><br>
Israeli forces have attacked a flotilla of aid-carrying ships aiming to
break the country's siege on Gaza.<br><br>
Up to 16 people were killed and more than 30 people injured when Israeli
troops stormed the Freedom Flotilla early on Monday, the Israeli Army
Radio said.<br><br>
The flotilla was attacked when it was 65km off the Gaza coast.<br><br>
Footage from the flotilla's lead vessel, the <i>Mavi Marmara</i>, showed
armed Israeli soldiers boarding the ship and helicopters flying
overhead.<br><br>
Al Jazeera's Jamal Elshayyal, on board the <i>Mavi Marmara</i>, said
Israeli troops had used live ammunition during the operation.<br><br>
The Israeli Army Radio said soldiers opened fire "after confronting
those on board carrying sharp objects".<br><br>
Free Gaza Movement, the organisers of the flotilla, however, said the
troops opened fire as soon as they stormed the ships.<br><br>
They also said the ships were now being towed to the Israeli town of
Haifa, instead of Ashdod to avoid waiting journalists.<br><br>
Earlier, the Israeli navy had contacted the captain of the <i>Mavi
Marmara</i>, asking him to identify himself and say where the ship was
headed.<br><br>
<b>Israeli intervention</b> <br><br>
Shortly after, two Israeli naval vessels had flanked the flotilla on
either side, but at a distance.<br><br>
Organisers of the flotilla carrying 10,000 tonnes of humanitarian aid
then diverted their ships and slowed down to avoid a confrontation during
the night.<br><br>
They also issued all passengers life jackets and asked them to remain
below deck.<br><br>
Al Jazeera’s Ayman Mohyeldin, reporting from Jerusalem, said the Israeli
action was surprising.<br><br>
"All the images being shown from the activists on board those ships
show clearly that they were civilians and peaceful in nature, with
medical supplies on board. So it will surprise many in the international
community to learn what could have possibly led to this type of
confrontation," he said.<br><br>
<b>Protests<br><br>
</b>Condemnation has been quick to pour in after the Israeli
action.<br><br>
Thousands of Turkish protesters tried to storm the Israeli consulate in
Istanbul soon after the news of the operation broke. The protesters
shouted "Damn Israel" as police blocked them.<br><br>
Turkey is also reported to have summoned the Israeli ambassador to lodge
a protest.<br><br>
Meanwhile, Ismail Haniya, the Hamas leader in Gaza, has dubbed the
Israeli action as "barbaric".<br><br>
Hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists, including a Nobel laureate and
several European legislators, are with the flotilla, aiming to reach Gaza
in defiance of an Israeli embargo.<br><br>
But Israel has said it will not allow the flotilla to reach the Gaza
Strip and vowed to stop the six ships from reaching the coastal
Palestinian territory.<br><br>
The flotilla had set sail from a port in Cyprus on Sunday and aimed to
reach Gaza by Monday morning.<br><br>
Israel said the boats were embarking on "an act of provocation"
against the Israeli military, rather than providing aid, and that it had
issued warrants to prohibit their entrance to Gaza.<br><br>
It asserted that the flotilla would be breaking international law by
landing in Gaza, a claim the organisers rejected.<br>
Source: Al Jazeera and agencies <br>
<br><br>
<br><br>
</font><x-sigsep><p></x-sigsep>
<font size=3 color="#FF0000">Freedom Archives<br>
522 Valencia Street<br>
San Francisco, CA 94110<br><br>
</font><font size=3 color="#008000">415 863-9977<br><br>
</font><font size=3 color="#0000FF">
<a href="http://www.freedomarchives.org/" eudora="autourl">
www.Freedomarchives.org</a></font><font size=3> </font></body>
</html>